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Triumph and Tragedy of the Etruscans
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Author |
File Description |
Fisk (id: Fruktfisk) |
Posted on 11/29/10 @ 05:13 PM (updated 08/28/17)
File Details |
Number of Scenarios: |
6 |
Difficulty: |
Mod-Hard |
Version: |
Rise of Rome |
The Etruscans, who were they, where did they come from, and where did they go? Questions which have not yet been fully answered, this campaign makes the most out of myths and facts and tries to put them together into an interesting playing experience.
The Etruscans were a people who are believed to have dominated the Italian Peninsula
before the Rise of Rome. The Etruscans were a trading people but also controlled a significant
military. They were also a very sophisticated people, and due to early contacts with the Greek
colonists they adopted the the Greek alphabet and the a system of gods similar to the Greeks
which they later passed on to the romans. At last the Etruscans are also a very mystical people,
very little is known about their history and the lack of Etruscan writings is still a mystery.
The Etruscans spoke a language very different from the ones used by the other Italian peoples
which makes it likely that they had come from a place outside of Italy, but historians are
still searching for where that location might have been.
The campaign is the first attempt at an Hybrid campaign, meaning that some of the scenarios are to be played with the Original Age of Empires and others have to be played with the Rise of Rome Expansion. (See the readme)
The campaign should be played on difficulties Easy, Moderate or Hard, depending on your skill level, for the best play experience.
This campaign won the second place in the contest, losing to Gumble's "Blood for the Blood Gods." On the other hand I had twice the number of Scenarios. |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Gumble |
Posted on 12/14/10 @ 09:05 PM
‘Triumph and Tragedy of the Etruscans’ – by Fruktfisk
Recommend Version: AoE 1.0 and RoR 1.0
NOT AoE 1.0c or RoR 1.0a,
They will crash more often, and re-loading saves will be nearly impossible.
Playability – 4.1
Whilst the concept of a hybrid campaign (A campaign designed to be played in both AoE and RoR) was quite clever, the implantation has been less than good. The campaign can’t be played in the patched versions of either AoE or RoR, you can’t reload saves which is critical for this kind of campaign, and there is an inherent instability with several of the scenarios, most notably the 2nd and 4th scenarios. Playing these scenarios is still difficult in the unpatched versions as crashing is a real possibility. While unstable campaigns must be marked down, the actual gameplay was wonderful. Each scenario was very well made, unique, and interesting; offering objectives with unique spins, map design that was clever, and varied challenges. The 2nd and 3rd scenarios specifically are golden. Fruktfisk did very well making 6 scenarios in the time span he had. However some of the triggering allowed a smart player to undermine some of the scenarios and nullify a lot of the challenges. The 5th scenario’s time can be cut in half if you know what you’re doing.
Balance – 5
The greatest aspect to this first hybrid campaign is certainly the different and satisfying challenges. The campaign has a very thorough and complete feel to it. Each scenario fits in nicely to the next and the rise and fall of the Etruscan people is marked very well. Each scenario brings new challenges to old, and you always have to wise about your resources and troops. Nearly every game style was incorporated perfectly into the campaign. Familiar challenges had fresh spins on them and one always knew what they had to do. The Computer players did their part well with very balanced and innovative strategies that were very much in sync with how they scenarios were meant to be played. Every army always had a few special units just to give them a combative edge. Again the time limits for the 3rd and the overall balance of the 2nd scenarios really made this campaign. Having to deal with the difference of the game play of AoE and RoR made the balance perfect. Good Job Fruktfisk!
Creativity – 4.8
The funny thing about this campaign is that the creativity is just as much about the well made objectives and game structure than the quality of the story and map design. Simply put, Fruktfisks ideas for the gameplay and balance for this campaign were right on the money. The strength of this campaign is in its original and engaging gaming experience. You won’t play a campaign quite like this one. The map layouts were expertly done, however there needed to be just a little bit more detail to make this campaign unforgettable. The little gardens in the road paths were a clever trick, and Gumble was impressed by the multiple civ arts for structures that were made using priest conversions. Fantastic!
Map Design – 4.7
Varied and fresh. Some of the cities had great layouts, some did not. Fighting all the Greek colonies in the 4th scenario got a bit tedious as they all looked the same. The natural forests were good but some of the roads got blocked easily. It’s surprising that the main roads into Rome are so overgrown and narrow. The landscapes were mostly great but like some of the other entries, lacked something; little attractions or showpieces to make them memorable. After a while, they simply all look the same. That said, Fruktfisk did a brilliant job in the time span he had. Given more time, Gumble has no doubt Fruktfisk would have come up with some fantastic scenery and city-scapes.
Story/Instructions – 4.8
Given the turbulent and ultimately tragic history of the Etruscans, the story lacked substance and drama. It had a more factual and analytical feel than good story telling. Spelling and Grammer were mostly good, however there a few mistakes that could be remedied. Bitmaps are ok and yes, Paint doesn’t really like anyone. Fruktfisk did communicate a great deal of information about the Etruscans as a people, and he did convey their history with merit. Of course the problem with designing anything in AoE is a balance between the micro and the macro, the general and the personal. It would have been great to have seen more personal stories, however that’s always difficult when dealing with obscure civilizations.
Final Score – 4.7 – A Superb Campaign
The first true Hybrid campaign is memorable and skilfully made of which any experienced player of AoE will most certainly enjoy. However Fruktfisk has fallen prey to his own cleverness. A combined campaign of AoE and RoR files is unstable and the enjoyment of the campaign is marred by the frequent crashes and inability to reload most saves. Again it is stressed to play this campaign with unpatched versions of BOTH AoE and RoR to able to play it with reliability. – and to save often with multiple saves. Well done Fruktfisk! Well done indeed.
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Suppiluliuma
Staff |
Posted on 03/15/11 @ 01:25 AM
Playability: 4.5
(I think all scenarios are challenging, starting from the first one, so this campaign is not recommended for those who are still learning to play. Some scenarios require lots of patience to be completed so saving often is recommended. Even tho personally I got frustrated at times, it makes it so satisfying when one finally gets victorious. )
Balance: 4.5
(As pointed out before every scenario is challenging in their own way, but I found the difficulty levels pretty balanced for intermediate/advanced players. However the different kinds of games and ways to achieve the objectives make this campaign an really entertained experience if you’re a seasoned AoE player. )
Creativity: 4.8
(Fruity makes good use of the scenario editor. The amount of eye candy and geographical accuracy considering the scenario editor limitations is quite welcome. However i think it's silly to place a bunch of units lost somewhere in the map just so one can't destroy all units of a civilization for a reason, or to fight each other while one can't see them but i guess must be fruity's sense of humor in action xD. )
Map Design: 5
(As mentioned in the previous section the geographic accuracy Fruktfisk was able to develop is a high point. Rivers, mountains, forests and cities transport oneself to the pre-roman Italy. )
Story/Instructions: 5
(The amount of historical and other text information is quite compelling, in fact this reminded me when i started playing this game and became a real world history aficionado. So let me thank you for that, Fruity! nice job turning this into a educative experience, reminding the gamers some of the most important event in the history of the Etruscan civilization. Also represented in the scenarios is the cultural richness of italy and nearby areas, as Fruity represents such a diversity of different cultures in this campaign.)
Additional Comments: : Sometimes i think the free space to maneuver build and move is too limited, as in the "Etruscan League Scenario" getting those artifacts in position was way more difficult than I expected.
If you like challenges the campaign is great but if you're looking for some relax and you're not too skilled at playing I recommend you first to improve your strategy and patience before trying this campaign. No kidding i had to restart some scenarios more than 50 times, I was so stressed at times I was sweating for real and I could feel my shoulder and back muscles like if they were being pierced by a thousand needles!. In most scenarios the enemies are relentless and attack in the very first seconds as one starts playing, so one has no time to relax. One needs to be really focused to avoid losing units that are necessary to win some scenarios. But as I said that won't affect the qualification of this campaign....I just hope there was a more relaxed version for dummies xD.
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Crossbowman |
Posted on 03/19/11 @ 11:15 PM
I might not be the best person for revewing a campaign, but I enjoyed this one so much that I feel I must, so here it goes.
Playability: 4.8
Wow! I can't remember the last time I had some much fun playing Age of Empires! Triumph and Tragedy of the Etruscans is one of the best campaigns I've ever played, and I'm definitely going to replay some time in the future. What I like most about it is the fact that, unlike so many other maps and multiplayer games where the winner is whoever clicks fastest, in TTE what matters most is the strategy you use.
About the crashes, I'm only taking off 0.1 point, because it only crashed once for me (on the 4th map), but Fruktfisk had warned about it on the readme so it wasn't something unexpected.
The other 0.1 I'm taking off is because in the last two scenarios you disabled too many buildings. I can see why you did it on the 5th, but why prevent the player from building, for example, a granary on the last one? I just wanted to upgrade my towers.
Balance: 5
As said above, what matters is the strategy you use. This has a big impact on the balance, because choosing the right one decides whether you win or lose.
Perhaps the biggest example is the fourth scenario. Soon after you start you have to defend yourselves from the attacks of the celts, umbro-sabines and greek. What to do? I tried about 10 times (I know, I'm not particularly good at AoE) with different strategies such as walling up, retreating from some cities, and just withstanding the attacks. AFter realizing it wasn't leading me anywhere I sat for a minute and pondered what was the best strategy, and after a while I figured one which let me win the scenario relatively easily. I'm not going to tell you, you have to figure it out yourselves ;)
Same thing on the last map. That was a challenging one. What should you create with the little resources you start with?
Of course, choosing the right strategy isn't enough. You've still got to make an effort to use it to the most if you want to win. All this adds up to give TTE 5 in balance.
Creativity: 5
Every scenario was a different (and great) experience. The objectives were well chosen and the maps in general were well made. I also liked the optional objective on the fourth scenario.
Map Design: 4.8
Breathtaking! Fruktfisk knows well how to make great micro and macro map design. In other words: The general layouts of the maps are awesome, and so are the little eye candies here and there.
The cliffed landscape of Etruscanization part I, the cities of Siege of Rome and Fall of Veii, the forested The Etruscan League... all these were great, but my favourite was The Thyrrenian Sea. The little cities were layed out in a way that gave life to the map. If you stop to look at it those little walled sections with a few buildings can hardly be called cities, but when you are playing, it actually feels like you control the towns of the northern half of the Italian peninsula, fighting against the cities of those who control the other parts. This contrasts with many real world maps where it feels more like you control a base in a bit of the world, fighting against another base in another bit of the world. No, here you control an empire.
The micro: I can't remember how many times I was taking my units for a walk and noticed a little thingie which made me think "hey, this looks cool". Be it a garden or plaza in The Siege of Rome, or terrain cracks and rocks placed in a creative way. The one I liked most was in Etruscanization part I. In one bit of the map there is an opening in a cliff which leads to a small beach; normally cliff openings look really ugly, but Fruktfisk placed some terrain cracks to give an impression of a descent.
There are 3 reasons TTE doesn't get a 5:
-In Etruscanization part I, the cliffs just outside the first enemy city restrict movement a lot.
-I've noticed this in a lot of places: a gaia unit placed too much in an area. In Etruscanization part II there is a strip of beach completely packed with beach articles. In The Tyrrhenian Sea the Dalmatian Islands are packed with cacti. Why?
-The Siege of Rome. The city of Rome looks amazing, but the outside areas are quite... unimpressive.
Still, Triumph and Tragedy of the Etruscans has some of the best map design out there.
Story/Instructions: 4.9
I must admit that I'm a bit biased here, because I've always been quite interested in the Etruscans, so I enjoyed a lot reading the history sections. But anyway, the instructions were quite good. Except perhaps the 5th scenario, during the beginning of which I wasn't completely sure of what to do. The instruction maps were good also, but the pathways made with the spray function in mspaint weren't particularly pleasing. Also, I'm not sure but it seems that you reduced the size of the building images using paint, which does it in a quite lossy way. These 3 problems weren't too problematic, so I'm only taking out 0.1 point from it.
Also, this might not seem very important, but the name of the campaign is really nice too. "Triumph and Tragedy of the Etruscans", that sounds great and poetic.
Additional Comments:
Amazing. Must download. As I said before I can't remember the last time I had so much fun in AoE. |
spartan7 |
Posted on 03/22/13 @ 10:07 AM
Wow, my first review, but i didn't know it would be a bad one :P
Playability: 3.1
Good. It is a bit too ''pumped'' because there are Invisible Demons on 1-2 maps, as they aren't good units for the game, they are just too much. Anyways, you can play it and have fun.
Balance: 4.6
The scenarios are all O.K. You and your enemy are equal to each other.
Creativity: 3.3
Really good! Just I didn't like some parts,hehehehehe...
Map Design: 3.8
Fantastic! You should tell me how you do the deep water. Now for the bad parts : too much creativity. In some parts, the woods were solid (only 1 kind, like only taking the big brush, clicking the forest button on terrain and then go). ALWAYS mix the woods, visible or not, ALWAYS :)
Story/Instructions: 4.9
Pretty good. Don't know what to say more, they were awesome :D
Additional Comments:
Even if my review was a bit hardy, don't think your Campaign is awful, it's awesome! |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.6 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.1 | Balance | 4.8 | Creativity | 4.5 | Map Design | 4.6 | Story/Instructions | 4.9 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 2,522 |
Favorites: [] | 2 |
Size: | 1.13 MB |
Added: | 11/29/10 |
Updated: | 08/28/17 |
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