The Price of Freedom — Maps: Tribes of the East

John_Dante

10 years ago

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Title: "Price of Freedom"
Map name: "Value of Liberty"
Map type: scenario
Size: 72x72 (small)
Dungeon: yes
Number of players: 2 (1x1)
Main heroes: Tia, Jack
Map version: 1.0
Required: game version 3.1
Author: John_Dante

Description:
Having become indebted to Captain Silver Blue, the ruler of the free islands and patron of all the pirate Askhans, Tia must now fulfill his request in order to be allowed to set foot on the land of the free islands again and return to her former life. Captain Silver asked her to steal a rare artifact from the Port Royal castle.
Realizing that she cannot handle such a dangerous task alone, Tia decides to seek the help of her old friend Jack, who is currently serving time in the Port Royal prison.

From the author: This map is my first major work, so I will be glad to receive any criticism. The map is planned as the first mission in the "Free as the Wind" campaign, which tells about the difficult pirate fate.

INSTALLATION
Download the map archive (the link can be found under the screenshots), unzip it, and find the gorod.h5m file in it, which you copy to the Maps folder in the directory where the game is installed.

DELETION
Delete the gorod.h5m file from the Maps folder.

Attachments 1

1 file attached • Total size: 162.8 KB

h5m

gorod

162.8 KB 741

Dyrman

10 years ago

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The map has been uploaded to the official forum group on VKontakte. If you would like to see all subsequent map updates in the news, please send a private message each time the map is updated.

In reply to Dyrman

13га

10 years ago

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These days, the release of any new map for the 5th installment of "Heroes" is an event. Therefore, the author deserves gratitude just for attempting to create a scenario-based map. Although, overall, I liked the work, the product turned out to be somewhat "raw." Let me explain what gave me that impression. Playing as a mage without magic, with a set of non-native troops, is not enjoyable. It's not that the losses are significant; it's just depressing: there's nothing you can do to change the course of the battle. All possibilities end at the start when using the hero's special ability. In such a situation, auto-battle is the best course of action. I played on "hero" difficulty, but 90% of the battles were fought automatically, without any losses. This is due to the fact that the player is given a lot of everything: troops, resources, time. It remains a mystery to me why there is such an excessive amount of resources, mines, and chests on the map. There's nowhere to use the resources: there's no point in exchanging them for money – there's a mountain of money, buying spells is a one-time purchase (the map takes less than a month to complete), and you don't need many, only if something useful comes along. (I wasn't lucky).
It would be good to specify the level limit somewhere. In my opinion, the development ceiling is low. I chose it back in the Dungeon before going to the city. At the same time, the available Silvanesti tree remained unused.
Battles with Necromancers in the Dungeon are interesting if the main character only has joining troops. If you remove the army from the liberated Jack, these battles end in one round. The AI, out of desperation, casts some powerful spell, and that's it, it's over. I would suggest relieving Jack of his army. It would be better if you could get artifacts or spells from him. If you go this route, Alaric should not block the corridor but only patrol the upper level. At the same time, Jack himself will be useful for recruiting troops. Right now, he's completely idle.
Let's go back to the situation with spells. The fact that there are few of them, and they are random, should be stated at the beginning of the map. It turned out that the first time I completed the map, I had a book with 4 simple spells, two of which I would have learned anyway.
Dialogues with the "queue" for the ship occur every time you pass through the points, even when there is no "queue" there anymore.
I strongly advise against using the term "industrial zone." It doesn't fit either the picture or the style. This area can be called a dock, shipyard, or port – something like that. I didn't see anything resembling a factory there. In general, the text part should be "cleaned up."

I'm posting battles with Alaric, who, apparently, shouldn't be touched, and the final one, with the tomb guard, on the "remnants" of troops to illustrate the excessiveness of the main character's army.

In reply to 13га

John_Dante

10 years ago

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13ha

Nowadays, the appearance of any new map for Heroes 5 is an event. Therefore, the author deserves gratitude simply for attempting to create a scenario map. Although, overall, I liked the work, the product turned out to be "unrefined." Let me explain why I got this impression. Playing as a mage without magic and with a set of non-native troops is joyless. It's not that the losses are high; it's just dull: there is nothing you can do to change the course of battle. All possibilities end at the start when using the hero's special ability. In such a situation, auto-battle is the best thing you can do. I played on "hero," but 90% of the battles were played automatically, without losses. This is a result of the player being given too much—troops, resources, time. It remained a mystery to me why such an excessive amount of resources, mines, and chests are placed on the map. There is nowhere to put the resources: there's no point in exchanging them for money—there are mountains of gold; buying spells is a one-time purchase (the time to complete the map is less than a month), and you don't need many, and even then, only if something useful comes along (I was unlucky).
A level restriction should ideally be stated somewhere. In my opinion, the development ceiling is low. I reached it while still in the Dungeon before exiting to the city. At the same time, the existing Tree of Sylana remained unused.
Battles with Necromancers in the Dungeon become interesting if the MC is left only with joining troops. If you remove the army from the liberated Jack—these battles are over in one round. Out of desperation, the AI casts some strike spell and that's it, the end. I would suggest unloading Jack of his army. It would be better if you could get artifacts or spells from him. If we follow this path, Alaric should not block the corridor, but only patrol the top. At the same time, Jack himself would be useful for gathering troops. Currently, he is completely useless.
Returning to the situation with spells. The fact that there are few of them and they are random should be stated at the start of the map. As it happened, the first time I completed the map, I had a book of 4 simple spells, two of which I would have learned anyway.
Dialogues with the "queue" for the ship occur every time you pass through the points, even when that "queue" is no longer there.
I strongly advise abandoning the term "industrial zone." It does not fit, either visually or stylistically. This area could be named a dock, shipyard, port—something like that. I saw nothing resembling a factory there. In general, the text part should be "polished."

I am posting the battles with Alaric, whom it seems you don't need to touch, and the final one with the tomb guardian, with the "remnants" of the troops to illustrate the redundancy of the MC's army.

Thank you for the comment! Yes, the map is unrefined, as this is my first work, and I had no one to turn to for advice. I am currently working on fixing this map, correcting errors and shortcomings, writing in-game cutscenes, and improving the balance. I want to make a full-fledged, high-quality campaign.
The word "industrial zone" refers to the highland part where the mines are located (and yes, my imagination failed me here).
Non-native troops for the MC is the idea of the mission—to feel like a fish out of water. But the balance and difficulty let me down here; the MC's army becomes very numerous and strong. Initially, I thought about making the entire mission with minimal amounts of creatures for both the MC and the enemy, so that stacks had 5-15 units, but in the end, I was afraid the game would be too difficult then.
There are many resources on the map; this was meant to show the wealth and power of the anti-hero, and all of it should have been inaccessible (the mines should be strengthened so the MC doesn't trade their few troops for them). Resources in the sea also need to be reduced.
Also, I wanted Tia to use only non-upgraded units of the Order of Might, but in the end, I forgot to make Alaric's fort inaccessible to the MC.
Jack's gang is too large, true; I don't know whether to decrease it or increase the Necromancer armies.
Huge thanks for the replays!)))
P.S. I was pleased with the MC's development towards Light; mass haste and rage are very useful.
I will be glad to hear any suggestions and ideas, if there are any. It's nice that amateur maps are still of interest to someone!

atlant108

10 years ago

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Overall, considering that this is the author's first map, it turned out to be excellent! I especially enjoyed the battles with the Necromancers in the Dungeon.

masgak

10 years ago

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I didn't have time to explore the Dungeon before finishing the game. Are the Necromancers a stronghold, or is there a hero there? Is it possible to play a game where everyone is on their own?

In reply to masgak

John_Dante

10 years ago

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masgak

I didn't manage to get into the Dungeon before finishing the game. Are the Necromancers a checkpoint, or is there a hero there? Can we play so that everyone is on their own?

That's strange, the game should end either after defeating all the blue player's heroes or by capturing the artifact. Did the game end after Alaric's death?
There are still 4 enemy heroes in the Dungeon.

Added 2 minutes later
You guys are tough =) I was expecting a mix of average and beginner players, like myself.

masgak

10 years ago

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I don't really remember Alarica; I didn't pay much attention. In the Dungeon, I didn't even fight anyone. On the surface, I killed a hero, and that was it.

Player100

10 years ago

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The idea is good, but unfortunately, the gameplay is rather dull. Resources are completely unnecessary (the main character isn't a dwarf), there's plenty of money – you can buy any artifact (if you're lucky with the random drops), and the mage's class abilities are practically unusable... Out of boredom, I also leveled up Jack, although it's pointless. Suggestions: fewer troops, more magic, a couple of libraries closer to the middle (so you can also spend resources), maybe prophets with artifacts, or experience (if you remove the cap). I liked the visuals: a pleasant town (that actually looks like a town), and a wonderful sewer system. It was amusing to hide in the alleys. I hope that in a revised version, it will become an interesting start to the campaign. Good luck!

Антон Туров

9 years ago

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Interesting scenario – a creative approach – a mage without magic and native troops! But it’s easy to play, as there are plenty of resources and chests, and the mine guards are weak. I hope for a continuation. Who knows, maybe after some improvements, the map will become a masterpiece.