Dusk of Dawn - Campaign

[GreenScarab]

STORY

Deep underground in the Heart Mountains, a new tribe of trolls is born. Help the trolls grow and fulfill Ougl Firstborn biggest dream.


These are the notes collected from the Book of Crelanu, also known as the Book of Omniscience.

___

WHAT IS IN THIS BAG?

- 3 BATTLE scenarios and 2 STORY only

- NOVICE DIFFICULTY level, friendly for beginners

- 5 ACHIEVEMENTS

- OUGL ! ! !

- ...and etc

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CAMPAIGN WAS FULLY TESTED
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I would also like to mention here the big help of Refumee, who tested beta version of the campaign, which helped me a lot.


...and I know I've written once before that I'm done with creating new campaigns, but I just can't stand still.

[Roge_Tebnelok]

Glad you're back with a new campaign! Here's my feedback on it.
S0 - Being Born - shouldn't second "heart" be capitalized in quotes?
S1 - First Steps - So, trolls are akin to drakes? Interesting take. Everything seems to work fine.
S2 - Dream - I managed to kill everyone before turns ran out, inclunding Ommm, had to skip turns to end the scenario, an event on his and everyone's death is needed.
S3 - Fateful Day - If Nagas protect the Rode, shouldn't enemies be able to take it, and for that matter, shouldn't it be closer to Sassa? Also, after objectives change, victory conditions don't, and when all enemy leaders were defeated, but some of their units remained, the scenario didn't end. Had to se debug to kill one guardian Rouser, who for some reason has 0 mp, as every other guardian unit, shouldn't they be able to move? Also, Saurian leader needs a way out of the cave behind his camp, otherwise he may have to run through hostile units, and Refumee needs a last breath.
S4 - A Beautiful World - shouldn't Saurian come from the west and not from the cave?
Best regards.

[GreenScarab]

First of all, thanks for the feedback

S2 - Dream - I managed to kill everyone before turns ran out, inclunding Ommm, had to skip turns to end the scenario, an event on his and everyone's death is needed.

Ha, ha. I suspected this might happen which is why I released the 1.0.1 update shortly after 1.0.0 which prevents it. Now flying units cannot reach Ammm and Ommm.

S3 - Fateful Day - If Nagas protect the Rode, shouldn't enemies be able to take it, and for that matter, shouldn't it be closer to Sassa?

I thought about it, but eventually abandoned the idea. Maybe it would make sense, but I'd rather not do it because it would only cause a serious increase in difficulty, and this is a campaign for Novice players and I wouldn't want to complicate things too much for them.

Also, after objectives change, victory conditions don't, and when all enemy leaders were defeated, but some of their units remained, the scenario didn't end.

Oops, my mistake. It should be: “Defeat every enemy unit” all the time in the Objective. Thanks for noticing.

guardian Rouser, who for some reason has 0 mp, as every other guardian unit, shouldn't they be able to move?

This is so that they don't jump suddenly and join the main battle and create a real obstacle in reaching the enemy leaders. I will add a note about it.

Refumee needs a last breath.

Good idea.


Version 1.0.2 has been released!

- The word heart at the beginning of S0 is capitalized.
- I added last breath event for Refumee.
- Now in the Fateful Day scenario Objective it is constantly “Defeat every enemy unit”.
- Added note in a Fateful Day scenario that enemy and ally guards units have 0 movement points.

[dwarftough]

Hi! Congratulations on a release of a new campaign! I've played it today, version 1.0.2 (seems you patched some more things as right now the addon viewer says 1.0.4 is the current version).

It was pretty simple, although it's intended for beginners so I guess it's fine.

Got 4 out of 5 achievements, dunno what the fifth one might be.

Spoiler:

Was nice how you added a fire ant I remember I once had an idea about Troll Shamans studying in the lair of a Fire Ants Queen or something like that. Overall nice combo with Fire Ant, Fire Guardian and allowing Troll Shamans

The "Dream" scenario felt kinda long and not very dynamic, 22 turns and you just easily hold your position. But in the context of a beginner campaign that may be not that simple.

Spoiler:

Also, that might be a bit pedantic, but is igniting of the brazier in this scenario intended for something or just a cool gimmick. Cause from a gameplay prospective it created a hex with illumination inside of my lair, a bit of disadvantage... but again, that might be too pedantic

Would be nice if the Magic Light schedule in the grove had its own icon in the right bar. Now it's the same image as Underground, so I can't easily determine the borders of illumination zones with just going with my mouse over the board and looking where the right bar image changes.

About the final battle: trolls berserkers and using mushroom groves, that's funny it's surprisingly difficult for a berserk troll to defeat a saurian on a good terrain, but the tactical possibility is very nice. I guess for Troll Shamans it's a bit less useful, as well as Troll Rocklobbers (but I didn't get any Rocklobber actually). But ranged berserk would be very op I think.

Spoiler:

The ending is kinda sad But btw, there is a question, Spark doesn't have to survive, if it dies, how the Saurian will get it? Or is it a hidden path maybe, to let Spark die?

[GreenScarab]

Hi dwarftough, it is great to see a message from you.

I've played it today, version 1.0.2 (seems you patched some more things as right now the addon viewer says 1.0.4 is the current version).

In 1.0.3/1.0.4 I have added three loyal enemy Woses who guard the Great Trees in A Dream scenario to stop the tactic of blocking Great Trees portals with player units. These Woses are called: Emmm the Oak, Ummm the Birch and Immm the Linden. Also, now Ammm is called Ammm the Maple.

It was pretty simple, although it's intended for beginners so I guess it's fine.

If you want a big challenge, I recommend you to play Horn of Faith. It can be really hard at times.

Got 4 out of 5 achievements, dunno what the fifth one might be.

I think I know which achievement you haven't got.

Spoiler:

There is one hidden achievement when you attack with Refumee, the Blue Blood Saurians leader. It is called Hiss Battle

Was nice how you added a fire ant I remember I once had an idea about Troll Shamans studying in the lair of a Fire Ants Queen or something like that. Overall nice combo with Fire Ant, Fire Guardian and allowing Troll Shamans

The fire is one of the big DoD themes.

Also, that might be a bit pedantic, but is igniting of the brazier in this scenario intended for something or just a cool gimmick. Cause from a gameplay prospective it created a hex with illumination inside of my lair, a bit of disadvantage... but again, that might be too pedantic

The lighting of the braziers in A Dream is just a detail that I thought would be pretty cool, as is the burning of the forest when a Fire Guardian or Fire Wraith enters the green areas.

Would be nice if the Magic Light schedule in the grove had its own icon in the right bar. Now it's the same image as Underground, so I can't easily determine the borders of illumination zones with just going with my mouse over the board and looking where the right bar image changes.

The custom icon would be nice. Unfortunately, I have no ability to make one myself.

But ranged berserk would be very op I think.

Yes, the ranged berserk would be too much of an advantage. You already have the possibility to get a Troll Warrior with berserk.

Spoiler:

The ending is kinda sad But btw, there is a question, Spark doesn't have to survive, if it dies, how the Saurian will get it? Or is it a hidden path maybe, to let Spark die?

The Spark, a Fire Guardian, is not the Ougl Inner Flame which we see during the end scene. It is a fire spawn from his Inner Flame, a similar one that you can recruit.

[dwarftough]

The custom icon would be nice. Unfortunately, I have no ability to make one myself.

I think I saw some icons in other addons but unfortunately I can't remember any. But I think you can add one of standard icons: schedule-underground-illum.png or maybe even schedule-indoors.png. This would be different from the underground one and will signify a higher level of illumination.

[GreenScarab]

I think I saw some icons in other addons but unfortunately I can't remember any. But I think you can add one of standard icons: schedule-underground-illum.png or maybe even schedule-indoors.png. This would be different from the underground one and will signify a higher level of illumination.

Thanks for the idea.

I have released the V1.0.6 with the differet scheldule icon for Mystic Light ToD area in A Dream. schedule-underground-illum

[Mechanical]

Hi! I recently went through the campaign.

First of all, I want to praise the visuals. All the cutscenes are made with love to details, they are very pleasant to watch, they create a charming atmosphere.

I really like the theme of trolls and the way you revealed their birth. I thought the action was set in ancient times, wasn't it?

The fire ant Easterling was wonderful. I also like that you allowed the player to get a Troll Shaman.

The first mission played well. The second mission came out a bit questionable from a gameplay standpoint. It's pretty easy to get defended by trolls in the cave, essentially doing nothing. Moreover, if you climb the leader into the passage from which we came, you can pass the mission by simply skipping moves, the trees will not dare to attack him.

However, I want to point out the effect of burning the forest and teleportation through large trees, these are interesting details.

I'm not sure what I can suggest as a gameplay improvement, maybe change objective to defeat one of the big trees? (But make them weaker and don't kill them when their health drops to 0, but start a cutscene).

As for mission 3, I liked the mushroom mechanics VERY much! I thought it would be great to have some kind of overlay over the berserk trolls. Or red halo, you can find an example in my Venomous Sands campaign, mission 2.

I'd like to know a bit more lore about the Nagas and the staff they keep in the heart of the Heart Mountains.

Also, I didn't quite understand why orcs and goblins communicate with non-words. Meaning do the trolls perceive them that way?

The finale of the campaign seemed sad to me. I thought the protagonist with no inner fire would become embittered and kill the orc and lizard. It was like he had a dream, but in achieving it, he lost what drove him. Maybe make such an ending optional (for example, if the player kept a loyal fire guardian?). Overall, this is just a suggestion, I'm not singling this out as a flaw.

I want to say thank you so much for making this campaign! It was a pleasure to spend an hour of time in your troll story. I love how you follow your style and create pithy but very atmospheric tales with wonderful visuals and detail work. Keep up the good work!

[GreenScarab]

Hi, nice to see a comment from you Mechanical.

First of all, I want to praise the visuals. All the cutscenes are made with love to details, they are very pleasant to watch, they create a charming atmosphere.

Thank you! I have tried my very best.

I really like the theme of trolls and the way you revealed their birth. I thought the action was set in ancient times, wasn't it?

The campaign takes place from 16 to 17 YW, which is pretty early in the timeline.

I wanted to show the process of how trolls are born, what their life force is, how they grow, show that they are not beasts but beings that move in the realm of emotions, able to read them without speaking, and why some of them act as if they are angry / lost.

The fire ant Easterling was wonderful. I also like that you allowed the player to get a Troll Shaman.

Yeah! I really love the Fire Ant and the Troll Shaman units. Especially since they fit very well with the campaign and its big fire theme.

The first mission played well. The second mission came out a bit questionable from a gameplay standpoint. It's pretty easy to get defended by trolls in the cave, essentially doing nothing. Moreover, if you climb the leader into the passage from which we came, you can pass the mission by simply skipping moves, the trees will not dare to attack him.

I understand. I will try to think about it, how to make it more interesting in terms of gameplay. It might take me some time to come up with something, though.

As for mission 3, I liked the mushroom mechanics VERY much! I thought it would be great to have some kind of overlay over the berserk trolls. Or red halo, you can find an example in my Venomous Sands campaign, mission 2.

I'm glad that the Mushroom Groves mechanic received such a warm welcome. Some type of the overlay over the trolls with berserk? It feels like a nice detail to add.

I'd like to know a bit more lore about the Nagas and the staff they keep in the heart of the Heart Mountains.

The Rod that the nagas are guarding is a reference to The Rod of Justice, which appears in the Northern Rebirth. Adding a little more detail about it? Sounds great, I'll think about the possibilities to expand on that.

Also, I didn't quite understand why orcs and goblins communicate with non-words. Meaning do the trolls perceive them that way?

The story is presented from the troll's point of view. The Wose shaman, Ommm the Oldest, helped Ougl by casting a certain charm on him that allowed Ougl to understand other creatures, even though he could not speak himself. That's why in the Fateful Day scenario, Ougl understands what other creatures are saying. The sounds made by the orcs are how the trolls perceive the way the orcs speak, a grunty and rough.

The finale of the campaign seemed sad to me. I thought the protagonist with no inner fire would become embittered and kill the orc and lizard. It was like he had a dream, but in achieving it, he lost what drove him.

I think the end of the campaign is pretty much established. Ougl was a newborn Troll leader who managed to master his Inner Flame and move on to adulthood. He had discovered his greatest dream and wanted to fulfill it, but sometimes fulfilling dreams comes at a great cost. The fulfillment of this dream came with other difficulties that he had to face, losing his soul in the process.

Ougl could not attack his oppressors because Saurian had absorbed the Inner Flame of Ougl, which meant that he possessed control of his soul and therefore of him. Previously, the trolls that Ougl fought in the scenario First Steps were savage because they were unable to control their Inner Flame, here, a different situation occurred.

Maybe make such an ending optional (for example, if the player kept a loyal fire guardian?).

Loyal Fire Guardian, the Spark, is not the Inner Flame of Ougl. It is a fire spawn created from the Ougl Inner Flame. Similar to the ones Ougl can recruit.

I want to say thank you so much for making this campaign! It was a pleasure to spend an hour of time in your troll story. I love how you follow your style and create pithy but very atmospheric tales with wonderful visuals and detail work. Keep up the good work!

Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you like the way I create the stories I tell. And it's true, I really love adding all kinds of visuals and details.

[Mechanical]

The staff looked familiar! Now I realized where I had seen it before. Yeah, a little more lore on this topic would be great.

As for the trolls point of view - I thought so, that's an interesting method! I used a similar one in my Lifetime of Stones campaign, you might remember that all the key events related to the Sultan go in the background, because from the trolls point of view it really happens somewhere in the background and isn't very important.

Really, your campaign exposes the trolls from a different angle. I showed the life of an already formed tribe, while you touched on how tribes come into existence in the first place. It's cool and fresh, I don't recall a lot of campaigns touching on such topics.

After your explanation, I've come to the conclusion that the ending is good as is. Overall, I got it right, I just missed some detail (the nature of the loyal fire spirit).

[GreenScarab]

Another big clue to fully understand the meaning of the story in Dusk of Dawn is the title itself. "Dawn" means the birth of the trolls in scenario one and "Dusk" the end of their story, when the Ougl we know disappears.

[GreenScarab]

SECRET ROOM UPDATE ! ! !

Dusk of Dawn V2.0.0


I am happy to release the milestone version of DoD.

• New bonus scenario: Secret.
(The scenario can be played after the First Steps scenario.)
• Possibility to get an alternative campaign ending connected to the new scenario.

Have fun and thank you for playing

[Konrad2]

S1
easily to manipulate -> easily manipulated / easy to manipulate

The potion -> A potion
uknown -> unknown
have learned -> has learned

I think it would make more sense/be interesting if Trolls could advance to Shaman only after S1. Since they hadn't yet learned to control their inner flame.

S2
Saurian did not -> The Saurian did not

S4
done the same becaming -> did the same becoming

Achievments
Advance the Fire -> Advance a Fire

[GreenScarab]

DUSK OF DAWN - MAINLINE CANDIDATE


I am pleased to announce Dusk of Dawn as a new Mainline candidate.

The new version of the campaign, which was released on the Wesnoth 1.18 add-on server, includes various changes and improvements thanks to the help of Wesnoth Mainline Lead Dalas.

[Konrad2]

Sad ending. :C

Playing now on the harder difficulty.

S1
in the Irdya -> in all of Irdya / on Irdya

There might be a misunderstanding. 'Irdya' is the world. Wesnoth, the Green Isle, Morogor, 'the Continent in the West', they are all part of Irdya. Wesnoth, and the Heart Mountains, lie on 'the Great Continent'. Which is why:
16 years after, we, humans came to the land of Irdya -> 16 years after we, humans, came to the Great Continent

saddnes -> sadness
by Ougl roar -> by Ougls roar

A bit more difficult. I can still win easily, but not as quickly as previously because the enemies income is enough to slow me down when breaking through.

Bonus scenario
The amulet -> This amulet

A Dream
It's quite possible to lock the Woses away for a while. They sort of get stuck when you block the surroundings of a great tree. Instead of teleporting to another great tree, they just wait in their base.

It would be nice if the loyal Flame Guardian 'Spark' would be renamed to 'Flame' when leveling up, to reference the campaign difficulties.

I think it would make more sense if the getting the tree branch item was the achievement for this scenario. It's near impossible to not get Refumee, and that doesn't make it a good achievement in my opinion.

(And it might be cool if the ending dialogue depended on whether or not you burned any trees. Being told to replace the burnt trees even though you didn't burn any is weird.)

not so thick -> not as thick
at fire spawn -> at the Fire Guardian
Awakened Wose -> The awakened Wose
but Wose advised -> but the Wose advised
wose shaman -> the Wose Shaman
Ftr, it might make more sense to be consistent whether you refer to Ommm as a Wose or as a Wose Shaman in that dialogue.

It's still a very easy scenario.

Fateful Day
Another enemies -> Another enemy / More enemies
Naga looked again at trolls -> The Naga looked again at the trolls
are fool -> are a fool
How can we repay for it to you -> How can we repay you for it
how Naga could -> how the Naga could
guards units -> guard units

Sill very doable. Spending all my gold I finished under 20 turns.