Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Discussion and development of scenarios and campaigns for the game.

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ydcl
Posts: 259
Joined: December 22nd, 2008, 2:10 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by ydcl »

Hi, I'm maybe an idiot, but I can't find, where dig for the south caves, and I think I dig everywhere.
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pyrophorus
Posts: 533
Joined: December 1st, 2010, 12:54 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pyrophorus »

ydcl wrote:Hi, I'm maybe an idiot, but I can't find, where dig for the south caves, and I think I dig everywhere.
Don't worry... You probably imagine you should right-click on the dwarf.
You have to move the dwarf close to the cave wall you want to dig, and then right-click the wall, not the dwarf. Coordinates of the first wall to dig are in the help menu.

Thanks for playing the campaign !
ydcl
Posts: 259
Joined: December 22nd, 2008, 2:10 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by ydcl »

Thanks, but should advise that you need to right-click in the hex behind the wall.
pauline
Posts: 85
Joined: August 20th, 2011, 2:27 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pauline »

What's next on the road to Noelren ?

S12 (The Siege of Fremagel)
Mystery ... another feature of this extraordinary campaign. I and my hero undergo a fateful day in Fremagel.
Tiomen seems to keep track of the events, but I became entangled in Jani´s mumbo jumbo, the meeting with the frantic sovereigns of Noelren
and the confrontation with unexpected enemies.
The designer is a bit stingy with explanations. OK, he´s targeting an "illustrated" story, and caring about those who "get bored each time they've something to read." Well, pyrophorus, YOU know already what time will tell. YOU don´t have to wonder and ponder and exercise patience until answers are provided ! Leaving aside that Elves and Dwarves aren´t particularly keen on each other, a tiny rationale of the cause of this clash wouldn´t break the story´s enigma.

About the task: With a champion duo, a brave princess and a huge amount of gold the battle is a piece of cake ... Yeah, sold again !
* Who manages to defeat the besiegers is deprived of an astonishing turn of events.
* That Janishad-Mage never misses his trick and is more undead than an Undead.
* And when cocksure that things at the ford are sewn up: a backstabbing surprise ... just when Anuviel is fed up and wants to go home. Damn !
A sticky situation and a nice clobbering, right down to the last detail: that sardonic effect at "Berserker vs. Adept". :lol:

Fremagel Escape / Return to Noelren
Now, what should I make of THIS development ? I am left wondering again:
* Is that crazy king going to make a final, suicidal stand to the last breath of his unexperienced troops ?
* And my team is supposed to be happy to turn tail and run ? Sole exception: the valiant hero Beren ?
* And in return for such loyalty the princess accuses her devoted gallant of cowardice ?
* And that totally submissive Beren takes the burden ... only to get the brush-off by his beloved Anuviel ?
To make things worse: Othra leaves without so much as a backward glance,
and before Tiomen makes it to the top and wipes out ALL foes currently roving about the Great Continent at a single stroke,
the Almighty intervenes and takes his wonder weapon away !
Oh, come on, pyrophorus ! Tiomen would never lose grip of the thank-you gift form his lovely girlfriend (strictly platonic) !
I hope you have a real good treat up your sleeve ...

S13 (Returning home)
There we have it !
Tiomen is a weakling again, back to tack hammer and kids' bow, experience and race shoes gone, his dexterity ... a cause for concern.
(I had applied a lot of effort to dope my hero and upscale his performance so that he would be well prepared for the re-encounter with Lestiviel.)
At least, the writer tenderheartedly ensures that players – by now driven to delusions of grandeur – won´t suffer from that moderate amount of damage: The enemy, too, has to "drop the trousers" ... in a hilarious way. :shock:

Again and yet again, I'd quite like to know some details.
* Othra´s relative continued to be a faithful companion during the years on the tramp, but what happened to Horror-Batty ?
* On what did this simple, modest blacksmith splash all his cash ... hundreds, nay thousands of nuggets ?
* Tiomen is certainly not interested in the yarn of a possible competitor on romances, but I do care about Glynnoin´s story.
So, before winding up in a cage again he has been ... WHAT ? Rejected by Patti ? Outdone by old Glynnador ?
* Last query: The blacksmith fancies to be able to accomplish a delicate mission of diplomacy, the dwarf will guide him to his people, the former enemy. But Glynnoin came from the caves of Thoria. Do the Sambrands originate from the Northlands, too ?

S14 (Finding Allies)
This scenario is really awful ... awfully funny. And it satisfies all requirements of a good BfW-quest as well.
With Tiomen stripped from great weapons, skills and companions and knowing about Anuviel´s doom, I couldn´t injure my heroes´ pride still more.
After agreeing to help the mage, we sneezed at the genuine offer to recruit, and entered in the business of pest exterminators without backup.
This profession is not as simple as it looks ! Surprisingly soon the situation got completely beyond control.
Colerun´s blue charm powder seemed to work as well as that useless vermin stuff from the supermarket.
My team was mostly busy to protect the poisoned healer, and the Yeti turned out to be scared of rats ... Great.
When almost every hex was blocked by that bloody critters, I had to abandon my noble scheme to clear this pest-ridden corner of Wesnoth ...

The next try took a less disagreeable course. I narrowed the vermin charmer´s efforts down to the required minimum.
When his health yet again dropped to 1 HP, that bigmouth announced he would destroy the remaining 23 nests alone ... :roll:
Well, my team readily took him along because in the whole area there is as good as no hut for healing !
The 5 exterminators made their way to the dwarves in 50 turns, the strong castle of Fremagel fell in half the time.
We cleaned as well as in any way possible, wiped out more than100 beasts, but I'm afraid at least 200 of them escaped this pest control ...
Someone else should go there and check the situation.

What was the cause of this infestation ? Another work of the devil Jani, I guess.
And who had been punished with such a nasty plague before its teleport to Wesnoth ? Hmmm, I can only imagine one place.
Hopefully, at the end of this campaign, this pest will be hurled back to where it belongs ... pyrophorus´ backyard. :D

pauline - RtN v0.7.8 * BfW v1.10.7 * Single Player * Level Medium
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pyrophorus
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Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.8

Post by pyrophorus »

pauline wrote:What's next on the road to Noelren ?

S12 (The Siege of Fremagel)
Mystery ... another feature of this extraordinary campaign. I and my hero undergo a fateful day in Fremagel.
Tiomen seems to keep track of the events, but I became entangled in Jani´s mumbo jumbo, the meeting with the frantic sovereigns of Noelren
and the confrontation with unexpected enemies.
The designer is a bit stingy with explanations. OK, he´s targeting an "illustrated" story, and caring about those who "get bored each time they've something to read." Well, pyrophorus, YOU know already what time will tell. YOU don´t have to wonder and ponder and exercise patience until answers are provided ! Leaving aside that Elves and Dwarves aren´t particularly keen on each other, a tiny rationale of the cause of this clash wouldn´t break the story´s enigma.
Some clues were given I think. Dolmandir clearly explained our hero should help the Noelren' in their desperate fight against Jani followers. Why not dwarves among them ? The full story shall be unveiled later (suspense... suspense... it's a tricky way to stick players to my campaign :twisted: )
pauline wrote: Fremagel Escape / Return to Noelren
Now, what should I make of THIS development ? I am left wondering again:
* Is that crazy king going to make a final, suicidal stand to the last breath of his unexperienced troops ?
* And my team is supposed to be happy to turn tail and run ? Sole exception: the valiant hero Beren ?
* And in return for such loyalty the princess accuses her devoted gallant of cowardice ?
* And that totally submissive Beren takes the burden ... only to get the brush-off by his beloved Anuviel ?
To make things worse: Othra leaves without so much as a backward glance,
and before Tiomen makes it to the top and wipes out ALL foes currently roving about the Great Continent at a single stroke,
the Almighty intervenes and takes his wonder weapon away !
Yeah, the king shall die with his last troops. This :twisted: cruel :twisted: end (of the first part) is needed because the story is epic and heroic. If heroes could wipe out all the foes at a single stroke, the plot would be dull and uninteresting. They must suffer much :twisted: , lose hope and friends :twisted: , experiment a complete disaster :twisted: , and then... at the very moment of their last breath... (trumpets flourish)
pauline wrote: Oh, come on, pyrophorus ! Tiomen would never lose grip of the thank-you gift form his lovely girlfriend (strictly platonic) !
I hope you have a real good treat up your sleeve ...
Of course I have, at least, I have one :lol: Think how happy you'll feel getting it back later !
pauline wrote: S13 (Returning home)
There we have it !
Tiomen is a weakling again, back to tack hammer and kids' bow, experience and race shoes gone, his dexterity ... a cause for concern.
(I had applied a lot of effort to dope my hero and upscale his performance so that he would be well prepared for the re-encounter with Lestiviel.)
I wouldn't give you one more opportunity to throw more sarcasms at this poor lass. Overpowered units are not so seductive except among stupid girls, and are BAD. This is a problem with long campaigns. If the hero becomes too strong, Wesnoth has no effective opponent to confront with, except if you imagine super ignoble things coming from unknown parts of the world as in campaigns I will name not. Since I'm not really able to imagine super monsters with pincers and claws on every part of their misshapen body, dribbling poisonous and green slime, I'm compelled to do so.
pauline wrote: Again and yet again, I'd quite like to know some details.
* Othra´s relative continued to be a faithful companion during the years on the tramp, but what happened to Horror-Batty ?
* On what did this simple, modest blacksmith splash all his cash ... hundreds, nay thousands of nuggets ?
* Tiomen is certainly not interested in the yarn of a possible competitor on romances, but I do care about Glynnoin´s story.
So, before winding up in a cage again he has been ... WHAT ? Rejected by Patti ? Outdone by old Glynnador ?
* Last query: The blacksmith fancies to be able to accomplish a delicate mission of diplomacy, the dwarf will guide him to his people, the former enemy. But Glynnoin came from the caves of Thoria. Do the Sambrands originate from the Northlands, too ?
* Batty is dead. Unfortunately, one day Growl the yeti awoke hungry. Seeing something looking like a fruit hanging to a branch nearby, he took it and swallowed it. He apologised endlessly later, but the evil was done...
* Tiomen gave his money to various poor people because he is a generous man and develop some sort of allergy to gold.
* Glynnoin is an explorer and a prospector (you should have learnt that in Alnoth Island). Even if sweet Patti welcomed him with a nice cup of tea, the two sisters expelled him rather quickly from their island. Not a matter of sentiment. He's clearly a spy of an unscrupulous international mining company which would quickly devastate this fine island digging mines and quarry everywhere.
* No, the Sambrands were hurled there from a parallel world. They've nothing in common with Wesnoth dwarves except race and tongue.
pauline wrote: S14 (Finding Allies)
This scenario is really awful ... awfully funny. And it satisfies all requirements of a good BfW-quest as well.
With Tiomen stripped from great weapons, skills and companions and knowing about Anuviel´s doom, I couldn´t injure my heroes´ pride still more.
After agreeing to help the mage, we sneezed at the genuine offer to recruit, and entered in the business of pest exterminators without backup.
And the trap' fangs closed silently around the unwary player... :twisted:
pauline wrote: This profession is not as simple as it looks ! Surprisingly soon the situation got completely beyond control.
:twisted:
pauline wrote: Colerun´s blue charm powder seemed to work as well as that useless vermin stuff from the supermarket.
Strange... It contains no chemical products, all components are GMO free and so on. If it don't work, it must be the RNG...
pauline wrote: My team was mostly busy to protect the poisoned healer, and the Yeti turned out to be scared of rats ... Great.
When almost every hex was blocked by that bloody critters, I had to abandon my noble scheme to clear this pest-ridden corner of Wesnoth ...

The next try took a less disagreeable course. I narrowed the vermin charmer´s efforts down to the required minimum.
When his health yet again dropped to 1 HP, that bigmouth announced he would destroy the remaining 23 nests alone ... :roll:
Well, my team readily took him along because in the whole area there is as good as no hut for healing !
Maybe you noticed not, but oasis ponds are healing places as well. It's a BfW feature, not one of my twisted ideas. And may I suggest it would have been easier to keep your pest killer in good shape recruiting an elvish shaman or two (not speaking of advancing them).
pauline wrote: The 5 exterminators made their way to the dwarves in 50 turns, the strong castle of Fremagel fell in half the time.
We cleaned as well as in any way possible, wiped out more than100 beasts, but I'm afraid at least 200 of them escaped this pest control ...
Someone else should go there and check the situation.
So you didn't clear all the land ? With some recruitment and patience, it's not so difficult. BTW, you could miss these new recruits later, as the help menu says.
pauline wrote: What was the cause of this infestation ? Another work of the devil Jani, I guess.

And who had been punished with such a nasty plague before its teleport to Wesnoth ? Hmmm, I can only imagine one place.
Hopefully, at the end of this campaign, this pest will be hurled back to where it belongs ... pyrophorus´ backyard. :D
pauline - RtN v0.7.8 * BfW v1.10.7 * Single Player * Level Medium
No, they came directly from my mind... and I suspect them to be still partly there.

Thanks for playing the campaign and giving such a report !
pauline
Posts: 85
Joined: August 20th, 2011, 2:27 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pauline »

Cheers guv for the tolerating stand-by ! It´s most notably that you go to the lengths of making up some more amusing stories !
Thanks as well for the piece of information "oasis = cure".
I recall such feature in UtBS, evidently I wrongly linked it to prevent "dying of thirst" only.
As to the (maybe not one of my wisest) decision not to recruit: I had to go easy on the pest killer, BUT:
I managed to shape him up to a Mage of Light and I´m glad you let him return later in the campaign.
BTW, looks as if someone posted by mistake in your thread ! Hark at THAT: Overpowered units are … BAD ! :whistle:

S15 (Black Swamps)
Suspecting rascally intent and grumble over Tiomen´s potency was very stupid:The hero is at his best again,
a strategist running off at the mouth about clever plans and tactics, no words wasted on touchy-feely talk.
Such unexpected taciturnity against his dearly missed friend is perhaps meant as a scope for the player´s imagination ...
In point of events this episode is entertaining as usual (sounds flat, but it´s the signature of RtN).
"We don't have to worry 'bout nothing ... 'cause we got the fire, fire, fire ... and we gonna let it burn, burn, burn ... "
The Narrator´s accompanying commentary during the activities is an interesting variety
which I can very well imagine to be used more often (alternative to Hints+Help, long dialogs, unclear events).

S16 (Army training)
Fantasy-game or not: Nothing is certain but death and taxes.
With formidable 10 G at startup I happily agreed with Garard: armed assault on the supreme treasurer ! :mrgreen:
I equally enjoyed full control over recruiting and training of the future king´s forces !
Making sure that BfW-history wouldn´t have to be re-written because Garald didn´t come to the throne due to a miserable army
I had him invoke the hordes of heaven (or wherever all theses units came from) and Tiomen hammer non-stop, crowding the area with skilled units (completely disregarding hysterical screams from DEVs and the forums: Totally over-balanced ! )
Apropos, is it too early to ask why Orcs collect taxes for an Elvish Highlord who is buddy-buddy with a Jani-priest ?

Perilous crossing
A petty misfortune couldn´t spoil the party: None of my vast amount of high-skilled service-members knew the craft
of naval engineering or shipbuilding ... :? A replay was needed and with this minor issue settled: Let's roll, a frolic boating for all !
Now, with my mass mess of units and rafts I did have a hard time not to lose track:
Due to author's slyness or scattiness (bloody vermin !) manning indicators or passenger lists were non-existent.
But after some flip-flopping the cruise worked out really well … for the survivors !
Albeit, parking the empty rafts picturesquely parallel to the opposite bank was no bright idea:
In a general delirium of joy those stupid twerps jumped right back into the shuttles … and the huddle went on. :roll:
Quickie questions:
Where is Baghi ? And what happened to the Unicorn ? A victim of Patti´s healing arts ? An indispensable, secret ingredient of a strengthening potage to save Lestiviel´s life ?

S17 (Gryphon Mountains)
This is most likely one of the most entertaining scenarios I´ve played. A cluster of delightful pipe dreams:
toxic mushrooms fighting toxic mushrooms resulting in intoxicated toxic mushrooms, compelling evidence to vindicate theories about pre-astronautics, a Shyde facing an acid test before her fine magic got the final refining, a rabbit declaring war on the Jani-terror ... I almost chocked with laughter despite the unpardonable exit of Horsie, the carriage and, well, the unmanufactured bomb material … I´d prefer if Pattie occasionally did a little magic on her baggage: suitcase carrier Boney´s eyes sparkled with anger for coming in last when her fighting techniques were badly needed at the cutting edge of this tough battle.
Yet, a lot of fun, great gags, everything works perfect, no questions ...
Spoiler:
And now the time has come for first battle. For Noelren ! Nothing shall stop Garard´s bloodthirsty warriors !
Until further notice
pauline
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pyrophorus
Posts: 533
Joined: December 1st, 2010, 12:54 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pyrophorus »

pauline wrote: As to the (maybe not one of my wisest) decision not to recruit: I had to go easy on the pest killer, BUT:
I managed to shape him up to a Mage of Light and I´m glad you let him return later in the campaign.
BTW, looks as if someone posted by mistake in your thread ! Hark at THAT: Overpowered units are … BAD ! :whistle:
Its an Internet forum after all. So one should reasonably expect a lot of nonsense here.
pauline wrote: S15 (Black Swamps)
Suspecting rascally intent and grumble over Tiomen´s potency was very stupid:The hero is at his best again,
a strategist running off at the mouth about clever plans and tactics, no words wasted on touchy-feely talk.
Such unexpected taciturnity against his dearly missed friend is perhaps meant as a scope for the player´s imagination ...
In point of events this episode is entertaining as usual (sounds flat, but it´s the signature of RtN).
So RtN sounds flat… OK, I’ll remember that…
pauline wrote: "We don't have to worry 'bout nothing ... 'cause we got the fire, fire, fire ... and we gonna let it burn, burn, burn ... "
The Narrator´s accompanying commentary during the activities is an interesting variety
which I can very well imagine to be used more often (alternative to Hints+Help, long dialogs, unclear events).

S16 (Army training)
Fantasy-game or not: Nothing is certain but death and taxes.
With formidable 10 G at startup I happily agreed with Garard: armed assault on the supreme treasurer ! :mrgreen:
I equally enjoyed full control over recruiting and training of the future king´s forces !
Making sure that BfW-history wouldn´t have to be re-written because Garald didn´t come to the throne due to a miserable army
I had him invoke the hordes of heaven (or wherever all theses units came from) and Tiomen hammer non-stop, crowding the area with skilled units (completely disregarding hysterical screams from DEVs and the forums: Totally over-balanced ! )
Apropos, is it too early to ask why Orcs collect taxes for an Elvish Highlord who is buddy-buddy with a Jani-priest ?
We, stubborn players, need over obvious clues to identify the bad guys at first glance. Don’t you feel a delicious relief when told by the objectives to kill really ignoble beings, as ugly in body than in mind ? Aaaaah ! it’s not really killing but cleaning !
Orcs are emblematic forepersons of the BAD side. That’s why they are here, to alleviate players moral dilemmas, even if this ruins some more the already very thin credibility of this totally inconsistent story.
pauline wrote:
Perilous crossing
A petty misfortune couldn´t spoil the party: None of my vast amount of high-skilled service-members knew the craft
of naval engineering or shipbuilding ... :? A replay was needed and with this minor issue settled: Let's roll, a frolic boating for all !
Now, with my mass mess of units and rafts I did have a hard time not to lose track:
Due to author's slyness or scattiness (bloody vermin !) manning indicators or passenger lists were non-existent.
Saying RtN sounds flat and insisting about my mind disorders Is not the best way to get me to do that, you know ! Some pretty pleases and kind words would do much better !
pauline wrote: But after some flip-flopping the cruise worked out really well … for the survivors !
Albeit, parking the empty rafts picturesquely parallel to the opposite bank was no bright idea:
In a general delirium of joy those stupid twerps jumped right back into the shuttles … and the huddle went on. :roll:
Of course ! Rafting the rivers is FUN, and nowadays, people pay for it ! They only wanted one more free tour !
pauline wrote: Quickie questions:
Where is Baghi ? And what happened to the Unicorn ? A victim of Patti´s healing arts ? An indispensable, secret ingredient of a strengthening potage to save Lestiviel´s life ?
Baghi gave birth to three charming little cubs, and Boney left her at home to prevent you asking who is the father (actually, it’s a pterodactyl, not a featured hero). The Unicorn is safe: a little shard of his horn was enough to prepare the potion (other ingredients are too disgusting to be listed). It was sent to find Dolmandir in the maze of meddling worlds (and will return later. All the characters of this story are boomerangs like: throw them away, they will return).
pauline wrote: S17 (Gryphon Mountains)
This is most likely one of the most entertaining scenarios I´ve played. A cluster of delightful pipe dreams:
toxic mushrooms fighting toxic mushrooms resulting in intoxicated toxic mushrooms, compelling evidence to vindicate theories about pre-astronautics, a Shyde facing an acid test before her fine magic got the final refining, a rabbit declaring war on the Jani-terror ... I almost chocked with laughter despite the unpardonable exit of Horsie, the carriage and, well, the unmanufactured bomb material … I´d prefer if Pattie occasionally did a little magic on her baggage: suitcase carrier Boney´s eyes sparkled with anger for coming in last when her fighting techniques were badly needed at the cutting edge of this tough battle.
At last (relief sigh) you’ll stop ruining my lovely maps with this diabolic device. (If I knew the guy who invented it…)
Spoiler:
pauline wrote: And now the time has come for first battle. For Noelren ! Nothing shall stop Garard´s bloodthirsty warriors !
Yeah… I fear nothing will …
pauline wrote: Until further notice
pauline
pauline
Posts: 85
Joined: August 20th, 2011, 2:27 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pauline »

ref. post 27-12-2013/revision … I clearly wasn´t at my best.
*this episode is entertaining as usual (sounds flat, but it´s the signature of RtN)"
I better rephrase this to ward off the master´s evil eye ... just in case.
"… this episode is entertaining as usual (a compliment that, admittedly, sounds all too shallow as it might convey the wrong impression that one can take fun, amusement, gratification, wealth of diversity and quality always for granted, which is, self-evidently, not the case. "Entertaining" is rather a defining characteristic of this very particular campaign, auspiciously titled RtN. Or, more precisely: a signature of its ingenious developer."
*why Orcs collect taxes for an Elvish Highlord " - This phrasing was unfortunate, too.
What surprises me here is the relationship between an Elvish Highlord and Orcs. It´s not so common that a Grunt would toil for an Elf.
But then: Jani turned all Wesnoth topsy-turvy ...
* As to the best way to have you reconsider some issues regarding your work:
:hmm: Why do I have the feeling that I could as well try to charm a shark with pretty pleases and kind words to coax him
to provide, for example, the hugely useful bombs again ?

S18 (First Battle)
1st approach
Garard appreciated the beautiful riverside scenery while searching for his men. Obviously they continued partying at some rafting event.
Vermin-expert Colerun was of no help – Hey there ! Come on ! – but no one showed up, not even a hell-castle rose for my puzzled commander.
When it became clear that Hamgral would never offer his comfortable throne I started all over.
2nd experiment
When the Dwarven Lord went to powder his nose, Garard darted into the fortress and recalled his grand army.
To my blank astonishment Anuviel´s well-trained horseman were mere quintains for Gameon´s spearmen.
Strange ... No wiping out at a single strike ... Is this how a "normal" BfW-battle works ? Can´t remember...
Anyway, the Sambrands do the better job here.
3rd attempt
Garard recruited a few workers and politely turned the keep back to his owner. The dwarfs did a hatchet job on the opponents, my leader explored his options ordering the construction of a castle. Who can say what could hap... Nope, the task force is no good for civil engineering. Increasingly tense my one-man army hurried south to the enemy´s keep, ready to jump in as soon as Turgan gets crumpled into pieces.
BLAST, some Steelclad was faster ! Jabbing him with the fork was pointless, that blockhead never cleared the central hex.
(I´m bewildered that this avant-garde campaign conforms to BfW-practice rather than conceding more flexibility to an ally. :) )
4th shot
Fed up with the whole shebang, Garard promised a kingdom for a little raft to make it to the left bank and recruit in that big empty castle.
Alas ... halfway there was this chocobone … Gloup.
And thus the next king of Wesnoth, supposed to be the progenitor of a ruling dynasty, forefather of the protagonists of plenty campaigns (including several from mainline) drowned unsung and unmourned in the river Weldyn … How sad a fate !
But the real good news is: The story of RtN does NOT prematurely end with such a little mischief !!! :D
5th venture
Downside of that abortive attempt: I wanted to try my hand at bridge building. Glad I didn´t blow my chance:
WOW, a real treat ! Indeed, replay-value took on an even greater significance after catching on the bending procedure !
I built a true maze of walkways, the Sambards deemed these construction works the best thing since my pest control.
In no time they arrowed against the dumbfounded Janishaders. Yet, it wasn´t my last bash ...
To round it up:
At the latest when it was my turn to be dumbfounded, realizing the crafty inaccessible of Ak Mahal´s fortress, I had to acknowledge that it was excessively optimistic to augur a howling success of Garard´s newly assembled military forces. The half-baked army has not yet been able to cope with the bad guys without the strong involvement of Tolivia and the dwarfs. Things can't remain this way … I´ve to think out a better plan.

Kudos for a scenario with ingenious features and much harder than it looks.
pauline
Posts: 85
Joined: August 20th, 2011, 2:27 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pauline »

Moving on to S19 (Morwin Castle)
Power to the animals ! It´s fair that reforms also apply to "monsters".
Wolfie can manage a trident, thus a 90 HP-rat handling a battle axe is fully credible. :mrgreen:
All the more the amazing damage of a repulsive kiss ! A French kiss, mind you !
( I can´t disgrace myself, contrary to S2 (Glynn Forest), the unit description is clear.)
Only the big rat grower with his laughable 1-2 club is the odd one out ...
A very interesting experience is the possibility to move units into shrouded areas, the scaled map serves as a pointer.
Not to mention how pyrophorus wangles the growing of anything that hitherto has always been known as static !!!
Despite the warning of toxic spreading I risked the health of my units to go easy on the Stand-by LED of the author´s cute namesake:
Constantly rude Boney brutalized the poor worm enough, given that the survival of all my rats hinges on its kind guidance.
Worse still: none of my team expresses any gratitude ... Yes, even the chief glowworm condemns the little shiner to a disrespectful exit ! :(
Next surprise: for once it is NOT the unscrupulous prospector of the international mining company who is caged up.
A little spectacle when the witch performs damage control might be suitable, but Tiomen admitting a romantic side is unquestionably impressing !
(What proves that I am more naive than lovely Pattie, too. No further commenting necessary, harsh master).
Yet, this unexpected exposé has no further consequences:
Old flame Lestiviel is brushed aside, and "having nothing better to do " than imposing her company on our hero´s hen party
doesn´t exactly highlight her star role and importance for the course of events.
And how about a tiny ball-lightning for the steadfast Sir Slaughter and Revenge with the mythical Foregast ? C´mon, a piece of cake for you ! :)
All in all: originality, once again, highlights a scenario ! Can't wait to play the next part of this campaign ...

S20 (Aethen Wood)
... but this one was a tough nut, a brain-teaser that required more forward-looking planning than a chess match.
It took me seven reruns to crack it,believe it or not. While I was still without a solution,Tolivia and Anuviel got battered to death, Alfir drowned,
Beren found himself stuck in the living horror (slip of memory ... being out of the enemies´range reduces him to normal behavior :? ),
rescuers were busy building a bridge or clearing shroud at the far end of the wood (always anxious to step into growing mushrooms).
As if this wasn't enough, I knew something was still missing in this hurdle ...
Only good thing: This episode - like some others - has no background music, but I can´t complain:
the "Defeated"-screen with music entertained me practically all the time.
In the long run everything works perfectly ... as soon as one figures out the sneaky scheme here. So much for that,
no further details from my side ... I wonder how fellow player YDCL made it without a hint ... niark, niark, niark !
BRILLIANT feat, pyrophorus !!!
pauline
Posts: 85
Joined: August 20th, 2011, 2:27 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pauline »

“... at least one thing unusual and different in objectives, terrains and events in every scenario, hopefully new and exciting.”
Let´s see what´s going on here: 21 (Taking Soradoc)

terrain
In S16 (Perilous crossing) Garard´s army had crossed the river Weyden to approach this fortress on the weakest side.
First glance at the map: Soradoc is on the wrong bank of the stream.
It surely isn´t a stretch of water hurled in from a parallel world, none of the locals wonders: "Darn it, a washout! What´s this creek doing here?"
Eureka ! A flaw in Wesnoth´s ordnance map ! An impassable river course in the west of this fort providing eminent defensibility has to be indicated !
Fact is: It complicates the quest. And that bridge facilitates a sortie of the Wesnoth soldiers ... The east side seems a much more favorable point
for an assault on Soradoc. But, who am I to advise the future king or question the commander-in-chief ...

objectives
Next whimsicality: Orcs forming an alliance with humans … no ordinary Wesnoth style, secret wish of any player fighting this savage pack.
The Janishaders probably fooled them as they screwed the Sambrands. My guess: in the next scenario they´ll team up with the Noelrens ... :whistle:

events
In turn 4 my army was already completely outnumbered ... very exciting indeed, an unusual event for RtN.
Meh. I have full confidence in our hero (who conveniently had coped with an enormous distance and arrived just in time),
AND in the engineers, of course ! Some bridges and boats, the river crossing will be a cakewalk, the foes have to split up ...

Even more astonishing was the discovery that my highly trained workers had suffered some kind of amnesia, a mental black out !
Turn 6 triggered what entirely revealed a malicious plan:
Akh Mahal – usually with a bunch of divers and flyers at his disposal – recruits the most unexpected unit of all. I was thunderstruck.
Kind of far-fetched to interpret this setup as an endeavor to cheer up the player or as an effort to “balance” the game, isn´t it ?
No matter how one looks at it: The author became a Jani follower ! :shock:
What kind of carrot made you snap at the bait, pyrophorus ?
How could you sell this sophisticated and complicated technology secretly to the enemy ?
Right: All is fair in times of war. Hence – above all concerned about the consistence of the rest of this story – I´d like to point out :
To forestall any further espionage and the passing on of confidential data, all workers/peasants were immediately dismissed
and removed to the Toredril-Pass: fresh meat for my tamed wolves. :mrgreen:

Now, in order to initiate the appropriate measures to deal with this treachery and conspiracy with Noelren´s adversaries,
Patti asked her sister to perform the transformation of Garard´s entire army into rats or crows so they could cross the deep water.
Sweet dreams ! THIS trick doesn´t work anymore either ...
Next tactical move: Lestiviel and Patti took care of the bridge builders. Boo ! Your plan didn´t work, master. ;)

OK, mine neither. The bottleneck at the bridge turned into a chaos, moreover with the fat Sambrands squeezing in ...
No one could breath anymore, let alone move, the foes filed up to a nerve-racking sixfold defense ring and I was at my wits end.
A choice must be made !
Hold the bridge and watch the eager, tenacious dwarfs for the next 50 turns, OR
work around this dilemma, getting it exactly as the author wanted. :? Teeth-gnashingly, I let the Jani-workers do their job,
only to realize that the enemy is not only privileged with inexhaustible resources of know-how and men, but also very resistant.
Mid-scenario saving was more tempting than ever ...
Yet, the unique fun to watch a rabbit killing a wolf-rider boomed my spirits quickly up again :D

Ultimately – after several replays – everything went well, and pyrophorus is as good as his word:
an eventful scenario that requires different thinking, 130 kills (not counting the engineers), 42 villages incorporated in Garard´s future kingdom,
my rebels milked a lot of XP, and Akh Mahal being beaten without an opportunity for his provoking “Don't think you can … bla-bla-bla” :
The super-girls dealt with that one !
You wonder why there´s no complaint about the missing allies from the Gryphon Mountains ? That´s why:
Spoiler:
S 22 (Nerins swamps)
Unbelievable: Jani´s servile MoL is back ! His old self again, no new rabbit-ally ... :augh:
And the terrain has perfect conditions for bridge-building ...
Luckily it turns out: His workers took the secret to their grave and due to my precaution this revolutionary technique is lost.
Framed again !!! The anti-spy-strategy has been cutely anticipated: Everyone´s a "swampling" now. No need for bridges. Very funny.

At this level of the campaign that promise of unusual events in every scenario is getting kind of scary ...
My imagination of possible happenings and threatening is running try, I´m becoming reluctant to even move my units,
risking that this trigger-happy developer catches my heroes off guard …
Plop – Klonkk ... here we go ... the witch is trapped !
"Open, Sesame !" doesn´t work, she has to pay for her blasphemies.
Only Beren the Invincible – obviously some half-brother of Tiomen the Unbeatable – is in the position to keep the situation under control now ...

Hold on ! What´s that ? Bad conscience and some night- and daymares made him sweat, pyrophorus changed sides again !
The Lizards are real believers, ready to become rather martyrs than torturers !
The frogs are lavish with units like there's no tomorrow, the mannish Nerins Lady can really dish it out,
Olympic swimmer Tolivia (acc. "Deep Throat") sets a new front crawl-record and throws the fish in,
the mini-map is covered with confetti ...
OK, such grandiose tumult and fantastic monumental battle deserve pardoning. :D

Yeah, I pity Beren a bite for the withhold of full satisfaction regarding his rival in love affairs in favor of Ecken´s hour of glory …
Who would have ever imagined a Highwayman had such readiness of speech, understanding and ability
to look deeper into political, philosophical, ideological and ethical concepts ? Truly an extraordinary event in Wesnoth´s history.
Cleogan – confronted with such a stunning intellect – suffers a fatal seizure.
A good thing. Actually, I didn´t see a tree in the proximity to hang him ...

Equally surprising: The grand finale of this scenario and Othra´s adorable and glamorous witchcraft !
Without a slightest shadow of a doubt about the writer´s gentleness and feeling for good story telling,
A steadfast, unshakable fan
:mrgreen:
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pyrophorus
Posts: 533
Joined: December 1st, 2010, 12:54 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pyrophorus »

pauline wrote: events
In turn 4 my army was already completely outnumbered ... very exciting indeed, an unusual event for RtN.
Meh. I have full confidence in our hero (who conveniently had coped with an enormous distance and arrived just in time),
AND in the engineers, of course ! Some bridges and boats, the river crossing will be a cakewalk, the foes have to split up ...

Even more astonishing was the discovery that my highly trained workers had suffered some kind of amnesia, a mental black out !
Turn 6 triggered what entirely revealed a malicious plan:
Akh Mahal – usually with a bunch of divers and flyers at his disposal – recruits the most unexpected unit of all. I was thunderstruck.
Kind of far-fetched to interpret this setup as an endeavor to cheer up the player or as an effort to “balance” the game, isn´t it ?
No matter how one looks at it: The author became a Jani follower ! :shock:
What kind of carrot made you snap at the bait, pyrophorus ?
How could you sell this sophisticated and complicated technology secretly to the enemy ?
Difficult to understand what you're talking about here !
Actually, it's bridge building. In this scenario, workers on Janishad side try to build a bridge to turn around the castle bottleneck (too easy to hold against a great army as someone told me).
pauline wrote: Ultimately – after several replays – everything went well, and pyrophorus is as good as his word:
an eventful scenario that requires different thinking, 130 kills (not counting the engineers), 42 villages incorporated in Garard´s future kingdom,
my rebels milked a lot of XP, and Akh Mahal being beaten without an opportunity for his provoking “Don't think you can … bla-bla-bla” :
The super-girls dealt with that one !
You wonder why there´s no complaint about the missing allies from the Gryphon Mountains ? That´s why:
Spoiler:
S 22 (Nerins swamps)
Unbelievable: Jani´s servile MoL is back ! His old self again, no new rabbit-ally ... :augh:
Oh boy ! Akh Mahal last stand against Akh Mahal rabbit ! How could we miss this epic battle ! I have to replay this !
pauline wrote: Yeah, I pity Beren a bite for the withhold of full satisfaction regarding his rival in love affairs in favor of Ecken´s hour of glory …
Who would have ever imagined a Highwayman had such readiness of speech, understanding and ability
to look deeper into political, philosophical, ideological and ethical concepts ? Truly an extraordinary event in Wesnoth´s history.
You said yourself earlier it was unbelievable Ecken could join the party, being an awful scoundrel. This proves he is more some kind of Robin Hood after all.
pauline wrote: Equally surprising: The grand finale of this scenario and Othra´s adorable and glamorous witchcraft !
"There's always a lot of magics"... It's my motto...

Thanks for playing the campaign and reporting this.
Can't wait your feedback on last two battles !

Friendly,
pauline
Posts: 85
Joined: August 20th, 2011, 2:27 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pauline »

I like that ! :mrgreen:
Neither intention, nor regret on my part ... I´d call it "poetic justice", no more than fitting:
pyrophorus pondering over the point of my comments … as much as I muse about his mysterious story. :lol:
  1. We are referring to the very same thing: the new high-speed bridge building technique
    And the question remains: WHO schooled the workers on the Janishad side ? A traitor, of course.
    One of Garard´s workers ? Impossible. They were all well-treated, well-fed, well-paid and well-married.
    And when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth …
  2. Excellent guess, pyro ! Wrong … but excellent ! Akh Mahal-rabbit IS the original baddy … after a preferential treatment by skilled girls.
  3. Ecken, avenger of the dispossessed, widows and orphans ... or a man in tights. A good point that we shan't forget.
  4. Now please, it´s not for the creator to express gratitude ! Thanks for a campaign with a lot of magics !
  5. Can't wait your answer to the problem of getting rid of this "Don´t think you can ..."-Jani-leader … irreversibly, once and for all , permanently.
Friendly :mrgreen:
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pyrophorus
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Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pyrophorus »

pauline wrote:
1-We are referring to the very same thing: the new high-speed bridge building technique
And the question remains: WHO schooled the workers on the Janishad side ? A traitor, of course.
One of Garard´s workers ? Impossible. They were all well-treated, well-fed, well-paid and well-married.
And when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth …
Of course it's me ! And you can't imagine the hard time I had to teach them how to build this damned bridge. First of all, convince the Janishaders' leader to recruit some workers (he wouldn't, preferring some uglier guys) and replace them if killed or converted to rabbits (by the winged dream team I unconsciously created early). Next to tell them where to go, where to build, and even where to stop building (if not, they would keep working to the map boundary), all things a normal player would find by her(him)self. But I must admit side 1 should be able to create bridges too.
pauline wrote: 5-Can't wait your answer to the problem of getting rid of this "Don´t think you can ..."-Jani-leader … irreversibly, once and for all , permanently.[/list]
Friendly :mrgreen:
In next two scenarios, you'll get the reply to all these burning questions. Yes ! With your help and by your own hand, all baddies will get the full reward of their ugly crimes :twisted:
You already saw the hanging of the coward traitor Cleogan, and it is only the beginning of the final rush to full victory ! :mrgreen:

And of course, all our nice and courageous heroes will reach the glorious and happy end of their quests ! With the only exception of Jani who shall remain hidden in the maze of parallels worlds, ready to pop up in a sequel maybe to come one day. :roll:

Friendly,
pauline
Posts: 85
Joined: August 20th, 2011, 2:27 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pauline »

Of course it's me !
Step forth, there's a fine tree ahead !
side 1 should be able to create bridges
Finding the missing allies from Gryphon Mountains and Gryphon Jack would do !
Cage bird Glynion could dig a Channel Tunnel
...
You already saw the hanging of the coward traitor Cleogan
No. He passed out or something like that.
You still have to invent a display of the act of hanging !
in a sequel maybe to come one day
YESSSSSSSSSSS ! :D
pauline
Posts: 85
Joined: August 20th, 2011, 2:27 pm

Re: Return to Noelren 0.7.6

Post by pauline »

S23 (Battle for Weldyn)
Recently, experts discussed "max-level"-units on the forums.
Of course, RtN opens up completely new dimensions in terms of quality and performance, but 2 statements prove to be true:
[Things being different is part of what makes things interesting.] … although:
[It's fallacy to tell that a few extremely versatile high-powered units can solve all problems.]
Once more I had to realize: A full hand of "invincibles" is no guarantee for victory
(even less, when they have to shield much weaker brothers and sisters in arms).

Weldyn is geared up for the next episode of "Star Wars" taking place in Wesnoth,
and so far I couldn´t find a satisfactory solution to beat the dark powers.
Black holes on the move, the conjurers dealing arcane strikes in complete darkness.
The visible effects of their invisible clashes are great to watch,
but am I supposed to loos half of Garard´s elite army ?
Impossible. My future king is still a L0-Landlord with a pitchfork and jaw-dropping 18 HP :roll: and depends on his men.
Actually, throne pretender Dineann appears to be the better choice ...
Should I sell the souls of the highly volatile "Hurray"-team to the Undead ?
Shall I have our berserker single-handedly take care of 50 foes storming out of their keep ?
Possible ... ain't no party like an axe party ! ... but not a very ingenious strategy.
And the Sambrands ? The most useful output of Jani´s infamous actions ?
They take soooo long to get to the cauldrons of the battle ...
Some external advice how to best cope with this situation would be interesting, but not from the author:
Pyro with his [very bad player skills ] never accomplished this mission without cheating, that's certain.
To crown my frustration: Akh Solen did it again, and again, and again … YKWIM. :doh:

Now, the astonishing occurrences in the "Hidden crypt"
can be very well described as: the tyranny of structurelessness !
See an axis of evil and terror, the consequences of a leaderless community, how quickly a rebellion forms !
And learn to never underestimate the power of the "mob" ! Hurray !

Still, dramaturgically, it remains to be seen how the "myth of the cave", is put in the right light,
receives a more suitable and convincing setting, a vibrant and enchanting makeup:
After all, these incidents have a significant impact on the future of Wesnoth,
when all is properly said and done they´ll find their place in the chronicles of the capital Weldyn !
I´m quite optimistic: :D Pyrophorus is maybe not a top player, but certainly a top storyteller !

Getting ready for the home straight to Noelren
pauline
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