Scenario Review: (UTBS) 4. Descending into Darkness

[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.

- I think this could be a relief scenario, unless you scatter your troops around

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

- Zhul got killed by an orc before the cave :/

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

- Interesting. The idea of going under mountains really builds up the mystery. The cloaked figure is a really curious character. That gold keeping goblin is sure a fun comic relief to start with. Plus what is with that creature "dawarf"???

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

- It was, showing some new monsters and giving new items

[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?

Maybe? But the turn limit seemed a bit long...

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, and interesting.

[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.

Not really difficult, but tight on time. You cannot spend too much time killing the enemies in the way, specially in the caves where they can block your way. Also, sending scouts ahead of your main army will trigger the appearance of more enemies, and that can get you into a fight with too many enemies at once.

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?

The dialogue is fine. A bit mysterious when the elves refuse to follow the underground river upstream, it makes you think there is something there.

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

Yes, it's fun. There are many different enemies, the map transitions smoothly from wilderness into caves, you get a weapon and a ring and there is much to explore.

[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 ok I think. The turn limit is too high though. The naga unit popups are potentially very unfair/bad if you dont know about it before it happens - and I dont like units popping up out of nowhere anyway. Similar the assassin popping up - not sure it actually happens in the replay though.

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?

The popping-up and disappearing (no other unit can do this kinda thing) assassin doesnt properly fit with whats behind the mask (this isnt part of this scenario though) - its too powerful and mysterious for "just some traumatized guy pointing his finger at Kaleh because thats the chosen protagonist".

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

XP grinding at end (see replay) should be turned down at least by reducing turn limit.

[Konrad2]

Placeholder. Will fill in the blanks later.

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

1.15.16, Champion (Nightmare)

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

8, you have a lot of disadvantages, most notable: small amount of gold, enemies have better mobility, enemies have a lot of income.

(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?

Finding the right balance between being agressive and retreating at the beginning.

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

8

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

-

Scenario stats: (forgot to save Attempt (3))

Spoiler:

Attempt (1)

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Attempt (2)

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Attempt (4)

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Attempt (5)

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Attempt (6)

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Attempt (7)

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Attempt (8)

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Attempt (9)

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Attempt (10)

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Success (11)

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Replays:

Spoiler:

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210827-202421.gz

Attempt 1

(41.28 KiB) Downloaded 218 times

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210828-202121.gz

Attempt 2

(43.94 KiB) Downloaded 216 times

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210828-210120.gz

Attempt 4

(49.08 KiB) Downloaded 209 times

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210830-221829.gz

Attempt 5

(48.86 KiB) Downloaded 214 times

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210830-222621.gz

Attempt 6

(39.94 KiB) Downloaded 211 times

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210830-224630.gz

Attempt 7

(49.07 KiB) Downloaded 214 times

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210903-201050.gz

Attempt 8

(42.78 KiB) Downloaded 196 times

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210906-211240.gz

Attempt 9

(44.68 KiB) Downloaded 234 times

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210906-212324.gz

Attempt 10

(43.41 KiB) Downloaded 232 times

UtBS-Descending into Darkness replay 20210906-223218.gz

Success 11

(68.63 KiB) Downloaded 207 times

[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)

6.

Spoiler:

Break through the goblins quickly, and push forward for a steady victory

Spoiler:

Defeating the northeastern leader is a bit tricky because of the 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?

No.

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

7.

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

-

[Seansy]

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

1.18.2, Champion (Nightmare)

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

First playthrough 10. Second playthrough 9. Third playthrough 7 (biased RNG).

(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. Dialog with extra spawns was fun. Rest was average.

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

Surviving the long night against chaotic units. Pushing through fast enough in the caves to meet the turn limit without sacrificing units for it.

If you pull Panok over the river to kill him early it reduces the number of units you have to overcome. Just do it early enough to kill the spawned units during the day otherwise you'll be overrun.

I suggest either tuning down the spawnrate of level 2 orcs a tad for Nightmare, or at least forcing them come from the western cave entrance from the western most enemy leader until you get closer to the northern leader. You only get the starting gold because the early finish bonus is only 12 gold per turn in the previous scenario and basically impossible to achieve. I got lucky on my 3rd playthrough I got mostly level 1 wolf riders but the other two games I had to suffer some significant losses because of how many Crossbowman were attacking me during the long night.

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

7. The surprise/bonus spawns are interesting little pieces of flair to an overall run-of-the-mill scenario.

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

Adding a bit more dialog when you meet and kill the Orcish leaders.

[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? Yes, very difficult again. I finished a decent number of turns early but didn't stop to farm exp, since I had some net upkeep.
3) Was there any event that caused you to almost instantly lose, or made the scenario unplayable without reload? No, but I did reload some times that I got a bit too unlucky (Nym took full melee retaliation from a low-hp crossbow, then got killed during the next turn). The challenging nature of the scenario pushed me to play in a non-safe manner that led to these sorts of risks, perhaps a better player wouldn't need to (though the replays I've seen don't support that).
4) Do you like the storyline and the dialogues? Very good
5) Do you think the scenario was fun? Please write down some thoughts about gameplay, mood etc. It's a bit of a grind getting into the caves, but the first half of the scenario is good. The 3 incoming armies put alot of pressure on the player.

The minimum starting gold puts alot of pressure on recalling units rather than recruiting, because you need as many troops as possible to survive the early assault and still push into the caves. I got 5 fighters (they're very cheap), a vanguard, 2 mystics, 1 pathfinder + 2 scouts, and my sun sylph; I delayed the recalls to stretch my gold. In the first phase, I held the south bank of the central river against the blue and purple armies until around turn 9; at some point I got lucky and the blue leader popped out and I got to pick him off (this behavior is inconsistent, and when I can't reproduce it consistently). For the long dark I pushed onto blue's keep, with a few units to hold off purple while the rest fought off green's army from the safety of the castle hexes. The pathfinders were invaluable for this as they can keep slowing the enemies, while having decent melee retaliation damage and defense. I then split off 2 armies to enter the tunnels; in retrospect I think Eryssa should go with Kaleh, as that is where most of the enemies end up going. Kaleh's west team struggled quite a bit to get in, while Nym's east team got in fairly quickly with Eryssa, Nym, and other L2 units doing alot of damage. The east team looped around and ended up getting to the green leader before the west team did. Finished on turn 33 of 44.

*Replayed to farm exp, as the leaders recruit L2 units almost every turn. Finished last turn.

Results:
Kaleh: endurance training, inspiring
Nym: bolaship, stamina training
2 flankers, 2 warriors
1 sun singer, 1 shaman
1 pathfinder, 1 archer

*replay:
Kaleh: endurance training, inspiring
Nym: bolaship, stamina training, *footwork
*3 flankers, 2 warriors
*1 sun sylph, 1 shaman
1 pathfinder, 1 archer, 1 pathfinder near-advancement
170g carryover