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Author |
File Description |
Fanica |
Posted on 12/30/11 @ 05:55 AM (updated 12/31/11)
File Details |
Version: |
The Conquerors 1.0c |
Style: |
Role Playing Only |
Number of scenarios: |
1 |
Well, it's just a little part of my project, showing a playable plot, just to give some info about the upcoming events in this story.
It's short, I know... just play it and give some feedback.
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Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Sarn |
Posted on 01/01/12 @ 07:17 PM
I think it would help if you decided exactly what your storyline is, and then finished the map. All you have right now is Patrick escaping the Apache enemies. There's not much of a story, the map design seems over the top sometimes (too many forage bushes, bamboo, trees, rocks, flowers all in one place.) Scale it back a little.
Another thing I see here is that you're trying to set your story in the West...AoK isn't very good for that, especially unmodded. Your general story might still work, but maybe better in a fantasy setting. Especially if you are planning on using actual groups and people (Apache), make sure you use the right terms and names (Apacheans is incorrect). Also, Native Americans didn't talk like they do in your scenario; yours sound more like Old English spelling, if anything.
I hope some of this helps. I don't really want to do a review because for one, it would score quite low, and for another, I don't think it would help all that much. |
Fanica
File Author |
Posted on 01/02/12 @ 04:32 AM
Doing a bit of research, I found out that Native Americans learnt English and were spelling words little intricate.
About the map design, that's my style, others say it's pretty good, though not everyone likes many things in small places.
Apacheans is gramatically correct, verify yourself. |
panel
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 01/15/12 @ 03:02 AM
I've played it. It seems to be a good start and definitely an improvement over your previous work, but it's very...very short. I know it's supposed to be a teaser, but it's kind of short even for that.
Another thing I personally have an issue with is the title. It's very misleading. The Wild West is in no way a time of swordsmen. Maybe Indians might've used melee weapons at that time (european colonists to a much lesser extent), but even they didn't use swords, it's totally anachronic. So you might re-think the " swordsman" part, or maybe re-think the setting or the time when the action takes place, if you care about authenticity. Especially since setting it in the 18th century doesn't make much sense historically either, given that the colonisation of the Wild West really began in the 19th century.
I liked the map design, but there is a little bit too much going on in some places. About the gameplay there is little to be said because of the very short length of the game, but it did seem like a very good start.
The main advice is just to change the whole background of the game and set it in a place and time where "swordsmen" make more sense.
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Fanica
File Author |
Posted on 01/15/12 @ 05:35 AM
Yeah, about the fact related to the swordsman. Later in the game, he's going to use a gun, though his favourite weapon is the sword which he'll use rarely.
About the map design, I'm getting used with this kind of map design and I can't change the way I do it that much.
Just tell me more about what looks bad and I can dramatically change.
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panel
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 01/15/12 @ 10:42 AM
Regarding map design, just like Sarn said, don't put too much eyecandy everywhere, the map will look a bit messy.
You can make him use a melee weapon, just don't call him a swordsman. It sounds so medieval. Just call him warrior or something. That fits in better with his partly indian background. |
panel
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 02/05/12 @ 11:42 AM
"Rise of a swordsman" is a very short demo/teaser of an upcoming project. Because of its short length it is rather hard to give it an accurate rating, but I will concentrate on giving feedback to the author, who has explicitly asked for a review.
Playability: 3
What can be seen of the game so far looks indeed promising, with some above average map design and some nice background music, and plays sort of like an RPG. It is however very hard to give an opinion about the playability of such a short game, you barely get to know your character and your surroundings, and it's already over. You just get to fight a few enemies, explore the map a bit and talk to a few NPC's. It's just a promising beginning but little else at the moment.
Balance: 4
I thought this initial part of the game was well put together in terms of balance. You need to explore the map and a little in order to proceed and the fight with the two enemies requires some attention from the player. As the starting point of a campaign or scenario, it is well balanced. You should be careful what you do with it further, you will need to increase difficulty progressively as the game progresses and make sure you have diversity in the challenges that await the player.
Creativity: 3
Seeing as this game involves data changes, I was expecting to see a little more in terms of creativity. However, I don't see data editing influencing the gameplay, apart from the main character's (hero) icon being changed, and perhaps his mounting/dismounting (?), so I don't know if it was worth it. You will need to think this over very well, if data editing really pays off for your scenario. Many people will not play data edited files from principle, and if you don't use it for major improvements in your game, then I would advise you to forget about it. It will cost you downloads first of all, and will frustrate players who are not in the mood to change data files around all day.
In general, the game was average in creative terms. A pretty original premise for the story (with some flaws which i will get into later), decent-to-good map design and a nice atmosphere. Let's see what comes out of it in the end.
Map Design: 4
Sarn and I've already commented on this and there's little more to add. The map design is of a good standard and I feel it's suitable for the wild west/indian/rocky mountains setting. However, there's a little bit too much of gaia objects concentrated in some places. The starting screen with the Indian village makes a very good first impression, maybe with the exception of the palissade which looks a little too square. Waterfalls look rather good also. One thing I've noticed is you can evade the trigger restriction and go up the north-west road, where you can see a huge non-designed area, you might want to fix that.
Story/Instructions: 3-
This is where you need to change things a little, in my opinion. I've already told you about the "swordsman" term that just doesn't fit in with the backstory of your game. Just call him warrior or something.
Also, according to me, the history segment that you had before the game begins could work better as an in-game cutscene. It's the kind of thing that would work a lot better to be seen on-screen than to be read by the player. It will also familiarise the player with the main character and his surroundings, and seeing his dad getting killed, for instance, would make the player identify himself better with him. As it stands now, the game seems to start way too abruptly.
Additional Comments:
The idea of having a Wild West scenario is very tricky, but not impossible to pull off. You can make it work in a few ways: Either concentrate a lot on MODDING, and try to use it to achieve a wild-west atmosphere (but that would mean A LOT of effort put into making new units and buildings which would take a lot of time), or just drop the modding and data editing altogether and concentrate on using the units and effects the game gives you to the maximum. That means the gunpowder and the meso-american units will have a big part to play, and you can also tackle units like the throwing axeman (tomahawk?), and any kind of buildings/objects that helps get the wild west look The european building sets (for european colonists) and the yurts and dark age buildings (for indians) would work well.
Hope this was helpful and I wish you best of luck, it would be nice to have a good Western scenario to play.
[Edited on 02/05/12 @ 11:53 AM]
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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3.4 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 3.0 | Balance | 4.0 | Creativity | 3.0 | Map Design | 4.0 | Story/Instructions | 3.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 178 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 2.02 MB |
Added: | 12/30/11 |
Updated: | 12/31/11 |
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