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The First Crusade 1097-1099
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Author |
File Description |
Danish Viking |
Posted on 10/10/00 @ 12:00 AM
File Details |
Version: |
The Conquerors 1.0c |
Style: |
Build and Destroy |
No Description Available |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Red Monk |
Posted on 10/12/00 @ 12:00 AM
Playability: This was a good B&D because it didn't go on for too long, which can get awfully tedious. There was a little story thrown in during the fighting which was nice too and helped to keep things going.
Balance: Your enemies are not terribly powerful and don't rebuild much, if at all. There were a couple of waves of horse archers, which can be easily defeated by garrisoning your villagers. The attack on Nicaea was pretty easy with an army of Petards quickly laying waste to the castle and towers. I didn't feel at any time like I was in any danger of losing the battle.
Creativity: Nothing much creative in the story since it is historically based and not much on the map either.
Map Design: Nicaea as well as the Frankish and Norman villages were very nicely designed, but the rest of the map fell short on detail.
Story/Instructions: The introduction was quite interesting and laid a good foundation for what I hope will be a great campaign. However there were a number of spelling mistakes in both the intro and the in-game instructions, but nothing too serious.
Final Comments: The First Crusade 1097-1099 is not going to blow you away with beautiful design or masterful storytelling, but it is a fun little romp through Turkish backyards. If you love the era download now, otherwise it might be worth it to wait for the rest of the campaign. |
Cataphract887
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 08/04/17 @ 10:31 PM
"The First Crusade 1097-1099" is a dated Build&Destroy scenario from the olden days of the blacksmith. Despite its age and simplicity the map manages to set forward a reasonably playable game with no major weaknesses.
Playability 3
The gameplay consists of building up your town as usual, sieging a city, then driving off the remaining enemies. During your build up raids on your town were made by Turkish horse archers;these raids broke up the normal monotony of slowly building up in peace and quiet. Your allies brought in a navy and army of knights, who rather rashly engaged the city before being ready, leaving the player to handle the rest. The AI defenders though not particularly clever with a custom AI were able to put up a decent fight and i found myself pulling back for reinforcements before killing off their army. The defenders would have benefited here from being provided a larger supply of stores in order to create more troops, as once depleted they could no longer continue fighting. I found the scenario to be enjoyable and a pleasant play, though it lacked replayability to sustain any further playthroughs.
Balance 3
The AI put up a decent resistance, though for me on Hard the raids could have been harder hitting along with the AI needing more long term replenishment of troops in the field. Their standing armies pushed me back and required a decent force composition of longbows and knights to tackle, but after being broken they could rally no more resistance. There was a bit too much gold on the field, but only enough stone for one castle which was reasonable. A less experienced player might even find the scenario mildly difficult, but i would have to say its a bit on the easy side. No difficulty adjustment was provided that I could see, which would be a nice way to provide more experienced players a better challenge when selecting the Hard mode.
Creativity 3
The author did a good job of mixing up a routine B&D mission although it remained more on the merely adequate side of competence. Sending in raids with trigger support on the players base was a good idea instead of just relying on a normal AI to attack. Having allies on the field and trying to give them some life by taking their own actions independently was a good idea. The usage of historical elements was nice but could have been utilized more heavily for a more atmospheric gameplay as unfolding events were handled in a bland way. The final boss fight was a bit disappointing as it was both easy and poorly thought out;he charged out of the camp and got easily killed in a single volley, and the game ended with no victory messages or exit scene.
A custom AI, more and tougher enemies, a higher population limit, more energetic(and stupidly chivalrous) allies, a bit more writing in the story and a quick touch up on the map design and it would already be a good scenario.
Map Design 3-
The mapping was a reasonable affair, with a base terrain on par with a random map lifted up up some detailing sufficient to warrant a 3 rating. The two towns of the allies seemed designed with an eye to aesthetic appeal, though as most cities from the first year of AoC they lack a fine level of detail along with being a bit symmetrical in their layout. The roads of the map were fairly low level, just some cobblestones with a little mix of broken and clean in an attempt to break up the monotony, but their edges faded sharply into plain grass. Terrain mixing was not a particular strength of the map, with grass and desert zones going entirely unmixed, covering large areas with the same terrain and transitioning into each other completely abruptly. There was an attempt at detailing the coasts but the flowers were largely relied on for this. The overall map looked like a good template from a satellite view;the overall effect is sufficient for a shaky passing grade.
Story\Objectives 3
The scenario presented the Siege of Nicea with a basic story that was riddled with errors, but managed to deliver the basic idea. The objectives were perfectly clear and easy to follow while the hints provided some insight into the game and what to expect. There was a bit of dialogue from time to time in-game with your allies launching their own attacks and such. Fairly basic stuff but enough for a 3 rating according to the Guidelines.
Final thoughts:In truth there isn't much reason to consider downloading this map. Other B&D exist in droves and many superior campaigns and scenarios are there for the consideration. On the other hand, it wouldn't be all that hard to upgrade this map into a quite reasonable and even more enjoyable map with a bit of work in all areas, as the map commits no particular design sins that would need to be overcome. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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3.2 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 3.5 | Balance | 3.0 | Creativity | 3.0 | Map Design | 3.0 | Story/Instructions | 3.5 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 2,552 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 39.98 KB |
Added: | 10/10/00 |
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