Scenario 4: Return to the Village

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Turuk
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by Turuk »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
Challenging 1.4.6

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
2. The level 2's were really not that hard to deal with, as at this point I had 6 level 2's, 2 level 3's, plus a level 3 Arne. There were only a handful of orcs, and the leader went off after Arne when I placed him to the south.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Crystal.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Not that much, and it was alright, but suffered from the epidemic that plagues the campaign as a whole. The plot is very vague, with Arne's kidnapping making little sense. Not only that, the fact that the two are brothers is underplayed, rather than emphasized, so it is easy to forget he is anything but just a knight helping out the locals.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
None.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
4. Nice little map, and the idea of having to save the village would be better if the village was in more danger. The orcs do not really attack the northern keep, but defend their own.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Give the enemy more gold in order to pose a challenge?
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RS14
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by RS14 »

1) Hard, 1.4.
2) 4.
3) Clear.
4) Clear and adequate. The orcs seem sort of random.
It seems like it's sort of Arne's fault, seeing as he's apparently run off and left the village relatively undefended, and I might like to have Councilor Hoban remind him gently of that. Don't berate the player, but make it apparent that there was an ever-present threat of orcish raiders.
5) Orcish Crossbowmen could deal significant damage to my mounted units. I had two Grand Knights, though, so they died quickly when I could attack in melee. Other than that, nothing really. The Wolf Riders and Orcish Warriors died quickly.
6) 7. Both sides had the ability to deal a whole lot of damage, which made avoiding counterattacks absolutely necessary, but also possible to do just by killing things quick.
7) Just the dialog changes suggested in (4).
Jozrael
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by Jozrael »

Well from my interpretation, Arne wasn't 'tasked' to the town, he was out gallivanting on his own when Bjarn called him in.
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Vainglorious
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by Vainglorious »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
Easy difficulty, 1.4.7.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
4
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
I found them fairly clear, though the first objective (find out what is happening in the village) is a bit ambiguous, since there are two other castles and it's not immediately clear what's what.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
I found the dialogue and storyline very clear. The storyline wasn't terribly interesting, just a "mopping up" of one last nuisance after the main action. As with the first three scenarios in this campaign, I found the dialogue too short/abrupt and simplistic, and rather campy (see the other three threads in this series for more details and examples).
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
The only notable challenge came when the orc leader immediately marched over the central mountain ridge to meet my troops (who were capturing villages there). Killing him without losing any troops was extremely difficult (I lost at least one), but in the end, him exposing himself made the scenario too easy if anything.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
7
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
I would change the scenario so that the orc leader doesn't make a suicide charge early on, if possible.

As with the other three scenarios in this campaign, I would also extend and enhance the dialogue.
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Krellja
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by Krellja »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
(1) Easy, 1.6.2
(2) 2
(3) At first I did not understand where the village is.
(4) It is tough to get home and see your village destroyed.
(5) No challeges.
(6) 4. The victory was a to easy. Why did the orcish leader nearly commit suicide by crossing the mountains?
(7) Let the orc-boss stay in his castle. So the player would haveto fight the whole way around. (Or cross the small mountain pass).
DrPepper8
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by DrPepper8 »

1. 1.6.4, Challenging
2. 2 - much easier than the 2 previous scenarios
3. Clear.
4. It was OK. One of the things I didn't like about this campaign was the way the enemies changed in each scenario - undead, then elves, then undead again and finally orcs. It meant there didn't seem to be much continuity to the plot.
5. None. I split my forces, sending most of my force north while my outlaws cut through the mountains. The orcs were all busy fighting the villagers and my forces who went north, so my outlaws were able to take out the enemy leader on about turn 6 with hardly any resistance. I think I lost maybe 1 level 1 bowman in the whole fight. (It helped that I'd played it before on easy difficulty, so I knew where the village was).
6. 5. I liked that there were a lot of different approaches to the village, so you could try various tactics - however it was a bit too easy for a final scenario.
7. I think some additional background to the plot (particularly on the motivation of the various enemy leaders), and more continuity of enemies between scenarios, would have been good. Also I'd have liked Bjarn to be more useful - as it was I just ended up keeping him out of the way to stop him getting killed. Maybe make him a healer mage, as after 3 scenarios with no healer I'd have been very happy to have one given to me. As it was I ended up feeling that Arne had saved the day while Bjarn had just been useless baggage who'd nearly ruined things by getting kidnapped.
Joram
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by Joram »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
Hard, 1.7.6

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
1- I came in with so much gold that I don't think it was even possible for me to lose.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Fine.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Excellent. The orcs are slightly unrelated to the main plot, so that might be something I would fix (maybe have them be an assembled army by the necromancer, but when word reaches them that he's dead, they strike out on their own at the nearest target?).

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
None really. My Grand Knight, 2 Knights, and an almost leveled horsemen looped up to the north, while the mage with a horde of footpads headed straight for the mountain.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
8- It's still fun, in spite of being so easy. I actually love that about this campaign, in that its a good break from the hard ones; after slogging through something really tough, it is nice to come to something you can beat in under an hour.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

Other than maybe a small change to the storyline, as noted above, nothing really.


I love the story revamps that have gone into this campaign; also, the new background pictures for the story are awesome! Great work, all you folks who contributed.
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ftl
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by ftl »

1. Easy 1.6.5
2. 1. Straightforward - I got careless and lost units knowing that it didn't matter, as it was the last scenario.
3. Not so clear at first - at first, I didn't realize that the town I was advancing towards was an ally, not until I ran into them.
4. Good.
5. Knowing where to go. At first I headed north along the road, then suddenly enemies appeared from the mountains, and I wasn't sure whether I should keep going north or change course and go across the mountains. It made sense when I finally met my ally, though.
6. 5.
7. Have it make a little more sense story-wise. Maybe have a single revealed hex, or some special thing (flag?target?) at the site of the village, so I'm not left in the position where I'm wondering "ok, where's my home village?" which seems like a silly thing to be wondering. (Did I just not read the text carefully?) Also, the AI felt weird; story-wise, it made no sense for the orcs to drop their assault on the village to send a large force to cross the mountains at me before I even knew where the village was and before I even came to its rescue. All in all, it felt like in this case, the map and the AI actions didn't very well represent the story being told.

(Perhaps that's more of a compliment to the previous scenarios, the chase and the castle rescue, which DID have the feel of a chase and castle rescue. That's what Wesnoth gets for raising the bar, I guess :) )
ManiacTehGreat
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by ManiacTehGreat »

ivanovic wrote:(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
I didn't check Alt-S at the beginning of this scenario. Because in the first scenario of this campaign I started in a encampment (tent graphic) and the enemy was in the castle, I assumed it was the same in this scenario. As a consequence I assumed that the "village" I had to move to was the encampment, not the castle. I headed straight for it and got a nasty surprise when some orc fighters attacked me from the hills and killed some of my units.

I'd suggest to make it clear the castle is the friendly village.
shadowblack
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Re: Two Brothers: 4. Return to the Village

Post by shadowblack »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
Hard, 1.8.2 (I’ve played it on Easy, too, but I’ll comment only on the Hard version)

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
6 to 8 – varies depending on luck

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Clear.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
Not letting the enemy level 2 units kill too many of my forces.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
7

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Place a (persistent) “Maghre” on the map to make it clear where the friendly village is. This will prevent confusion over which way to go. Or just mention in the text that the village is to the north, for example:
"There. Your village is just across those hills, and already I see men coming to greet us!"
Make it:
"There. Your village is to the north, just across those hills, and already I see men coming to greet us!"
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Mountain_King
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Re: Scenario 4: Return to the Village

Post by Mountain_King »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
1.9.5, Challenging, no recruits, Irish
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
Only about a six.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Clear as clear can be.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Bey-awesome. (That's beyond awesome) However, I think the Orc could have said something upon being defeated, maybe as an easter egg only when Baran/Arvith finishes him off.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
Holding off two warriors with only leader. Amazingly enough, it resulted in a standoff until I brought in reinforcements.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
What can be better than a good ending? :D 10.
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
See 4.

I'm posting my statistics to prove I didn't recruit, but they also prove I restarted scenario 2 quite a few times for good luck. :P I could probably do it again without the restart there, but that'd require more patience than I currently have.
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"Earcaigh" means recruits.
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AvovA
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Re: Scenario 4: Return to the Village

Post by AvovA »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
Hard, 1.8.5
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

Waay too easy with all the survivors from the previous scenarios. I did not have any problems finishing the enemy quickly. You should really give him more money.
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Mountain_King
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Re: Scenario 4: Return to the Village

Post by Mountain_King »

AvovA wrote:...You should really give him more money...
I wouldn't know about that. Tale of Two Brothers is, after all, a beginner campaign. It should be relatively easy so even new players can win the campaign.
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Faello
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Re: Scenario 4: Return to the Village

Post by Faello »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?

Challenging (Knight) - top difficulty level, 1.9.6, no saves/reloads, 192 starting gold

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)

2.

Tairach (Orcish Warlord) has only 200gp in this one and he spends it on lvl1 and lvl2 units mix that is hardly a challenge for more potent player's force of levelled up loyal units, espescially that Tairach has no eco advantage whatsoever and tried to deal simultaneusly with Reeve Hoban (Longbowman), commander of the Maghre defence, that has 35gp and is well protected in his castle (NW). It's quite relaxing mission, I'd compare it to the part of the action movie where heroes are already past their most difficult challenge (scenario 3 :P ) and are ready to kick some ass 8) Finished this one in turn 17/24.

1 loss, 13 kills

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Crystal clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

It was interesting, whole campaign is well written, plot is well developed considering this campaign has only 4 scenarios.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?

None. I was lucky in this scenario, but I doubt I'd have any even if I would be unlucky.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

7.

Truth to be told, it could be longer & harder, I liked the part how brothers recognized their old nemesis during this scenario.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

Tairach should have more gold and maybe some reinforcements at the end of the battle.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?

No.

Image
TOTAL Campaign Losses/Kills: 11 losses, 78 kills
CAMPAIGN SUMMARY: It's a 7/10 campaign when compared to others, it is very well written, yet first and last scenarios (50% of it) could be better, especially the first one. Scenarios 2&3 are excellent regarding the design - main flaw of it, is that it's TOO SHORT, Arvith & his mercs definitely deserve more screen time than just 4 scenarios :mrgreen: Player could have more fun time with his loyal veterans in larger battles.

Replay attached:
Attachments
AToTB-Return_to_the_Village_replay.gz
Return to the Village replay, Challenging (Knight) difficulty level, 1.9.6, no saves/reloads
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tr0ll
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Re: Scenario 4: Return to the Village

Post by tr0ll »

wesnoth 1.9.6 medium
on about turn 6 when we meet the reeve, there are some warnings in the log:

Code: Select all

20110612 15:34:24 warning engine: cannot show message
20110612 15:34:27 warning engine: cannot show message
20110612 15:34:27 warning engine: cannot show message
20110612 15:34:27 warning engine: cannot show message
Attachments
AToTB-Return_to_the_Village_replay.gz
replay wesnoth 1.9.6 medium ToTB
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