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D-Day v2.11
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Author |
File Description |
Scorcher |
Posted on 05/16/06 @ 01:32 AM (updated 12/15/06)
File Details |
Style: |
Fixed Force |
# of Scenarios: |
1 |
Version: |
Empires: Retail Release |
Storm the German beaches as the United States or the Soviet Union. This is a very customizable Scenario. Players are able to choose a Difficulty Level(Easy, Normal, Hard), Game Speed(Slow, Normal, Fast), and Enhanced Graphics optons. Each nation has different and enhanced game play features and there own objectives to be completed. An important objective in this scenario is to capture curtain points which once done you'll be able to recieve additional reinforcements.
United States recieved units quickly by air transport and recieve more when you capure an area.
Soviet Union can field a large army and recieve new recruitments often.
Heres one example of the enhanced gameplay for the Soviet union. Any ground unit within range of a commissar receive a speed bonus but any unit outside range receives a penalty. This make it a strategic units for the soviet union.
This is a very well done scenario and much more then one would expect. Check it out! |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Talon Karrde |
Posted on 11/01/06 @ 11:09 AM
Playability: 4.8 (+.7)
Original: This is a relatively fun scenario. You get to hit and penetrate beyond the beaches of Festung Europa once more. While it is, admittedly, a relatively generic and very overdone scenario, the author attempts to spice it up with features that you wouldn't find in one of the run of the mill a-dime-a-dozen D-Day scenarios, and a map design that is significantly better than the truly generic D-Day scenarios. Overall, except for a few bugs (and poor documentation, mentioned later), it was quite fun.
Revised: The overall improvements to this scenario are somewhat nice, even if not really that significant.
Revised2: The improvements made are telling, especially to the balance, making the flow and play of the scenario better.
Revised3: The effects of changes make the scenario a very enjoyable experience!
Balance: 4.7 (+.5)
Original: The balance was pretty good. However, there were one or two things that were a bit iffy. For one, the Germans didn't have any sort of naval presence by the time any amphibious landings against the Axis were carried out, so I for one didn't expect remnants of the German navy to destroy half of my initial transports and all of my ships as I was focusing on the fighting on land. However, one nice touch was how the German forces always gravitated to the fighting, it allowed for clever out-flanking through a weak, structure-only defensive line if you were quick enough and hit with enough force (even while your distraction force was being torn to absolute pieces by overwhelming German superiority). Overall, the balace was good, but (despite the occasional possibility of some good tactics) the reinforcements weren't quite strong enough and didn't come quite quickly enough to make it anything other than a series of battles of attrition that you were guarenteed to lose in the end as the Germans rushed everything they had at you.
Revised: I did not notice any difference in the balance between the old version and this one. Reinforcements were still somewhat lacking, while masses of Germans kept gravitating to your units, leading to defeat due to their superiority. No change in score.
Revised2: The balance was much improved--the addition of the bombards on the German side make approaching the beach dangerous to those who don't pay attention while the ability to go for a naval bombardment with your ships can be incredibly useful if coordinated with an actual attack and air superiority. However, the reinforcements came noticeably slower than usual, and the Americans didn't get their paradrop. Having that paradrop after the first wave (as the time between the first wave of transports and the second is rather long) would have done wonders.
Revised3: The balance is almost spot-on perfect. not too hard, not too easy. the scenario can be won with over 10 minutes left, but can also be lost if you don't use your forces skilfully or try to bite off more than you can chew at any one time. the fact that reinforcements are automated to go to the beach allows for the player to focus on the combat, which is very nice as well.
Creativity: 4.4 (+.3)
Original: You could almost sigh, another generic D-Day scenario. Well, happily, not quite. Sure, its some D-Day (but there were many throughout the war), but this is amphibious landing with something of a twist. You can choose from two seperate nationalities and three seperate armed forces with which to assault the beaches: the Americans, the (presumably American) Special Forces and the Soviets. Another nice twist is that each of these is actually relatively unique, beyond even the default uniqueness of the civilizations. The Americans, for instance, sometimes get quick reinforcements via paradrop, and (as mentioned in the author's description), the Soviet commissar gives a speed bonus to units near him. There is also a time limit to the scenario, something not found in most D-Day scenarios. The battle reports are also a nice touch.
Revised:
Revised: The battle reports actually have a function now, as they now tell you how far away you are from completing one objective. Other than this, however, nothing much has changed that I noticed.
Revised2: The addition of the bombards to the German side was a very nice touch and gives the player the feel that he's attacking a beach under relatively heavy fire. Also, having the Germans retaliate with their own air superiority was also pretty cool and being able to actually use your battleships for targets other than those directly in front of them on the beach was nice.
Revised3: The new optional objectives are a very nice touch, and the fact that they're rewarding in ways that can affect the gameplay is wonderful. That Battlefield Interdiction (right?) can be very useful is well-placed.
Map Design: 3.5
Original: The map design is easily one of the best of I've seen that isn't from an oldie designer. The terrain mixing is quite adequate wherever its present, but there are still areas that are little more than large expanses of one terrain type, which hurts this score. I found the presence of both palm and deciduous trees slightly perplexing, but at least the author has the sense to place them at virtually opposite ends of the map. There is also a lack of object eye-candy, which also hurts this score. Overall, it is an admirable and well done attempt at terrain.
Revised: I didn't see any improvement on map design from the original version (though that big expanse of empty grass was dead tree'd off, which doesn't actually help since we see the entire map anyway). Thus, the score doesn't change from the original.
Revised2: Having gotten further this time around due to the improved balance, I was able to appreciate the portions of the map that were further back, bumping the score up.
Revised3: No revision, as I didn't notice any changes.
Story/Instructions: 4.1 (+.8)
Original: There is no story to speak of, other than its some sort of amphibious landing against Nazi Germany (presumably D-Day, except that there are palm trees and Russians involved). The instructions, however, were rather confusing. The dialogue box kept popping up at random times during the game--apparently you can't play the Special Forces unless you unlock them first? And that you can't actually change game speed, graphic settings and difficulty unless they're similarly unlocked? And what was with the graphic setting getting randomly changed in the middle of the game because I didn't input some sort of key? What key? Better documentation throughout this entire process is needed (the lack of this also hurt playability, balance and creativity somewhat as documentation would have led to a better understanding of what was actually going on).
Revised: Unless I'm completely misremebering, there is a bit more in the way of documentation and fleshing out the objectives. At least there wasn't the confusion that reigned when I was playing the previous version. Unfortunately, however, there is still a ways to go. Having arbitrarily lost with just under 8 minutes to go on the timer, I figure that there's a defeat condition of losing 300 units that we aren't told about. This is rather major, and with a still admittedly rather weak documentation on everything (for instance, what's the actual difference between easy and normal, or reduced and enhanced graphics?), this is still weak.
Revised2: While the addition of the map to the loading screen which tells the player his objectives before the scenario starts, where they are and suggested landing places is quite nice and the help/command ships are well implemented, the story/instructions are still weak. I was again defeated (randomly, it felt) though I still had 8 minutes left I feel it is adviseable that the author explicitly inform the player of the condition that results in this defeat, as it made me feel somewhat frustrated (perhaps/especially because, from what I understand, it was really the slower coming reinforcements that did me in).
Revised3: The improved help boat (unless I missed all its cool features before) is, as I said, way cool and concisely tells the advantages of whichever nation you choose and the gameplay elements of the scenario. Its also nice to have a sound effect and a message telling you when an objective is completed. also, taking into consideration my previous message and assuming this is an impersonal blood (if with objectives), the theme is wholly satisfactory for the scenario.
Additional Comments:
- A very good final effort! |
Garrick_3658 |
Posted on 11/08/06 @ 02:05 AM
Playability: 5
The element of fun and enjoyment is always there. I was able to play the game smoothly throughout. Encountered no problems playing the game.
Balance: 5
The balance is perfect. Russia has low quality but high quantity soldiers, while USA has high quality but low quantity soldiers. Not too much and not too less for Germany, it is somehow just nice for an invasion.
Creativity: 4.5
Although it is another D-Day scenario, the effects on how the nations receive reinforcements make up for it. Paratrooper drops for USA, coming from the sea and land for Russia, it is very creative. Furthermore, capturing a flag enhances the gameplay and success of the invasion.
Map Design: 4.5
A quarter of the map is very empty, perhaps could include some explosions or destroyed materials around there. Destroyed units were not removed, but placed there on the map. This increases the feeling that it is a war, where plenty were killed and destroyed. In addition, the combination of terrain is excellent. I could have the kind of feeling that I am on a beach fighting a war.
Story/Instructions: 3.5
Although there was no story, instructions were clear and available. It would definitely look better if there is a story.
Additional Comments:
This is a nice map. I supposed plenty of effort was put in to do it. Thanks for the hard work put in to make everyone who plays this map enjoys it and have lots of fun![Edited on 11/08/06 @ 02:17 AM]
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Warspite3 |
Posted on 11/22/06 @ 12:02 AM
Playability: 3.7
It played out ok, but just seemed very difficult. I lost 4 times in a row but I certainly had fun losing. This was on normal level, maybe I could try easy. My biggest complaint was just that I was not able to get my battleships to target anything on land.
Balance: 4
For gameplay purposes, it is balanced out very solid. Germans have enough forces to hold out. US and Russia have enough forces but have to fight hard to get through.
Creativity: 4.2
Alot of good stuff here. The intro video and screen was nice as well as the boats to click on that give help and other options. The timer was good challenge and reinforcements arriving was done nice. Also, the random battleship and submarine attacks were great. All of that stuff keeps someone from sitting off the coast too long. You have to keep you guards up. I also like how the artillery opened up on my landing craft when I approached the beach. Creative stuff for a D-Day scenario, very good job here.
Map Design: 4.2
Really nicely done map. May not be historically accurate (i don't know) but I do know it worked well. Not to mention looks extremely nice!
Story/Instructions: 3.9
Not a story but we all know what D-Day is. Instructions were ok, I knew what I had to do.
Additional Comments:
A challenging scenario that is certainly worth a download and play. It all worked out good and a couple of neat things made it fun even to lose. Nice job! |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.3 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.5 | Balance | 4.6 | Creativity | 4.4 | Map Design | 4.1 | Story/Instructions | 3.8 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 2,943 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 10.24 MB |
Added: | 05/16/06 |
Updated: | 12/15/06 |
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