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Race to Death BLACK Edition
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Author |
File Description |
King David |
Posted on 04/20/03 @ 12:07 AM
File Details |
Ruleset: |
AoW2: TWT - TS Standard Rules |
Map Size: |
L |
Levels: |
2 |
Single Player?: |
Yes |
Co-Op vs. AI?: |
Yes |
PBEM/Hotseat?: |
Yes |
Multiplayer Online?: |
Yes |
# of Wizards: |
7 |
# of players: |
6 |
Skill Level: |
Advanced |
Password Protected: |
No |
This is a Large COOP Map, though it can also be challenging and entertaining as SP. It has a unique storyline that deals with the painful issues of Death and Addiction. It was the first map I released for AOW2, and is still my favorite. This version fixes some busted quest rewards (sorry about the Kharaghs, Ellumesh), adds some eye candy (better use of elevation, thanks Lena Elvar), adds some more heros and items, a few more resources for the orcs and more initial opposition for the elves.
My sincere thanks go to:
Lena Elvar and cyclOps for taking the time to review the map after playing it.
Hocus Pocus, Ellumesh, Llacheu and Rorschach, for their comments during and outside of their PBEM match. My apologies to Rorschach, he got screwed twice by things that have since been corrected.
The Story:
For over two hundred years, the Undead spread their gospel of free commerce and fidelity to the democratic process across the Land. All the while, they secretly undermined the very litany they preached by supporting questionable leaders of far left, far right and center-center politcal inclinations. Key to their aspirations of world dominance was their support of underground networks dedicated to the illegal productiona and distribution of opium. This proved to be an effective means of controlling population as well as ensuring that opposition abroad did not exceed the occasional public demonstration by relatively uninfluential groups of university students and opponents of globalization and preventive medication. Support for the Undead leader, Walker, back home was phenomenal thanks to the fact that his cronies were the owners of both the media as well as the primary sources of fossil and magic fuels. But when the Undead had destroyed their own means of production, and when other races recognized the increased bargaining power their own uncontaminted lands afforded them and began to openly demonstrate a!
ssertion
s of economic and political soverignty, the Undead crushed them with their superior military might. A few intelectuals and rogues banded together and managed to flee to the hills. Time went by, the Undead settled back into themselves, and the cycle of history began anew. All Romes fall.
Now, Six are the races who have returned to reclaim what was once theirs. Through the forging of a tentative peace accord, the six will coordinate forces with the objective of destroying Walker. Alone, this feat would constitute a mission of suicide. The six races have gathered together their finest heros and items forged by the hands of craftsfmen in exile or delivered by the very stars or earth or nature herself. Slave to the spheres of fire, water, death, life and air, the determined troops embark on a mission from which most of them shall not return, but from which the very course of humanity hangs in the balance. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your horses.
Sara of the Elves:
Sara has perhaps the most sound motives for wishing revenge upon Walker. It was her leader, Khun Sa, who sold out to the Undead leader, allowed the fertile Eleven agricultural lands to be converted to the mass production of transgenic poppies as the main supply source for the opium dens that would be used to control the masses. Sara herself watched the Elven Empire crumble around her, and one night, as she sat alone in exile among the comfort of forest creatures, she vowed that she would dedicate her life to restoring that Empire and so right the wrongs of her people's past.
S. Pearlman of the Humans:
Before signing his soul to the Undead, Walker lived among Humans, so the arguments for that race's return to the Land are feeble at best. Yet here they are, and S. Pearlman means to restore some sort of balance to the world at large. We'll see...
Arachna of the Dark Elves:
Being a praticioner of the magic of Death, Arachna is looked open with obvious mistrust. Still, she seems to be sincere in here !
hatred o
f Walker and has therefore been allowed into the Pact. Other races are wary, however, she may just have an easier time than some at assuming Walkers throne once he is deposed, as much of the infrastructure she will need to rule is already in place.
W. Frost of the Frostlings:
None of the races are exactly sure why the Frostlings would have an interest in joining the hunt for Walker, but their reasons can not be good. Perhaps W. Frost envisions the other races caked in blocks of ice, or perhaps he has some grand designs for the achieving of Peace in the Land through the freezing of evil ways and means, who knows? The only thing clear is that the Frostlings are here and mean to make their stand among those who would see Walker's body slashed and bloodied upon the jagged rocks of the Isle of Death.
Lady Bane of the Orcs:
Lady Bane was the wife of Lord Bane, long now disappeared in death or in destinations unknown. The veins that give life to Lady Bane are filled with the nectar of hatred, and in exile she has worked to develop a resistance to the Opium of Walker's strategy for domination of the Land. Lady Bane harbors no ill feelings toward her husband, but means to outdo him in her own time. She sees the destruction of Walker as a fair place to begin.
Don Sata of the Tigrans:
Don Sata is driven solely by greed. And evil. And for that he will triumph. All hail the King.
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Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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K9910 |
Posted on 01/05/04 @ 01:21 AM
Playability: 4
Great playability. I really don't have much else to say here.
Balance: 5
You've done a lot to balance this map and it shows. The game is difficult starting off but gets easier. Perfect.
Creativity: 3
Amazing. I had to take off points for your storyline being based on real-world events (that's less than creative). Still, I loved the sense of humor in the story. Oh, and the satanic raining frogs were brilliant.
Map Design: 5
Excellent. Of course, I may only feel it was excellent because it's loads better than anything I've done. Still, the map was beautiful with many interesting places and events. The map alone made me want to try and fight through the difficult beginning just so I could see more of your beautiful landscapes.
Story/Instructions: 4
Very detailed story, great use of events and signs, and excellent characters. I really wanted to give you a five here. Unfortunately, Don Sata's character was kind of flat. You didn't even give him any background at all.
I was slightly disturbed at the fact that the map background was obviously anti-American, but this hardly hurts the map.
Additional Comments:
Any scenario that can get so many people to want to go through a PBEM game on it has to be good, so I decided I'd try it out. This scenario is simply astounding. |
King David
File Author |
Posted on 02/06/04 @ 08:31 AM
Hello K9910:
Thanks for taking the time to review this map! Your comments are much appreciated and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I do want to respond to one thing though (for which I am in no way offended, but I should clear matters up) - The map is not intended to be "anti-American", as you say (I prefer the term anti-US, as "America" in reality extends from Canada all the way down to the Magellean strait off the southern coast of Chile and Argentina).
It is, however, intended to be a critique of the neocon perspective on the place of the US within the world stage. In that sense, you are correct in drawing the analogy between opium and oil, and between the opium-addled Undead population and the acquiescence of the average citizen in the face of such a damning proposition. Keep in mind, though, that I started and finished the original map (the story line was complete at that point) long before the Iraq invasion, and so it is not so much modeled after current events as it is a summation of the human quest for control of resources since the beginning of civilization. In that sense, I see Walker as being no different from any of the failed or successful leaders throughout history who have had expansive empirical designs for their nations or realms. So, aside from naming the villian "Walker" (my opinions of him go back more than a decade), and using a couple of shadowy figures from the real opium trade (Khun Sa, Yord Serk) and a bunch of old Rock Stars as heros, I would say that any parallel to current events has more to do with the cyclical ebb and tide of human nature than to what has transpired specifically during the past couple of years.
Just wanted to clear that up! Thanks again for taking the time to review the map. I'm hoping to have the Race to Death S&M version out before long. I'm just ironing it out a bit now.
KD[Edited on 02/06/04 @ 08:36 AM]
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.2 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.0 | Balance | 5.0 | Creativity | 3.0 | Map Design | 5.0 | Story/Instructions | 4.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 2,954 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 248.22 KB |
Added: | 04/20/03 |
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