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AoMH SD Adventure contest 2020: nottud
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Author |
File Description |
nottud |
Posted on 07/30/20 @ 11:27 AM (updated 08/15/20)
File Details |
Version: |
AoM:Tale of the Dragon |
nottud's entry to the 2020 contest. The scenario is titled "Dungeon Escape" and is for AoM:EE.
This now has a fix to prevent destroying the Gate of Troy. |
Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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nottud
Staff
File Author |
Posted on 08/14/20 @ 01:52 PM
A bug has been found where you can attack and destroy the blocking Trojan gate on the last level. Until I patch please note that is not anticipated. |
Lewonas |
Posted on 08/14/20 @ 02:12 PM
This unofficial review was written for the Mini Adventure competition.
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Adventure (8/10)
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When I read about the new patch 2.8 triggers, I was really hoping for a scenario (I’m aware it’s actually a RMS) exactly like the one you created. I loved your scenario . I loved the idea of exploring an unknown dungeon system where an ambush, traps, or treasure could be hiding around the next corner. And the best thing is that you have no idea what’s coming thanks to the awesome dynamically generated rooms (more on that later).
I also loved how you ended the scenario with an epic finale, where you had to combine everything you’ve learned in order to fulfill the scenario’s primary goal, delivering a very rewarding closure of the adventure.
The one minor gripe I have with the scenario is that some of the ‘secret treasures’ you can find actually are required in order for you to progress. So if you accidentally missed an important one, then you just could not beat the final stage and would have to replay the scenario or load a saved game to track down if there is something you may have missed. And it can be hard to tell what you’re missing if you’ve never actually seen it (without spoiling, for instance the thing you need to get past the guardian). It unfortunately brings the adventure to a very sudden immediate stop.
EDIT: After I had written the review, nottud mentioned it is actually possible to beat the final stage without needing any additional items. So ignore my previous remark.
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Immersive storyline and experience (6/10)
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The story is very short and straightforward. You are trapped in a dungeon and you need to try to find your way out. But it’s also something I expected from a Nottud creation: keep the story short and sweet so we can immediately dive into the meat of the game.
It did not take long for me to get fully immersed into the mysterious world of dungeons. There’s just something so incredibly satisfying about exploring the unknown. But I must say that some of the encounters (especially the mini-bosses) were pretty long repetitive fights (more on that later) which did break some of the immersion.
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Atmosphere (10/10)
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You crushed it. There’s an incredible use of lighting and music in this scenario. The deeper you go down into the dungeon, the darker the mood of the music and the lighting becomes. This added a fantastic eerie feeling to the dungeon. At the deeper levels of the dungeon you even turn the darkness into a feature. Incredible. And then everything comes to a climax in the finale where I was sitting at the edge of my seat the entire time. What a splendid emotional experience. A very well deserved 10 points from me.
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Balance (8/10)
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There’s a nice difficulty curve present. It’s very easy at the start and it gets tougher the further you explore the dungeon. Some of the encounters required you to use different tactics to overcome them. But most of the mini-bosses were very one-sided fights. They have big health pools and barely any special abilities to spice up the fight. They essentially boiled down to your average hit-and-run fights which are not very enjoyable.
This is just one of the many reasons why your scenario just screams for different difficulty settings. Your scenario lends itself so well for it. On higher difficulty settings you could spice up encounters, add more encounters, add a countdown timer, add more traps, add more obstacles or rooms to the final challenge, and the list goes on. There is so much potential and extra replay value here.
The final challenge was pretty spot-on on difficulty. It took me quite a few tries to beat it and I had to come up with some advanced tactics to be able to beat it. All in all, the added challenge made it a very enjoyable finale. Well done.
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Map design (10/10)
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I loved the dynamically generated dungeon rooms. It’s such an awesome way to work around the map limitations set by the competition rules. Plus it adds a lot of mysteriousness to the dungeon because you never know what will be waiting for you around the next corner.
Another awesome addition are the passageways you dynamically create so you can progress over previously impassable terrain. So they are essentially bridges you can actually walk over. And you also added some different types of terrain you can pass through or go over depending on what item you were carrying. Just brilliant map design. Another well deserved 10 points from me.
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Eyecandy (5/10)
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This is where your scenario falls short. There’s only so much you can do with a tiny 50x50 (?) map and leaves little opportunity to create stunning artwork, and even more so if everything is trigger-generated.
Your minimalistic approach did grow on me and it actually does somewhat fit the theme for your scenario. But I would have liked to see some more embellishments such as rocks, cogwebs, fallen columns, sprites… things you would normally come across in a dungeon just to add a little bit extra detail.
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Features (7/10)
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Well, I’ve already talked about the impressive map design triggering which is the main highlight of this scenario. Throughout the scenario you also offer a limited number of upgrades and special powers that can change the way you can tackle some of the upcoming challenges to keep the gameplay interesting.
This scenario was by far the lengthiest one in the competition to finish and so it’s extra important to keep the player engaged with enough diverse features. I think it would have been nice if you could have added some kind of skillshot ability (or abilities) to make the combat a little bit more engaging. But other than that I think you’ve found a nice balance to keep the player entertained.
And finally, I have three words for you: procedurally generated dungeons. There’s so much potential here. If you could modify the RMS to generate a random dungeon layout each time, then that would be an absolutely insane addition to offer infinite replayability. Then add the suggested difficulty system on top of that to create the ultimate dungeon generator script!
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Final score: 54/70
----------------------[Edited on 08/14/20 @ 03:01 PM]
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Nickonhawk |
Posted on 08/14/20 @ 03:33 PM
Playability: 5
If you move when entering a room you will not teleport.
Balance: 4
It should be possible AS WELL AS not frustrating to complete the map without upgrades like damage and range. Dragon turtles too hard, do you have to avoid that room? Enemies can spawn on top of you, not fair since you have to kite. Geyser room is just a slot machine, get lucky or get kicked back into lava filled room.
Creativity: 3
Aside from the amazing one room army concept, everything is bland. All the combat is basic aom kiting. The raven bridge is never used again. The boat is never used again. The torch is just aesthetic since you have the minimap. The upgrades are just numbers. If it wasn't for the magic arrows effect and the moving lava I would have said it wasn't you who made this map.
Map Design: 2
Basic. Changes. Still basic.
Story/Instructions: 2
I wouldn't mind an extra chat telling what the item does. What story?
+ The basic-ness is not all bad, there's this beauty of simple things. But mostly it's bad. I said that because this is the positive paragraph. Yeah.
- So there's three kinds of rooms, the empty room that doesn't do anything, the room that has something in the middle and once you interact becomes empty and the room that has enemies and once you kill them it becomes empty. So the trend is that all rooms become empty and boring! I guess there are also hazard rooms and minotaur rooms, but after the first time they spiritually become empty because you can do them on auto pilot. As amazing as the changing room is, it breaks its back carrying this map. The story is like this. Hey. Heey. You are in prison, peek a boo, now you're out. Did you know that guardian deals aoe? Cool, have a tc. No? Eh, just a house. The lost Amanra stands out in a strange way because it is the only story inside the dungeon. I'm a very sensitive person and lots of things make me feel bad, however I can call this map a 2.8 tech demo without feeling bad. That's saying something. It needs a lot more soul to be something nice. And by soul I mean cool stuff. You know what I mean. More complexity.[Edited on 08/14/20 @ 03:41 PM]
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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3.7 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.5 | Balance | 4.0 | Creativity | 4.0 | Map Design | 3.5 | Story/Instructions | 2.5 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 134 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 12.41 MB |
Added: | 07/30/20 |
Updated: | 08/15/20 |
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