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Star Ranger Academy (updated 6/11/03)
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Author |
File Description |
Vince Bly |
Posted on 05/14/03 @ 12:00 AM (updated 06/11/03)
File Details |
Ruleset: |
TS Standard Rules |
Map Size: |
Small |
Playable Races: |
One |
Surface Levels: |
3 |
Difficulty: |
Hard |
BACKGROUND:
The day you were accepted to the Star Ranger Academy was the happiest day of your life. A little over three years later, you've finished your course work and are less than a year from graduating as a genuine Star Ranger. There's only one teensy problem. The Academy believes you need practical field experience, so they've put you down on a backwater planet some twelve light years from the Academy. All you've got to do is get back in time for graduation! Somewhere on this God forsaken planet there's a way back. You must find it and get back to the Academy within 80 days.
NOTES:
The scenario should be run with:
Turns - either
Leaders on map - on
Customize leader - off
Allied victory - doesn't matter
Exploration - on
You should explore everything. The spells and artifacts available in wizard towers, lairs, and so forth will often be key to success later on. If you find a battle too difficult, consider vanquishing some of the foes, retreating, healing your wounds, and going back for the rest (you should have no problem finishing within 80 days). You don't always have to send everybody in, swords a slashin'. Sometimes, just one warrior with the right skills and artifacts is all you need. Although you may find a puzzle or two, they are straightforward--nothing tricky. Good luck--you'll need it!
Vince Bly |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Arctic Wolf |
Posted on 05/30/03 @ 12:00 AM
This is a very fun map! It took me about 25 minutes to play it through so it's one of those maps which you can grab when you don't have a lot of time but want to have a lot of fun.
Although I really enjoyed myself there were a few little niggles in the map design which I didn't like.
First, the message events. Near the beginning there was a message event concerning a prison which held a hero. Unfortunately, my leader travelled right over the event and onto another on on the same turn. This meant I had to stop the game reload and move more slowly to catch the event. Another to handle this would have been to use a sign instead.
The next part I didn't like was the predictabliity (playability) of the path. A really cool thing would have been to offer the character some optional side quests. Because of the built in time limit, you could have forced the player to choose between different sidequests which would have led to different ways to handle the final path to the end. This would have given the map some replayability which it doesn't have.
The final niggle I have is with the last army the hero faces. It comes out of nowhere with no foreshadowing. I prefer at least an inkling of whats coming.
Now what I liked. The Balance!! Every battle is well thought out and is difficult but not impossible.
The Terrain. Not mindblowing, but very very good. The use of mixed tiles underground was good, and improved the look and playability.
The Story!! Very concise yet moved along the play nicely. Message events were both informative and humourous. Shows that you don't need an elaborate story to hook the player.
Well done Vince, I look forward to the final version!!
[Edited on 08/08/07 @ 01:24 AM]
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Sprout |
Posted on 06/05/03 @ 12:00 AM
An excellent map - a unique and fun story. It is different and fun to play....once. No replay value since it is a straight line game. However, it is one of the best maps I have seen as a creative fun story. Well done! |
Daemon Zrat |
Posted on 07/26/03 @ 12:00 AM
In my first play through of this map, I was disappointed. Not because the map is not fun, it is! But because i felt the map would not be fun a second time. The second time I played this map i was surprised at how fun it was the second time, and I noticed more too, like the weird rocks in the lava that you can walk on. Nice! The third time I played this map, ( I know it is supposed to be fun only the first time) I was struck by the sheer genius of the map design. You are forced down a single path, always meeting enemies that are almost too much for you but not quite. Careful playing and smart allocation of items found make this map very fun. The designer must have playtested the map relentlessly to make it work so flawlessly. |
vinson98 |
Posted on 04/19/08 @ 06:01 PM
Definitely creative |
GHJKL135 |
Posted on 09/18/19 @ 10:27 PM
Planetfall before Planetfall
Playability: 4
There are multiple ways to win the map within 80 turns. My favourite was the island hopping frog with haste to get to the ship. 5 magic spheres for the player.
Balance: 5
1 player map
Creativity: 5
Creative synergy between map design, story flow, and obstacle evaluation.
Map Design: 5
Tastefully inverted and mixed terrain. Sometimes this was deceptive when rubble or skeletons were on water or lava (such was actually land-terrain despite the appearance). Very neat touch.
Story/Instructions: 5
The concept of being stuck on a foreign planet (planetfall before planetfall) was a nice unexpected touch. Even the structure choice of the "space ship" made sense, with the victory screen having a triumphant whoosh sound as though that were the spaceship launching off.
Additional Comments:
At first I was disappointed that an in game timer hadn't been set for a lose condition at 81 turns, but then I realised that the end game clean-up was enjoyable all its own. Very enjoyable short-story map. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.4 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.2 | Balance | 4.6 | Creativity | 4.6 | Map Design | 4.2 | Story/Instructions | 4.6 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 1,665 |
Favorites: [] | 1 |
Size: | 33.47 KB |
Added: | 05/14/03 |
Updated: | 06/11/03 |
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