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Vandals - Destroyers of Rome
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Author |
File Description |
Filthydelphia (id: Al_Kharn the Great) |
Posted on 12/24/20 @ 03:21 AM (updated 07/14/23)
File Details |
Version: |
Age of Empires II: DE |
Style: |
Build and Destroy |
Screenshot:
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About the scenario:
As the Vandal King Gunderic, lead your tribe on a great raiding migration through the Roman Empire to find a new homeland for your people and make the name Vandal remembered throughout all of history.
Features:
Unique migration gameplay never before seen in Age of Empires
Massive map of the Western Roman Empire
Battle Franks, Goths, Romans, and Berbers from the forests of Gaul to the deserts of North Africa
About the author:
Filthydelphia (xbox: PhillySouljah) is the award-winning designer of historical custom campaigns and official content for the Age of Empires franchise. Formerly part of the Forgotten Empires campaign team, his works include the Portuguese, Burmese, Bulgarian, Italian, Indian, and Sicilian campaigns featured in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition as well as several campaigns in Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. Outside of Age of Empires, he is a captain in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. |
Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Julius999
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 01/09/21 @ 01:48 PM
This is an excellent scenario that lives up to its billing. You begin by scratching out a living in a cold wilderness, but you can progress and eventually build a force capable of ransacking the formidable city of Rome.
Playability: 5
The core concept is a lot of fun. The economic side of things is focused almost entirely on finding and gathering food, especially in the early game, and periodically packing up the town centre and migrating to somewhere with more abundant resources. The military side ties in very well, with razing buildings being the only way to obtain gold and access to new areas. Defeating enemies is almost always rewarded with access to at least enough resources to replenish losses and the ability to progress. In the later game, a very wide range of military options is available. The map is huge enough to satisfy the appetite of almost any player; personally I chose to declare victory when there were still some Roman settlements remaining. I also think the creator deserves praise for paying attention to little things that make the scenario a smoother experience, such as not making keeping the hero units alive essential (but they are very useful to keep around and use with your army).
Balance: 5
I played on Moderate. I get the impression that the creator put a lot of effort into making sure that the challenge posed to the player scales with the increased availability of resources, but was not intending ever to put the player in a situation where they were likely actually to be defeated. The risk of falling into stagnation is real, however. The enemies that the player encounters are always strong enough to pose meaningful resistance. An optional challenge of sacking Rome within a particular timeframe is also presented, adding some urgency if attempted. I did not notice that until it was too late to make a real attempt, but my overall sense is that it would be difficult.
Creativity: 5
The whole concept is creative, and the vision is brought to life extremely well. There are also some good minor touches such as allowing the player to train units they would not normally be able to.
Map Design: 5
The map is attractive and serves its purpose admirably well. It is essentially divided into a number of discrete section that the player reaches one by one, although this is not done in a clunky way. There is also one small area that is a bit hidden away which I thought was a nice touch, although I question whether the player can realistically make use of it. Each section has its own atmosphere and I thought that the initial section was especially well done, with a strong sense of these being rough barbarian lands on the fringes of the Roman Empire.
Story/Instructions: 5
Progress through the scenario approximately tracks the historic progress of the Vandals. That basic story emerges through the gameplay and explicit story-telling is given very little emphasis, although the opening slides are good. I think that for the nature of this scenario it would not be right to criticise it for this. The instructions are exemplary in familiarising the player with the style of gameplay and in providing guidance on how to progress.
Additional Comments: There is not much to criticise here, but as always there are some things that can be said. The Romans seemed almost entirely inert, waiting for me to chip away at them bit by bit, although they would occasionally train new units or move a short distance to attack. They have a few villagers but they stand around idle, which I doubt is intended. I'm inclined to think that the scenario could be improved if the Romans were slightly more active, but had somewhat fewer of their very strong units in Hispania and North Africa. It also occurred to me that it might have been interesting if some other barbarians moved into the area behind the player. On a separate issue, I did find using Roman farms a bit annoying, and I would suggest giving farms more health so that they are less easy to destroy inadvertently and (if it is possible) allow food to be collected without dropping it off, like the Khmer civilisation can. |
cly0806 |
Posted on 01/19/21 @ 08:16 AM
The world scord of this scenario is 419 |
Filthydelphia (id: Al_Kharn the Great)
File Author |
Posted on 01/19/21 @ 09:13 PM
419! That is super impressive! Very fast player! |
cly0806 |
Posted on 02/09/21 @ 10:10 PM
You can see this video in this website.
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV12z4y1z7Uz
417 finished |
Lord_StarkII |
Posted on 09/02/21 @ 08:47 AM
How can i install this custom scenario manually in the game folder? |
Filthydelphia (id: Al_Kharn the Great)
File Author |
Posted on 09/08/21 @ 06:43 PM
Honestly, the best thing you can do is open the game and go to the mod manager (gear icon in the upper right), search for Vandals, and hit subscribe. Give it a few minutes to download and then play! That way you don't need to mess with putting files in folders. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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5.0 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 5.0 | Balance | 5.0 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 5.0 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 1,001 |
Favorites: [] | 5 |
Size: | 6.90 MB |
Added: | 12/24/20 |
Updated: | 07/14/23 |
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