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Shadows of the Past, Chapter I: Rebirth
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Author |
File Description |
sKout77 |
Posted on 08/16/07 @ 07:56 AM
File Details |
Ruleset: |
TS Standard Rules |
Map Size: |
X-Large |
Playable Races: |
One |
Surface Levels: |
3 |
Difficulty: |
Hard |
Shadows of the Past
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This map is a 3 level, XL, single player map, registered for the Summer Mapmaker competition.
It's been a while since I've worked on a project of this magnitude and I think it came out quite nicely.I didn't include any mini-map pictures because it would have spoiled your game.
Features:
- Huge map, 3 levels completely done, not 1 piece of land ignored, detailed terrain and many places to explore.
- Minor and major quests added to the main one.
- Strategical positions. This map will test your strategical abilities to the maximum. (IE: you will need to make use of land, water and air units simoultaneously)
- A great storyline, meant to captivate and fascinate you.
- 100% custom heroes.
- Custom, unique, items added to the ones that were already there.
- Signs and message boxes. There are many such objects on the map, that will both help you with your quest and tell you the events as they happened.
Storyline:
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" Almost a decade had passed since the fall of the Elven Court. The small province of Melvoreden layed south of the Grand Court and soon a battle to claim lands started.
First came the orcs. They rapidly occupied the western regions, but did not bother trying to claim more territories. Second were the humans. Two large human kingdoms, Innadril and Hindermith decided to ally in order to accelerate their conquest. And it worked. In less than a year, humans had occupied most of the remaining regions. The elves to the north looked in fear. Thus, they summoned all the creatures of the woods to protect them against any and all threats which may have come. But no.
Neither the orcs or the humans were interested in the elves' territories. They were more interested in fighting eachother. Soon, a war started between the two races, and for twenty four long years there was no victor.
Hindermith's king, Lord Eleas, was killed in battle and thus, his son, Prince Harrit rose up to claim the throne. Under his rule, Hindermith became the strongest kingdom in the region. The orcs had been forced to capitulate and to pay a large tribute to the humans. Harrit's kingdom was now complete. The humans were unified and they started their research in air and water magic.
One day, a sinister shape had entered King Harrit's court.
" - Greetings, fair lord of Hindermith. I am Vealin and I lead a small group of elves. We seek mercy and wish to surrender ourselves to your mighty kingdom. We are yours to command."
" - Remove your hood, elf. So that I may look you in the eyes. "
The tall elf removed the clothing that covered his head. Shock. It was no mere elf. A dark elf had set foot on Harrit's kingdom. But the unsuspecting king had no idea of what was about to happen. He did not know that all dark elves had sworn a blood feud against the humans, in the attempt of slaying them all.
" - By Vera! You look horrible! You poor elves. Yes, of course we shall accept you. You may build your own town to the south. "
" - Thank you kind Sir. Your noble gesture shall not be forgotten. (wicked smile)"
Five years later the trap was set. The dark elves, along with the orcish overlords had conjured a vortex below Hindermith's capitol city of Cinderspire.
" - This is my gift to you, prince Harrit! Say hello to the Gods for me ! "
The great tempest had struck the unsuspecting humans with fierce power. So violent were their screams and so terrifying was the scene that the Gods themselves decided to act. They could not save the humans. But they could punish the dark elves. In an attempt to send the betrayers in the gallows of the beyond, the Gods had summoned a terrible earthquake which shook all of Melvoreden. The southern and eastern parts of the regions collapsed, leading many races into extinction. The human kingdom was split in half. Few escaped the cataclism. Most humans and all of the dark elves were burried alive.
Hindermith was destroyed.
Three hundred and forty years later, the land was shaped differently. Violent rains caused much of the land to sink under large masses of water.The southern parts were affected the most. There were no ruins. There were no graves. No clue that Hindermith ever existed. Only icy winds, mountains of snow and yetis inhabited the area.
The humans which had survived the earthquake started regrouping. It wasn't long before they had reconstructed their small kingdom. They were safe. Until the orcs decided to take action... Having been humiliated enough by decades of human rule, the orcs declared war on the humans and so, the dawns of war approached.
The northern elves could only spectate...
Inside the caves below the earth, the dark elves survived. After only one year since the catastrophic earthquake, they had erected a new, underground kingdom.
The same could not be said about Hindermith. It was destroyed. None survived.
The small dwarven and goblin communities that survived the cataclism adapted very quickly to the changes. They started large mushroom plantations,thus ensuring their survival.
The dark elves were unhappy. They wanted to see the trees, the birds, the life which they protected for so many milleniums. They could not find their way amongst the tunnels. Magic being their strongest weapon, they decided to use it. The dark elves were not fools. They quickly remembered Hindermith and its large population. In an attempt to raise more scouts, they casted a mass ressurection spell which awoke the caves.
King Harrit walked the earth once more...
Cursed, damned, he could not understand why he had been summoned. He did not even know it was the dark elves which brought his kingdom's reign to the end in the first place.
Now... he seeks a way to end his torment, he seeks a guiding light that could show him the path to change his destiny!
"
Map settings:
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Please follow these settings, or else your gaming experience will suffer:
Exploration: On.
Customize leaders: Off.
Allied victory: Off.
Leaders on map: On.
Thank you for taking the time to read this,I hope you have as much fun playing as I had making it! Enjoy! |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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vinson98 |
Posted on 08/22/07 @ 07:03 PM
Playability: 4
Loved the map design but it did get a little tedious moving around the different levels of the map. You couldn't do it without town gate for them most part. Still, a very fun map.
Balance: 4
Good balance.
Creativity: 5
Again, great map design and story. Haven't played a map with this kind of creativity before.
Map Design: 5
Great map, although I've never used that many drills before in my life. Forgot how long they take to produce!
Story/Instructions: 5
Great storyline and loved the end goal. Never played a map like that before which made it even better.
Additional Comments:
Overall a great map and story. Thanks for all the hard work in putting this together! |
Arctic Wolf |
Posted on 10/10/07 @ 11:42 PM
First a quick word to anyone about to download this map for playing. This is an extremely good map, but be prepared to devote a lot of time. Its a map which needs to be played over a lengthy time period and not a quick slash and kill. But very very well done!
Playability: 5
Map is very well constructed with logical goals. The structure battles (crypts and lairs)are well thought out and provide unique items. The pace of the map is good although I will admit it can plod along a bit in the tunnels of the the caverns and depths waiting for drills which move quite slowly. Better to bring your beetles into the action.
Balance: 5
A reasonably difficult time for the first 20 days or so and then the difficulty lessens as you get your hero/leader pumped up and able to fight better. Quite enjoyable.
Creativity: 4
The map is very detailed and Skout attempted to bring unique heroes and items into the scenario. My one niggle here is the misuse of scrolls. Scrolls do not work... period! Skout must not have playtested them (Don't feel bad I made the same mistake once). But for anyone making maps out there, Don't use scrolls except perhaps to carry the story forward. They just don't work. It would have intesting if the scrolls were next to wizard's towers with the same spells, (Then we could have pretended that they worked.)
Just a small niggle but I was disappointed when I found an item bags with useless scolls that I had taken time to dig for.
Map Design: 5
Beautiful and intricate. Excellent
Story/Instructions: 5
Really enjoyable story made me want to play the map.
Additional Comments:
[Edited on 10/11/07 @ 10:09 AM]
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turuthl |
Posted on 10/15/07 @ 02:38 PM
Playability: 5
I loved this map because it was a long term goal. Some may not like that but with this map the hours of play were worth it. The popups and goals kept the game interesting throughout. As did the varied terrain and enemies. The drilling was a bit tedious but part of the variety, which I also loved.
Balance: 5
I found it very hard in the begining but as time went on (and multiple reloads) it became easier. The enemies near the end were a bit easy if certain strategies were used, especially the humans.
Creativity: 4
The map was very nicely detailed and all the unique heroes and items were fun to have as well. As others I did not get the use of the scrolls, and the one ring that gave Spellcasting 1 only worked during battle. But that is just a minor point.
Map Design: 5
This was filled with nice items and terrain that was well thought out to control and thwart the player. It made the player have to think in advance to have the right builder or drill to a spot later. Great stuff!
Story/Instructions: 5
The popups and story were instumental in the extended play maintaining its enjoyable state. I just wish the popups were readable after they were gone. Many times I passed through one into an attack and never read it.
Additional Comments: I have never commented on a map before. This one was really fun for me and I hope you do other "long duration" maps. Thanks!!
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SacredArch |
Posted on 11/27/07 @ 06:07 PM
Playability: 5
Was very well down how it was set up. You start out with nothing but yourself almost. I really liked how I'd get sometimes almost random pop-up messages, usually from the prince. Some made me laugh, some made me think, but it really fueled my interest in the map and I actually think I looked forward to those more then actually playing the game.
Balance: 4
First time I played the map, I was all over the place, and I had to reload many many times. However after getting through the beginning, things smoothed out. The underground was really a challenge, and it really made me look forward to the surface.
Creativity: 5
Very creative by far, I really liked how it centered around being without anything and you had to work your way up the ladder of power to actually get somewhere. The map is well done, as is the storyline. Especially the half-insane prince, that was a treat.
Map Design: 4
Extremely well done, the only thing I wasn't overly fond of was the cluster of the same large mountains in the north. It looked a bit rushed to me, but the rest of the map was amazing.
Story/Instructions: 5
Extremely unique. Back story was interesting, and it was even more interesting that the player is put in a time frame that has nothing to do with anything but an old grudge. The story I find was what made this map so interesting. If I could give a 6, I would.
Additional Comments:
Hurry with Chapter 2! I really look forward to what would be happening in it. Defiantly a map I will play just from playing this one. Nice job and keep it up! |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.7 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.8 | Balance | 4.5 | Creativity | 4.8 | Map Design | 4.5 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 2,934 |
Favorites: [] | 1 |
Size: | 139.57 KB |
Added: | 08/16/07 |
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