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Author |
File Description |
Felix Hermansson |
Posted on 06/29/03 @ 04:13 AM (updated 05/22/04)
File Details |
Version: |
AoM: The Titans |
The Reluctant Heroine
(AoM:TT Version, April/May 2004)
This is the first scenario of my Circe saga. After being driven from Aeaea by Arkantos and his companions, Circe is shipwrecked on an isolated island...
To play the scenario just copy the file 'The Reluctant Heroine.scx' into your 'scenarios' folder. You need the 'AoM: The Titans' expansion to run the scenario, but apart from that no extras are necessary, it works with the standard installation.
This is an updated version of the original scenario released in summer 2003. I have updated it to work with the 'AoM: The Titans' expansion which allows for a little more flexibility in the player's tactics. Apart from slightly improved opening cinematics and a few other details the update corrects some problems the older version had:
If Circe was assigned to an army it was impossible to win, since the game did not recognise the victory condition. I have changed these triggers so assigning Circe to an army no longer poses a problem.
Since AoM doesn't allow multiple upgrades of the same kind these were lost when the game was saved and reloaded. The player could use this to his advantage and take upgrades away from the enemy. Due to new trigger effects available I've been able to solve this problem; saving/reloading works fine now.
Sometimes the enemy would pile up dozens of Cyclopes in his fortress or at one of the player's TCs. I have changed the implementation here so this problem couldn't be reproduced any more.
The player could save himself a lot of trouble simply by ignoring the additional TCs he was supposed to liberate. As long as he left them in peace, the enemy would build up much slower. This has been changed, the player can no longer gain an advantage by tailoring his strategy to the triggers this way.
I would appreciate any comments, good or bad. Please tell me what you liked, what you disliked, and especially, tell me why. If you have any ideas on how to improve it, all the better.
Please send your comments via e-mail to hoodncloak@hotmail.com. Oh, and add "AoM" to the subject, otherwise your message will probably be lost in all the spam mail I receive.
Some more comments from my side:
The scenario is optimised for a screen resolution of 1024x768.
There are no difficulty levels in this scenario. It has been tested on 'easy' only, so I'd suggest you play it like that.
Don't expect a pushover, I'm always trying to make my scenarios "pleasantly hard". But don't worry, you don't need to be the ultimate gamer to beat it.
Oh, and one last hint: It IS possible to heal Circe, but you have to find out for
yourself how to do it. Don't look too far, it's actually pretty basic.
Have fun!
Felix
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Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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The Bard |
Posted on 10/13/03 @ 11:57 PM
Playability: 5
No technical problems and a scenario that moves along smoothly. No complaints here!
Balance: 5
The scenario was almost perfectly balanced for my skill level. It is a real challenge – the player finds himself under constant pressure right from the start, and it does not get easier in the later game. The population cap plus the restriction to use only human soldiers limit the power of the player's army, so it is not possible to just build up long enough and then attack with overwhelming force. The scenario remains hard right to the very end.
Creativity: 5
I like the idea to keep the player from using heroes and myth units, pitting human soldiers against the Cyclopes. It breaks one of the key features of AoM, but in a positive way. And Circe was a nice choice for the lead character too, since she handles so differently. A really unique scenario!
Map Design: 4
The map is carefully drawn - it looks nice, but not outstanding. A solid piece of craftsmanship but no work of art, if you know what I mean.
Story/Instructions: 5
The instructions are clear and complete, no problems here. And I like the way you based the background story (nice intro!) on the original campaign without creating "The 27th Return of Gargarensis". Your objective pages, including hints and spotlight (complete with matching picture) are among the best I've seen in any custom scenario so far. They look 'professional', so to speak.
Additional Comments:
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Salas007 |
Posted on 01/08/04 @ 10:50 PM
You Asked for constructive criticism here it is... Its not in any way to be mean or rude just to help you out in developing better maps:
Playability: 3
I had a problem with the entrance between the mountain passages it was blocked up by the Cyclops's but it still continued to make more and more Cyclops's. There must have been literaly 200-300 or so of them. Making it next to impossible to beat. The only was I was able to win this game was by taunting the Cyclops's and running them around the map. Then using the underworld passage to go behind the mountains. Even with that though there were still about 100 Cyclops's still there.
Balance: 3
I'm going to have to give this map a 3 for 2 reasons. 1 reason is at the very beginning you can only heal Circe either by restoration or the temple with the healing part researched. If there are any other "secret ways" I did not find them and for that matter I am assuming that they were not meant to be found by the "average player" not trying to say I’m better or anything but I consider myself an above average player and if there was another way of healing her it seems that the creator of the map did not mean for just anyone to find out what it was. Not saying that it’s a bad thing it’s just that I think that a review should be based around the average player. Anyways it would have been difficult for most people to keep her alive at the beginning of the game and in order to get restoration or the healing temple you HAVE to follow the minor gods Athena & Apollo. If you ask me if you have to pick a certain minor god to get a HUGE advantage on a scenario that doesn’t seem like balance if you don’t really have a choice on which gods you can choose. The other balance issue I had was that the Cyclops’s came too often. It also seemed that if you acquired one of the other settlements you had an additional wave of them to fend off. At this point in the game I did acquire one only to find out that I had 2 waves of Cyclops’s constantly coming at me at my new settlement and my old one. Then the game just became me switching back and forth between settlements just to stay alive. Because Circe is a major key to defeating 5 Cyclops’s and I cant have her in 2 places I abandoned the new settlement and decided it wasn’t worth the hassle with 2 settlement wars. I later came back to the new settlement later on in the game after I let the computer take over it and found it had over 100 Cyclops’s just sitting there. I’m assuming there was a trigger that just kept Cyclops’s coming to that settlement once it was activated. It was too hard to keep additional settlements and the rate at which the AI sent Cyclops’s was just too fast so you just spent all your time defending your settlements.
Creativity: 5
Very Creative loved the intro short sweet and the to the point.
Map Design: 4
Not much to the map and you could spend alot of time walking around just for 3 artifacts.
Story/Instructions: 5
Simple easy to understand... except you should give a warning or something in the objectives saying to be careful to not destroy the Underground passage. I had my men fighting the lightning statues there and because of the tight space they were in I couldn't move them out of the way from destroying the Objective luckly I saved it 30 mins before nevertheless I wouldnt be very happy if I spent 2 hours playing a game and didn't save it only to find out that your objective was destroyed.
Suggestions:
1. Open up the passage between the mountains just a little more. To prevent traffic jams for the AI.
2. Put a population cap on the AI.
3. Place a Fountain of Restoration somewhere on the map to heal Circe or divise of another way to heal her. Making someone choose a minor god doesn't seem fair.
4. Do one of 2 things: Slow down the Spawn rate of the Attacking Cyclops's or Lower the number of Cyclops's that come out each time.
5. For the New settlements you aquire lower the Spawn rate and number of Cyclops's that go to those settlements. Keeping your whole army there and Circe at your old settlement for protection just doesn't work out.
6. Put a warning about being careful not to destroy the Objective.
Additional Comments:
All in all a very good map for being the first map made by this creator. Would recommend it at its current state for Highly Advanced to Expert players only. Definitly a need to download if going to play the sequel. I have only seen the beginning but it looks really good. |
Sisisterurge |
Posted on 03/06/07 @ 08:25 PM
Playability: 4
Aside from the rentless attack It plays great!
Balance: 3
I find it hard but not without good reason. I'm stranded on an island after all.
Creativity: 5
Great idea done right.
Map Design: 4
Very well done, Lightning statues will pay for what they have done.
Story/Instructions: 5
I'm a Circe fan what can I say?
Additional Comments:
Thanks for making this |
Rift |
Posted on 08/23/09 @ 05:46 AM
Playability: 4
It was a great game to play, took me a full 25 minutes to get bored of it, nice :P
Balance: 3
I didn't like the fact that the Cyclops kept coming back to piss me off.. And Circe should regenerate slowly.
Creativity: 5
Very good idea, never thought anyone would make an entire level revolving around Circe's defeat in the actual Campaign.
Map Design: 4
Nice design, it was one of those maps (like the real AoM campaign) that made me forget about the maps look. It just felt like an actual campaign.
Story/Instructions: 5
Extremely clear to understand, but once you defeat the Hero Cyclops; Poly-something, you should recieve something, like a godpower or whatever.. I don't know but I had to scout around to see if he was alive.
Additional Comments:
Overall, GREAT map, 4/5
Hope to see m0re :D |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.3 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.0 | Balance | 3.5 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 4.0 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 6,540 |
Favorites: [] | 1 |
Size: | 230.14 KB |
Added: | 06/29/03 |
Updated: | 05/22/04 |
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