Posts from Story Cycle: The Last Garrison

Name: "Cycle of Stories: The Last Garrison"
Map name: "Cycle of Stories: The Last Garrison"
Map type: Scenario
Two-level map: No
Number of players: 5
Size: Large (Большая)
Map author: g3cKpunTop
Map version: 1.0
Map description:
During the years of the Sixth Eclipse, in the lands of Ashan, while False Isabelle ruled, a new border guard of the Griffin Empire—Grethem—was dispatched. News reached The Claw that in the city of Archelm, located right on the border of the Free Lands, the situation is currently very dire: orcs are storming garrisons, rebels of a new church have appeared... not to mention rumors of demons who have settled in the wastelands.
About the map: Initially, I focused on the narrative and then on the landscape, so I'll say right away—it's not the best. In total, I spent about 3 months developing this map, as the developer manuals are simply stripped to the bone; I had to scour the entire internet for much of it. I'm not very own with the LUA language, and you can tell from the code that it was done on a "budget" level (BUT, the main thing is that it works). I completed the map on "HERO" difficulty using saves. For my level of game knowledge, I had to sweat (I don't know how more skilled players will fare). I put effort into the scenario and mechanics, I'll say so much. There are visual flaws, but I'm already tired of redoing everything a dozen times. All bugs I found during gameplay have been fixed, but I don't know how it will look to the general public, so please write back; I will fix them.
The map has 2 story branches: The Path of War and The Path of Peace.

Already completed the map? Then you can check out the branches

Branches

Path of War: If you kill the orcs near the dragon citadel, or the orc chieftain who is breaking through the garrison, then the orcs from the bottom right corner will not help you after the demons are destroyed.

Path of Peace: If you do not kill the story orcs, then the orcs from the bottom right corner will ally with you and help kill the other AI.

My walkthrough strategy

Before the AI woke up and started attacking from all sides, I cleared the map. First, I upgraded archers and farmed peasants. Then I immediately repaired the sawmill and started going for angels. Before the mobs accumulated stacks, I took down the archer tower, water nymphs near the shore, and cave spawn (the AI will clear the rest when they start knocking on the door). Don't forget to level up the hero in the Tower of Learning. I waited for reinforcements from knights and cleared out the dark elves (all this time I killed small AI squads so they wouldn't build a powerful army). While running around, I visited the shaman and removed the curse. When the caravan arrived, I took the reinforcements (yes, yes, you can take them) and moved the army to the castle. The castle was protected, and I sent a second hero into the wastelands; there, in one day, I took the knights and wiped out the succubi. Personally, my army was enough to also take down the demon garrison. At that moment, I also broke the portal, and voila, the second garrison is ours too. I took the army from there and went back into the wastelands, but with another hero. Since demons don't enter the sand, I immediately ran to the castle with a group of six. While the Main Hero ran toward the Inferno castle, the subordinate ran to the castle. Naturally, half the army had to be left in the castle. In general, I managed to reach it and kill the demons. After that, the character was simply leveled up, and I went to wipe out the remaining two orcs. It's preferable to be at peace with other orcs, as they will fight the other orc castle.

Q&A

Q: I can't attack the orc chieftain!
A: That's correct; while he is moving toward the garrison, no one can kill him. This was done so that the map scripts don't break.

Q: The orc chieftain stopped in place!
A: Let him pass; he goes straight to the demon garrison. As long as the path is blocked, he will not move.

Q: Why does a demon wipe out the entire garrison at once during the first week?
A: It all depends on the battle terrain generation and your skill level in Heroes 5

Q: Why do I see a clock icon at the start of the day?
A: Every day, the map re-evaluates priorities for the AI so that they don't just rest, but do what was intended by the author.

Q: Why didn't the caravan replenish the garrison?
A: The caravan joins the ranks of the garrison only when the garrison belongs to you.

Many thanks to Hottabych for the help.

For some reason, the map won't upload to the site, so I uploaded it to GOOGLE:
[LINK TO MAP]

Anyway, this is my first map. If you like it, I will continue making the Cycle of Stories. I still have plenty of plot.
I thought about doing voice acting, but I got too lazy, so I decided it wasn't appropriate here.

 

"The Last Garrison" refers to the human castle.

After editing the topic, the spoilers stopped working. Moderators, please fix it.

Glad to see a new map, I will definitely play it! I edited the topic.

I'm starting to play. I quickly glanced at the content, and a few Lua scripts, which seem to be "libraries for Heroes of Might and Magic 3," confused me. What are they even for? I didn't notice them being used anywhere, but I'll figure it out as I play. Regarding the design: it's very simple and minimalist. I know this is trendy now, but I would have liked more detail.

Otherwise: a thousand lines of script, a lot of time was devoted to the plot (I'm judging by the topic description), "seems to be," hidden objects from the map editor were used (a cyclops lair, I was really surprised at first), there are videos - and overall, it's interesting to play. I can immediately see that it's good, the author put in a lot of effort, thank you for your work.

I would immediately ask you to run the text through a spell checker, as it's a bit jarring to read.

I quickly glanced at the contents and was confused by a few Lua scripts from "Heroes of Might and Magic 3 libraries." Why are they even needed?

I last saw them in Kwant's maps.
They simply allow you to write simple scripts in a slightly different way, like displaying a text message. It's convenient because the functions from this library look less intimidating than the original ones in Heroes 5. At least for beginners.

I'm starting to play it. I quickly glanced at the contents and was puzzled by a few Lua scripts labeled as "Heroes of Might and Magic 3 libraries." What are they even for? I didn't notice them being used anywhere, but I'll figure it out as I progress. As for the design: it's very simple and minimalist. I know that's trendy now, but I would have liked more detail!

Otherwise: a thousand lines of script, a lot of time devoted to the plot (judging by the topic description), "seems to be," hidden objects from the map editor are used (the Cyclops lair, I was really surprised at first), there are cutscenes - and overall, it's interesting to play. I can immediately see that it's good, the author put in a lot of effort, thank you for your work.

I would immediately ask you to run the text through a spell checker, it's hard on the eyes.

I connected the library because I thought I would use it in the future. It's like functions from HOMM3 ported to HOMM5, basically unnecessary clutter. I have problems with the design; I'm just the kind of person who doesn't see visual balance, so I either don't finish things or overdo them, but I try to do better. Regarding the text and errors, I understand, I'll double-check. I just make rough drafts first, then I adjust them to suit the plot, and I might have just missed something. Regarding the plot development, I mean that I tried to make the missions not of the type "Kill a goblin and get a reward," but to interweave many tasks. For example, if you don't want to destroy the portal, just don't touch it, but be prepared for the consequences. And I tried to do more of these little things, I hope it will be noticeable as you play. In the next storyline, I will delve deeper into the narrative with more elaboration. This map is a starting point in mapmaking, as I had to search for everything each time, which is why there is a lot of unnecessary stuff

Question: Is the game tied to playing as the unremarkable Gretham, or can you level up a different main character?

A very well-made map. A couple of comments:
- a stone across the road - is it a roadblock?)
- if you destroy the demon garrison (free the path for the orcs) and go through the orc territory to the northern garrison, you will get the message "you disobeyed the queen's order".
- grammar
- the pyramid was guarded by 2 peasants, but that was probably my mistake.
- regarding Antica, I was playing with Laslo, and no script errors were noticed, except that the order to stay behind the garrisons was given to the border guard, Gretham, and not to Laslo; so why couldn't he leave?)

+ I would like more complex, multi-stage quests.

An interesting scenario, it's enjoyable to play.

This is a very good map. A few comments:
- The stone across the road – is it a roadblock?
- If you destroy the demon garrison (clear the path for the Orcs) and go through the Orc territory to the northern garrison, you will “disobey the Queen’s order.”
- Grammar.
- The pyramid was guarded by 2 peasants, but that was probably my mistake.
- Regarding Antica, I was playing as Laslo, and I didn’t notice any errors in the script, except that the order to stay behind the garrisons was given to the Border Guard, Gretham, and not to Laslo; so why can’t he leave?

+I would like more complex, multi-stage quests.

Interesting scenario, enjoyable to play.

Did you touch the LUA code? Because I just rechecked, and it should result in a loss for any character (if they cross any garrison and enter Orc territory).

Code:

Trigger(REGION_ENTER_WITHOUT_STOP_TRIGGER, "garnizone_loss", "loss_game_voina");
Trigger(REGION_ENTER_WITHOUT_STOP_TRIGGER, "garnizone_loss1", "loss_game_voina");
Trigger(REGION_ENTER_WITHOUT_STOP_TRIGGER, "garnizone_loss2", "loss_game_voina");
Trigger(REGION_ENTER_WITHOUT_STOP_TRIGGER, "garnizone_loss3", "loss_game_voina");
Trigger(REGION_ENTER_WITHOUT_STOP_TRIGGER, "garnizone_loss4", "loss_game_voina");
Trigger(REGION_ENTER_WITHOUT_STOP_TRIGGER, "garnizone_loss5", "loss_game_voina");

function loss_game_voina(sName)
	if GetObjectOwner(sName) == PLAYER_1 then
		MessageBox (GetMapDataPath().."message.13.txt");
		SetObjectiveState( "garnizone_zashita", OBJECTIVE_FAILED, PLAYER_1 );
		Loose();
	end;
end;

Also, there are golems guarding the pyramid.

I suspect this is a mod conflict. Or maybe I messed something up, but I’m 100% sure that crossing the garrison should result in a loss. The script shouldn’t be buggy; it’s very simple. Or maybe you accidentally deleted a trigger in the map editor?)

The map can be completed with any hero, but there is one thing: the Dragon Citadel can only be attacked by Gretham. But I fixed this in the patch; after I check for grammar errors, I will re-upload the archive.

The roadblock was added to prevent the scripts from breaking, and, essentially, I didn’t want to load the map with unnecessary objects, so I kept it minimal.)

Regarding the demon garrison: according to the lore, the player should not cross the Orc lands under any circumstances.

Played the map. Overall, the impression is good, except for the fact that I couldn't complete the mission. After defeating the demons, a message appeared about an orc attack, but no new tasks were given. At first, I didn't pay attention to it and simply captured all the orc cities. Later, I realized that something was wrong – the orc cities were captured, but the map showed no reaction – but it was too late.
I didn't do the phoenix quest because I didn't see the need for it. I didn't remove the curse, although I should have: the stats were distributed terribly, with everything falling into defense first.
I confirm what Khottabych said: you can freely enter the orc lands through the demon lands, but you still can't pass through your own garrison.
Regarding the main hero: the specialization is pleasant, especially on such a large map. The starting build-up also plays well and doesn't hinder development, like with other logistics heroes. The icon... is not very appealing.
The map's landscape is good, but a bit empty.

Overall, as I said, the impression is positive. All that remains is to fix the critical errors in the scripts.
It will be interesting to see the continuation.

g3cKpunTop, no, Laslo can't leave (except through demons). The fact that he can't leave is what I didn't like; he's not the border guard).

Played the map. Overall, the impression is good... The icon... is not very appealing.
The map's landscape is decent, but a bit empty.

Overall, as I said, the impression was positive. All that remains is to fix the critical errors in the scripts.
It will be interesting to see the continuation.

I agree with the assessment.

Thank you for your feedback and criticism. Unfortunately, I won't be able to rework the mechanics of leaving the garrison, but if I have time, I'll try.

I've updated the link. Corrections:

- Now, you can't enter the portal with a secondary hero to reach the Orc territory without losing (to break it, you just need to approach it).
- Now, the map will be playable normally (victory will be counted).
- There was a function in the code to weaken your own neutral garrison, but it wasn't working correctly; now it works as intended: every 14 days, the garrison weakens by 5% (there's a minor issue with float and int, which causes an error message to be written to the console if subtracting 5% results in a fractional army size. I couldn't find a function to generate a float into an int with rounding, unfortunately, but it doesn't affect anything).
- I fixed the grammatical errors I found. I also improved my Russian skills in the process.)))
- I adjusted the landscape.
- The Stronghold can be attacked by any hero.

The Phoenixes' quest has been added as a reference to the next scenario; you can complete it just for the sake of it.
Since my efforts are not in vain, I can create a sequel with more detailed development. Thank you all again.

Another note: the map can be completed with the second hero, but for a deeper understanding of the plot, I recommend completing it with the Main hero, as it was designed for his specializations.

For some reason, the map won't upload to the site

The h5m file extension wasn't supported on the forum; until now, you could only upload a map in a zip archive, and even then the size was limited to 5 MB.

I've added support for h5m \ h3m up to 15 MB, and the maximum zip archive size has been increased to 19 MB.

I've uploaded the map to the post.

Hello, it seems like we've already completed the map. But I can't leave my territory, the portal isn't working, the peasants aren't clearing the debris, and even after sailing on a ship, it's unclear where to go. Could it be that some scripts aren't working for the Warrior?