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Shilmista - The Era of Rain Showers
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Author |
File Description |
Byz (id: Byzantine_Warrior) |
Posted on 09/19/03 @ 10:49 PM (updated 10/12/04)
File Details |
Version: |
AoM: The Titans |
INSTALLATION NOTE!
When you open the .exe file and it asks you what path to install to, you must select your AoM folder in Program files (default is C:/Program Files/Microsoft Games/Age of Mythology), not in My Documents!
Play on EASY!
Grappling onto the cliff-side, you can hear your undertakers below. Your biceps strain, and you pray they don't have enough sense to look up. You sense them looking about, surveying your once small yet profitable fishing business. They shrug, seemingly disappointed, and walk back to continue looting with their compadres. A zephyr comes from the west and lets you know you can get down. You hit the mix of grass and dirt and return to the bush you had been at but five minutes ago. You grasp the handle of your sword. The blade glistens in the falling sun. Dusk will soon be upon you. You pick a handful of berries and stuff them in your pouch. Traversing the hill in which you had previously been clutching, you survey the land before you. The Syrus River flows in its majestic way, toward the east. Further on, you can make out the dull outline of Grainsport. That is where you will start anew. Little do you know, the world, Shilmista, that houses Grainsport and its neighbors has a dark underside, in which you will stumble upon in due time.
Story
The story begins simple enough. You take up the role of a mild-mannered merchant who owns a small, yet profitable, fishing business on the Island of Clearwood. One day, bandits ransack your business; however, you are able to make it out without being detected. Your goal is to get to Grainsport and to become more of a handy-man, delivering packages, escorting people to various places. Your combat skills, however, do not go unnoticed, and you find yourself being called upon the military officials of different towns and cities and asked to go on daring adventures. You soon realize, though, that the most daring adventures are brewing right under your feet.
Shilmista: The Era of Rain Showers
By Byzantine Warrior @ Tsunami Studios
www.tsunamionline.net
Please read the readme file for important issues.
Note: If you come across any bugs, please mail me at byzwar@icqmail.com
Enjoy!
The Winner of the "Best Playable Scenario Award."
The Winner of the "Best Story and Instructions Award."
A Winner of the "Best Cinematography Award."
Thanks to those who voted for it! :) |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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thecowwarrior |
Posted on 09/21/03 @ 10:50 PM
Playability: 4
The map plays just great - so long as you make sure to choose a mission from a flashing character. The author clearly spent a VERY long time with all the triggers, and for as intricate and complicated as the map is, I think we can all look over the few minor bugs.
Balance: 4
The missions are all very creative and fun, though a couple can be a tad frustrating. There isn't a whole lot of combat - at least not in the style we've become accustomed to in standard AOM gameplay.
Creativity: 5
I'm usually not a fan of scenarios where people try to make AOM into a movie or a RPG or whatever, but this is truly great. I would describe it as an 'adventure' type scenario, that truly does change the way we think of AOM.
Map Design: 5
The map design is very strong, as well as effective. There is plenty of eye candy, as well as a cinematic intro, which is great.
Story/Instructions: 5
Its always nice when people add a story to their scenarios, and this one is probably the deepest one I've seen so far. Great work!
Additional Comments:
This was a very fun map to play, though I must confess that when I got to the final mission, something bugged and I was unable to control my player and I got killed. It may have been a mistake on my part though, I'm not really sure. But when more people review this I'm sure that the problem will get solved. |
Archaeopterix |
Posted on 11/10/03 @ 05:14 AM
Playability: 4
You gotta pay for the few small bugs, so instead of giving you a five at this point for the graet fun I had playing this scen, I give you a 4 :P
Balance: 4
I got killed a couple of times, but I just loaded my saved game and started again, because it was just so much fun. For quitters this scenario probably isn't the best choice, but IMO, most scenarios are too easy, so I give you a well deserved four for balance: GREAT JOB!
Creativity: 5
WOOHOO, what a wonderful story, and WOOHOO what a wonderful eyecandy! :-) No need for me to say more, well, maybe there is: The quests were really cool and creative (especially the pot-smash quest :P)
Map Design: 5
I'd like to give you a fat 6 for this one, but unfortunately that isn't possible :(. There was incredibly much eyecandy, the villages were really cosey, with flourishing economies, and YET the map was very playable. (I've had a couple of maps where there was so much eyecandy that it was hard for you to find a path through that mess...)
Story/Instructions: 4
I think, although it would have been much more work for you to do so, you could have triggered dialogues instead of those large pieces of text in the objectives menu. The instructions in the objectives was very clear though... (Well, I got stuck because I accidentally missed the flare to those buggy gardens, but that's my fault I guess). As I already said in the CREATIVITY part: The story is just great.
Additional Comments:
This is the type of RPG-scenario that I've been looking for ever since I bought AOM! It's just great! ROARRRR!!![Edited on 06/20/05 @ 04:44 PM]
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Student of War |
Posted on 01/12/04 @ 09:44 AM
Playability: 3
I noticed when you do the missions out of order there are a few small seemingly random problems including but not limited to the objectives. I guess one mission doesnt take into account that another has or has not been accomplished. Quest variables can solve this but you need the Titans. Unfortunatly the objectives work in a linear fashion and do not allow for more than one at a time to be open not even in the Titans. This rpg reminds me of the Ultima series.
Balance: 5
It seems this senario was made just for someone like me. I had to restart a few times but that only made me want to play it more. Nice work.
Creativity: 5
I have not played any senario that has had more new ideas. You are a pioneer and an insipration to all rpg lovers.
Map Design: 5
This map is oosing with detail. There is not a 2 foot square that has been ignored. And all the terrain features were probably designed with the scens story in mind.
Story/Instructions: 4
I found when I took notes I had no problem keeping track of what was going on. But I didnt think of it the first time I played it and I got a little confused.
Additional Comments:
You have changed the face of AOM with this scenario without the "Hype". It is apparent that this was made with a lot of time and effort. Dont stop![Edited on 01/14/04 @ 12:24 PM]
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AmbitionDesigns |
Posted on 08/13/04 @ 03:45 AM
Playability: 4
Thatnk you Byz! I finally downloaded this on the off-chance it would be good, but I never realized just how good it was! For some reason, I expected something along the lines of what Guardian would produce, with rock lined roads and less options - how wrong I was!
I had a helluva time playing this scenario, it was so much fun and fasntiastically interesting to play. I had to load up quite a few saved games (especially as at one point I got killed by a Krakan when I just wanted to heal myself) but it was all really good.
I took off the final five point because I really didn't like the actualy cinematics. I would advise using camera cuts rather than constantly swerving camera tracks, and there were about five spelling mistakes throughout the cinematics.
The way you advise the player to save on dangerous objectives was really good, and really helpful for me.
I only wish the scenario could have been longer, with more missions, more subtle hints at the conclusion, and some longer missions after you're working for the theocrat character.
Balance: 5
Perfect, I really think it was. Though I died a few times, and found the assassination of Odysseus slightly hard, I had a really fun time playing and never felt like there were overwhelming odds against my survival. Brilliantly crafted and everything went smoothly. There was also a nice balance of missions, from tending to a garden, to widing out bandits, to delivering items, most of which resulted in wonderfulyl subtle hints at the twist and conclusion of the story.
Creativity: 5
Very, very creative. An enormous amount of objectives and triggers, a day/night cycle, the best eye candy I've seen in a long time, playing as a merchant myrmidon who buys a plot of land and then offers his services to everybody. Very creative story, with a twist (!!!!) which worked perfectly.
Map Design: 5
I love this map design. I was expecting from Guardian style unrealistic eye candy, where every single nature objective is packed into every screen, with stupid looking rocks lining each road, but you've proved me wrong. Everything was realistic, from the forests to the towns. Wonderfully placed rocks, bushes and grasses in the perfect places, as well as nicely used terrains. I also really appreciated the fact it was based around a river. It means you can't get everywhere straight away, which gives you a slight control over the player, but it's done subtlely so the player thinks he has more control. Wonderful.
Story/Instructions: 5
I really liked the story. Really, really. But then, I'm a sucker for stories in games and scenarios, I love them! Brilliantly developed, with good character development for the various NPCs. The instructions were perfect, with conversations placed in the objectives menu in a journal style way to tell you what to do. Everything was very clear, and I never felt as if I didn't know what I was trying to acheive. Telling us to save when danger was around was the icing on the cake.
Additional Comments:
I'm really looking forward to hellscape. |
Sevenwonders |
Posted on 11/09/04 @ 01:49 PM
Playability: 4
This scenario is VERY fun! I would give you a "five" on playability, but the end was a bit dissapointing. Not the surprise twist, no I loved that. It's just at the end, the amphitheater seemed a bit... "bland". I mean there really was no story about it, it just popped up and said "Destroy the Amphitheater". The last part just seemed to have less story. I would just recommened putting some role in the Amphitheater.
Another slight problem was the mission with the roc. If you do that mission, and drop of the merchant at the island and stay there, then you lose control of the roc and you're stuck there. Actually that really isn't so much of a problem because you warned players to save then, so I guess that's OK.
Balance: 5
Perfectly balanced. It was challenging, but not impossible. There was also a way to get past hard parts without brute force. For example, at the beginning of the scenario, where you are ambushed by the spearman and peltasts, you could just keep trying to do it, and kill them eventually, but you can also, after killing one soldier, run back to the market and heal. Parts that may seem impossible really are not.
Creativity: 5
Great creativity! Some of the missions are completely unique, like the smashing pots one. The boat race was also completely creative (though I never won that one).
Map Design: 5
The map is huge and all over it, it is covered with eyecandy. Lots of villigers are standing there, and you can "talk" to them. The designer obviously spent a lot of time in this scenario.
Story/Instructions: 5
The story was great! I loved the hints of the twist and everything about it. The instructions were never confusing either - you always knew what you were supposed to do.
Additional Comments:
One of, if not the, best scenario I have ever played. IMO, the only scenarios that rival it are Hobbit and No Point. (I can't decide which of those three are my favorite). But anyways, I loved this scenario! |
GreenLiquid (id: gummyWorm) |
Posted on 02/10/05 @ 05:27 PM
Playability: 5
In the scenario, you ALWAYS have something to do. It's jam packed with minigames and such (such as the pot-breaking one). When you play you'll find all kinds of things to do, and if you're like me you'll never get bored. The action stays good until the end. I also enjoyed how the units you had to talk to flashed.
Balance: 4
This scenario was at a medium difficulty, with some hard parts here and there. The reason I docked this is because the only parts really that difficult are the hard ones. The game is all in all easy if you save often. This is good, so I say a four would be nice.
Creativity: 5
The map has a pre-story that takes place before the scenario. There is lots of stories and other creative details all throughout. For example, there are missions where there isn't just nessesarily one way to win. The map is packed with creative surprises, just waiting to be found.
Map Design: 5
Eyecandy galore! There is plenty of bushes, rocks, rains, seaweeds, signposts, rubble, skeletons, flags, and flowers placed about the map. The map is designed very well and this really shines out in the map. Obvoiusly this scenario took a lot of time and effort, and that's why this category deserves a five.
Story/Instructions: 5
The scenario comes with a creative backstory. What you are supposed to do at any given moment is clear, AND you can view the benifits/consequences of your previous actions. This makes the scenario much more interesting. The scenario tells you JUST enough to get you by, and the rest is full of surprises. This scenario is a shining example of how story/instructions ought to be.
Additional Comments:
Everything looks great, and I loved the walkthrough/guide. It really helps you out when you get stuck. It's pretty convenient to have it laid out like so and then the walkthrough makes it easy to get past hard areas, such as where I kept getting caught in the mission to free Circe (I thought you were supposed to hide in the Roc). Helps a lot.
BTW, are you making a sequel? |
DarkAnubis |
Posted on 01/11/06 @ 12:27 AM
Playability: 4
The instructions in the objectives were nice but I was sorta expecting to see dialogue between the people, and the hints you gave..soooo suttle I was having trouble passing the "save the wife" cause I didnt get a clue..lol Could be longer though, which is why I gave a 4..I wanna do more quests, upgrade more, be an actuall merchant maybe, span it out in a campaign form maybe.
Balance: 4
I suppose I gave a 4 only because I was dumb and played it on Moderate. kept getting owned so I had to cheat (the healing one is all I used) to survive any battles at all. If someone made that mistake really give better upgrades maybe? like to the army you give, or something..I dont know..
Creativity: 5
Oh, where do I start? The cinimatics were short but sweet, the look and feel of it, awesome, the sounds, the music, the colors, magnafique!
Map Design: 5
Sorry for the one line but..pretty much the same as Creativity.
Story/Instructions: 4
Story goes along with playability. Same with instructions, although some were a little vague. I read that hint about the dwarf one but I just didnt see any hints in the text as to what may be coming. Otherwise like I said above, could be longer more quests, more money to be made..etc..end was...disapointing..I mean not BAD disapointing but..yea.
Additional Comments:My first review..though a very long time player. 8 thousand and counting downloads, y ou need to make more like this.
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.6 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.0 | Balance | 4.4 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 5.0 | Story/Instructions | 4.6 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 12,297 |
Favorites: [] | 1 |
Size: | 6.32 MB |
Added: | 09/19/03 |
Updated: | 10/12/04 |
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