Scenario Review: (UTBS) 9. Blood is Thicker than Water

[UnwiseOwl]

1) Version? 1.13.7, Challenging (new elves)

2) Adequately difficult? Yes, I think so. Probably a shade easier than the surrounding levels in terms of enemies, but the timing of the first half means you can't really make it harder without extending the time to save the mermen.

3) Reloads? On the first attempt I couldn't save the enchantress.

4) Dialog? Who the heck is Tanstafaal, again? Maybe the player should be reminded. I for one have no idea.
When Eloh's rebels rejoin you, it would be nice if their villages became yours too.
When you kill all enemies, that probably ought to end the level as well.
The merpeople talking about their master when Melusand appears to be female is a bit odd. Either they should talk about a mistress or Melusand should be a male.

5) Fun? It might a little nicer if to fords out to Eloh's island were a little shorter, as it's a long and boring process to get all your troops over there just to get them back again. Apart from that, this is a nice little tactical battle.

[Thrash]

1) What version and difficulty level did you play the scenario on? Please do not submit feedback from pre 1.4.

1.12.6, Challenging (medium)

2) Do you think the difficulty is adequate to the level? If not describe the issue that made the scenario to easy/hard.

The challenging aspects were saving the Enchantress in the first phase and then the heavy-hitting necromancers in the third phase. Otherwise not too hard.

3) Was there any event that caused you to almost instantly loose, or made the scenario unplayable without reload?

No.

4) Do you like the storyline and the dialogues? If not what part/character lags behind or what would you like changed?

Good.

5) Do you think the scenario was fun? Please write down some thoughts about gameplay, mood etc.

Another scenario with a number of nice twists. Good in general, I few things I noticed:

In the first phase, if you kill all the leaders before turn 16 and before you save all the mermen, nothing happens which is odd. Just a simple "hurry, we still need to save the mermen" dialog would seem appropriate.

I don't see how saving the Enchantress is reasonable without knowledge where she is hidden. Going in there with just one merman is iffy with the two undead so you really need to have a couple to reliably save her which seems unlikely without intent (one time I played, they undead and the rng managed to kill a single merman). Even knowing, I had to replay a few times to manage it. Maybe a hint from one of the other merman when you save them?

"By turn 16" could be more clear - I interpreted as by the end of turn 16 not the beginning as that is more typical for other Wesnoth scenarios.

They elves mostly rushed south (to grab villages? kill Kaleh?) and let my main army stroll in from the west.

[LordWolfDan]

1) What version and difficulty level did you play the scenario on? Please do not submit feedback from pre 1.4.

- 1.14.5, Normal

2) Do you think the difficulty is adequate to the level? If not describe the issue that made the scenario to easy/hard.

- It's hard if you rush ahead, so step by step and by the time second day comes (Turn 16), you waste the enemy leaders and rescue all merfolk

3) Was there any event that caused you to almost instantly loose, or made the scenario unplayable without reload?

- I left Kaleh exposed to one of humans...

4) Do you like the storyline and the dialogues? If not what part/character lags behind or what would you like changed?

- The grim and darkness of the previous one continues. Meeting the Iron Council, humans worshipping the ultimate evil? I can see how many times have changed from the latest storyline. I will say that I could be the only one feeling bad for Tanstaafal. Being blind to "Eloh" made me terribly sad for his destiny.

5) Do you think the scenario was fun? Please write down some thoughts about gameplay, mood etc.

- Not as fun as the previous one, but it does suit things up

[Konrad2]

1) What version and difficulty level did you play the scenario on?

1.14.7, Champion (Nightmare)

2) Do you think the difficulty is adequate to the level?

Yes, I think so. You certainly have to get used to the 'new' terrain.

3) Was there any event that caused you to almost instantly lose, or made the scenario unplayable without reload?

No. (But I played it before, so...)

4) Do you like the storyline and the dialogues?

I like them.

5) Do you think the scenario was fun?

Yes.

[JMichael]

"She claims to be the one who has shepherded us during his journey"

I think it should be "during this journey".

[Zrevnur]

1) What version and difficulty level did you play the scenario on? Please do not submit feedback from pre 1.4.

1.14.11 Champion/Nightmare no reloading, played several times

2) Do you think the difficulty is adequate to the level? If not describe the issue that made the scenario to easy/hard.

Its too easy if knowing the scripting. Otherwise its probably still too easy to win.

3) Was there any event that caused you to almost instantly lose, or made the scenario unplayable without reload?

No but there was (and probably still) is an issue in 1.14.9: The turn "16" is actually turn 15 - similar to the tent scenario. Player moves first so enemy script should happen during enemy turn 16 and not during/after enemy turn 15 if it says 16.
Also: The hidden Enchantress is unfairly hard to find. When I first played it I didnt find her because I thought humans couldnt get through deep water so they couldnt possibly have hidden her over the water somewhere. The scenario description should also state how many Mer are there to rescue and not just the dialog.
The way the crabs get triggered only by the player but not the rebels also dont make proper sense. And crabs can land on impassable terrain I think.

4) Do you like the storyline and the dialogues? If not what part/character lags behind or what would you like changed?

Not sure.

5) Do you think the scenario was fun? Please write down some thoughts about gameplay, mood etc.

The first part (free Mer) is cool, the rest not so much.
The rebel units eating upkeep is also very uncool. You should get rewarded for not killing them and not punished.

[devavrata]

1) What version and difficulty level did you play the scenario on? Please do not submit feedback from pre 1.4.

Battle for Wesnoth 1.8.3, Easy, Battle for Wesnoth 1.10.7 Medium, Battle for Wesnoth 1.12.5 Hard

2) Do you think the difficulty is adequate to the level? If not describe the issue that made the scenario to easy/hard.

The difficulty is right, except for:

• Killing Eloh's avatar is surprisingly easy. No guards or whatever.

• Killing the necromancers and their undead is so much easy because they venture carelessly into water.

3) Was there any event that caused you to almost instantly lose, or made the scenario unplayable without reload?

It is quite easy to fail saving the fifth merfolk the first time - you expect it to be on a reachable location, but she is on one of the many islands that are beyond deep waters, where only the other merfolk can reach. You must use the available merfolk to explore early on. Then time is tight to save Kroomph as well.

4) Do you like the storyline and the dialogues? If not what part/character lags behind or what would you like changed?

There is a lot of story going on, and I think it is not bad - Kaleh following Eloh's call all through the campaign, then still questioning Eloh's orders and disobeying her on the grounds of his own principles. But there is way more dialogue than you expect on a videogame. I ended up passing most of the dialogues without reading more than the first line - sorry, but when I am in front of a computer I have not the same patience I have as when I am reading a book. Besides, the Tanstaafal sub-story has not much sense - who is this Tanstaafal anyway? When Garak unexpectedly reappeared, at least he had properly entered and left the story.

5) Do you think the scenario was fun? Please write down some thoughts about gameplay, mood etc.

On one hand, it is fun. The idea of have a big scenario with inactive parts that become active at the proper moment is nice. On the other hand, the fact that the three missions are strictly successive (plan A, B, C) makes it feel like three scenarios put together as opposed to a big, single mission - whenever possible I prefer the scenario divided into smaller scenarios so it doesn't take so much time to play it

[Konrad2]

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

1.15.18, Champion (Nightmare)

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

7, the start is difficult, but from then on you have an easier time to stay on top.

(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?

Clear.

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

Figuring out how to beat the first onslaught of humans. And how to take down Eloh and Tastafaal without going through their army.

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

9

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

-

Scenario stats:

Spoiler:

Part 1

Part 2

All

[Sandsculpture]

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

1.17.17, Warrior(difficult)

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

7/6/4 for 3 parts.
Part1:

Spoiler:

The human recruits slower with their small castle, and they have to fight in very bad terrain.

Part2:

Spoiler:

In 1.14 quenoth slyph cannot pass deep water. Now they can

Part3:

Spoiler:

Simple 1v1 defeat-the-leader battle. Again human have to fight in bad terrain

(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?

Clear.

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

be passive against the rebel elves.

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

8/6/4 for 3 parts.

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

the crab get triggered by now-loyal elvish traitor units is really strange
In part3 the battlefield is small. maybe add some ships containing human units, to attack different parts of the main island?

[fredbobsmith2]

1) What version and difficulty level did you play the scenario on? Champion (Nightmare) 1.18.4
2) Do you think the difficulty is adequate to the level? If not describe the issue that made the scenario to easy/hard. Yes, phase 1 is very difficult, and phase 2 also relatively so.
3) Was there any event that caused you to almost instantly lose, or made the scenario unplayable without reload? No
4) Do you like the storyline and the dialogues? If not what part/character lags behind or what would you like changed? Tanstafaal arc comes a little out of nowhere, and to some degree that is true of the necromancers too. The rebel elves becoming yours, and loyal, is also a little strange (might make more sense if they just join your recall list?). Finally, although it's clear it's for plot purposes, it isn't really natural the way Kaleh doesn't say what's going on to his friends.
5) Do you think the scenario was fun? Please write down some thoughts about gameplay, mood etc. Fighting the humans is a bit rough, as is fording the sea to get to the rebels, but it's alright.

I recalled 2 keeps of units for this scenario; I don't think the fronts are generally big enough to justify more upkeep. Starting from this scenario (and maybe also the previous couple...) I'd say that L1 units are only useful for advancing (and thus ought to be near-advancement to begin with preferably, or will need significant babysitting), as the density of enemy L2 units makes it very hard for L1 units to survive on the front lines. I recalled the DD, 1 near-advance shaman, 1 mystic, 1 sun singer, 2 scouts, 1 archer, 1 fighter, 1 flanker, 1 warrior, 1 tauroch rider, and 1 stalwart. In retrospect I think 1 more fighter-line unit and 1 less scout would've been better, as the archers (1 dextrous scout promoted to archer) ended up being fairly useless most of the level (there are not enough cavalry units to justify them, and they are very weak against longbows, javelineers, and pikemen. Meanwhile both warriors and flankers have more hp, neutral resistances, typically better defence, and blade attacks.
For phase 1 I formed 2 fronts, 1 along the central coast and through the small sandbar islands, and 1 westwards. The north team, including Kaleh and most of the scouts, got held up for a long time trying to grind down the javelineers and pikes without taking too much retaliation/counterattack damage, but eventually pushed through relying on piercing shot and the DD. Most of their action was situated on the sand islands, with the enemy in the shallows.
The west team with Nym, Grog, and the sun singer and sylph pushed through fairly easily but some bad turns and less favorable terrain slowed them down to be only slightly faster than the north team in the end. The final mermaid was rescued on the very last turn; I had to replay the previous turn so that it could be possible for her to be reached in time.
For phase 2, I marched into the west ford, but probably would've been better off just defending the bank. In lower difficulties I had the merfolk assist the amphibious attack, but this time I had all of them loop around to assassinate the enemy leaders. The 2 warriors took out Eloh, then Zhul and the priestess took out most of Tanstafaal's hp; I got lucky that neither died during the enemy turn, but unlucky that a stray enemy unit blocked one of the attacking tiles that my enchantress might've attacked from.
For phase 3 I just marched everyone back and into the island, no particular commentary. I farmed the enemy leader and his base income until the second last turn.
Results:
1 pathfinder
1 archer
1 champion
1 sun sylph
1 sun singer
1 vanguard
Kaleh: skirmisher
Nym: skirmisher
1 mermaid enchantress near-advancement
1 archer near-advancement