Scenario 7: Showdown

Feedback for the mainline campaign An Orcish Incursion.

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Ninjuri
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by Ninjuri »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
Easy 1.10.2
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
3
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
100%
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Pretty good
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
Pretty much none. Rangers through the forests took out a few assassins and captured all of the enemy villages, before taking over and occupying the enemy castle while he was fighting in the mountains to the south.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
8
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
I do like small maps like this one, but the longevity of it was a bit kinda short. Maybe give the enemy a small gold bonus when he sees he is losing.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
no
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taptap
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by taptap »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
High Lord (Challenging), 1.10.6

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
2 (228 gold) - killed everything, lost one ranger (could have lost more during the night but it hardly mattered)

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Didn't read it, it was quite obvious.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
The whole assassination talk was off-topic. I had enough forces to start attacking during the first night, roll over the remaining units during the day (he lost his last units on turn 8 ) and finished Rualsha at my leisure during the second night. Not killing him by assassination makes the final dialogue somewhat silly since there is no enemy army to flee - they are all dead.

(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

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Double the gold of Rualsha on hard or reduce reinforcements, frontal assault at night against orcs shouldn't be a working strategy - reinforcements + 228 gold in recalls >> 300 gold in recruits. I know it is a novice campaign, but the final shouldn't be the easiest scenario even then. Mix reinforcements - beginners tend to advance rangers anyway, but have to learn the awesomeness of marksmen.

---

Overall campaign: I realized I don't remember this campaign, so decided to play it again. I overrecruited in the third scenario and had only two advanced shamans (one each), this made the fourth scenario quite difficult and I ended it without bonus on the last turn. During scenario 5 and 6 I could go from minimal gold all the way to 128 bonus for the final. The final was a disappointment. It is definitely too easy to feel anything about it. + The campaign is too short to do much with the loyal mages you get - it feels good to have loyal units, but I had only one of them advanced before and another one during the final - I wouldn't even have bothered recalling them in the final if it were not for role-playing reasons. (And you don't need them that urgently in the swamp either. Linaera, Elronas and a few advanced shamans can do most of the damage.)
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Linthar
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by Linthar »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
Challenging 1.10.7

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

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
The objectives were clear, but the hint about the enemy being well defended against attacks from the south was almost a flat out lie. Also the fact that the objectives give a hint may be a bit of a bug. This is the only scenario in the campaign I recall off the top of my head giving the hint on hard difficulty and looking at the WML for some of the other scenarios the hints for those are explicitly in blocks that only trigger on easy difficulty.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
It was really lacking. The first five scenarios had several paragraphs of story text, and then reasonably lengthy introductory dialog to give the scenarios some flavor. The final scenario, opens with a mere two lines of dialog and no story text. The final map of a campaign deserves more than that. This doesn't feel like the climatic battle to determine the fate of the elves. It feels more like a filler battle against a generic orc villain, then the actual filler battles against generic orc villains at the start of the campaign. Also why does Erlornas only just now mention that it grieves him to take a life, instead of mentioning this trait of his sometime in the last six levels of immense bloodshed.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
That weren't any. I had a good number of level 3 units, the enemy had only level 2s. I basically smashed my way through the supposedly strong defense. And that was with me humoring the game and actually sending the rangers and my own elvish avenger around north to try an assassination. If I had actually used the absurdly generous gift of the four elvish rangers the game gave me for free in the main battle, the scenario would have been an even bigger joke then it was.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
2. It was a huge disappointment, an anticlimax in pretty much every possible sense.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
The scenario needs a lot of polishing. The writing needs major work, as it currently possesses only the barebones of a plot, as compared to the first five scenarios where a lot of care was put into trying to make a cliched orc vs elf battle interesting. The gameplay is in just as dire need of improvement. The scenario seems to be intended to introduce new players to the concept of leader assassination, but the enemy is so underpowered that not only is assassination not necessary, it is barely any faster to actually perform the assassination, then to simply bash your way straight through the map. I'm honestly not even sure this is the right level to focus on the concept of leader assassination, it seems a poor way to end a campaign compared to a straight forward big battle that actually lets you put the whole army you've carefully raised to use. However no matter what the appropriate focus for the level may be the one thing that's unquestionably clear is that the level is far to easy for its place as the climax of the campaign.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
No.
kiss
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by kiss »

Last round.
This map is easy to read, and according the hint it is one way from north, but, once more, a trap? Whatever, not much choice than heading north and take the villages.

Turn 1, ..., 6: Over.

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
Fighter(beginner)1.10.7

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

(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?
At least this rider comes back! Ok, with his troop, they would be pretty useless before.

(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) 5
For me it looks like there were a longer story behind, but for some reason it was shorted as this!

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
I was waiting for a reinforcement for the orcs. Maybe I kill the boss too fast?

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
None.

(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
I don't know.

I'm not really sure, I focus mostly on fight and strategy, but it seems the whole storyline is strange. And it was supposed to be a deeper presentation of strategy, and perhaps this was the reason why, but I found that part too poor for a valid excuse.
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SigurdFireDragon
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by SigurdFireDragon »

1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
Lord (Normal) 252 Gold

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario?
5

(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?
Good on both points

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

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
5

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
None

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
Yes. This replay was my second attempt. Was unhappy with my first attempt (due to strategic carelessness), as I reloaded 3 times to prevent unit loss. (though I still won the first attempt).
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Aldarisvet
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by Aldarisvet »

Just funny playing only shamans to shydes strategy at hardest difficulty.

In general - no plotline and tactically all scenarios are the same except may be a one with trolls. The only good thing in this campaign is it's easiness. As tutorial it may be ok. Or even not? Dialogs are not constructed as tutorial (compare with HttT where we have Delfador as a mentor). A very beginner should be warned in the dialogs that he need shamans or better druids to heal poison vs assassins. Moreover, putting assassins already at the second scenario is quite unfair from this point, luckily I had 3 druids after the first scenario, but beginner may recruit no shamans at the first scenario and will come to the second unprepeared (not only because of poison but also because of high assassins defence rate, needed magic to use vs them, but a beginner do not know such things).

Still I wonder: obviously most of beginners starts with Heir to the Throne (because they play tutorial first and see Konrad there) and that campaign is good for very beginners and the same time have quite intresting plotline and a gameplay is not so monotone. So why having so plain and poor campaign AOI as a campaign for the beginners? Does it suppose that beginners somehow are less demanding persons?

Also Linaera's ability to teleport have no use in this campaign. She can be used as a firepower, but actually her and her mages are not needed at all. Why putting a Silver Mage into the campaign and not trying to make something tactically intresting with her teleport ability?
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Remellion
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by Remellion »

Finishing up the feedback for this campaign.

1. Played on High Lord (Challenging), 1.12.1 English / 1.12.5 French shamans-only.

2. Difficulty I give a 2/10. It's quite hard to lose when it's the last scenario, you go all out recalling strong units and look at how small Rualsha's army is.

3. Objective is clear. Yet another 1-on-1 battle.

4. Dialogue is worryingly scarce in the beginning. Not really the buildup to a climactic fight one would expect. And the dialogue after is odd too, why would Erlonas complain about slaying Rualsha after bludgeoning through all the other scenarios? And they're already pretty adept at fighting, despite what they say.

5. Challenges: Next to none. Rualsha starts with 300 gold; considering that he recruits level 2 units, that's about 15 recruited units. While on the other hand, we have the option of recruiting/recalling a bunch of (very probably levelled) units, and get 5 free level 2 elves at the start. It's the last scenario, so there's no need to preserve units or level units carefully, although we can still do that. And the AI prefers to attack our forest rather than leverage their mountain/hill terrain advantage. So basically, a rout.

Generic run: Between the free units and the recalls we get so much of an advantage we go offensive on second watch; there are 2 orcish survivors at dawn.

Shamans-only: A completely legitimate challenge: Ensuring I get to see and use my sylphs given how everything crumbles before them. 2 rangers go suicide north to delay the orcish onslaught on our main force. The important thing is to keep funneling exp to the enchantresses; the main confrontation begins at dawn thanks to 3 matyred rangers, and we finish the slaughter with 2 new levelled sylphs for a total of 5, after lots of clowning around with Rualsha.

6. Fun is lower in this scenario, since it's a rather anticlimactic final battle. Really Rualsha doesn't stand a chance. 4/10 maybe, probably lower.

7. Suggestions would be to give just 2 rangers perhaps (on challenging only maybe), and increase Rualsha's gold, doubling it for a start. That would make the gameplay that much harder, appropriate for a final battle. On the level of dialogue, more buildup before the battle, some banter between the orcs and elves; currently Erlonas gets no lines before the curtain rises.


Overall comments for the campaign:
Despite the occasional flaws, this campaign has a simple charm and straightforward gameplay. Too straightforward some might say, but the scenarios each have a sufficiently different flavour such that no two feel the same. The trolls and undead are nice breathers from repeated orc battles in this short campaign. This I believe is a good introduction to Wesnoth: no strange campaign-specific mechanics, no gameplay-changing elements, a linear storyline and battles to introduce the elf-orc conflicts seen in HttT and LoW. From this campaign we also learn to deal with enemies having: poison, elusivefoot, regenerates, undead resistances, high damage... basically what we usually see in other campaigns. And it's also easy and short enough to have joke runs like shaman-only, scout-only, etc. I like it.
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nikita1996
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by nikita1996 »

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

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
1. Just reach the king with five elvish rangers. They should always hide in the forest before reaching the king.

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

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Clear but not very interesting. Even not as interesting as a children's story book.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
No challenge.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
2. Too easy and not challenging enough.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Firstly, the difficulty of different scenarios of this campaign should be well balanced. The scenario 4 is maybe too difficult while the last two scenarios are too easy. It's right to make the last two scenarios harder than the other scenarios.

Secondly, the last scenario should be either very different from other ones, or be a large, long and difficult battle. This scenario seems not a final battle.

Thirdly, program more for the AI and don't make the AI too foolish. In this scenario, the AI knows that there are elvish rangers in the beginning (no fog or shround), but there are no defense near the castle in the forest, which is very unreasonable.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
No.
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Konrad2
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by Konrad2 »

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

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
1. It was easy to beat his troops even while sendeing 6 rangers to the northern edge of the map. Doing so isn't a winning strategy, it's just a handicap.

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

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Clear but not very interesting.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
No challenge.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
2. Too easy and not challenging enough. And the lack of an epilogue is disappointing...

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Add an ambush for units advancing on his keep from the south. That way there is some better reason to approach from the north.
And give me an epilogue. D:

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
No.
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Hestelvar
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by Hestelvar »

(1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
Fighter (Easy)
1.14.3
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
3. Easy (4. When only using the shaman line without the loyal reinforcements.’
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
The usual - kill the orc leader without getting killed.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialogue and storyline of the scenario?
Short and to the point rather than interesting. But "It grieves me to take life, even of a barbarian such as Rualsha." is just incongruous. Erlornas has already orchestrated six scenarios of systematic butchery without a qualm, this feels far too late for him to develop a conscience. At the very least swap Erlornas’s dialogue with advisor’s.
The absence of Rualsha’s full army is never explained. This is a hefty oversight.
(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)
6. A good ending to a novice campaign. I liked how the assassination option is offered but not imposed upon the player.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Fewer trees! Or else explain why Rualsha has camped in terrain hugely favourable for the elves.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
None.
Remarks:
Difficulty is always hard to judge for a final scenario, as heavy losses are acceptable so long as victory is achieved. In this my losses were entirely due to my own carelessness. I never felt that victory (whether by assassination or frontal assault, with or without reinforcements) was in any doubt, which led to sloppiness.

Critical Campaign Review

A repetitive start leads to a promising middle that petters out towards an incongruous conclusion.
At its best it is a series of simple puzzles, that hope to reward proper handling of terrain, poison, healers, regenerate, teleportation, undead, and assassination.
Difficulty is generally appropriate to the intended audience.
Characterisation is almost none existent. I found Erlornas unlikeable and inconsistent, even though he is virtually the only character. The narrative is lacklustre throughout - I was never given a sense of these skirmishes wider significance - the writer seemed to run out of inspiration or tenacity in the final scenarios.
All the scenarios were the same length, took place on small maps, and all except one against a single enemy leader. Repetition might be acceptable were these scenarios memorable unfortunately most are not.
A couple of fun scenarios and some exemplary defeat texts apart, next to such engaging novice campaigns as TSG and HttT I feel that this is below the standard expected of a mainline campaign.
I know that sounds harsh but An Orcish Incursion Must improve!
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LordWolfDan
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by LordWolfDan »

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

- Easy, 1.14.5

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

- 4

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

- Simple, kill the orcish sovereign

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

- I like the aftermath dialogue. It clearly shows that Rualsha was more or less a lieutenant to a bigger force coming from the north and that this isn't the last of orcs attacking elves. I'm curious about Erlornas' line saying how he feels bad to slay his enemy, despite him bent on hunting him down.

(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

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

- Maybe an extra epilogue would do

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

- No
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mxb2001
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by mxb2001 »

[quote="Content Feedback" post_id=286114 time=1205252918 user_id=123454]
(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
Normal no cheating

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
5

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

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Well the big boss wasn't too special

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
Not giving up when half of the rangers bit it in the first orc rush in spite of having been in ambush positions

(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?
Well the hint about using the rangers with infiltration tactics doesn't really work.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
Nope, just got mad after losing the rangers and went on an all day all night assault and to my surprise the orcs pretty much evaporated, quick win.

[/quote]
01/01/01
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josteph
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by josteph »

mxb2001 wrote: January 28th, 2019, 12:01 am (5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
Not giving up when half of the rangers bit it in the first orc rush in spite of having been in ambush positions
The idea is to send the rangers along the east and then north ends of the map to behind the enemy leader's keep and then have them break cover and attack him in his keep. You aren't supposed to keep them in the forest in the middle of the map, and if you do they will be run into by enemies that try to reach your non-ambushing units and villages.
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mxb2001
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by mxb2001 »

josteph wrote: February 3rd, 2019, 3:32 pm
mxb2001 wrote: January 28th, 2019, 12:01 am (5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
Not giving up when half of the rangers bit it in the first orc rush in spite of having been in ambush positions
The idea is to send the rangers along the east and then north ends of the map to behind the enemy leader's keep and then have them break cover and attack him in his keep. You aren't supposed to keep them in the forest in the middle of the map, and if you do they will be run into by enemies that try to reach your non-ambushing units and villages.
I didn't, I sent them up west edge where there are some nice forests to hide in. I did make a newbie error, and out of greed placed one on the village up there which is why they were seen and set upon!
01/01/01
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Tom_Of_Wesnoth
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Re: Scenario 7: Showdown

Post by Tom_Of_Wesnoth »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
1.14.7 on High Lord/Challenging.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
1. The game literally gives you four Rangers and tells you to use them as stealth assassins, and that tactic works perfectly. Even if you don't do that, I was able to overwhelm the orcs by literally just throwing my units at them with no real tactics - it's the last scenario, so I wasn't concerned by losses - and attacking them in the hills and mountains. If I chose to defend the woodline, it would've been even easier to overwhelm them.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Very clear.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Clear but uninteresting.
(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)
3. As I said, the orcish army I managed to defeat without any real tactics, just charging them in the mountains. Even if that failed, I had four free Rangers, which is more than enough to kill Rualsha, even in the middle of the night when he's at his strongest, and with three units coming over to defend him after the first turn of attacks.

There's a bit of novelty with the Rangers, and final scenarios are always quite fun, but ultimately this is far far too easy and a complete anti-climax.
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Firstly, the song Northerners was written for scenarios like this.

I'd make this a struggle to survive against a massive Orcish host, until your Rangers can get in position to land the killing blow. To do that, the map needs to be made a lot bigger, so that it takes time for the Rangers to move their way across. Secondly, there needs to be a lot more orcs coming at you, so that you're genuinely fighting a climactic battle, rather than beating down another scouting force.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
No.
If presented with the opportunity, I would take great pleasure in becoming a world ruler.
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