South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Feedback for the mainline campaign The South Guard.

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Jozrael
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Post by Jozrael »

The merman is a sort of easter egg that would be found through normal village acquisition. Its a bit less obvious than the tridents and such that are items in most campaigns, but most of these have little to no exposition (with the exception of holy waters in Valley of the Dead).
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Post by miekka »

1. Easy on 1.2, Hard on 1.3.14
2. 4.
3. Crystal clear.
4. Very good.
5. Killing a couple of units in their favored terrain.
6. 6.
7. Nothing, really.
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by Anym »

(1) Civilian (Beginner), 1.4, English [US]

(2) 2: Slighty more difficult than the second part of the tutorial, but still very gentle.

(3) Very clear.

(4) Very clear and interesting enough.

(5) Maybe impatience, nothing really.

(6) 7: Not only was it fun, it was also educational.

(7) The map image used at the beginning of the scenario is too small and compressed too high. When stretched to its in-game resolution it looks grainy, has clearly visible compression artifacts and looks just generally ugly. That's the only thing wrong with the scenario I found and after this single scenario I think I already enjoy this campaign more than A Tale Of Two Brothers, which I played first (after having played the tutorial), so my next suggestion actually aims at making sure most player continue with this after playing the tutorial: Recommend only this campaign as beginner-friendly at the end of the tutorial (although it's probably OK to also point to Heir to the Throne for the characters used) and make it the top-most campaign to appear in the campaign selection menu.
I look just like Bobbin Threadbare.
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by lsummer28 »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
V. 1.4.2, Recruit (middle difficulty)

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

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

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Quite clear and rather dull, but my bar for "interesting" is pretty high.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
I guess the worst thing that happened is I recruited three peasants before I discovered the "opening the armory" schtick.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
6...the bit about discovering the mermen is nice, I just wish I could recruit those badasses with tridents.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
You could make the dialog more interesting, which could start with some more creative names (what percentage of place names in this game start with wes- ? I found myself trying to login to "westin.org" to get to these boards) and providing a bit more and less trite backstory for the main character and the lieutenant he meets in this scenario. But like I said, my bar is pretty high. The gameplay is fine for the first level of a beginner campaign. If it was TOO interesting, you'd be doing something wrong.
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by Turuk »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
Soldier (Normal) 1.5.6

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
3. Just not a hard campaign really, but that is good, as it makes for a great campaign to learn on. The difficulty is just right for someone going from Beginner to more Advanced tactics.

(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?
In the prestart story, there are a few missing words/awkward word placement so that the story does not read very well.
In the dialogue in the scenario itself, it was good, decently written and clear. The story of the young commander is a nice hook.

(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)
7. Nothing crazy, but nice simple fun, go out and kill the enemy.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
None.
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nemchenk
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by nemchenk »

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
Soldier (Normal) 1.6a

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
Given that this is the first scenario, I'll give it a 7 this time. Read on to find out why :P

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Crystal clear. I really enjoyed the RP elements too, as they completely drew me into the game.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Almost top-notch. I'll explain a few niggles in a bit, but I was very impressed anyway.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
The Footpad Glasar. He was able to tie up all my forces in the earliest part of the scenario, being able to move 7 and having a ranged attack when none of my units did.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
10, but given that an experienced strategy game player lost the scenario quite early on, this score might be lower for less-determined players :P

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
I'll summarise them here, but the rationale for them is in the narrative story below:
  1. The biggest problem was Glasar -- a Footpad that early on in the scenario is the perfect unit for the bandit commander. He tied down my army until the main bandit force got to the Fort, and won the whole game for them. I would change Glasar to a lesser, specifically less-mobile, unit -- I recommend a Thug. Thugs are not as mobile, and have no ranged attack; important since at the point Glasar is introduced, the player is likely not to have any ranged units.
  2. The fact that Sir Gerrick has spears and bows and yet Moreth is armed with only a pitchfork, seems a bit wrong to me, from a storyline perspective. I would upgrade Moreth to a Loyal Spearman (with no other traits.) For the easier difficulty levels Moreth can have more traits, perhaps Resilience. I'm not sure about him being a Pikeman on Trivial, but I've not playtested that difficulty.
  3. It is a shame not to have a portrait for Glasar, given how important he proved to be in the story :) He was basically the reason I lost the game! :D He is also the first face-to-face contact a player is likely to have with the enemy, so I think he deserve to be able to make a good first impression!
  4. Deoran is somewhat useless as a combat unit -- I understand that the idea is not to make him overpowered, but it would be nice to be able to use him for a bit more than just recruitment! I'd base him on the mainline Cavalryman unit, but with Horseman armour. In any case, giving him a bit more movement than a Quick Spearman would facilitate his use as a cavalry unit, thus teaching the player how to use cavalry.
  5. Sir Gerrick looses his marbles at the end of the scenario -- he forgets that Deoran told him he was not sent by Sir Loris. Only a tiny alteration would be needed to his dialogue: something like changing his first line to "It is good that fate has sent you to our lands" instead of "It is good that King Haldric sent you..."
  6. It is a shame Glasar still doesn't turn tail, despite Sir Gerricks valiant speech.
  7. Played this very well (if I do say so myself! :P), yet still had only 1 turn to finish! Increase max time limit, but reduce early finish bonus.
I've actually made some changes myself which I think work very well, and can provide them as a patch against 1.6a or trunk if wanted.

Here's my first attempt at Born to the Banner. Apologies for the long post :oops:

...

I decided to play on Soldier difficulty -- I figured I had enough of a grasp of turn-based strategy games to be able to play a beginner campaign on Normal :) The soothing music of the intro came on, and I read the story and looked at the slides, taking in the story of a quiet and prosperous backwater province where things were perhaps not as sleepy as first thought. Some of the geography seemed a little over-complicated, as if the narrator was trying to do too much exposition at once. The slides conveyed the right atmosphere, but were a little low-res and "home-made." And "Westin" seemed a name a little too similar to "Wesnoth" :)

The map at the end of the intro definitely needed improving -- far too much compression had made it almost illegible. Still, I was looking forward to playing TSG...

Apparently, bandits had overrun the land, but I suspected that Deoran would get a chance to set things right! A plucky peasant called Moreth confronted me, having mistaken Deoran for one of the bandits that had been terrorising the countryside. At this point, we cut to Urza Mathin, a swarthy character who led the bandits. I really liked the RPG touch of having the enemy commander gloat and threaten me! The portraits and good writing were really adding to my enjoyment of the scenario so far :)

Once the misunderstanding with that plucky peasant was cleared up, I decided to follow his advice and head for the River Fort to make contact with the leader of the remnants of the South Guard, liberating a village along the way. The bandit leader meanwhile recruited a motley band of two Footpads, two Thugs, and a Poacher.

At the fort, I met a grizzled veteran named Sir Gerrick, who confirmed that bandits now ruled the land, and urged me to raise the South Guard once more. He opened up the Fort armoury to help me equip the new recruits. ... Wait, all this time he had spears and bows, yet he made the poor plucky Moreth defend villages armed only with a pitch-fork? This might explain why there was only two people left of the whole South Guard! ;)

I sent Deoran back to the encampment with the weapons to raise the army, while Moreth went West to spread the good news amongst the three villages on the north bank of the river. Sir Gerrick crossed onto the south bank, hoping to liberate more villages before the bandit army arrived to confront me. I knew there was little hope of holding onto these villages, but my new South Guard could use their support in the meantime!

In the first village I visited I bumped into a tiny Footpad called Glasar who threatened Sir Gerrick, asserting that the countryside was the bandits' to plunder. Sir Gerrick in turn mercifully told the footpad to flee before the might of the new South Guard, lest he meet a grizzly fate. Nice touch -- I liked the option of showing mercy, though I was unsure as to whether Glasar would heed Sir Gerrick's advice. And I loved the saga-like way TSG was playing out! It was a shame there was no portrait for the first bandit I encountered face-to-face!

My worst fears were realised -- instead of being cowed by Sir Gerricks impressive speech, the Footpad crossed the river, captured one of my villages, and attacked my commander. Ouch! Turn 3 and I was faced with an enemy unit moving faster than any of my own, and having a ranged attack where none of mine did. I had lost a village already! Feeling a little demoralised, I decided I needed to put a stop to this -- having the Footpad behind my "lines" could prove disastrous, as he would out-manoeuvre my fledging army, and be able to attack without fear of retaliation!

Using Sir Gerrick's tactical Leadership, I had Deoran charge the scoundrel! (I loved the little quip young Deoran said just before he attacked.) Unfortunately, all three attacks missed, while one of the Footpad's counter-attacks hit home. Ouch. Sir Gerrick then attacked with his glaive, but even his skill was no match for the lowly criminal, who clobbered my veteran with both counter attacks. This was not looking good -- my units were getting mauled, and I had the enemy running around behind my lines, undoing everything I had achieved so far. To make matters worse, the bandits were advancing from the South, and Urza Mathin managed to persuade two more Thugs to join his cause. At least Moreth was doing well -- he had liberated another village, giving me control of three on the North bank, and one further South.

Glasar remained in the village he snuck from me and hurled stones at Sir Gerrick, one of which hit. The rest of the bandits continued to make their way toward me, the two Footpads getting close to the river. As dusk descended, I decided I had to stop them crossing the river, and moved Sir Gerrick to the River Fort. Deoran raced back to our encampment, where he was able to recruit four Bowmen -- night was coming, and I wanted units who could counter-attack both ranged and melee. Moreth continued to the last village on the North bank.

Glasar followed Deowan, capturing a village, then attacked him with his sling, hitting twice. Two Footpads attacked Sir Gerrick, dealing 10 points of sling damage altogether. At least now I had a force to fight back with!

Unfortunately it was night, and the advantage was with the Bandits. Despite all four Bowmen attacking, they were unable to finish off Glasar and took some hits themselves, two dropping to "orange" health. I hired three more Bowmen before my gold ran out, then charged Glasar with Deoran. My commander fought bravely, getting his enemy to 1 hit point, but was unable to finish him off. I moved Moreth towards the Fort, and decided to rest with Sir Gerrick to conserve his hit points.

The bandits move all their Footpads North, attacking my Bowmen and causing some damage. Sir Gerrick fought off a Thug who was attacking from the ford, while another re-captured the village where we first encountered Glasar. A Poacher and two more Thugs were coming as reinforcements.

I continued to move Moreth closer to the front, hopping from village to village. I left Sir Gerrick where he was again, to conserve his hit points. Deowan finally finished off Glasar, and I moved my most-wounded Bowman to recapture the village Glasar had been hiding in. I used three of my other Bowmen to tie down the nearby Footpads, and moved the rest of my army South, towards the Fort and Sir Gerrick.

Unfortunately, the Footpads were able to get close enough to Deowan to attack, and he fell in battle :( Well, that was a short playthrough! What had I learned?

I don't think I made any huge tactical errors, given that this was the first time I played the scenario, and yet I got my clock thoroughly cleaned for me! In retrospect, I should have gotten Deowan to the encampment quicker, but that would have meant ignoring Glasar completely, and letting him pillage the villages I was meant to be protecting!

Here are the changes I propose based on my first play-through:
1. The biggest problem was Glasar -- a Footpad that early on in the scenario is the perfect unit for the bandit commander. He tied down my army until the main bandit force got to the Fort, and won the whole game for them. I would change Glasar to a lesser unit -- I recommend a Thug. Thugs are not as mobile, and have no ranged attack; important since at the point Glasar is introduced, the player is likely not to have any ranged units.
2. The fact that Sir Gerrick has spears and bows and yet Moreth is armed with only a pitchfork, seems a bit wrong to me. I would upgrade Moreth to a Loyal Spearman (with no other traits.) For the easier difficulty levels Moreth can have more traits, perhaps Resilience. I'm not sure about him being a Pikeman on Trivial, but I've not playtested that difficulty.
3. It is a shame not to have a portrait for Glasar, given how important he proved to be in the story :) He was basically the reason I lost the game! :D He is also the first face-to-face contact a player is likely to have with the enemy, so I think he deserve to be able to make a good first impression!
4. Deoran is practically useless as a combat unit -- I understand that the idea is not to make him overpowered, but it would be nice to be able to use him for a bit more than just recruitment! What about making him into a less armoured Cavalryman with Leadership? Give him the same stats as the Cavalryman, but an Impact attack (Deowan's mace from his later levels) and the lighter armour (resistance) of a Horseman. The extra movement would make Deowan a bit more useful, and the light armour would still mean he is vulnerable on the battlefield.

. . .

I played the scenario again, this time having made Moreth into a Loyal Spearman, and Glasar a Thug.

On my first turn, I sent Deoran and Moreth towards the River Fort, liberating a village along the way. Urza Methin recruited two Thugs, two Poachers, and a Footpad.

Next, I had Deoran make contact with Sir Gerrick, then move North again to the village en-route to the Encampment. Moreth went West, liberating a village. Sir Gerrick went south, liberating a village and bumping into Glasar. Urza Methin sent his main troops north, while Glasar tried to move around Sir Gerrick in the direction of the river. (It's a shame Glasar didn't run from Sir Gerrick!)

Next, I moved Sir Gerrick back to the River Fort, and Moreth to back him up in the village on the north bank. Deoran raced to the encampment, and recruited four Bowmen. Glasar meanwhile recaptured the village Sir Gerrick had liberated. (So, in effect, it was *I* who ran from Glasar. Hmph)

At dusk, I moved my four Bowmen south, and hired another two. Then I sent Deoran south, to help in the defence of the River Fort. Meanwhile Moreth moved from the village he was garrisoning to the Fort, while Sir Gerrick moved a little east to help Lead the coming battle. Urza Methin continued to move his troops north and a little east, and also hired another Thug to help in the conflict.

At this point, the sun finally disappeared below the horizon, and the stars came out. My inexperienced men breathed a nervous sigh and prepared for battle. Sir Gerrick took up position in the village in the center of the line, to better help Lead the battle, and to offset his lack of ranged defence. Moreth took up position on the east flank, where the enemy seemed to be massing Thugs, and where the marshes should make their attack less dangerous. One of my less-Resilient Bowmen took up position in the Keep, where he would be best protected from harm, while the rest took up position on the north bank, ready to repel the Bandits' attack. Deoran pulled back behind the line, as he had no ranged defence and not many hitpoints.

Unfortunately, despite fighting valiantly, Moreth fell to the two Thugs who were attacking form the river, and his position in the line was taken by a bandit Footpad. I cycled one of my wounded Bowmen out of the line, and prepared for the next round of attacks.

One of my Bowmen fell to three bandit units, despite having the Resilient trait and fighting by the side of Sire Gerrick. But, as they say, it is darkest before the dawn -- the cockerel's crow lifted my men's spirits, and we counter-attacked! I cycled the wounded out of my line, and Deoran, with Sir Gerrick's help and direction, felled an enemy Poacher, while the rest of my troops dealt some heavy blows to the rest of the bandits.

Unfortunately, the will to fight was not out of the bandits yet! Ganging up on one of my freshly-cycled Bowmen, three enemy Thugs managed to overwhelm him and he succumbed with a blood-curdling cry. Meanwhile, two Footpads pelted Sir Gerrick with sling stones, too far away for the big man to retaliate!

My bowmen finished off two Thugs who were in the river, while Deoran felled a Footpad with Sir Gerrick's direction, and the veteran himself killed off another in the river. Deorean then came under fire from a Poacher who was hiding in the swamp, and a Thug who had waded out of the river, while another Thug captured the village on the north bank and attacked one of my Bowmen. Urza Methin press-ganged another Poacher into joining his cause.

The Thug hiding in the village was quickly dispatched by one of my Bowmen, while another finished off the Thug who had been attacking Deoran. Sir Gerrick tried to attack the Poacher in the swamp, getting stabbed twice with a dagger for his trouble, never landing a hit himself. I recaptured the village, and had one of my Strong Bowmen attack the last enemy unit, the Poacher in the swamp, under Sir Gerrick's direction. He landed some good blows, but was unable to finish him off, and Deoran charged in to kill the interloper while Sir Gerrick shouted instructions from the edge of the marshes.

The battle was all-but-over, and I had four Bowmen and my two leaders left, having lost Moreth and two Bowmen, to the Bandits' loss of four Thugs, two Poachers, and two Footpads. As the sun set, I moved my weary men to capture the various villages on the map, and allow them some R&R. The lone Poacher being sent my way by Urza Methin did not worry me. As night settled, I moved my men south, making sure the most-wounded would get more rest by ending their march in a friendly village. Urza Methin meanwhile sent his Poacher towards us, and recruited a Footpad.

Sir Gerrick and two of my Bowmen attacked the Poacher, while another Bowman crossed the river in the east, aiming to head the Poacher off. As dawn broke, Sir Gerrick and Deoran attacked the Poacher hiding in a forest, while the Bowmen retreated to villages to liberate the countryside and rest. The Poacher barely survived the onslaught, but was joined by a Footpad, and together they attacked Deoran from range, bloodying him but doing no major damage. As night became day, Deoran charged and finished off the Poacher, while two Bowmen, led by Sir Gerrick, attacked the Footpad. The veteran soldier landed the killing blow. "Now, to cut off this snake's head!" he cried as our eyes turned south, where Urza Methin's camp lay in the middle of the forest.

With the sun past its zenith, three of my least-wounded Bowmen took up defensive positions at the northern edge of the forest, while Sir Gerrick, Deoran, and a very-wounded Bowman retreated to villages to get some rest. Urza Methin recruited another Thug, while my weary troops rested through the night.

Dawn saw the Thug on the road just north of the forest. Smiling to himself, Deoran could see the miscreant would be easy pickings for the proven troops of the new South Guard. Three Bowmen surrounded the Thug, but even with direction from Sir Gerrick were unable to bring him down. Deoran meanwhile raced on ahead, hoping to reach the bandit commander before night fell once again. As the sun moved to noon, one of my Bowmen finished off the Thug, while the rest worked their way through the forest and along the road. Deoran meanwhile carried on ahead, liberating the last bandit-held village.

Urza Methin was clearly cowed by the South Guard, for he stayed in his compound and refused to answer Deoran's calls for one-on-one combat. No matter - the bandit leader was quickly surrounded by Deoran and his Bowmen, but held his ground, and even recruited another Footpad as the sun set to dusk. His luck held, however, as most of the arrows my Bowmen fired into his tent missed. His attacks, in turn, wounded one of my Bowmen, but he held his ground even when the Footpad joined in the offensive.

As night fell, we knew we had to finish this quickly, before any more brave men of the South Guard fell. Two of my Bowmen, under the command of Sir Gerrick, took careful aim and let loose. The moonlight shone brightly on the shafts of the arcing arrows for a heartbeat, before they buried themselves in Urza Methin's chest with two loud thuds. "Argh! My days of pillaging are over! Avenge me, my brothers..." he cried out, and was no more. Just in time, too, as we had only one more turn to play the scenario!

We quickly took the Footpad into custody, but Sir Gerrick seemed to have suffered a blow to the head during the fighting, for he forgot everything that Deoran had told him about being sent to Westin by the King.

Recommendations:
5. Sir Gerrick looses his marbles at the end of the scenario. Rewrite his dialogue :)
6. Deoran was much more useful in this playthrough, but then I think he had been quite lucky.
7. It is a shame Glasar still doesn't turn tail. I've since used the MOVE_UNIT macro and the Weak trait to make him turn tail and run quite satisfactorily :)
8. Played this very well (if I do say so myself!), yet still had only 1 turn to finish! Increase max time limit, but reduce early finish bonus.
9. I was very happy with the changes I made to Moreth and Glasar -- I think they worked perfectly.
Attachments
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Second playthrough. Unfortunately, I did not save a recording of the first one :(
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Last edited by nemchenk on May 11th, 2009, 9:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by beetlenaut »

nemchenk wrote:It is a shame not to have a portrait for Glasar
There are only a couple portrait artists, and they are doing wonderful work. It's just that there are a lot of units, and sometimes you have to go do a job that pays money. He'll have one before too long: The portrait director, Kitty, is working on the outlaws.
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by nemchenk »

Hi beetlenaut,

Thanks for the feedback, and reading my "epic" post. Sorry about the length -- it's probably a better idea to post that sort of narrative on a blog somewhere and link to it, perhaps? :D
beetlenaut wrote:There are only a couple portrait artists, and they are doing wonderful work. It's just that there are a lot of units, and sometimes you have to go do a job that pays money. He'll have one before too long: The portrait director, Kitty, is working on the outlaws.
What about http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23584 until the real portrait is ready? http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/download/file.php?id=26840 seems good enough to use, even if it is only for a few weeks.
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by Turuk »

nemchenk wrote:What about viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23584 until the real portrait is ready? download/file.php?id=26840 seems good enough to use, even if it is only for a few weeks.
Because we do not use placeholder images while waiting for the actual image to be made. Currently, any portraits used in mainline campaigns are either the dated ones that are slated to be replaced (and are replaced as a whole for the campaign) or are mainline quality portraits.
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by rujikin »

1) 1.7.1 I think.
2) 8 The enemies were ungodly able to dodge attacks while being 100% surrounded.
3) Clear
4) Pretty good :D
5) Killing ungodly lucky AI... and turns.
6) 9
7) Make the AI agressively attack the keep with the new named guy. They never touched my guy till i had them wiped out
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by DrPepper8 »

1. 1.6.4, Normal (this was my 2nd time through the campaign - my 1st try was my first time playing Wesnoth, so going through it again now I have a little more experience to try and do a better job of it!)
2. 5
3. Clear
4. Good - I liked that Deoran was quite inexperienced, it felt like we were learning together!
5. Nearly getting Deoran killed by stupidly putting him within range of their front line at night. He ended up on 1 HP at the end of the turn...
6. 5. It's a nice straightforward intro to the campaign.
7. Would have liked the peasant you get on the first turn to be a spearman or bowman so that he can stick around - I felt a bit bad for just ignoring him as soon as I was able to recruit better units.
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by beetlenaut »

DrPepper8 wrote:I felt a bit bad for just ignoring him as soon as I was able to recruit better units.
Don't ignore him! He's loyal, so he can save you hundreds of gold. If you get him up to level 3, he saves you 3 gold per turn--every turn. The only really difficult part is getting him from 0 to 1, but you can do it early in the campaign without too much trouble if you make it a priority. Just don't take big risks with him. (A long time ago, "loyal" was one of the regular, randomly-assigned traits, but it was taken out because it was far too powerful.)
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by TrollSlayer »

Eleazar wrote:(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, 1.3.5
2. 2
3. Crystal
4. Really... really... boring...
5. Not falling asleep
6. If you´re a beginner, 5. If you´re an advanced player, 2. Of course, it may not help that I was playing the novice level.
7. I can´t think of any right now.
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by TrollSlayer »

Oh yeah, I replayed the game and noticed that you could get mermaid forces. Would it be possible to make them more obvious? I didn´t unlock the first 3 times I played. For example, if you could make the Water-Mermaid village nearer to the center?
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Re: South Guard 1. Born to the Banner

Post by fob-nation »

Eleazar wrote:(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. Soldier ('Normal'), 1.8.2

2. Good starting level. Probably hard to lose, but still requires a bit of thinking to win. 4/10

3. No confusion here

4. Pretty good. The only problem I had was that I didn't realise that I was able to recruit spearmen and bowmen after talking to Gerrick, and continued to march along with my band of peasants (the first time I played this; after taking a look at the walkthrough I went back to do this level again). Maybe a little dialog could come up saying 'You can now recruit spearmen, bowmen'? I remember that would come up in HttT after you find that loyal mage...

5. Keeping the enemy in the water. Also that footpad that came out of the village was pretty annoying. He parked himself on the village next to the starting position, and cause a fair amount of mischief there.

6. Quite fun. As mentioned above, keeping the enemy in the water (especially the footpads) really helps to ensure you kill them while taking minimal damage yourself, so it becomes a bit of a puzzle as to how you'll position your troops to make sure they don't make it to dry land. 7/10

7. No changes would be needed. This level works well as an introduction to the campaign, since it lets you start killing stuff straight away, rather than fleeing for you life (I'm not fond of those scenarios right at the start of a campaign).
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