Group: Guild Design Team
Posts: 344
Member No.: 106
Joined: 1-September 06
Part I of "The Fall of Richmond"
By Mr_Native, in affiliation with Imperial Creations, and with playtesting help by Twoqtimes2 and Imperial Creations Flowing into the AoE3 world in January '07 DOWNLOAD THE DEMO! For TWC patch 1.01. Place in My documents>My Games> AoE3>Scenario.
1861. Lieutenant Colonel Ja Bez was the poor man who walked the streets of Philadelphia in ragged clothes, waiting for something great to happen to him, yet nothing did, until the day he wandered to the pub and was conscripted to the Union Army. For the first time in his life, he had enough to support himself. Being one of the few survivors of the first wave of attacks against Richmond, the confederate capital, and was quickly promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, due to the respect from his few remaining piers. The order was made that they capture the areas around Richmond first, and build up their defenses on the way. Reeds Creek is the first of the targets. Interviews:
QUOTE
AztecEagleWarrior: In this new scenario your bringing out, what are you trying to achieve and what are you trying to bring to the players of AoE3? MrNative: Well, it's hard to say really. I've laid out a plot line, and Ive gotten pretty far into it. Mainly, I'm aiming for a scenario that (I think) has never been done before. Basically, there's a bunch of fun to be had (opinion) in this scenario. I definitely believe it will exceed the quality of Scouring the Amazon: both versions. AztecEagleWarrior: How difficult will this scenario be? And will it be like some of the others where they started out easy and have had the difficulty grow overtime? MrNative: It's actually a lot harder than Scouring the Amazon. The gameplay is a little slow, and requires patience. It's a very hard game to adapt to, because you have very minimal control over what your ally's units try to do. The biggest downfalls Ive had in the scenario are when you try too hard to control them. You simply can't micro soldiers you don't own. AztecEagleWarrior: Will your next scenario maintain a good mixture of appeal to the eye and gameplay that your previous scenarios have had? MrNative: Well, Im really not planning on beautifying the map, not yet at least. I always will think that Gameplay>Graphics, so I plan to finish everything else before I rush in and add Eye-Candy. AztecEagleWarrior: About how long on average will the scenario take to finish? MrNative: Im not 100% sure yet. Thus far (not even all the way through the first half), it takes around 10-15 minutes. It will probably take more than twice as long as Scouring the Amazon to play. AztecEagleWarrior: Will the objective(s) incorporate a more defensive gameplay or will you be playing offensively throughout the scenario? MrNative: Throughout the scenario, the tide will change multiple times. First, you have to make it down the road without being clobbered by renegados, then attack a camp, then build a camp, then march/retreat, then upgrade the camp, attack, defend, etc. AztecEagleWarrior: When do you think your new scenario will be released? MrNative: Im not so sure about that yet. Sometime between December and Mid-January.
QUOTE
Aoe3files: How many maps will this campaign contain?
Mr.Native: So far, I have one map complete, And really, it depends on how the other scenarios play out as to how I design future maps for the series.
Aoe3files:What kind of gameplay will it be?
Mr.Native:It is a build-and-destroy scenario with a twist: you have very little control of Ja Bez's Guerillas.
Aoe3files:How many hours of gameplay do you think it will contain?
Mr.Native:The first scenario contains three parts, each ranging from 15-25 minutes, so so far you can expect a good hour or so.
Aoe3files:How about the balance in the map? Hard or easy?
Mr.Native:Depending on how hard you try to micro (the harder you try, the harder it gets), it can be daunting, or once you've practiced a bit, somewhat easy.
Aoe3files:How about the balance in the making of the map? Gameplay or Eye-candy? Or both?
Mr.Native:In my perspective, Gameplay>Graphics, but I will add Eye-Candy later, once triggering is complete.
Aoe3files:Can you tell us a bit about it's apperance?
Mr.Native:The graphical appearance? The map is mainly a forest with some clearings, with hilly terrain, and a creek flowing through the middle. There are small encampments scattered about in part two.
Aoe3files:What will be the most challenging part of the map(s)?
Mr.Native:Part three. It's basically an all-or-nothing, pwn-or-be-pwn3d charge. Also, I find part 1 to be challenging.
Aoe3files:Will there be any Flying tapirs in the map?
Mr.Native:Err...' no.
Aoe3files:Will there be any secret goodies to discover?
Mr.Native:That's for me to know, and you to find out.
Aoe3files:Can you tell us a bit more about the different tasks?
Mr.Native:First, you start out with a few guerillas, and have to make it up the road to a scouting camp. Once there, you have to kill them off. After that, you start a colony, then march toward the river, destroy some enemy outposts near the beginning of the scenario, help a convoy, get a fort, and that concludes part 1. In part two, you have to breach the enemy gates, then do a bunch of other stuff, and there's so much more to do that I can't type because: 1- I'm starting to get tired of typing and: 2- If I told you everything, it might ruin the rest of the scenario.
Aoe3files:What strategy for this map would be the best?
Mr.Native:Not trying to micro, and not getting angry because of a faulty AI. You just have to be patient.
Aoe3files:Care to give us any advice or tip? ;D
Mr.Native:I don't think I can stress it enough. I'll put it in all caps this time. DON'T MICRO.
Aoe3files:How long have you worked on this map so far?
Mr.Native:Just over a month and a half.
Aoe3files:What's the release date?
Mr.Native:My best estimate for the first scenario would be Mid-January, 2007.
Aoe3files:Have you created any other campaigns, Scenarios before?
Mr.Native:I am the creator of both versions of Scouring the Amazon.
Aoe3files:Can you tell us a little about them?
Mr.Native:They didn't make it too far. That's my only comment.
Aoe3files:Anything special about the map you would like to say?
Mr.Native:Don't confuse scenarios for maps. As for scenarios, I think it will be the first in some categories. To list some: First to be able to control soldiers (to some extent) without them actually being yours, First to have a named crew who may just have something special about them (try clicking them), First non-ES scenario for TWC with a fort that is constructed by triggers, and probably more that I can't think of.
Description/ Readme TBoRC leads you through an epic adventure of a young man, Lieutenant Colonel JaBez, and his small faction of Federal Guerillas in their quest to clear the area around Reed's Creek, Virginia of Outlaws, and Confederate occupants that are scanning the area to sniff him out. They must complete multiple tasks, such as taking out a scouting party, protecting a convoy, and creating a fort.
The scenario will be divided into three parts; Footholds (Prelude), Strongholds (Middle), and The Lines Become Clear (Climax, Major Battle). TBoRC is part of a campaign, the Fall of Richmond, a historical-fiction battle story with much to learn about the city of Richmond, VA. In the course of the campaign, you will learn about many of the historical Civil War landmarks in the area, along with some of the present day geographic features.
Blog (Ill edit, and put progress here)
Work has been underway on "The Battle for Reed's Creek"(To be known from now on as TBoRC) for just over a month, and the publicity campaign has just begun. Ask any questions or post any comments. Updates will be posted regularly.
Group: High Officer
Posts: 2,077
Member No.: 21
Joined: 21-April 06
Cool i'll d-load it when i get back from school tonight
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"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road." - Stephen Hawking
Yeah, I thought of a possible conflict with Reyks Editor, so I attempted to play with the editor installed and uninstalled.
I was unaware of a TWC patch release. So I will update tonight and give it a run. I am so friggin sick of ES publishing patches that conflict with previous versions custom scenarios. Patches should NOT conflict with unmodded earlier version custom scenarios. They don't conflict with the regular campaign. Sorry for the rant, Native, but damn, its like ES is trying to sabotage the Design Communities work.
Got it played Native. Nice work. Of course, you know me, I would love to see more terrain elevations and embellishments. The tree variations helped a great deal in adding to visual appeal though.
I like the gameplay as well. Not so sure about the follow unit though. It has a good effect, but at the same time has some serious drawbacks. First and main drawback is that the hero must lead the pack. Since the loss condition is based on his death, that becomes an unfavorable problem. Not a huge issue now, but later in the game when things get heated, could be an issue.
Another way to do that is use Botolf's select army signature move. This will make an entire platoon of units move, but the platoon selects as one unit.
Couple of bugs that I ran into.
1) When approaching the first enemy camp, my surgeon charged into battle. Stupid little bugger ran right up the enemy and tried to fist fight Of course he died and then I was forced to be SUPER careful attempting to overtake the camp. I did try it a few times just to test if it was an isolated bug, and it happened every time
2) Earned the second gatling gun and the stupid unit got stuck between the sandbags and the newly generated outpost. Probably won't happen often, but when it does, it will be annoying for the player.
Anyway, like I said, very enjoyable so far. Looks to be a fun experience when polished up and finished. Nice work Native
No, no, no!!! Don't quit Native. I don't know what could have happened with IC being hacked, but it couldn't be so terrible to quit your vision.
I have seen so many promising projects be abandoned, I hate to see another one bite the dust. You have a good start on this. Please, find a way to finish.
It's only the forums man, you can still use the editor without that. I'm sire that you can contact all your playtesters another way. That really sucks that someone hacked the site, but it does not mean the end for BoRC.
One suggestion for presentation: the long interviews are hard to read when in tiny text. 
Of course he died and then I was forced to be SUPER careful attempting to overtake the camp. I did try it a few times just to test if it was an isolated bug, and it happened every time 
