The Black Cross of Aleron (formerly Besieged Druids)

[Celtic_Minstrel]

Would increasing the carryover percentage also work? Just out of curiosity mainly.

[Celtic_Minstrel]

There seems to be a bug where shamans with a fireball attack sometimes don't get mage as a possible advancement option when they level up, but I'm not sure how to reproduce it. Does anyone have any information about this bug that might help me pinpoint it? Alternatively, taking a look at the code (it's the first event in units/events/initiate_levelling.cfg) and looking for obvious logic errors may also be helpful. (I've figured out that all the other events in that file aren't guaranteed to fire if a shaman with one of the relevant abilities is recalled in a scenario where no initiates ever appear, which is another problem, but I don't think that can be the issue here, because in order for the first event to fire and give the additional advancement option, an initiate has to be in the scenario, since initiates are the only unit that can level to a shaman.)

It may be that the event is not firing, but it could also be an issue related to the logic in the event; I can't see anything glaringly wrong though.

(This is the same issue mentioned here.)

[Celtic_Minstrel]

The above bug is still around, but I've put version 0.4 on the add-ons server. This version marks a milestone of me finally completing my own campaign with as few cheats as possible.

Changlog:

• When you kill the nightgaunt or ghast leaders in 6•Into the Dread Marsh, Kaden Kreuz's maximum hitpoints were reduced. This is still the case, but now his current hitpoints will also be reduced if this would put them over the max.
• Add appropriate icons for the narrator messages
• Fix outlaws in 8•The Journey Home being unable to recruit duelists (due to a typo in the ID).
• Add end credits
• Fix areas for scattering undead in 5•Along the Coast (previously it was accidentally restricted to a tiny portion of the swamp)
• Significant changes to the map in 7•Descent Into the Chasm; the player's encampment is now next to the abyss, and there are more defensive terrains (dead trees, rubble, mushrooms) as well as improved access to the lich (flagstones and mushrooms, plus two-hex entry-way instead of one-hex). Also some additional useless passages thrown in for flavour.
• In 7•Descent Into the Chasm, the lich's recruitment limitations were tightened, his castle size increased, and his gold and income tweaked. Malcorn's gold/income also tweaked.
• In 9•Reclaiming the Citadel (vs Malcorn), you can still take his freezing staff like in all the other scenarios where you get a chance to kill him. I did this because there's a chance it could be used to help mop up the rest of his units. Also, his hero units now have the loyal trait.
• Fix a bug that would have prevented redundant overlays being removed from shamans in some situations (for example, if a shaman with faerie fire advances to sorceress).
• Fix the loyal mermaid potentially appearing already injured in 9•Reclaiming the Citadel (vs Malcorn).
• Fix drake death event firing for only the first drake to die if they both die in the same scenario.
• Don't add a near nature icon to a shaman with cures when they level up to a druid; just leave the curing icon. That would allow distinguishing between those who had cures from level 0 and those who started with near nature. Remember: on a druid, the cures icon means the same as the butterfly, roughly speaking.
• New map for 4•Watery Tunnels, with a bit of marsh, a lot more mushrooms, some patches of dirt, and a wider pathway.

[Kanzil]

I've just finished this campaign. It's short, but well-made, in the style of the South Guard or an Orcish Incursion. The dialogue is brief but there are few errors, and at some points it has some very nice description that really contributes to the atmosphere. My sole problem, after a first run, is that The Journey Home feels like it should have shroud on the map. BtW, do you still need some names? What about Meridiel or Adriel or Astarea or Vanadiel or Morgil or Maestar or Girethiel or Galdar or Erithiel? I can think up loads more...for the orcs, Mirrak or Vergrim or Garburz or Vrughnar.

[Celtic_Minstrel]

I've just finished this campaign.

What version of the campaign were you playing on?

My sole problem, after a first run, is that The Journey Home feels like it should have shroud on the map.

I definitely see what you mean. Probably the only real reason it doesn't is because your enemies speak at the start.

BtW, do you still need some names? What about Meridiel or Adriel or Astarea or Vanadiel or Morgil or Maestar or Girethiel or Galdar or Erithiel? I can think up loads more...for the orcs, Mirrak or Vergrim or Garburz or Vrughnar.

At the moment, the orc leaders and the loyal mermaid are the most in need of names. I'll consider you suggestions and maybe use some of them.

[Kanzil]

What version of the campaign were you playing on?

0.4

I definitely see what you mean. Probably the only real reason it doesn't is because your enemies speak at the start.

You could just use the [remove_shroud] tag, and the [place_shroud] tags.

At the moment, the orc leaders and the loyal mermaid are the most in need of names. I'll consider you suggestions and maybe use some of them.

Glad you liked them .

[Celtic_Minstrel]

You could just use the [remove_shroud] tag, and the [place_shroud] tag.

Very true; another thing I considered was unshrouding just down to the enemy keep and leaving the rest shrouded.

[Celtic_Minstrel]

After recruiting a bunch of mermaid initiates as well as perusing the defined names, I've more or less settled on Aphrophila as the name of the loyal mermaid. I'm still somewhat open to suggestions for this, though. I also used two of Kanzil's suggestions (Galdar for the elvish lord and Vrughnar for the orcish warrior/warlord).

I'd still like a new name for the orcish ruler/sovereign (currently Grag-Chak) and also one for his son (an orcish leader with a random name). A new name would also be welcome for the goblin knight in the first scenario, though I don't particularly mind the current name (Burluk). Any loyal characters are also reasonable candidates for obtaining a non-random name (except possibly for the three in the first scenario). Of these, I'd say the captain and the berserker are the main ones who could maybe use a non-random name. I mainly just want the orc leader names though. (I don't really like the name Grag-Chak.)

[Kanzil]

For the dwarves: Kazag or Bazarr or Thurdar or Thrar or Narcaitlos. For the orcs: Lugharz or Graktar or Gashak or Vathog or Vishnak or Vrugdash.

[Adamant14]

Besieged Druids / version 0.4.0 / scenario 04 Watery Tunnels

Code: Select all

		[if]
			[have_unit]
				id=malcorn
			[/have_unit]
			[then]
				[endlevel]
					result=victory
					bonus=yes
					carryover_report=yes
					carryover_percentage=30
					carryover_add=no                     ### no gold carryover?
				[/endlevel]
			[/then]
			[else]
				[endlevel]
					result=victory
					bonus=yes
					carryover_report=yes
					carryover_percentage=50
					carryover_add=yes
				[/endlevel]
			[/else]
		[/if]
	[/event]

[Celtic_Minstrel]

I'm in the process of tweaking all those things, so perhaps I'll do what you say. You should get less gold if you don't defeat Malcorn, though. I guess I only need to choose one mechanism with which to do that though: reduce carryover percentage OR set carryover_add=no OR set bonus=no. (Actually, in this case bonus=no may be the most appropriate? With carryover_add=yes as well.)

EDIT: Okay, berserker is Thrar, sovereign is Graktar, and his son is Gashak.

[Celtic_Minstrel]

Version 1.0 is on the add-ons server. The reason for the major version increment is the addition of difficulties, though I don't think they're really balanced yet.

Changelog:

Miscellaneous changes

• Impemented difficulty levels easy/normal/hard; see below for some details
• Recurring AI sides no longer get any carryover gold or show up in the carryover summary at the end of scenarios
• Remove the grass background from the campaign list icon (unfortunately I can't do this for the addon server icon); this was done so that the laurel would be visible
• Gold, income, and turn limits for player and enemy in most scenarios is now difficulty-dependent. There are exceptions, but I'm not going to list them all. Main one is that turn limit is not difficulty-dependent in Along the Coast.
• In many cases the limits on how many units of specific types the AI is allowed to recruit are dependent on difficulty. Some are still fixed, usually the lower-level ones.
• Change the potion mechanics. They now have a limited number of uses (currently about 100 uses each) and each use affects only one unit. Hasting also give half as many moves as before, and displays correctly in the sidebar. The menu item shows the number of uses remaining.
• Disallow merfolk recruits at the end of scenario 6.
• Carryover mechanics tweaked in some scenarios
• To recruit Ariandela, the unit who obtained the ring must step on her village. It can be identified by an overlay for this scenario only.
• The "give gold" option for Ariandela is improved, and since it's intended as a hint, there's now an alternate hint option if you don't have enough gold.
• Ariandela always appears in the same location on subsequent visits to her house, unless that location is occupied for some reason.
• Elvish encampment in Orcs in the Port moved to the edge of the hills
• Better dialogue handling for the revelation of the cave after killing the leader, for the unlikely event where you have no dwarves or ranger lines and have lost (or not recalled) your scout
• If you kill the orc leader in Orcs in the Port but elect to stay and search for Ariandela, you can change your mind by moving any unit onto the newly revealed cave entrance.
• Several unit names were changed, and a few who previously had random names no longer do.
• Add a shipwreck with some gold way up in the northeast of Orcs in the Port
• Drakes now live in a drake village (previously it was a swamp village, I think)
• Ruined keep at the south end of the swamp for recruiting/recalling later in the scenario without needing to hold your leader way back
• Giant frogs (step on a nest) and mosquitoes (every dusk) as an extra nuisance in Into the Dread Marsh; the former can be triggered by the AI
• Tried to increase the chance of the orc leader leaving his keep on a mission to assassinate the necromancer; untested.
• Fix the ogre's dialogue in The Journey Home and add an extra line (and going berserk) if you kill the young ogre first.
• Gryphon nest in The Journey Home (step on it to incur the mother's wrath)
• Bats and mosquitoes spawn at dusk in The Journey Home
• Extra dialogue line in the last scenario, and spearmen popping out of tent villages

Changes that affect only easy difficulty

• Goblin knight in the first scenario recruits impalers instead of spearmen, but less of them since he has the same amount of gold; this is for better experience gains
• Leader starts already at level 3

Changes that affect only normal difficulty

• Less recruitable fighters
• Less potential bonus initiates
• More bats at the start of Dank Tunnels
• Three loyal level 1 mudcrawlers instead of two
• Two loyal guards in the castle hexes in Orcs in the Port
• Ghast and nightgaunt leaders in Into the Dread Marsh are less weakened, and killing them doesn't weaken the necromancer as much

Changes that affect only hard difficulty

• First scenario has two loyal impalers in the initial conflict
• Erendor starts at level 1 but halfway to levelling; he cannot become a marksman
• Cannot recruit archers or fighters
• Less potential bonus initiates
• More bats at the start of Dank Tunnels
• Two spiders instead of one in Dank Tunnels
• All loyal mudcrawlers are level 1
• Four loyal guards in the castle hexes in Orcs in the Port
• Ghast and nightgaunt leaders in Into the Dread Marsh are less weakened, and killing them doesn't weaken the necromancer as much

There are a few other difficulty-related changes that have been omitted.

There's one known bug in the last scenario if Malcorn is there: there are four hexes of desert castle. On hard these should be human castle, while otherwise they should not be changed relative to the original citadel (so, the great trees should still be there). I haven't been able to figure out why it doesn't work. (The less major part of this bug is that there aren't additional tent villages on the hard difficulty.)

[TheScribe]

Considering the large amount of changes, I'm gonna start over for helping on balancing.

Congrats on the new version!

[Kanzil]

Goblin knight in the first scenario recruits impalers instead of spearmen, but less of them since he has the same amount of gold; this is for better experience gains
Leader starts already at level 3

I know it's easy difficulty, but this really does make it ridiculously easy.

[Celtic_Minstrel]

I know it's easy difficulty, but this really does make it ridiculously easy.

Both of those or just one? The leader one I was sort of on the fence about, so I may still revert that.