Escape from Dinosaur Island!

[Elok]

I've had waaay too many scenarios get started and peter out due to lack of staying power, but this one (my second, and hopefully my first that doesn't suck) is almost done! Yay!

Of course, it helps that it's a pretty simple scenario. It's inspired by, and I admit owes a lot to, Favoured Flight's LOTR scenarios: you have a set number of units you have to get from one end of the map to the other. The difference here is that there are a number of different routes from beginning to end, which hopefully will give it some replay value, and you're given the ability to recruit units en route via bribery. Plus, as the title indicates, it involves escaping from an island full of dinosaurs. I am making no effort to hide the fundamental silliness of this concept, and in fact would appreciate it if somebody would make me a very B-movie-ish title.gif.

The basic story is that you're the scientist in charge of a research facility on an island full of dinosaurs (it's discovered in the Pacific in the near future). Unfortunately, the U.S. company funding your research is withdrawing from the island, and you've got to haul ass down to the docks lest you be left behind on an island with many multi-ton carnivores and the hostile indigenous people. Luckily you have a small military escort, some engineers to clear a path for you, and five native guides who can negotiate with their angry compatriots to get you some reinforcements.

I've got the scenario itself most of the way finished (this sort of game requires the painstaking placement of a lot of units), I just have to alter a few more text files and make the events. Hopefully this sounds fun to somebody.

[Jerec]

How long is it?

[Harry Tuttle]

Where's Sarsstock? He's good at titles.

The scenario sounds like great fun. Can't wait to see it

[techumseh]

It sounds great! I think it will be lots of fun. How about "Escape from the Island of the Dinosaurs"? Here's an old movie poster:

[Elok]

Originally posted by Jerec
How long is it?

The map is 200 high, 50 wide. You start in the upper left and end in the lower right, how you get there is up to you. There's rough, and in some cases dangerous, terrain to slow you up, and plenty of surprises. As for turns-wise, I intend to do a test run once I've set everything up, add a few turns and call that the (provisional) limit. See, since I made the thing I won't be a very good yardstick; I know exactly where everything is and what the easiest way would be, etc. I'm not sure how to calculate a fair limit for a player who's got to find a way through uncharted territory.

Tec: I like it better as I originally put it, personally. It's shorter, punchier, more direct, while still being nicely corny.

[Jerec]

Sounds good and suspenseful! What is the basic movement ability of the units? That always has a factor in a longer or shorter scen.

[Elok]

The Caravan (the main unit you have to get to the bottom of the map) has a move rate of five, but the terrain is quite rugged. Your soldiers only have a move rate of three. Your other three unit types ignore terrain (two have the all-as-road flag, the third is a "helicopter"). The pioneers, who can make roads, may tip the balance, but they have to be protected from the dinos...I'm certainly going to have to playtest extensively.

[Jerec]

Originally posted by Elok
I'm certainly going to have to playtest extensively.

Need another playtester? Right now my own scen is on a standstill...waiting for a playtester's reports.

[Elok]

Here it is!

The very first version, at least. I've had some exasperating setbacks imposed by limits in the Civ2 engine (did you know that helicopters still lose health when parked on a land unit with the carrier flag?), but here it is! I went ahead and set the turn limit ludicrously high (250), since every time I tried a playtest I found myself wondering how much I was influenced by my own knowledge of the map. Consider the objective "get there as fast as possible" for now. Later versions I'll give a real limit to after some feedback.

And of course Jerec's, and anyone else's, comments are much appreciated.

[Jerec]

First game report-

At the start, I could have gone South or West. I chose south after spotting 2 T. Rex units to the west.

The trip south wasn't too hazardous, I lost 3 Soldiers and 1 ATV killing 2 Triceratops blocking the way. Laurasi Mines was located by the scouts, a soldier unit took forever actually getting to the place. At one point, a Triceratops charged out of nowhere and killed a 7 unit stack, 6 pioneers and 1 protecting soldier. Happily, a cache of native farmers was found and 3 of 4 were bribed.

After getting through all the wasteland/rocky terrain, the expedition curved SE, meeting a few Troglodytes, all bribed. Those Troglodytes pack a punch, I wish I encountered more. Once on the plains, 6-7 raptors killed off all the Troglodytes and 2 Guides, who were avenged by the following-up soldiers and ATVs. Most of the troops got through the plains OK, minus the Trogdolytes and a Soldier from a Triceratops. Another lagging soldier came face-to-snout with another pair of T. Rex units in the middle of the plains, and promptly died. A few Triceratops made some more trouble in the hills below the plains, and killed another soldier.

Once through the plains and hills, my men hit the delta. My Guides had been way ahead, and already bribed all the farmers and most of the Spearmen in the village. The Farmers made a quick path through the swamp. As the rest of my units went through the choke-point into the delta, FIVE plesiosaurs came up the river and killed all but 2 of my remaining pioneers, a Guide, and another soldier.

I all my troops went through the delta by the farmer's road up to the edge, where the delta split up into 3 water-separated rows of land. 2 of those rows, leading to the far side of the bank, were blocked by mud pits. I got my units half-way through, minus 2 warriors and a pioneer from a Triceratops blocking the way. At the end of the little maze, I lost the game to yet another pair of T. Rex units, this time blocking the one-and-only way off the delta. I waited, and they dinos didn't move. So I moved my last 2 soldiers up; they were destroyed. I moved my caravan up, and it was destroyed. End of game, I suppose. Beaten by a pair of Tyrannosaurs who blocked the exit and refused move.

IMHO...

1) less T. Rex units please. Maybe more Raptors to make up for it; at least Raptors are vulnerable.

2) Spearmen aren't even dino-fodder: they don't just suck, they worthless in every regard. With 1 hit point, Triceratops and Raptors don't even lose a single hit point killing them.

[Elok]

Oooops. I thought I had relatively few Rexes. I put them in strategic points to try and ensure that the player couldn't get through the whole game without encountering at least one. Too many, huh? I will beef up the spearmen; I gave them one HP to ensure that the pikeman flag would work (I guess it doesn't matter), and didn't worry about them sucking since they were mostly meant to be an annoyance. I didn't figure on people trying to actually use the POS's.

You actually picked a moderately hard road. I designed the delta to be a horrifically exasperating mess, the great lagoon west of the delta is no picnic, and once you got past the delta there was the "battlefield" to navigate. But no matter which way you went you'd have had to negotiate the battlefield. You missed most of the Dino Riders and Mammoths though; there was a very well-hidden Mammoth en route, which I gather you missed, and a bunch of Trogs and DRs in the jungle west of the delta. Did the event trigger after you took Laurasia Mines? That should have made things a bit easier.

And, would it help if I lowered Rex defense by some amount? Any opinion on the Hunters (there should have been a few along the way)?

EDIT: I've implemented the changes suggested. A spearman is now strong enough to seriously damage a raptor who attacks it (3/7/3/2/1 instead of 5/5/2/1/1, still has pikeman flag). There are now five rexes on the map instead of twelve ( ) and their defense has been reduced by two. I also beefed up a few other native units slightly (hunter and mammoth) and closed some little loopholes I'd overlooked. I'll upload the revised version after getting feedback from another player or two.

[Jerec]

Originally posted by Elok ... and didn't worry about them sucking since they were mostly meant to be an annoyance. I didn't figure on people trying to actually use the POS's.

Actually, the only reason I bribed them was to make up for my lack of other military units, namely the casualties of most of my soldiers, and the lack of any Troglodytes in my expedition. Before I lost all but 2 of my soldiers, I didn't bother with Spearmen.

You actually picked a moderately hard road. I designed the delta to be a horrifically exasperating mess, the great lagoon west of the delta is no picnic, and once you got past the delta there was the "battlefield" to navigate. But no matter which way you went you'd have had to negotiate the battlefield. You missed most of the Dino Riders and Mammoths though; there was a very well-hidden Mammoth en route, which I gather you missed, and a bunch of Trogs and DRs in the jungle west of the delta. Did the event trigger after you took Laurasia Mines? That should have made things a bit easier.

I found the hidden mammoth in the wastelands, and used it to eliminate a Triceratops, leaving the mammoth with 1 hit-point left. After that, the Mammoth just couldn't keep up and I disbanded it. Actually, I found and bribed 2 Dino Riders- 1 in the nest of native spearmen to the west of where I found the Troglodytes, and one in the Delta village. Sorry about my report being a little sketchy. Oh, and I did miss the Trogs and DRs in the jungle.

The Laurasia Mines event worked perfectly, I like the idea of TNT. Unfortunately, 2 of the TNTs were killed by a Triceratops before they could reach the main group, and my final TNT blasted the offending Triceratops.

And, would it help if I lowered Rex defense by some amount? Any opinion on the Hunters (there should have been a few along the way)?

Hunters are fine. Minimally useful as attackers, and OK scouts with the 'all terrain as road' flag. I bribed one, btw.

EDIT: I'll upload the revised version after getting feedback from another player or two.

I'll wait for the revised version before I take another go.

[Elok]

Oh, I forgot to say "thank you," didn't I? Thank you very much. I suppose I need to boost the mammoth's movement some as well. I'm doing a trial run in the revised version and they are a bit slow, though the pioneers/farmers can compensate.