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Posts from Heart of the Night

Maps: Tribes of the East
4.0 (8 ratings)

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Scenario
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M
Author
Gerter
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Offline 13га
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Posts: 341
#125
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I somehow made it to the end of the map (the original version, with the "hero"). An epic tale: "A Journey There and Back," then again there, and then again back. An intensive course of treatment for the hero's sclerosis. The scenario is a solid 5+. There are many intricacies in the map, but everything works decently. The map is carefully calculated. The drawbacks are a logical continuation of the advantages. Everything is regulated: the army, spells, and movement paths. For the player, this is like moving in a tube: no turning left or right, jumping is a provocation. Spells are given when capturing certain objects, and it's unclear what will happen if, at the end, you change, say, "chaos" to "light" on the mentor – what spells will be in the book? In this map, everything is done "quickly." Only after finishing the map can you say that something should have been done differently. But, looking back, how many times would I have to replay it... oh well, it's good enough as it is. The map is designed for those who like to carve up dinosaurs with a pocketknife. The action is divided into two storylines: Karlam and Greta. In Karlam's story, I really didn't like the lack of the ability to split up troops. I left some in the garrison of the mine, but that's not the best option. Then I just stopped taking genies. I didn't understand if, under the conditions of eternal night, it's possible to honestly dig up the Grail. No matter how much I ran around, I couldn't get a handicap of 2 days' travel. If the gap became too large, Baal was teleported to the nearest respawn point to Karlam.
The main disappointment was Greta's storyline. The absurd special ability of the elf harmonizes very well with the female name of the muscle-bound male. Any standard elf would look better in her place: Vinrael (battle-hardened), Anwen, Vingaël. Regeneration is not applied to the summoned dragon, and very large armies attack, so it dies quickly. The reward is small, the losses are huge. The structure of the battles at the castle is essentially anti-elf – drawn-out, with an emphasis on defense. They are even boring to watch in replay. Greta's upgrade goes into all sorts of minor skills for an elf, like mechanics and enchantment. In these battles, high-initiative elven troops are mainly forced to stand, only the hero moves. In most cases, there is no point in deploying the entire army. The culmination of such battles was Gilva. Horror and mockery of the player at the same time. The phantoms created by the AI stacks come to life. A stack crammed into one place, after being resurrected and moved, rises from the dead in several places by the AI. I put the game aside for a long time after this siege. Achilles cannot catch the tortoise. The battle with the healer was the only one in which I used the elf's special ability. I think Orris was the most successful in the series of sieges. As a suggestion, it would be good to display information about which elven outpost increases the growth of which creature. It's one thing to spend resources on increasing dragons, and quite another on trees.
I don't want to replay the map at all. Maybe someday, when I've forgotten all this mess.
P.S. It was a waste to take away Karlam's mentoring ability. At least some variety was expected.
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Offline Mupy-Mup!
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#126
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I experimented a bit, figuring out what works best – it seems the best time to awaken Baal is on a Friday.
If the time until his awakening doesn't affect anything and you can loop through weeks endlessly without anything changing, then that's fine. I arrived at his place on Sunday evening and spent the entire work week waiting outside his door.

There's probably some individual logistics involved; I used Developed, Pathfinding, and Green Boots.

So, we wake him up on Friday morning, go to the hut, then to the bushes, and collect everything that's there. I tried to get Wisdom before the bushes, and they gave me some very good spells there. Then, we go to the garrison and spend some more time so that Carl can obtain the Dragon Ring and give it to the lady. I removed all artifacts from her except for the clover.

Then, Carl leaves, and Greta, who arrived on Wednesday, is left alone, and from here, as I understand it, the countdown to the arrival of the Necropolis begins. We have 5 days left for construction – this is enough to build all the basic dwellings and the Castle, maximizing the growth. The thing is, you also need to upgrade the archers, i.e., I didn't build dragons yet. And Ents are mainly needed to establish a certain relationship with the fairies; otherwise, in the first battle, at least, they just stood in the corner.

The Necropolis arrives on Monday morning, so we'll have 2 full growth cycles in 2 weeks, or however many resources we have left; the main thing is to build the Castle.

That's how it works
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Offline vadim_t
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#127
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Damn, I got to the battle with Baal and realized that all the previous tricks of the map author were just mediocre... Yes, my troops respawn, but it's just unpleasant to watch them getting beaten up. I'm not sure if I'll finish the map – I'd rather watch Remix play it.
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Offline Gerter
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#128
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to 13ga
The main disappointment was Greta's storyline. The nonsensical special ability of the elf strongly correlates with the female name of a muscle-bound male.
I already wrote that there are no elf models or anything remotely resembling them in the game. I also couldn't find any fan-made ones, so here it is.
The summoned dragon doesn't get regeneration, and the enemy armies are very large, so it dies quickly.
Regeneration would be overpowered, wouldn't you agree? As it is, the dragon survives well in later battles, under the celestial shield, for example. At the beginning, yes, it is vulnerable, but in the updates, I gave it agility to compensate for this somewhat.
The structure of the battles in the Castle is essentially anti-elf – drawn-out, with an emphasis on defense.
Here, perhaps, I tried to structure the battles so that the potential for simply overwhelming the enemy with a large force would be minimal. It turned out... not very well, I admit. However, many of the shortcomings were again fixed in the new versions.
I didn't understand if it's possible to honestly dig up the Grail under the conditions of the eternal night. No matter how much I ran, I couldn't get a handicap of 2 days' travel. If the gap became too large, Baal would teleport to the nearest respawn point to Karlam.
It is possible, but it is really very difficult to achieve, so it was fixed. Teleports are now also from a greater distance.
As a suggestion, it would be good to display information about which elf outpost increases the growth of which creature. It's one thing to spend resources on increasing the number of dragons, and quite another on trees.
The outpost gives all troops, from druids to dragons, so that's why the price is so high.
Everything is regulated: army, spells, and movement paths. For the player, this is movement in a tube: you can't swerve left or right, jumping in place is a provocation. Spells are given when capturing certain objects, and it is unclear what will happen if you change, say, "chaos" to "light" on the mentor at the end – what spells will be in the book? In this map, everything is done "quickly." Only after playing to the end can you say that it would have been better to do things differently.
These restrictions arose more from the plot – we find ourselves in an unfamiliar area, with a much stronger enemy constantly on our tail, so any mistake can be fatal. Spells, once learned, remain forever (this is a game mechanic).
The map is designed for those who like to cut dinosaurs with a pocketknife.
A knife is also dangerous for a dinosaur if you hit it in a vulnerable spot.
The scenario is 5+. There are a lot of intricacies in the map, but everything works well. The map is carefully calculated.
Thank you for that, although you probably got lucky and didn't encounter some of the unpleasant bugs of the first version.

In general, thank you very much for the feedback; I agree with you on many points. It's a little disappointing that you played the very first, rather raw version, and that spoiled the impression.

to Mupy-Mup!
Here, perhaps, some also have different logistics; I went for developed + pathfinding + green boots.

Yes, he has logistics + pathfinding. But before, there was also a permanent buff from the stable (now it's only during the eternal night).

And with the Day of Awakening, you can experiment. For example, you can time it so that before the battle with the Necromancer, you get an initiative buff from a random Sanctuary (it seems like the 5th day of the week). And, as it happens, if you take the Dragon Ring from Karlam, you will have enough time to go to the underground and get Greta the Phantom, if needed.

to vadim_t
Damn, I got to the battle with Baal and realized that all the previous tricks of the map author were just so-so... Yes, my troops respawn, but it's just unpleasant to watch them being beaten. I'm not sure if I'll finish the map – I'd rather watch Remix.

I wouldn't call this battle difficult – the main thing is to counter the wave of minions with magic protection or fire resistance; there's nothing else special about it.
Нет войне.
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In reply to Gerter
Offline vadim_t
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#129
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Gerter
to 13ga


to vadim_t

I wouldn't call this fight difficult – the main thing is to counter the wave of minions with magic defense or fire resistance, there's nothing else special about it.

I don't know. Baal has such high initiative and speed that practically my entire army (which I didn't lose) is wiped out immediately. Respawn doesn't help. Variations of the available artifacts – the Staff of the Underworld – don't give anything. Minions are equipped with magic resistance + 25% armor – what's the point, he happily beats them down with his meat, without even trying to cast spells. Just to reiterate: I specifically played through all versions of your map on Recruit difficulty – to calmly enjoy the story – it's the story that distinguishes your map from ordinary ones. Despite choosing the lowest difficulty level, I had a million reloads on each version of the map – okay. But the finale is deadly for the Recruit level:(
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Offline Gerter
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#130
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vadim_t
I don't know. Baal has such high initiative and speed that almost my entire army (which I didn't lose) is wiped out immediately. Respawn doesn't help. Variations of the available artifacts - the Staff of the Underworld doesn't give anything. Minis are equipped with magic resistance + 25% armor - what's the point, he happily kills with his melee units, without even trying to cast spells. Just to reiterate: I specifically played through all versions of your map on Recruit difficulty - to calmly enjoy the story - it's the story that distinguishes your map from ordinary ones. Despite choosing the lowest difficulty level, I had a million reloads on each version of the map - okay. But the final battle is deadly for the Recruit level:(
Yes, his melee units are the same on all difficulty levels; the difficulty only affects his behavior in battle (he casts Wave more often, starts vampirizing with the Wolf faster, and he starts his turn more often). Minis are key in this battle - initiative compensates for his initiative, HP and magic resistance don't allow him to quickly destroy our army; don't forget about artifact absorption to tank even longer with the main army. And there, double resurrection/phantom under the sign of the Sorcerer is very effective, and if you got the Staff of Sar-Iss, then Darkness (double slow + vampirism or even berserk on your own units) and even Chaos (double cold, for example) are also effective. And even elementals with a Phoenix still work; his army isn't that big. And (spoiler), this isn't quite the final battle yet :)
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Offline vadim_t
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#131
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Okay, I watched Remix's video to the end and realized that he took another step in the wrong direction – when creating the mini-maps, he didn't include an ini file. It's too difficult for a beginner level – I doubt that even a novice player would be able to complete your map, even halfway through. And that's a shame, because the idea was interesting, and the game is practically an RPG, but the overly strict limitations and excessive difficulty ruin everything.
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Offline Gerter
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#132
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vadim_t
Okay, I watched Remix's playthrough to the end and realized that he took another step in the wrong direction – when creating the mini-quests, he didn't include initiative. It's too harsh for a recruit-level player; I doubt even a mediocre player would get through your map, even halfway. It's a shame because the concept was interesting, and the game is practically an RPG, but the overly strict limitations and excessive difficulty ruin it.
Come on, you're exaggerating! Initiative-based mini-quests are a fundamental aspect of the Academy faction in the late game. Yes, the map is quite challenging, but I believe there are resources available to solve any problem. The real issue would be if those resources weren't there, and everything devolved into randomness and luck. And you can't balance it for everyone; some people even manage to complete the very first, even more difficult version on a single hero. Besides, there should be some challenge in any case; otherwise, the whole point of the game is lost, in my opinion.
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Offline vadim_t
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#133
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I think I didn't explain myself clearly. My objections boil down to one thing: IMHO, the map is generally inaccessible to players of weak and, perhaps, average skill levels. I think that at least on the "recruit" difficulty, the opponents should be made easier. But that's just my IMHO. And I got frustrated only because there are very few maps with such a great storyline and such excellent design.
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Offline Gerter
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#134
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vadim_t
I guess I didn't explain it well. My objections boil down to one thing: IMHO, the map is basically inaccessible to players of weak and, perhaps, average skill levels. I think that at least on the "recruit" difficulty, the opponents should be made easier. But that's just my IMHO.
And I got frustrated only because there are very few story-driven maps of such high quality and with such great design...
Thank you for such a positive assessment :) This is my first completed project, so, perhaps, in pursuit of originality, it turned out to be too elaborate... In the future, I will try to avoid this.
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Offline vasik
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#135
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In the first version, after running around a few times, you can collect items from distant locations. The most problematic turned out to be the library with 4 stats (I aimed for it and ran around for several turns just for it) and the tent near the two-way portal, especially the library. I ran around for a long time, but I managed to grab it in the end :) The Grail is honestly impossible to get without jumping afterward. You can get off the sea by knowing in advance and having the "Pillage" skill before boarding the ship; otherwise, everything is possible. When aiming for the library, you need to leave a demon at a distance on the mountain path near the portal so that it doesn't teleport, but also isn't within 1-2 steps; you have to find the right distance through trial and error. It's the furthest from the central road; everything else is a bit easier. The only annoying bugs are the looping (and possibly the behavior of the elf in the city garrison, but I didn't encounter it), but if you move a little closer and make an incomplete move, it can be fixed.

Yes, the first version is fine).
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Offline 13га
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#136
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If you switch, say, from "Chaos" to "Light" on the Mentor at the end, what spells will be in the spellbook?
Gerter
Spells that have been learned once remain forever (this is a game mechanic).
The fact that the old spells will remain isn't very important. What's more important is where to get spells for the new school of magic? Presumably, nowhere. This means that it only makes sense to change the Mentor's skills to non-magical schools. The choice turns out to be not very diverse.

A lyrical digression about Greta's specialization. The Elven army is a strike force. If an Elf doesn't have the "ability to simply rush the enemy" on the first turn, then it's not the right Elf. Because on the second turn, he will lose his army. Specializing in summoning a dragon is a burden for him. If he is summoned on the first turn, 7 stacks will remain without casting, and with "Haste" and good morale (which is very good here), some stacks will already deal a couple of blows to the enemy. If you summon on the second turn, the dragon will constantly be late, and the remaining stacks will almost all be defeated without it. What is good for a Necromancer cannot be good for an Elf. Let's see what the Defender of Moriton is planned to be like. So, skills: Education (starting), Summoning (summons a dragon, fills gaps in the fortress walls), Mechanics (provides a Witch), Chaos (many artifacts for him, Daughter of Silanna - an energy channel, Presence reduces mana costs. Greta only lacks mana if she actively uses "Chaos"), Defense (given that there are many Necromancers and he needs to stay in the castle). Which character's progression does this resemble, other than an Elf? In this configuration, only "Absolute Defense" is missing.
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Offline Gerter
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#137
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13th turn
The fact that old spells will remain is not very significant. What is more important is where to get spells for the new school of magic? Presumably, nowhere. It follows that it makes sense to change the mentor's skills only to non-magical schools. The choice turns out to be not very diverse.

A lyrical digression about Greta's specialization. The Elven army is a strike force. If an Elf doesn't have the "ability to simply rush and attack" on the first turn, then it's not the right Elf. Because on the second turn, he will lose his army. Specializing in summoning a dragon is a burden for him. If he is summoned on the first turn, then 7 stacks will remain without a cast, and with "haste" and good morale (which is very good here), some stacks will already deal a couple of blows to the enemy. If summoned on the second turn, the dragon will constantly be late, and the remaining stacks will almost all deal damage without it. What is good for a Necromancer cannot be good for an Elf. Let's see what the defender of Moriton is planned to be like. So, skills: education (starting), summoning (summons a dragon, fills gaps in the fortress walls), mechanics (provides a witch), chaos (many artifacts for him, Daughter of Silanna - an energy channel, presence reduces mana costs. Greta only lacks mana if she actively uses "chaos"), defense (given that there are many Necromancers and it's necessary to stay in the castle). Which character's progression does this resemble, other than an Elf? In this structure, only "absolute defense" is missing.
Chaos is very good for Greta, because in this situation, the druids' channel works twice as well - magic significantly buffs the dragon. After all, I had the idea to make Greta's gameplay different from the standard one (although it is quite possible).
The quests for which Karlam can get the most powerful spells are completed only in the very endgame, except for killing the merchant, but there the spells are more designed for dealing damage, so everything is fine. With the Tome of Power and Wisdom, you can learn all level 4 spells.
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Offline Mupy-Mup!
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#138
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Gerter
Chaos is quite good.

Hmm, I'm a bit confused. Chaos is more of an ability for Elves, it's their last resort.

Added 16 minutes later
13ga
So, skills.

In my opinion, leadership and initiative boost (cooperation is good), attack, definitely light with area-of-effect spells (Wrath + Wind), education (this is debatable, but it provides knowledge bonuses for buffs and +10% critical hit chance against sworn enemies, which can be significant, especially if luck is good). Summoning? I don't know, maybe only for Phantom, so Wisdom is also an option (although it requires 2 levels, while summoning only gives 1). Luck for an Elf? It's a rip-off, 2.25 with a 0.5 probability instead of 2, and it takes up a whole slot. It's easier to increase initiative and boost luck with artifacts/enhancements, especially since Karlam finds all the resources and artifacts. Dark against undead? That's a good idea, as long as we have a bigger budget. Machines? Okay, maybe, but what would we replace with them? Defense? If you're boosting initiative, why defense? Chaos is nonsense for an Elf. Logistics for Grete? Heh. What else is left? In general, for an Elf, it's all about initiative and critical hit, critical hit, and critical hit again. And then, whatever works
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Offline PODstail
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#139
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Found two minor issues: 1) If Baal attacks Carlam after obtaining the Beacon, and not a mage initiates the battle, Carlam-demon's army will consist not of a Cave Lord, but of creatures from the Academy, which he will then use to fight against Baal. For obvious reasons, it becomes impossible to break through to the city in this case. 2) If Greta is in the castle garrison before the battle with Baal, the game will freeze when Carlam transforms into a demon. Overall, the map is excellent. Also, a big plus for the built-in mod that increases the size of the text message window.
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