Posts from Asatama

Name: Asatama
Map name: Asatama
Two-level map: yes
Number of players: 8 (2 unplayable)
Size: Large
Difficulty level: Difficult
Map author: Kird
Map description:
A standard map focused on “classic” development with a slight diversion towards a more serious computer opponent and a terrible villain who is eager to escape from the catacombs and destroy everyone. Each flag has its own history and literary image; they don't just want to cut everyone down but justify the slaughter with their devout beliefs. For each player, there is a limited choice of races – this is due to the plot, or rather its beginnings, as well as certain tactical considerations.

For an author-made map, the overall impression is quite good: the landscape design and building density are well done, unlike some hastily put-together creations. The presence of its own mythology and plot is also a big plus. I like it when the author explains what is happening here and why "these" want to deal with "those."
I'll download it and try to play it when I finish my current playthrough. Then I'll give a detailed review.

Mostly, the focus is on asymmetry, imbalance, and unfairness. I've only tested it once so far – on the second week, I happily noticed that one of my opponents had some fantastic dragons, and I couldn't even remember where he got them. By the third week, I had already managed to cause some trouble. Personally, I don't really like it yet – I did spend a lot of time on the landscape, but in the game, it doesn't seem as beautiful anymore. Most of the opponents play too passively (although I haven't dared to try the maximum difficulty yet). Udaju seems tedious to 'liberate', and the guards on the 'cheater books' heal and are helpless. I'm waiting for advice because my biggest problem is that I seem to have carefully done everything exactly as I like it, but the result is worse than 'Land of 1000', where I did everything with much less effort.

Kird, okay, I'll try to play through it and write down what I liked, what I didn't, and where it would be good to make some changes, etc. I think your work won't be in vain, and even if something isn't quite right somewhere, it can always be redone.

Well, I managed to overcome it, as they say. The computer is acting very strangely, sometimes lagging – and in different games, with different colors, it doesn't depend on the location or circumstances. In one game, it lagged with orange, and in another, which was quite catastrophic, with pink. And yet, for half the game, the pink AI just sat in its castle, and towards the end, it suddenly started moving, even crossing rivers and conquering other cities. Will the problem be solved if I set the map difficulty to maximum and play on a higher difficulty level? Previously, with similar problems, the computer usually wouldn't move if there were troops near the starting castle – for example, fairies at the sawmill. Now, I never place any troops near castles. But the AI is still confused. The pink AI has plenty of resources, free experience at the beginning, and a large, almost cheating bonus in its home castle – it seems like it shouldn't just give up like that. Moreover, according to the map's design, it should strive to liberate Udaja as quickly as possible, but it seems indifferent. In the end, I traversed the entire map, sending some enemies to the afterlife and reducing others to utter poverty. I calmly gathered the strongest heroes together, led them to Udaja, who was trapped in a dark corner, and killed her with the first "meat" attack. It's funny that, sensing imminent defeat, she started spawning fire elementals – even though the hero's strength was almost depleted. He could only destroy about 20 of them in one turn, while approximately 70 were added. But she still lost. That's what heroism means – sacrificing yourself, letting yourself be devoured by fire elementals, but knowing that the world is saved. In the end, I don't even know what to do – should I further enhance the AI? It seems like no matter how much I increase it, it's still not enough. Should I reduce the number of keys needed to liberate Udaja? Yes. And ban flying units and other similar things in the mage guilds. It's a weak point. I don't want to implement this ban, but it seems necessary. Or is there another way? Yes, and there's another bug. In the current version of the map, it seems impossible to cross to the shore near Udaja without flight or teleportation. Ideally, a boat should be needed, but the boat doesn't deploy the heroes there. There is free space, but it still doesn't work. I think it's probably blocked by invisible "events," which is illogical, and I didn't even realize this was a possibility. But now I know. If anyone needs it, I'll send a new version of the map sometime next week

Kird, I'll take that into account. I've only played for 2 weeks so far, and I don't know what will happen or how things will develop. I'll tell you later. Right now, I can say: 1. A well-thought-out story and mythology is great! It would be good to present it to the player in small portions, day by day, rather than all at once in large chunks. 2. The protection of the Sphere of Ila (as well as many other artifacts) should be more adequate to their value - at least 10 times greater. But maybe you wanted the players to gain strength faster, so that the game would be more interesting. Let's see what happens next.

Yes, and another bug. In the current version of the map, it seems that you can't cross to the shore near Udaje without flight or teleportation. Ideally, a boat is needed, but the boat doesn't deploy heroes there. There is free space, but it still doesn't work. I think it's probably blocked by invisible "events," which is illogical, and I didn't even suspect that was possible. But now I know.

Events and pits affect the disembarkation from the boat onto the shore, i.e., if they are present on the shore, the hero will not be able to disembark. This is a feature, and I often use it. Take a look at the HALO map near the Necropolis at 2x37x0 - in the game, the blue hero cannot return home - I immediately placed a pit and an event there.

Regarding the mythology and texts on your map: it's all very beautiful and stylish! I got engrossed in reading it!

I don't have time to test it yet; I have several unfinished maps of my own...

Well, since Flight and Dimension Door are allowed on the map, crossing to Udaje is possible, and there's also Water Walking. But such instances can make maps impassable, so the ability to board a boat and disembark in the desired locations must be checked!

Yes, but the idea was that the pink faction, consistently and powerfully developing, should focus all its efforts on finding tents and liberating Udaja – even before learning powerful spells.

Sometimes it can be very difficult to make the AI do what the map author wants: it might simply refuse to go somewhere, attack, search for something, etc. I'm already in a tough battle: Orange has learned Dimension Door, captured the most cities, has a huge army, and is very well-leveled. He has already captured my capital, and things are tough for me, but I'm still avoiding a direct confrontation with his main hero. Update: Orange is making me nervous, but now I've learned Dimension Door too! Nothing, we'll settle the score with him soon!

Ugh! Well, here, the map is completed. Overall, it leaves a pleasant impression. Personally, I liked, in addition to what I already said: - there are no "hidden spots" (artifacts/monoliths/... behind castles/volcanoes, etc.); - there are no super-powerful enemies that require an unknown amount of "leveling up" to defeat; I didn't find any bugs or glitches during the playthrough. The only thing that slightly disappointed me at the very end (I found the Grail on the last day) was Udaja herself. And I came to her press conference prepared! ;) But this is not a complaint about the author, but about the AI: the Pink one simply didn't want to go and rescue his leader, and that's it! Of course, if she had been freed, a completely different war would have begun! And a general observation (perhaps I'm repeating myself): on this map, obtaining the City Portal and the Dimensional Door by one of the players becomes decisive. The player who gets the Dimensional Door can ignore all obstacles and quickly, and most importantly, unexpectedly, appear in different places (which is further facilitated by monoliths and Dungeon Gates). In general, thank you for the map, Kird!

Yeah, why did you take so long to gather your troops? I think you could have crushed everything with a much smaller army. I guess I need to update the map a bit; I must have overlooked that Udaja is a bit stronger in this version. There are fewer "keyholder towers" and the pink faction has more money. And he's still a pain, not freeing Udaja, and he doesn't even bother increasing the number of manticores and elementals he has nearby.
There are a few hiding spots, by the way, but not many.

Why did you take so long to gather your troops? I think you could have destroyed everything with a much smaller army.

Of course! But I wasn't waiting on purpose! I was actually trying not to rush to finish off Udajah, but rather to explore the entire map, defeat all the enemies, and find the Grail: that's what I enjoy about the game (I've said this before)! I want to enjoy a good map for as long as possible! :)
Actually, my Walkthrough took longer than expected because I didn't get the City Portal and the Dimension Door for quite some time: first, I was busy buying troops, and then I had to find out which city they were available in.
By the way, here's another observation that I forgot to mention: the tasks given by the seers and their rewards are sometimes not very good. In particular, I was given the Sash of Command for killing the djinns, but I never used it (I thought maybe another seer or gate guardian would ask for it...).

Thanks for the map, it's quite engaging. It seems closer to the classics to me, and Necropolis is relatively easy to play. I agree with Sir Marmot about the Difficulty Increase and the City Portal.