Scenario: Against The Frontier (1.6)

[Yojimbo252]

Hi,

I'm fairly new to the BfW community but after several plays I thought I'd dive straight into creating my own scenario the purpose of which is two fold:

1) Allow me to explore the various facets of UMC in BfW; and
2) Pilot the concept of a Goblin based campaign.

The latter I need your assistance on please by simply trying out the scenario itself and providing your thoughts on whether you think a campaign based around the Goblin race might be enjoyable. If I receive enough positive feedback then I'll certainly consider taking it on.

The scenario is complete and is available on the server.

Lastly I'd like to thank Inferno8 (creator of the Era of Magic) for allowing me to incorporate his Goblin images into the scenario.

Hope you enjoy.

[Anonymissimus]

Congrats for figuring out how to make a campaign by yourself!

-The music doesn't play.
-The map is too large for 2 teams for my taste. (Making maps too large is a general mistake.)

I like the idea of a goblin campaign (They don't have one yet!). But due to the limited types of units in this faction (especially leveled up ones) making it is probably hard. Maybe make it short (since there isn't much to level unless new unit sprites are made), ~5 scenarios, and with few standard battles. And make the leader a wolf rider, since he should be able to become level 3....

[ydcl]

Hi, nice scenario ! But I want, to notice something. There is not, leveled up, for the archer. Is that normal ?

[Yojimbo252]

-The music doesn't play.

Thanks for spotting that. I usually don't play with the music on so overlooked it during testing. I'll get that resolved for the next version.

-The map is too large for 2 teams for my taste. (Making maps too large is a general mistake.)

You're right, it was difficult to know exactly where to pitch this particular scenario. The campaign I have in mind would generally be made up of smaller maps than this and this particular one would probably represent one of the later 'Big Battle' scenarios with more than 2 teams.

But for the purposes of the pilot and providing a feel for what a Goblin based army might be like I wanted to keep it simple with just the 2 teams (Goblins vs Humans) but oversize the map slightly along with the generous turn length to allow the player to get their teeth into the battle seeing as it was only 1 scenario.

Having said all that point taken and I will bare this in mind for a campaign.

I like the idea of a goblin campaign (They don't have one yet!). But due to the limited types of units in this faction (especially leveled up ones) making it is probably hard.

True, the toughest challenge imo is tackling the recall cost. At 20 it's far too high for Goblin units and I'll need to find a way to tune this down for specific unit types. If I can't then it's unlikely Goblin units will be recalled which on the one hand would be a shame because continuity on those units would be lacking but on the other hand it lessens the need to have fully fledged lines for those unit types.

I don't see it as a deal breaker if I can't achieve what I want but it would consign the Goblin Spear/Archer unit types to a cheap fodder high turnover role. As a backup plan I do have an idea for one Goblin type which could be beefed up to make it cost effective at 20 recall cost but I'll explore lessening the standard cost first.

Maybe make it short (since there isn't much to level unless new unit sprites are made), ~5 scenarios, and with few standard battles. And make the leader a wolf rider, since he should be able to become level 3....

Agreed, I have a full line in mind for the Goblin Leader which would allow him to level throughout the campaign. But for the purposes of this single scenario your suggestion makes sense so I'll change it for the next version.

Many thanks for the feedback.

What I'd also be interested to know from experienced campaign creators like yourself is how I did as far as the storyline elements are concerned. Were the images and dialogue ok? Did it convey the message sufficiently? Is there anything I need to work on?

Hi, nice scenario ! But I want, to notice something. There is not, leveled up, for the archer. Is that normal ?

Thanks and no it's not normal but due to time constraints I just developed the one level for the archer line just to give a feel for the unit. If I go ahead with the campaign then I'll certainly add at least a level 2 and possibily a 3rd depending on whether I can resolve the recall cost issue as mentioned above.

Out of interest what difficulty level did you play and how challenging was it?

[ydcl]

I test it in "normal" difficulty.

[Yojimbo252]

I test it in "normal" difficulty.

and was it ok for normal, too easy, too hard?

[ydcl]

it is ok

[Yojimbo252]

Ok I've uploaded version 0.2. Changes as follows based on feedback so far:

- Fixed music
- Adjusted Goblin Leader to be the equivalent of a Goblin Knight (level 2) and allowed progression to the equivalent of a Direwolf Rider (level 3)
- Added a Veteran Archer unit (level 2)

[ydcl]

I'm going to wait 1.8, to test it again.

[Yojimbo252]

Well out of 179 downloads I've only received feedback from 2 players. Not sure if that's much of a positive sign in terms of demand for a Goblin based campaign.

Is there anything else I can do to foster more feedback or do I take the no news as bad news?

[Turuk]

Well out of 179 downloads I've only received feedback from 2 players. Not sure if that's much of a positive sign in terms of demand for a Goblin based campaign.

Is there anything else I can do to foster more feedback or do I take the no news as bad news?

Give people time, a number of people who download it probably do not even use the forums. As with all things, just have some patience, and keep working on your campaign. You do not have much of it complete, and you will find that the more you finish, the more people will have to say about it.

[Yojimbo252]

Well out of 179 downloads I've only received feedback from 2 players. Not sure if that's much of a positive sign in terms of demand for a Goblin based campaign.

Is there anything else I can do to foster more feedback or do I take the no news as bad news?

Give people time, a number of people who download it probably do not even use the forums. As with all things, just have some patience, and keep working on your campaign. You do not have much of it complete, and you will find that the more you finish, the more people will have to say about it.

Thanks for the quick response.

I didn't actually plan to progress any further on developing a campaign unless there was sufficient interest based on the scenario which was created effectively just to pilot the concept.

In other words I didn't want to spend my time on a campaign that no one would be interested in or if people felt my initial offering as a designer was pretty poor and I ought to just stick to playing.

[Turuk]

Well, I will give it a go tonight to give you a bit more advice, but if your attitude is such that unless people clamor for your work you will not do it... Then you will be sorely disappointed. One scenario is not enough to let people gain a true impression of a campaign's direction, and so they are not going to have much to say until you give them a bit more to go on.

[Yojimbo252]

...but if your attitude is such that unless people clamor for your work you will not do it... Then you will be sorely disappointed.

I hope I didn't come across that way as that certainly wasn't my intention. As I'm relatively new to BfW and the community I just needed some initial feedback on what I was proposing.

Up until Anonymissimus' post I wasn't entirely sure whether the Goblins had been attempted previously and/or perhaps died a horrible death for whatever reason like the relatively high recall cost for Goblin types, etc.

I've developed maps and mods for other games so appreciate that direct appreciation shown will always be relatively small compared with the number of people that download. Ultimately I'm not in this for the recognition, I just want to make sure my efforts are towards something worthwhile that the community might enjoy and hence I'm adding value to it.

One scenario is not enough to let people gain a true impression of a campaign's direction, and so they are not going to have much to say until you give them a bit more to go on.

I accept that with the general public yes it's going to be a bit chicken and egg but I will certainly appreciate any feedback experienced gamers/developers like yourself can throw my way.

[Yojimbo252]

I've just uploaded version 0.3 with some slight tweaks:

- Fixed end of game victory message

- Reduced game length by 10 turns at each difficulty level to make the scenario more challenging