Scenario Review: THoT 3 - Strange Allies

Feedback for the mainline campaign The Hammer of Thursagan.

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Konrad2
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Joined: November 24th, 2010, 6:30 pm

Re: Scenario Review: THoT 3 - Strange Allies

Post by Konrad2 »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?

1.15.1, Challenging (Lord)

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)

5

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

Interesting and clear.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?

Not crossing the bridge too early.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

6

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

-

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?

No.
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supperman
Posts: 18
Joined: February 5th, 2020, 2:43 pm

Re: Scenario Review: THoT 3 - Strange Allies

Post by supperman »

Content Feedback wrote: March 10th, 2008, 10:27 pm (1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
Challenging 1.12.5

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
5. It took three tries until I realised that I can't just make a beeline to the outlaws, but I have to defend the ally.
In the end I won in turn 12/24.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Crystal.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Fine, though I don't understand why outlaws act like an army.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
Defending the ally's bridge at a terrain disadvantage.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
7. The outlaws are too powerful for lvl 1 orcs and they just act as fodder.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Make the orcs a bit stronger, and give the enemy higher income as a compensation.
Right now it feels like you're siding with weakest orcish tribe in the game.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
The allied leader getting killed. Losing the loyal gryphon.
JTamas
Posts: 4
Joined: July 29th, 2021, 5:41 pm

Re: Scenario Review: THoT 3 - Strange Allies

Post by JTamas »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?

Medium, 1.15.15.

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)


5.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Absolutely clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

I found it interesting that my ally was an orcish army in this scenario. Usually, good(-ish) factions/races fight evil(-ish) races, it was nice to have a little change.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?

I reloaded once, because I prematurely crossed the river (at the start of the first night). After heavy losses, I realised it is better to camp the night on the other side of the river and let the enemy come at me through the water.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

7. The river-bank defense was fun.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

I think it is good as it is.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?

Prematurely crossing the river and attacking the orc enemy at night.
KK188
Posts: 6
Joined: January 8th, 2019, 2:46 am

Re: Scenario Review: THoT 3 - Strange Allies

Post by KK188 »

Is it possible to make it so that the orc ally stays in his keep instead of jumping into the river and get killed by the enemies.
JL42
Posts: 66
Joined: December 9th, 2023, 11:19 am

Re: Scenario Review: THoT 3 - Strange Allies

Post by JL42 »

What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
v. 1.16.10
Lord / Challenging
How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
6
How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Very clear.
How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Mostly clear. It seems kind of unbelievable that they would so easily accept that Movrur constantly keeps himself shrouded – presumably he wears full clothes and mask every waking moment – and they do not yet becomes suspicious of that. In any case I very much preferred the previous version of this story where they were adventuring into the unknown to seek news of their lost kin, rather than dangling along at Movrur's request. For that matter, I also don't understand why Movrur would encourage this; seems like he should want to keep them away from Kal Kartha and would be saying, no we're fine, nothing to see here, stay home.
What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
This is similar to the first scenario in that you're dealing with poor terrain, against overwhelming enemy numbers, and you probably don't have any healing yet. It's a bit easier though because you do have a few hills and a river's edge to work with, plus allied troops that will help distract some of the enemy's units. One of the hardest parts is that the ally leader is not very bright and you have to keep the enemy units outside of his suicide range. (I had to start over twice due to this AI suicide factor, as he rushes out of his keep and gets mowed down.)
How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
4
What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
I would suggest moving the ally leader's keep a couple of tiles to the west, so that he won't constantly rush out and die when we engage the enemy along the river. Either that or just staple his feet to the ground so that he doesn't move.

---------------
About the Overall Campaign:

This campaign has deteriorated a bit since the last time I played. Which sucks, because it used to be one of the absolute best. There are still some very strong points – particularly in the last few scenarios (I'm agnostic about the changes to the final map; both versions of that one are good) – and the core strength of the writing continues to carry it. I love how the story develops the heathen culture of the dwarves and their sense of honor etc. However, it desperately needs some work, or restoration, around the middle of the campaign to resolve the confusing events, logical lapses, and frustrating gameplay that have been introduced. I really dislike the addition of the character Movrur, who is not as strong in the writing and kind of ruins the mystery and sense of exploration and adventure that drove the original campaign. In addition to having less mystery and tension, the story is now very confusing and illogical in places, and the maps around scenarios 3–5 are much less enjoyable than previous versions. This used to be one of my favorite campaigns in Wesnoth, five out of five, full marks, but I can't really say that anymore. I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars for the current version, and that is generous based on the lingering writing strength and still having a few solid maps. Would really, really love to see this campaign developed or restored a bit to bring it back to where it could be.
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