Up the River Bork

Discussion and development of scenarios and campaigns for the game.

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Mirion147
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

Hello! It's been a while, but I've been able to continue some work on this campaign!

Thanks for the feedback so far! I have made some adjustments, though I'm not done with everything just yet!

v0.2.1 has been released on the Dev version!

Changelog:
Spoiler:
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
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Mirion147
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

Just coming back to post that v 0.2.2 is now released on the Dev version.

Only made a few small changes but they are in reference to some issues that Konrad had mentioned fairly early on and I am now quite happy that I have fixed them (AFAIK).
As always I would appreciate any feedback! Plot, dialog, scenario design, difficulty, anything works.

I have 1 more thing I plan to do, but it will not be happening for a bit. It will in no way change how this campaign plays out though!

Changelog:
Spoiler:
EDIT:
I have one more thing planned, but that doesn't mean I won't work on this anymore, I just mean there's only one thing planned so far!
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
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Mirion147
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

So, anyone who played this on 1.15.12 may have noticed a slight bug in the number of units that spawn when you recruit XD. That's fixed in the now uploaded 0.2.3, along with a few other things!

I was also informed about a communication issue on Ep4, I will get around to it shortly, just need some sleep! :mrgreen:

Changelog:
Spoiler:
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
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Mirion147
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

Another update that didn't work :mrgreen: v0.2.2 is now up on the 1.14 server because there was a bug that wouldn't let you play after the first level! Sorrrry about that! But it's all fixed up now. (That was the only change so no changelog [though it is in the changelog file in the campaign for the sake of thoroughness]).
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
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Mirion147
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Joined: February 14th, 2008, 12:52 am

Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

Up the River Bork has now been uploaded to the 1.16 server! I'm sure you were all awaiting this eagerly! I haven't gone through the whole campaign, so if there are bugs I haven't found yet, please let me know!
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
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Mirion147
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Joined: February 14th, 2008, 12:52 am

Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

A few minor changes made for v0.2.5! Adjusted the bonus objective for Episode 3 and reduced the turn limit for Episode 7!

If there are any other adjustments or just any feedback you want to relay, feel free to drop them here! :)
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
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Lord-Knightmare
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Lord-Knightmare »

Okay, I have finally finished this. Took me a while since I didn't quite get time but it's time for review:

Part 1 (since this forum account rank has attachment limits which is shocking)
Scenario 1:
Okay for a first scenario.
Map could use some embellishments. Looks rather dull and unappealing.
The orcish warchief's melee attack animation after poison buff disappeared. It's bug.

Scenario 2:
This was okay. Unique way to unlock orc archers which form the staple of the northerners force.

Scenario 3:
I guess the bug of not getting whelps is fixed now. Anyways, the current value required was ridiculously low. Took my Warlord two strikes to exceed.
The section of the scenario where this orc chief meets the troll chief should be scripted in as a cutscene. Otherwise, it's quite odd that I am in on that dwarven ruined castle/keep and then suddenly I am "teleported" next to the troll chief's castle.

Scenario 4:
Something weird happened to the loyalist AI of side 2. They sort of stayed "idle" in their forts allowing me to milk them for XP.
I skipped the elves since it didn't looked quite feasible. Took out the rest and got a lot of gold.

Scenario 5:
I guess the real challenge of this scenario is when you dont have troll whelp tanks.
One weird thing is the AI params of the undead sides. All skeleton archers attacked my troll warrior in MELEE instead of the safer ranged. So, something went wrong here.
Also, why are undead every time I capped the same village? Feels buggy. Why not make it once-spawn per village instead of a lazy shortcut.
Why are the undead even here ? Seems very odd.
Map could use some embellishments.

Scenario 6:
The hunt...well...this bugged out for me but I think you may need to redo this from ground zero since a lot of things in it seem buggy.
After clearing the Water serpent phase, I have to return to the keep, but doesn't account for me already ON the keep hex. Also, it says to recall 3 warriors and only then the next stage kicks in. BUT....I have only 3 gold/turn income and hardly enough for 60 gold (3 recalls of level 1-3). This means 20 out of 28 turns are gone due to this. Thus, the final bonus isn't achievable by design, unless some gold was added in.
Map could use some embellishments.

Part 2 in next post.
Attachments
UtRB-The Hunt.gz
(11.3 KiB) Downloaded 72 times
UtRB-Them Running Dead replay 20220607-210935.gz
(36.86 KiB) Downloaded 74 times
UtRB-Battle in the Fog replay 20220607-205014.gz
(31.02 KiB) Downloaded 84 times
UtRB-Into the Dark replay 20220607-202618.gz
(42.53 KiB) Downloaded 73 times
UtRB-Eyrie Crossing replay 20220523-004819.gz
(21.2 KiB) Downloaded 87 times
UtRB-Rise of the Pup replay 20220523-002119.gz
(18.54 KiB) Downloaded 79 times
Last edited by Lord-Knightmare on June 10th, 2022, 10:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Lord-Knightmare »

Scenario Seven:
Map could use some embellishments.
The hidden trick of Rocklobbers to build bridges was nice.
This battle felt very one-sided to me. The undead were trying but the northerners clearly had superior brute force.
Undead normally really on ghouls and other units like DAs to supplement the damage by skeletons and ghosts but here the faction was a bit handicapped and allowed their easy defeat.
Maybe give them Shadows/Nightgaunts and Deathblades?
At the end of the scenario, Batal and Portish (I think that was the name) join me...however these units have NO traits, which made them weaker than the orcish warriors and crossbowmen already in recall list, so this bonus seemed irrelevant.

Scenario Eight:
The criticism here might get a bit too picky.
Giving orcish assassins recruits as the reward at the very end...seemed...well....not that good a decision...why bother?
Also, having Kalenz and elves appear at the very end seem silly. also, the map gave a clear giveaway where he would show up. Those southern hills predictably formed a place a 7-hex castle and keep layout would fit so shifting some units there to thrash that elf was rather too...dull.
The map seems an exact copy-paste of that SotBE map of Tirigaz. should have some differences that show that this was still an untouched place.

Epilogue:
"Elves dispatched them all..." ...I dont get it...I defeated Kalenz tactically. Why did the epilogue say I lost? Doesn't make sense.

Summary:
The campaign is decent however, it needs a lot of refinement in several areas.
Despite being out for nearly 2 years, this really hasn't seen much improvement. Maybe feedback action is more rare now.
Notable places where players can just break the scenario progression with some placement/moves.
Attachments
UtRB-Ready, Battle, Go replay 20220610-161408.gz
(46.32 KiB) Downloaded 88 times
UtRB-Return of the Dead Duo replay 20220610-155028.gz
(67.87 KiB) Downloaded 57 times
Creator of "War of Legends"
Creator of the Isle of Mists survival scenario.
Maintainer of Forward They Cried
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Mirion147
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 10th, 2022, 10:30 am Scenario 1:
Okay for a first scenario.
Map could use some embellishments. Looks rather dull and unappealing.
The orcish warchief's melee attack animation after poison buff disappeared. It's bug.
Yea, that's fair. I just added the attack and didn't add the frames. I'll get to that.
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 10th, 2022, 10:30 am Scenario 3:
I guess the bug of not getting whelps is fixed now. Anyways, the current value required was ridiculously low. Took my Warlord two strikes to exceed.
The section of the scenario where this orc chief meets the troll chief should be scripted in as a cutscene. Otherwise, it's quite odd that I am in on that dwarven ruined castle/keep and then suddenly I am "teleported" next to the troll chief's castle.
Yea, I greatly increased the damage. I might change the required damage done based on level of Tirzag. I'm pretty sure I tried to sway the player to go towards the trolls, but I had the game move Tirzag to the keep so he didn't waste turns moving all the way over there. I can adjust that though, it's a fair point.
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 10th, 2022, 10:30 am Scenario 4:
Something weird happened to the loyalist AI of side 2. They sort of stayed "idle" in their forts allowing me to milk them for XP.
I skipped the elves since it didn't looked quite feasible. Took out the rest and got a lot of gold.
I'm not gonna lie, this was tough for me to code. I haven't checked out your replay, but I'm assuming you mean the side with the mage leader in the north. The goal is to have him sit passively until you're seen and then he should engage. Also, did the elves never see you? (I could just go and watch the replay now, but I'll probably wind up watching it at some point later in the week. Do you think the gold was too much? You said you were out of gold 2 scenarios from now XD.
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 10th, 2022, 10:30 am Scenario 5:
I guess the real challenge of this scenario is when you dont have troll whelp tanks.
One weird thing is the AI params of the undead sides. All skeleton archers attacked my troll warrior in MELEE instead of the safer ranged. So, something went wrong here.
Also, why are undead every time I capped the same village? Feels buggy. Why not make it once-spawn per village instead of a lazy shortcut.
Why are the undead even here ? Seems very odd.
Map could use some embellishments.
More than 1 time per village is a bug, which I thought I had fixed. I'll look into that. I probably have the aggression set to high so the undead WANT to die. I'm not very well versed on the parameters that should be integrated there, but I'll look into that as well.
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 10th, 2022, 10:30 am Scenario 6:
The hunt...well...this bugged out for me but I think you may need to redo this from ground zero since a lot of things in it seem buggy.
After clearing the Water serpent phase, I have to return to the keep, but doesn't account for me already ON the keep hex. Also, it says to recall 3 warriors and only then the next stage kicks in. BUT....I have only 3 gold/turn income and hardly enough for 60 gold (3 recalls of level 1-3). This means 20 out of 28 turns are gone due to this. Thus, the final bonus isn't achievable by design, unless some gold was added in.
Map could use some embellishments.
I very well might look into coding it again in time, but I don't think I'm currently at a skill position where I could improve upon it. I did adjust the scenario so Tirzag WILL move after every stage starts. I believe I wanted to look into saving the gold accrued and keep it saved until this scenario ended, and then load it up again, and giving the gold necessary only for this scenario, in this scenario, but I haven't gotten to that knowledge point yet. Variables are still a work in progress for me. (Mainly regarding the $variables).
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 10th, 2022, 10:41 am Scenario Seven:
Map could use some embellishments.
The hidden trick of Rocklobbers to build bridges was nice.
This battle felt very one-sided to me. The undead were trying but the northerners clearly had superior brute force.
Undead normally really on ghouls and other units like DAs to supplement the damage by skeletons and ghosts but here the faction was a bit handicapped and allowed their easy defeat.
Maybe give them Shadows/Nightgaunts and Deathblades?
At the end of the scenario, Batal and Portish (I think that was the name) join me...however these units have NO traits, which made them weaker than the orcish warriors and crossbowmen already in recall list, so this bonus seemed irrelevant.
I may add some higher level baddies (though I may need to scale it differently depending on your available objectives). And yes, Batal and Portish not having traits is a bug. Again, I'll get to the replays, but did you win by killing the enemy leaders? Or by surviving?
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 10th, 2022, 10:41 am Scenario Eight:
The criticism here might get a bit too picky.
Giving orcish assassins recruits as the reward at the very end...seemed...well....not that good a decision...why bother?
Also, having Kalenz and elves appear at the very end seem silly. also, the map gave a clear giveaway where he would show up. Those southern hills predictably formed a place a 7-hex castle and keep layout would fit so shifting some units there to thrash that elf was rather too...dull.
The map seems an exact copy-paste of that SotBE map of Tirigaz. should have some differences that show that this was still an untouched place.
Tirzag is innately against poison considering what happened to his brother in the intro story. By adding them here you are seeing his hunger for victory and his bloodlust overtaking his wisdom and thoughtfulness,
Spoiler:
The map is directly taken from Tirigaz, because that is the same location. I did add differences to show that the land had been untouched previously, so I'm not sure what more I could add here. Suggestions in that regard? I will look at the entrance of Kalenz though. What did you think of the other mechanics in this scenario?
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 10th, 2022, 10:41 am Epilogue:
"Elves dispatched them all..." ...I dont get it...I defeated Kalenz tactically. Why did the epilogue say I lost? Doesn't make sense.
I believe there is dialog which indicates what happened here? In the end Kalenz doesn't die, he retreats and comes back with his full force. I allowed the scenario to be won because I felt like forcing the player to lose was somewhat mean. But in the end Kalenz lives and Tirzag dies. That's just the canon of the story.
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 10th, 2022, 10:41 am Summary:
The campaign is decent however, it needs a lot of refinement in several areas.
Despite being out for nearly 2 years, this really hasn't seen much improvement. Maybe feedback action is more rare now.
Notable places where players can just break the scenario progression with some placement/moves.
The only way to go is up! Thank you for your thorough feedback! We can only grow when we know where our opportunities are! I do have one general question for you: You did several times indicate that maps needed embellishment. Do you mean simply aesthetically? What kind of embellishments are you thinking?
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Lord-Knightmare »

I haven't checked out your replay, but I'm assuming you mean the side with the mage leader in the north.
No, I meant the lieutenant side 2 leader.
did you win by killing the enemy leaders? Or by surviving?
I purged the undead.
What did you think of the other mechanics in this scenario?
The subjugation one seemed a bit strange as it just gave one unit. I assumed it would convert the rest to my side once their leader was dispatched but it proved an inconvenient when my upkeep spiked as well as the fact they orcs that entered my side were at death's door so they had to placed in villages to heal up and would not be participating in battle.
Do you mean simply aesthetically? What kind of embellishments are you thinking?
Things that enhance detailing. Terrain variety (mixed/pine/deciduous forests), (green/brown hills), braziers, campfires with sounds (there is a core macros for it), stone overlays, maybe snow-bits overlays and other overlays on the landscape, more varieties of grassland instead of just Gg. The usual.
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rmj
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by rmj »

Episode 3: improper use of [then] error.
Probably line 152.
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Mirion147
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

rmj wrote: June 13th, 2022, 4:25 pm Episode 3: improper use of [then] error.
Probably line 152.
I'm fixing this now! Thank you for letting me know!
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
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Mirion147
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 13th, 2022, 3:50 am
No, I meant the lieutenant side 2 leader.
Ahh, I'll look into that, that's odd.
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 13th, 2022, 3:50 am I purged the undead.
I'll need to look at this replay.
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 13th, 2022, 3:50 am
The subjugation one seemed a bit strange as it just gave one unit. I assumed it would convert the rest to my side once their leader was dispatched but it proved an inconvenient when my upkeep spiked as well as the fact they orcs that entered my side were at death's door so they had to placed in villages to heal up and would not be participating in battle.
Hmm, the point of the blood pact was to try to remove those who were of low health, though I understand it would make several others low in their place. Even so, with it being the last scenario, maintaining a gold supply is not really necessary and it goes along with what I mentioned earlier of Tirzag losing his wisdom in place of bloodthirstiness.
Lord-Knightmare wrote: June 13th, 2022, 3:50 am
Things that enhance detailing. Terrain variety (mixed/pine/deciduous forests), (green/brown hills), braziers, campfires with sounds (there is a core macros for it), stone overlays, maybe snow-bits overlays and other overlays on the landscape, more varieties of grassland instead of just Gg. The usual.
I thought I did a pretty good job of adding those :hmm: But I'll look into it more as well.

In the end there's a reason that this campaign hasn't hit version 1.0 yet!
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
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Mirion147
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Mirion147 »

Hello all!

V0.3.0 is now available! What's different? Some decent things. All the maps have been modified! Various and assorted additions were made as well!

As always any feedback is welcome! Let me know what you think!

Full Changelog here:
Spoiler:
Take a look at the Era of the Future!
Current factions: The Welkin, The Brungar, and The Nordhris!
^This is old news lol but I don't care^
New news -> Up the River Bork Campaign!
Kruggov
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Re: Up the River Bork

Post by Kruggov »

After Vitag becomes a Wolf Rider he: 1)Is no longer a "Game Over when dead" unit, 2) Is not autorecalled in subsequent scenarios, 3) No longer speaks in cutscenes.

Are the boars at the top of the map during 1st scenario supposed to distract the wolves? Because they sure didn't, the wolves completely ignored them and booked for me. The boars did nothing the entire scenario, except moving around.

Does Erl have any purpose during 1st scenario? He is on the opposite side of where the action will be and has literally zero chance to get there before anything dies. And then he leaves and I assume he's gone for good.

Fighting a Lv3 boss with Wolf Riders and Goblins was stressful. During the day, I can barely damage him and at any other time he 2-hit kills anyone I have except Tirzag. In fact at night, he oneshots goblins, period. I was able to kill him, somehow, but I had to RNG abuse pretty badly so that he doesn't buzzsaw through my units.

There were a couple of times when two dialogue events triggered at the same time and one got overwritten. The ones i've seen are 10 Village dialogue (first line gets overwritten by "join the revolution"), plus Vitag's line when killing a wolf and becoming a wolf rider (if it's the first wolf, his line gets overwritten by dialogue that triggers when first wolf dies).

Aside from that, there were also LUA errors when finishing the 1st scenario.
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