|
|
Battle of Cedynia - 972 AD
|
Author |
File Description |
MRoszko |
Posted on 10/18/05 @ 03:02 PM (updated 11/18/05)
File Details |
Version: |
The Conquerors 1.0c |
Style: |
Fixed Force |
The battle of Cedynia happened on 24 June 972 during the rule of first christian ruler of Poland - the duke Mieszko I. There was a war raging over the western border of the young country. Mieszko I wanted to capture easily defended and economically important end of river Oder River. It started a conflict between murgrave Hodon who was the ruler of neighbouring marchy of Lusatia (sometimes said to be Brandenburg). Murgrave wanted to extend his territory and gathered his forces. He recieved support from another man, count Sigfried and decided to attack. He was sure of victory and his raid was a private conflict which was against the agreements made by the German emperor. However, the battle was won by Poland
---
This is the beginning of an article on Wikipedia on that battle which I posted since I was working on it. It's my second fixed force scenario, not too much of triggers but I'm still learning that stuff. This time it's not like in the Battle of Chojnice - you have to fight with an enemy superior in numbers. Will you win?
(a rhethoric question, in fact it's not that difficult)
---
Increased the German numbers, added some more flavours (they can be found everywhere in the map on your side of river) and added them a bit more of tactics |
Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
---|
MRoszko
File Author |
Posted on 10/30/05 @ 03:05 PM
I just wonder how many have found the whining hunter there. |
four hundred babies (id: Lord_Fadawah) |
Posted on 11/17/05 @ 11:47 PM
This is a scenario that uses MCrnigoj's style of morale-based battles, in this case the battle of Cedynia. I only know a bit of Polski history (mostly because I play a game where 80% of the community is from Poland. That's the reason I haven't been reviewing much in the last six months, but I digress) so I'll have to take the author's word that it's historically accurate. Heck, he created a Wikipedia page about the battle, so I guess it is. :)
PLAYABILITY: fun, as most scenarios of this genre are, but at the end of the day this is a rather shallow and unremarkable FF. There are no bugs, no lag, it's obvious that a fair amount of work has gone into it, but this scenario just feels bland and uninspired. The battles drag on and on. The author changed the HP of all the units but not their attack, so it can take about 5 minutes to kill a single enemy. The opening cutscene fairly short, and so is the battle. There's little strategy involved, all your enemies get tasked to the same place, you position your troops in their way, and you get masses of free hits as the enemy knights charge through to get to their destination. There's no "commit paladin regiment #31!"-style fun of keeping reserves until last, you just position your troops to intercept the enemy and then let the battle play out without you having to do anything else. There are all the requisite features (such as enemy leaders that can be killed to raise your troops' morale) but this serves no purpose other than to upset the balance of the game. 2
BALANCE: once you kill even one enemy leader, the whole battle becomes a cakewalk, as it literally doubles the attack of your men. Longbows cut down charging enemies like targets at a shooting gallery. You can beat the enemy using only half of your knights. Even humble spearmen can go toe to toe with any non-hero opponant. The beauty of scenarios such as Tannenberg and is that taking out an enemy leader gives you a bonus, but it's rather subtle and doesn't automatically mean you're going to win. Without killing enemy leaders the battle is moderately well balanced, though still definitely on the too easy side. My main concern is that you've got too much freedom to move around and maneuver. Your enemies don't move anywhere after their initial charge, so you can lure them away in small groups and slaughter them without taking any significant damage. 2
CREATIVITY: it uses the MCrnigoj morale system, which while cool is hardly enough to guarantee a 5 rating alone these days. There was nothing that struck me as being particularly new or interesting about this campaign, you've got basic gameplay elements that are two years old, a bunch of sound files taken from other campaigns, and the only cute personalised touch about this campaign was the disgruntled hunter (which I wouldn't have seen except I read about it in the comments page. There is no need to go exploring). This is very short, very simple campaign that follows the numbers and doesn't really do anything particularly new. 3
MAP DESIGN: the area where the battle takes place is fine, but other parts of the map need a lot to be desired. The western quarter of the map is nothing but shallows, and to the east there's just grass. These areas serve no purpose, so they could have been blocked off with trees or whatever. There's a city to the north, but it looks like it was built by the world's most rigid, mechanical AI. Eye candy isn't a problem, but the map as a whole is of very uneven quality. 3
STORY/INSTRUCTIONS: A fairly detailed history section, extensive hints, but once the actual battle starts there's no real story being told. It's all so vague that if you changed the names it could be about any battle. There's only a very short victory message, and we've been told absolutely nothing about the heroes. Spelling/grammar is excellent, and there are extensive hints. 4
SUMMARY: a below-average FF scenario with a few good points. It's a bit uninspired, but good to kill a few minutes with. Balance is the scenario's main problem, it would improve the scenario if killing enemy leaders didn't have such a drastic impact on the battle. |
MRoszko
File Author |
Posted on 11/18/05 @ 06:02 PM
I'm working on the scenario now and I reduced the morale boost to +5. Also I'm adding some details and developing the battle itself.
As about the western part of map - there was a swamp in the real battle there, but I'll try to make something of it
(alright, this makes it less historically accurate but more challenging, I'd really like to get some hints on further balancing)[Edited on 11/18/05 @ 06:36 PM]
|
Impeached (id: MeGaIdIoT) |
Posted on 01/29/06 @ 01:30 PM
Its a lot of fun, but its easy and short. I only had to try twice to win. This may not be historically accurate, but how about you have to storm the German camp, where there is another hero and more men.[Edited on 01/29/06 @ 01:32 PM]
|
MRoszko
File Author |
Posted on 02/23/06 @ 03:44 PM
Honestly, it's got the historic part crippled already, the original version was less challenging, because of better accuracy. |
Mash (id: Mashek)
Staff
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 07/20/08 @ 10:31 PM
'972 AD - Battle of Cedynia' is a single scenario with FF gameplay. The scenario covers the historical battle between German and Polish forces along the Oder River in Central Europe, during the 10th Century A.D. Although numerous and well equipped, the Germans were ensnared between two attacking Polish forces, and caught on a marsh where the manoeuvring of their horses was limited, were slaughtered where they fought and ultimately routed.
PLAYABILITY: The scenario was quite fun, but in all lacking in what would have made this particular piece stand out more. It was boring sitting through countless minutes where an allied group of men is surrounded and slowly killed, before I received control of forces to join in with the battle. Mass charges of enemy knights unnecessarily lag the game, and would have been more strategic if groups of knights targeted separate parts of the field, rather than all in one area at any one time. The scenario opens with an introduction and overview of both forces arrayed against one another, which sets the battle up fairly adequately. Once we receive troops however, we are on our own, and the initial focus on the battle loses all value and importance. Units begin with extended HP (hit points) but no AP (attack points), making for units that seem to hack away at one another with no result, and while seconds and minutes drag by ever so slowly. What's even more irksome is that only the deaths of either the player or enemy's commanders will garner the units on the opposing side any kind of additional morale/attack points. This means that while I am able to take out the enemy commanders with little or no trouble, I gain 20 AP while the enemy gains none because with no AP to begin with in the first place, killing my commander is next to impossible. While the main battle rages north in the countryside, enemy knights still caught at the marsh from the previous skirmish fail to respond, unwilling it seems to join the battle. This is the same in the north however, if I draw my units away before the enemy's knights reach me, meaning I will need to attack again to progress the battle. I encountered no bugs. 3.0-
BALANCE: The scenario is easy on hard difficulty, with little or no strategy involved on the field of battle. Tactics require me to charge my units to confront the enemy, leaving them to handle themselves, as there is no extended AP and a lot of HP, which causes the battle to drag on longer than necessary. With my commander, easily the strongest unit on the field with 100 AP, I can then seek out and kill the enemy commanders one by one, who are too busily occupied with unimportant units to offer any chance of killing my commander, let alone threaten him. Once the opposing leadership is dealt with, victory is all but guaranteed as my men receive high boosts of morale (AP). It is only a matter of time before I have slaughtered all remaining units who seem not to retreat after suffering too many casualties, no commanders, and the prospect of victory non-existent. By the time the Germans do retreat, they have already lost 97 % of their initial force. 2.0
CREATIVITY: Inspired by the popular style of FF gameplay invented by MCrnigoj, the scenario comes up creatively in a few areas. While the minimal use of extended HP and AP of units leaves a lot to be desired, there were a few devices where units could gain more AP through the deaths of prominent enemy units. In addition, charging armies and large battles, sounds and an average use of triggers, plus the account of the battle, all comes up creatively and into the overall score of this category. 3.0-
MAP DESIGN: The map design is of random map quality, where detail, terrain mixing and the overall layout of the design were about average. There is a river, a marsh and a town, which is cluttered and ugly and lacks realism in its structure. While eye candy is quite adequate for the most part, the design overall still needs more consideration put into its arrangement, especially the certain details concerning the field of battle, such as the marsh where the battle was supposed to have been fought. In addition, some parts of the map were left blank, with plain grass in the south and shallows to the west, lacking terrain mixing and/or eye candy. 3.0
STORY/INSTRUCTIONS: The historical event is portrayed quite adequately with a detailed history section, good objectives, and a fairly extensive hint section, with additional acknowledgments. There were some chat messages to move the story along at the beginning of the scenario, and although a little informal and containing some grammatical errors, nothing that can be deducted from as the author's mother language is not English. 4.0-
CONCLUDING:
'972 AD - Battle of Cedynia' is a fun scenario, and considering the obscure detail founded around the historical battle, a rather decent portrayal of the event. The scenario in itself does not offer anything much beyond a few minutes of killing and charging, but I would after all recommend this only to historical enthusiasts and/or fans of FF scenarios.
In a sentence - 'Hack and Slash'.
In closing - Recommended only for fans of FF scenarios.[Edited on 09/30/16 @ 08:03 AM]
|
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
---|
2.9 | Breakdown |
---|
Playability | 2.5 | Balance | 2.0 | Creativity | 3.0 | Map Design | 3.0 | Story/Instructions | 4.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 806 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 357.63 KB |
Added: | 10/18/05 |
Updated: | 11/18/05 |
|