Improved King of the Hill

[name]

This is an update to the multiplayer scenario King of the Hill aimed at replacing the existing mainline version for the BfW 1.18 release.

The premise of this scenario has always been for players to fight over the central castle (the hill). Yet the scenario gave no perks to combat the downsides of taking the hill:

• No recruiting while leader traveling.
• Leader vulnerable while traveling.
• Hill surrounded by enemies on three sides.

This update adds a powerful perk to hopefully make the hill worth fighting over. When a leader sits on the hill keep, all other castles collapse into ruins so that no other side can recruit. Only if this leader (the king) is assassinated or abdicates his hilltop throne will the other castles be restored. To make the situation more clear, there is no fog or shroud on the hill, so that all players can see some of what goes on there at all times.

Preventing another player from taking the hill with their leader should be a priority for everyone. And if one player does reach the hill, it is expected that everyone else should team up against him, at least until he is overthrown. Computer players will also follow this strategy by simply attacking only the king's team (until he dies or abdicates).

Current Phase: Beta

The latest version is now available on the 1.16 add-ons server.

Older Versions

Improved_King_of_the_Hill Alpha-1.zip

(4.1 KiB) Downloaded 88 times

Improved_King_of_the_Hill Alpha.zip

(3.97 KiB) Downloaded 91 times

[Lord-Knightmare]

I think a screenshot of the map attached on the forum post would have been more convenient to tell how it is at first glance.

[name]

It is exactly the same "4p — King of the Hill" map that ships with every recent version of wesnoth. Only the scenario game logic is updated.

[name]

A new version (Alpha-1) has been added to the first post with an important bug fix and a balance improvement for team games.

Changes:
Fix crash when computer player kills the king of the hill
Stop leaders from moving on first turn ahead of recruits, to balance team games against fast leader types

[name]

Improved King of the Hill has finally reached Beta and a new version has been uploaded to the the 1.16 add-ons server.

Changes:
Improved water access for northern castles
Green grass under pine forests

[Lord-Knightmare]

I guess it's okay. Quite an improvement, I must say.

One feedback: please don't flash the screen white during abdication. One print text on the screen is enough.

Spoiler:

Can computer screens cause seizures?

Seizures may be triggered in individuals with epilepsy who are sensitive to the flickering of the computer screen, although the flicker rate is not thought to be very provocative. Anti-reflective screens are easily available and may lessen this effect for some people.

[Temuchin Khan]

Interesting idea. I do also wonder, however, if the central castle should provide a more subtle advantage, like an income boost. Still, the basic idea that it should provide an advantage is good.

[name]

One feedback: please don't flash the screen white during abdication. One print text on the screen is enough.

It is a core flash effect used throughout mainline wesnoth, so if it poses some health risk then it would need to be handled on a wider basis. But anyway, if you go against equal opponents (either human or income boosted computer players) you will usually only see it once or twice per game, because taking the hill is such a decisive power play either for or against a would-be king.

I do also wonder, however, if the central castle should provide a more subtle advantage, like an income boost.

For free-for-all games this is probably the amount of advantage that is needed to justify the risks and costs of trying to take and hold it. For 2v2 team games the advantage will be leaning on the strong side. You will want to never lose sight of the hill during team games.

[name]

After further sweeping changes thanks to game logic advice from Hejnewar and the Lua API expertise of Celtic_Minstrel, an improved King of the Hill has been added to 1.17.20 and should appear in 1.18. The new mechanics are as follows:

• A side with a leader holding the hill keep gets bonus gold each turn.
• A treasure chest which only a leader can unlock further rewards the first player to take the hill.
• Each side gets two leaders. If one dies then another can be "recalled" (recruited) from the recall list at its full unit cost.
• Computer players will try to take the hill with one of their two leaders.

Also there were some more significant changes to the map, to improve movement and battles between the starting castles (both for land and water units).