|
Author |
File Description |
EaZy (id: EazY_Ben) |
Posted on 03/20/04 @ 09:01 AM (updated 06/09/05)
File Details |
Screenshot:
|
Version: |
AoM: The Titans |
Count Dracula
By EazY_Ben (EaZy, Ben_)
It was so tempting. The diamond was just sitting there, in the shop. The jeweller had just gone out of the room, it seemed the perfect opportunity. You Grabbed the diamond, and at that exact moment, two members of Gormine’s armed guard came round the corner, and you had the largest and most valuable diamond known to man in your hands. They looked at you, and started closing in. You looked from side to side, trying to see if there was a safe exit. The guards were getting closer, and were blocking the only way out, apart from the chimney. You leapt towards the empty fire place, the diamond still in your hands. Putting the diamond into your leather pouch, you held onto the first rung on the chimney. And with all your might, you climbed. You were very far up the chimney before the guards were at the bottom. But still you climbed.
When you got the top, you could see the roofs of all Gormines houses. You ran over the roof of the house you had just been in, and threw yourself on to the next. By that time, the guards had caught up and were just coming out of the chimney. You knew that if you were caught, exile would be the lightest charge. You ran on, but your tired legs gave way and at that moment you tripped over and fell down the three storys to the pebbled path below. You didn't remember anything else after that....
As you had guessed, exile was the lightest charge. The ship left the port of Gormine early that morning. As the shore got further and further away, the more you and more you realized that you would miss it.
Three weeks past before you arrived at your destination, the terrorized land of Hagdan. Legend has it that a terrible blood-sucking vampire, that goes by the name of Count Dracula, has been killing and terrorising this land for many century’s. What would be there?
You were given a map when you were thrown ashore.
'The only way you'll ever go back to Gormine is if you kill Dracula!' smirked the guards as they threw you off the ship.
The map says that there is a town called Betheran, you must go there to find shelter and work. Good Luck.
Count Dracula contains:
-Night/day cycle
-5 cool main quests
-Over 20 side quests to earn money&respect
-Three secret characters
-A hidden area
-Talk to almost every friendly unit on the game
-Cool ending cinematic
-600x600 realistic map
-Do quests to 'change' the ending cinematic
-Secret code hidden in the game, first person to find it wins a sticker!:P
-Readme
-Lots more...
Updates in version 1.1
-(Slightly) Improved map design
-New Quests
-Better instructions
-Many bugs fixed
-An actual use for the 'secret codes' :P
Updates in version 1.2
-Improved map design
-Difficulty levels
-Bugs fixed
-New quests
Updates in version 1.3
-Improved map design
-Bugs fixed
-Choice dialogue added
-New quests added
Updated 9th June 2005. |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
---|
Villi |
Posted on 03/21/04 @ 07:15 AM
Playability: 4
The playabilety was good becouse of all the side quests. But the messages and the flares are going to fast! It's really annoying when you don't now what's the target with your task, or what place yo "check out". I had a problem with the boat that is supose to take you to theegyptian village, but it seems only I had the problem so I wont mark it.
Balance: 4
The balance was good to. Not to hard, not to easy. I liked the difficulety. The hardest part was to destroy the bandit base though, Dracula was kinda easy to kill. One thing: When I was on my way to kill Dracula it says "The wargs guarding count Dracula has killed your army. From here you must go alone" (Or something) But the only thing thats happens is that my collosus and the catapults die. I had a HUGE hoplite army, and none of them died. This made it kinda easy to kill Dracula
Creativity: 5
The creativity was really good. The way to gain life (like Eat berry's mmmmmmmm) was cool. All the side quest's was well made and somewher a bit challenging to! The main Quests was olso cool. And it's true that nierly all friendly units talk to you, I found very few ho didn't.
Map Design: 5
The map design was truly great. The forests looked really good. Maybe a little lack of eye candy, but this isn't that kind of map (If you ask me). The only think that i marked was that I was able to pass some plces by walking up in small paths in the mountains. I was able to pace the gate of troy, without killing it. and the go to the relic of the sun withut entering the roc.
Story/Instructions: 3
There was one BIG problem with the instuctions, they goes away to fast. When talking to people new messages is coming to fast. As stated in the playabilety, it's really annoying when you don't now what's the target with your task, or what place yo "check out". The flares lasted to short. Flares should last at last 3 seconds. One last thing: Why were you in that forest?
No intro cinematic, no chat box telling you it. You could at last wrote it in the spotlight. Not all people bother to read all of the descriptions of the map.
Additional Comments:
Exept for a few bugs and mistakes, this is a truly great map, and well worth the time it takes to download (And play it) And the code is 067 ;)[Edited on 03/21/04 @ 07:27 AM]
|
The Bard |
Posted on 03/26/04 @ 04:20 AM
Playability: 3
I quite liked the scenario as such. The main problem in my mind was that a lot of it consisted of walking and waiting. I've done my own share of shifts on the night watch, so I know it's very realistic that guard duty mainly consists of standing around waiting, but that's not how it should be treated in a game. Here we're doing it for fun!
The size of the map led to an enormous amount of walking around. The worst was the part about the relic. Was it really necessary to send the player to one end of the map only to tell him that he had to walk back to the other end again? Telling him at the temple would have saved a lot of time there without taking away anything from the quest.
The scenario has a number of minor bugs and technical flaws in there. None of them kills it off at least, which kept my rating on an average level. Let's see:
If I saved and then reloaded the scenario, I got line of sight to all allied units. I only lost that again when Azabehan declared me an enemy. (It might be better to set the allies to neutral and use revealers instead if you want to show certain areas.)
There are several Healing Springs in the game, but none of them actually works. (Simply placing the object in the editor doesn't do the trick, you need to invoke the God Power at startup to get them to work.)
Maybe it's just me, but I didn't see a day/night cycle. All I saw were some confusing changes of lighting every couple of minutes. Most of the time it was night anyway. (You may want to take a look at the Scenario Design Tutorial here on the site for a day/night cycle that actually works. But as I said, maybe it's just me.)
Teleporting Jason does not work properly. If the player selects the obelisk while Jason is walking, nothing happens at all, he has to stand still for it to work. (To get around this problem, convert him to a dummy player, then teleport and convert back.)
Several of the things for sale in Betheran are actually for free, namely the food, the dwarfs and the cavalry. (Check those triggers.)
The money for guarding the mine is awarded no matter what. (You need another set of conditions for this trigger.)
Dwarfs can be made into Ulfsarks which can then be used to erect buildings, including a TC in Hector's cave. (Forbid the Ulfsark.)
All players remain visible in the Diplomacy menu. This means that the player can change his diplomatic settings at will, for example to remove the boulders blocking his way to Dracula or to the relic. It's even possible to declare Betheran an enemy, tear down their TC, declare them allies again and build a TC for Jason there... (Set all other players to 'hidden' in the Player Data menu or better yet, have them react in some way if the player changes his diplomacy settings.)
The shades are useless against human units and will just kill themselves if they try to attack Jason's troops. (There is no easy solution here, you would need to implement triggers to allow the shades to kill humans, possibly using the 'damage units in area' effect.)
If a simple scout gets too close to Dracula's castle, the "wards" kill off most of the players army - no matter where the troops are standing. (Btw, you forgot to kill the hoplites and secret characters here.) This doesn't make much sense, it might have been better to implement some triggers with condition 'units in area' and effect 'damage units in area' to kill off any unit (except Jason) which walked too close to the castle but left all the others alive.
It's not necessary to kill the priest in Azabehan, the toxote next to him will do the job automatically. (Convert the priest to a player which is neutral to the villagers.)
Guarding the gate in Betheran is not necessary, the troops there are quite capable of handling the attackers themselves. (Weaken the guard there.) Also, it looks kind of stupid when the enemies just appear out of thin air in front of the gate. (Create them somewhere else and have them march up to the gate.)
One last detail: At the beginning the map is visible for a split second before it goes black and then jumps to the start. (Use a camera start object here and a high priority trigger with 'fade to colour' running immediately.)
Balance: 3
Too easy! I actually managed to get myself killed, but it took some effort. Once the first few tasks are done the player's troops are hopelessly overpowered and can make quick work of all enemies. I think I lost just a single hippikon right up to the final fight. Making Jason invulnerable didn't exactly help to make that one interesting either... The game is actually more tedious than challenging, especially with all the long walks.
Creativity: 5
It's definitely an improvement since 'The Legend of Krokan'. Now there is some variation in there with the different sorts of tasks. I also liked the 'automated' transports, especially the Rocs. A nice idea to keep the player from using them as scouts!
Map Design: 4
I quite liked the map, it had a lot of nice details to it. Not great yet, but halfway there I'd say. The problem here was that it was actually possible to walk through some obstacles, especially at the different mine entrances. At least, fair is fair, the enemy can simply walk through the gate of Betheran as well...
Story/Instructions: 3
The problem with most instructions is that they are displayed in message boxes only, so there is no way to go back and re-read them once they're gone. Using chats might have been a better solution here. You used the objectives page, but you never told the player when to look there. On one occasion someone says something like "I've got another task for you" and doesn't continue. It took me a while to find out that a new objective had been given.
There is not much of a story in the scenario itself, I think you should have put the readme file into the spotlight. (Btw., why are there Centaurs in the spotlight picture? What do they have to do with our old friend Vladimir?)
Oh yes, and you should really check your spelling!
Additional Comments:
Why Dracula? You created your own little world (well, forest), so why did you include someone who doesn't fit in? To me it felt somehow like the kind of movie where some star is hired for a ten second cameo appearance so the distributors can boast about having Sean Connery in it...
|
GreenLiquid (id: gummyWorm) |
Posted on 11/12/04 @ 04:42 PM
Playability: 4
A very fun RPG to play, with the little secrets built in makes it funner. Almost the best RPG I've played. I would give you a 4.5 if I could. Plus, all the buying/selling and mini-missions help it be much funner. However, I didn't like how all the main missions were all given from the temple. Main missions should come from different sources.
Balance: 3
Not too hard, the endboss is UBER EASY(provided you visit the old guy). And most of the hardest missions, such as defend the city, are skippable. Plus, you get too much gold in the game, and I finished with 5000+ unused gold.
Creativity: 5
Never seen this idea before, very good. Who ever would've thought to make a Dracula scenario? Good idea too.
Map Design: 5
Map rich in eyecandy, so no problems there. Blowing leaves awesome, plus you've managed to add things like the bandit cave, which use unique eyecandy techniques. I couldn't get close to your level of eyecandy if I tried for days.
Story/Instructions: 5
I knew what I needed to do at all times. The story was also pretty good.
Additional Comments:
A reccomended download for anyone who does or doesn't like RPGS. Also, I was going to say, when is Diplomacy coming out? I am very much looking forward to it, and the demo was exceptional.[Edited on 11/16/04 @ 04:27 PM]
|
Gaurdian_112 |
Posted on 11/28/04 @ 08:00 AM
Playability: 5
Count Dracula is an RPG that plays out pretty well. Its actually alot of fun and you can tell that the author spent quite alot of time working on those little details that make scenarios fun. For example, the olive trees that heal you. I only have a few complaints, that being that its a little hard to find your way through, there is a lack of instructions (for example, in the opening mission the objectives didn't update with the berry mission) and the effect of secrets is somewhat vague.
Besides that I had a blast, the map wasn't too crowded, but it was well-designed and overall very exciting to plough through.
EDIT: Playability increased since he fixed some of the bugs and added Choice Dialogue, which is neat.
Balance: 4
The Balance of this scenario is OK. It wasn't overly difficult nor easy. I didn't really find this any special point in the scenario though a 4 is in order because I simply experienced no problems. The hero character (Jason) was strong enough to deal with most issues and overall the balance was well laid out.
Creativity: 5
I think this is the map's strongest point. The story is quite original however I think it would be good to mention the scenario's many other creative points- like the various RPG elements (coming close to a unit to talk to it, instead of selecting) and the items you could collect around the map. Overall, extremely creative and definately deserving of a 5.
Map Design: 5
The map design is great:). Eazy Ben made excessive use of Reyk's new editor here but the effect is marvelous- espiacally the opening scene. I actually really liked the ambience of the scn- it seemed to have a unique atmosphere..quiet..eery... The map had no bad points, no concievable bugs and personally I thought it was great.
Story/Instructions: 4
I've already given my opinion on the story, but I was a little dissapointed with the lack of good instructions. While things did update now and then, most of the time I was baffled at what exactly I had to do. However, this only warrants a removal of 1 point since the story and other issues related to instructions were pretty much great.
Additional Comments:
Keep designing Ben:) This is fantastic work. You should continue working on such scns- taking into account all the things the reviewer said so your next scn can be even better. It would be great if you had an introduction cinematic as well.
[Edited on 06/12/05 @ 11:47 AM]
|
dr nefarious |
Posted on 12/13/04 @ 02:52 AM
Playability: 3
Unfortunately, not much has changed since the first version. The scenario might be fun to play if it was not for the tons of trigger bugs in there. Healing Springs and Hesperides Trees don't work, neither does the "teleporter machine". Half of the time the player receives things for free he is supposed to buy. The "wards" around Dracula's castle don't manage to kill most the player's units, so he attack with a whole army.
Another weak point is that the player has to walk around the map so much, spending some 90% of his time waiting until Jason arrives at point B. This way the scenario becomes boring very fast.
Balance: 2
A good scenario starts out easy and becomes harder over time. Here it is the wrong way round, and way too easy anyway. The most difficult tasks are at the beginning, when Jason is alone. Soon the player can assemble a whole army of heroes, myth units and the whole range of regular troops of infantry, cavalry, and siege, which will allow him to laugh at the feeble opposition the computer can offer. Since Dracula is not smart enough to stay within the protective range of his castle, even this uber-boss is no match for the player's army.
Creativity: 3
I don't think this scenario is very creative. It's just another RPG without any new or original ideas, nothing we have not seen a hundred times before. It felt as if the author tried to copy "Shilmista" or "Sorcery", but couldn't quite manage it. The so-called quests are mostly limited to "go there, kill that" and "stay here, kill everything you see". Nothing more interesting, just fighting, no real riddles. Dracula in the end as an oversized shade did not exactly add to the atmosphere either.
Map Design: 4
The map design was not bad, I liked the forest and everything, but it was not exceptional either. The only thing a bit above the average was Dracula's castle in the end. Apart from that, the author's idea of eye candy seems to be limited to putting some ruins, fountains or torches everywhere.
Story/Instructions: 4
Most of the time I knew what to do so the instructions were not bad. The story in the readme sounded interesting, but it had nothing to do with what happened in the game. I felt a bit cheated, since the game itself has no real story, there are just a number of quests the player has to fulfill for no obvious reasons. But of course, most RPG games are like that.
Additional Comments:
Contrary to what the author claims, I hold no grudge against him, and I am no smurf of one of his "rivals" either. The reason my rating is so different from most others for this scenario is simply that most other reviews here are from friends and teammates of the author.
|
BlueLagona |
Posted on 11/09/06 @ 12:43 PM
Playability: 5
I enjoyed this scenario very much! There are lots of original concepts and ideas that the author has put to great use. There are seemingly endless amounts of optional quests to keep you entertained aswell as the 5 main quests, all of which were exciting and surely well-thought.
Balance: 4
I found that for the most part the scenario was well balanced. I liked the way you could recieve upgrades to your main character and that you could revive your health by eating berries. I did find, however, that some parts were slightly too hard, and some slightly to easy, but these are very minor problems.
Creativity: 5
This is a very creative map! The ideas are great and you can tell the author has worked hard to make this an enjoyable scenario. There is alot of walking around to be done though ,but i feel this adds to it as it givesd yuou a chance to explor the eye-candy.
Map Design: 5
The map was well designed for its purpose and had lots of cool features and good use of terrain mixing. There were lots of new ideas in the map which i have never seen before. The map had lots of great eye-candy and i think it deserved a 5.
Story/Instructions: 4
The story was good, but could have been more interesting. I liked the idea of Count Draclua being used in a scenario aswell, and i liked the atnosphere of the scenario too. Quite ghostly. I also thought that the instructions were clear and concise, and i knew what I was doing for 95% of the time (only minor confusions were caused in the side quests).
Additional Comments:
I thoroughly enjoyed this scenario and I definately recommend it to all! |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
---|
4.1 | Breakdown |
---|
Playability | 4.0 | Balance | 3.3 | Creativity | 4.7 | Map Design | 4.7 | Story/Instructions | 3.8 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 3,081 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 908.50 KB |
Added: | 03/20/04 |
Updated: | 06/09/05 |
|