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Author |
File Description |
RF_Gandalf |
Posted on 07/31/01 @ 12:00 AM
File Details |
Version: |
The Conquerors 1.0c |
MFO@Nottingham by vauxhall and MFO@Mapster
Note: this map was released at MFO several months ago and has been added to the archives here by request.
Once again the MFO Mapster team has put together a map so dark, so scary, and soooo frightening, that you'll want to run off into the woods and hide! And this map is perfect for that, because it's one huge forest. Hundreds of straggler trees, all spaced a few tiles apart, litter the central region of the map.
Each player has an open area of land to build on and a ring of forest surrounds the edge of the map. But in order to venture your way to your opponents you'll have to brave the dark woods. The trees are spaced apart to allow a style of gameplay in which there are no chokepoints. As always, scouting is crucial, and placing outposts in the forest is an essential tactic. Because of the open layout of the woods, an attacking army can march right through the trees and mysteriously appear from any direction. Cavalry units have a distinct advantage, as they can cover and protect the huge amount of open space.
The spacing of the trees in the middle region of the map makes constructing a foward base a little more interesting - you'll have to find and use one of the several small clearings because there isn't enough room between the trees. Or perhaps you should take a small group of woodcutters and create your own clearing. The open forest allows you to plan your attack from any side of your opponent's town. But expect the same from your opponent. This map requires careful planning, player's won't be able to just run a group of villagers to the enemy's town. You'll have to find a clearing, and when you get there, someone may be waiting for you.
Just like any other map, once you find the important central gold and stone, you can be sure that your opponent will soon find it, also. But unlike other maps, there is a limited amount of space to build upon near these resource clearings, so fighting will be tense. Amassing an army in the woods will become a popular course of action.
King Of The Hill - It's INSANE on this map! The clearings in the forest make for an interesting style of play. Find a clearing to build a base near the castle and you've won, right? Maybe not, because there's bound to be another clearing on the other side of the wonder, and you can bet your enemy will be there waiting for you. Or will you try to take some woodcutters to the wonder to develop your own real estate venture? Of course, you can always ignore the wonder and make a bee-line for your enemy's base. They'll never see you coming. But will you have enough left over to win the battle over the wonder before time runs out? This map promises some intense KOTH gameplay with wonder ownership changing in the final momements of the game.
See post here for description with graphics: http://mrfixitonline.com/readPosting.asp?PostingId=242534 |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Matei
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 08/20/01 @ 12:00 AM
MFO@Nottingham consists of a thick, very loosely spaced forest where the players start in clearings. It is possible to walk through the central forest, making this map very open. The resources are a bit above normal, but placed in the normal way.
Theme: 3 The script has an original idea, and plays in an unique way, but it isn't executed as well as it could be. There is practically no use of randomization to make things different each game, and the map doesn't really feel like the dark forest of Nottingham. By adding more wolves, or dead trees, or leaf terrain, or starting units such as Robin Hood or his merry men, the author could've done a much better job implementing the theme.
Visual Appleal: 2 The map has almost no variation in terrain, the trees are all of one type, and the ground is just grass. There is some eyecandy - flowers near your TC - but this looks unrealistic and too fantasy-like to fit in well. Again, by varying terrains, the author could've done a much better job. Also, some flower patches or mud wouldn't hurt. My last comment here is that the minimap is all green and it's hard to see where the trees are since they're placed on grass; perhaps making the player lands dirt would've helped. In any case, don't expect too much in terms of visual appeal on this map.
Playability: 5 The map is very fun to play, and lags very little. An extra patch of berries speeds up the early game. With the loosely spaced trees everywhere, you can mount surprise attacks from many sides. There's fierce competition on the central gold. And in King of the Hill, the forest fills with soldiers. The lack of space means forward building takes a bit of thought, which is not that bad either and results in interesting strategies. As a side-note, the computer plays well here, except that it tends to wall off single trees, which looks a bit wierd.
Overall: 3.3 This map definitely has pottential, and it's above average, but it needs an update to be really good. I reccomend you download it for the fun factor; you won't be sorry at all. It's a blast to play. However, if RF_Gandalf could add more terrain variation and maybe some random starting units and resources, he could make the map much more interesting, and it would feel more like Nottingham forest too. I'd be happy to re-review an update. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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3.3 | Breakdown |
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Theme | 3.0 | Visual Appeal | 2.0 | Playability | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 1,880 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 3.84 KB |
Added: | 07/31/01 |
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