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Author |
File Description |
Swolte (id: swolte) |
Posted on 04/15/10 @ 09:47 PM (updated 04/28/10)
File Details |
Ruleset: |
AoW: SM - Unofficial Patch 1.4 |
Map Size: |
S |
Levels: |
2 |
Single Player?: |
No |
Co-Op vs. AI?: |
No |
PBEM/Hotseat?: |
Yes |
Multiplayer Online?: |
No |
# of Wizards: |
2 |
# of players: |
2 |
Skill Level: |
Any (depends on AI difficulty setting) |
Password Protected: |
No |
"The mighty city of Pristo towered high above the great Inner Sea and its archipelago. It was the home of the old emperor Mezar, who ruled many of the surrounding islands that were thriving on fishing and trade. Mezar was a harsch and incompassionate ruler, especially for those who did not abide by his strict law. His two sons, Rubian and Julius were dear to him, however, he knew very well that each valued his throne more than his life. It was for that reason that his sons lived on different islands than Pristo.
Mezar had one great passion, and that was the craft of forging powerful magical items. Some years ago he tapped into a force of magic few mortals had ever dared to manipulate - the divine. As he discovered how to imbue his artifacts with godly magic, he disregarded an old wisdom saying the power of the Gods is granted, not taken...
And so Mezar forged an item which would subject beings to his will, and even the Gods would not be able to hurt his soul as long as he kept it close to his side. He called it Mezar's Will.
Once the Gods noticed, they were angered at his ignorance and decided to punish Mezar. From the skies, a terrible rain of fire crumbled the entire city of Pristo to ashes. Mezar managed to flee to the dungeons of Pristo where his workshop was located, deep in the underground. But when he was about to reach his precious artifact, the gods instantly turned his flesh to stone.
There were certain side consequences to the catastrophy, which perhaps, were unintended by the Gods. the great powers that were released caused an earthquake that ruptured the earths crust around the city of Pristo. Its effects were so vast that the waters fell down in a chasm ending in the underground. It caused the Inner Sea to vanish and lay dry.
Now, a once prosperous people are without a ruler, and without business. The two heirs, Julius and Rubian both survived, as they lived on the islands of Nyrotep and Costa. It is now up to them to claim the throne, and restore the wrongdoing of the Gods!
The artifact, from that moment on, became known as 'Mezar's Curse'..."
===
The Sea of Sands was inspired by an image I found attached to one of the Groll's maps, The Wilderness. The image is attached as well.
BALANCE
Relevant comments: Please note that Sanctum has been disabled to prevent early saint abuse.
To offset the starting advantage of the white wizard, a few measures have been taken (e.g.,, some more defenders nearby), as well as a slightly more unfortunate placement of resource sites near starting location (e.g., shipwreck).
PLAYABILITY
Note that to avoid early rushing, starting units are mostly defending ones. Both players have peacekeeper as well.
Important game influencing events (only two):
- There is basically one simple and straightforward event in this map of which the players are instructed by in-game from the start: get the item from the center will return the water to the surface of this map (two days from that event). This means that parts of the surface lands (the unelevated beach and swamp lands) will turn to water, and the map will suddenly have a strong naval emphasis!!! (Those parts of the underground with beach land as well).
- Lizards are spawned every 4 days or so, and will pester your troops unless the chieftains are taken out.
I will make further updates, for sure. And suggestions are very welcome. The map was made in a bit of a rush, and I hardly got a chance to play-test it (though, by its large symmetry, balance concerns shouldn't be too large). The events work!
:) |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Unnapu |
Posted on 05/02/10 @ 10:26 PM
Playability: 5
I made two attempts to get the artifact.
Units for first attempt: Ludovic with Twister and Night Cloak, Azure Drake, Great Bear, Wild Boar, 4 paladins (two with silver), elf scout, archon archer (gold medal), unicorn. Wizard with healing and fury. Lost the battle, only the heroe survived.
Second attempt: Ludovic and Torgal, Ice Dragon, Dwarf veteran, maceman, 1 paladin, dwarf priest, 2 unicorns, and a three or four level 1 units. IIRC, only the two heroes survived.
Balance: 5
Game was lost because I left my wizard open to an attack by the enemy, alone in a watch tower. It was the same night when I got the artifact. Vision II was not a big problem, at least in my hands. Perhaps in the hands of more experienced players it could become an issue.
Creativity: 5
Very innovative. What do you think of giving less time before the flooding?
Map Design: 4
I like the terrain on the surface giving the sensation of seabed without the water (got the translation of 'seabed' from google, don't know if it is correct).
Story/Instructions: 4
Story is very brief, which is good for tournament maps, I think. And instructions are simple and easy to undestand.
Additional Comments:
----------------------------
Quoted from Timelord: "These resurging units can be exploited for recruitment and can be whittled down easily (except for the Queen of course - but without supporters or with Fire Halo, that won't be a problem)"
----------------------------
I was able to recruit one unit in that way, a fire larva, but first I lost more than eight units during the battle, so I don't think this could be a big issue.
[Edited on 05/02/10 @ 10:28 PM]
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Oleg123 (id: oleg123) |
Posted on 12/24/11 @ 05:09 PM
Playability: 5
Balance: 3
Creativity: 5
Map Design: 4
Story/Instructions: 4
Additional Comments:
In the mostly symmetrical map, there is one serious between balance issues - since the flood comes on dawn of 2nd day after the curse is lifted, one of players had a turn less than another in case the opponent lifts it. May sound not a big deal, but it can be.
Anyway, a beautiful and fun map, don't miss it.[Edited on 12/25/11 @ 02:09 AM]
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.5 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 5.0 | Balance | 4.5 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 4.0 | Story/Instructions | 4.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 825 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 539.41 KB |
Added: | 04/15/10 |
Updated: | 04/28/10 |
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