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Hello,
It has been several years since I last published a scenario, but Civ2 never went far from my mind. Over the years, I’ve dreamt up plenty of scenarios, and now, I am nearly ready to publish one.
I am sure most of you have heard of the three legions slaughtered by Arminius in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD. It has, after all, been largely popularized as some sort of defining moment in history, a decisive point where the Roman advance across the Rhine was stopped, once and for all.
This, of course, is the wishful thinking of Hollywood and nationalists. The truth is that this disaster was a Roman 9/11, and the Romans would exact a terrible revenge. Some six years later, eight Roman Legions led by the imperial prince, Germanicus, crossed the Rhine and hunted Arminius mercilessly. They won several major battles, killed untold numbers of Germans, burned endless villages, and recovered two of the three eagles captured by Arminius.
When Germanicus was recalled by his adoptive father, Tiberius, he returned to a hero’s welcome in Rome. Arminius, meanwhile, fell into disrepute, as his people, the Cherusci, fled far to the east in a desperate attempt to avoid future Roman reprisals.
Though by today’s standards, Germanicus’ victories would be considered decisive, the Romans would never call them so. Why? Because Arminius remained at large, and was never brought to Rome in chains.
Your job is to change that. In this scenario you will have several objectives:
The capture of all Germanic cities
The recovery of all three lost eagles
Arminius: dead or alive.
You will cross the Rhine in force, you will hunt the treacherous Cherusci, Chatti, Marsi, and lesser tribes across vast, dark forests, and you will restore the honor and aura of invincibility to your legions.
You will have eight legions, powerful, unique units, more than capable of defense or destruction, but lose them, and brace: your citizens will tremble in fear, and will be much more likely to panic (revolt).
Your legions will be led by powerful, daring Generals. Initially, Germanicus, and possibly joined by Caecina. Lose them, and you’ll incur province-wide panic.
You will have to fight your way through treacherous terrain against a cunning foe, all the while watching your back, hoping the jealous Emperor won’t stab it. Though the Roman people expect great victories from you, Tiberius will see them as a threat to his throne. Will he act on this?
You will have the authority to exploit the lands you conquer, but rule with an iron fist at the risk of revolt (pollution). If these insurrections get out of hand, you will risk a province-wide rebellion (global warming), thus ending your campaign and losing the game.
Can you do better than Germanicus on the Rhine?
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This scenario is currently in the opening stages of playtesting. It needs to be thoroughly balanced and tweaked. That being said, MOST of the MAJOR things that need to be done are aesthetic.
It features wonderful unit art by Fairline, but the terrain could use an upgrade.
Sounds need to be added and checked.
A proper readme needs to be written.
An intro text is required.
A few odds and ends need to be tidied up (a few “relics” from earlier versions hidden/changed in describe and game text, etc).
“Extras” like DLLs are being considered, though I’m not sure I will bother.
-----
Other than that, it is mostly a case of playing it several times both to proofread the code and to ensure it is balanced, playable, and winnable. I'm not crazy about releasing it without it actually looking as pretty as it does in my head, but art is a severe limitation for me, and I believe gameplay trumps graphics (or we wouldn't all still be playing Civ2, now would we?).
In its current state, I’m having a very fun time playing it. I hope to release it in September to celebrate the 2001st anniversary of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, though who ever knows with these things.
I was planning on waiting a while longer to go public with this, but I’m excited and figured the Civ2 community could use another scenario to look forward to. This should also help motivate me to get this thing photo ready!
In other news… How’ve you all been?
It has been several years since I last published a scenario, but Civ2 never went far from my mind. Over the years, I’ve dreamt up plenty of scenarios, and now, I am nearly ready to publish one.
I am sure most of you have heard of the three legions slaughtered by Arminius in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD. It has, after all, been largely popularized as some sort of defining moment in history, a decisive point where the Roman advance across the Rhine was stopped, once and for all.
This, of course, is the wishful thinking of Hollywood and nationalists. The truth is that this disaster was a Roman 9/11, and the Romans would exact a terrible revenge. Some six years later, eight Roman Legions led by the imperial prince, Germanicus, crossed the Rhine and hunted Arminius mercilessly. They won several major battles, killed untold numbers of Germans, burned endless villages, and recovered two of the three eagles captured by Arminius.
When Germanicus was recalled by his adoptive father, Tiberius, he returned to a hero’s welcome in Rome. Arminius, meanwhile, fell into disrepute, as his people, the Cherusci, fled far to the east in a desperate attempt to avoid future Roman reprisals.
Though by today’s standards, Germanicus’ victories would be considered decisive, the Romans would never call them so. Why? Because Arminius remained at large, and was never brought to Rome in chains.
Your job is to change that. In this scenario you will have several objectives:
The capture of all Germanic cities
The recovery of all three lost eagles
Arminius: dead or alive.
You will cross the Rhine in force, you will hunt the treacherous Cherusci, Chatti, Marsi, and lesser tribes across vast, dark forests, and you will restore the honor and aura of invincibility to your legions.
You will have eight legions, powerful, unique units, more than capable of defense or destruction, but lose them, and brace: your citizens will tremble in fear, and will be much more likely to panic (revolt).
Your legions will be led by powerful, daring Generals. Initially, Germanicus, and possibly joined by Caecina. Lose them, and you’ll incur province-wide panic.
You will have to fight your way through treacherous terrain against a cunning foe, all the while watching your back, hoping the jealous Emperor won’t stab it. Though the Roman people expect great victories from you, Tiberius will see them as a threat to his throne. Will he act on this?
You will have the authority to exploit the lands you conquer, but rule with an iron fist at the risk of revolt (pollution). If these insurrections get out of hand, you will risk a province-wide rebellion (global warming), thus ending your campaign and losing the game.
Can you do better than Germanicus on the Rhine?
-----
This scenario is currently in the opening stages of playtesting. It needs to be thoroughly balanced and tweaked. That being said, MOST of the MAJOR things that need to be done are aesthetic.
It features wonderful unit art by Fairline, but the terrain could use an upgrade.
Sounds need to be added and checked.
A proper readme needs to be written.
An intro text is required.
A few odds and ends need to be tidied up (a few “relics” from earlier versions hidden/changed in describe and game text, etc).
“Extras” like DLLs are being considered, though I’m not sure I will bother.
-----
Other than that, it is mostly a case of playing it several times both to proofread the code and to ensure it is balanced, playable, and winnable. I'm not crazy about releasing it without it actually looking as pretty as it does in my head, but art is a severe limitation for me, and I believe gameplay trumps graphics (or we wouldn't all still be playing Civ2, now would we?).
In its current state, I’m having a very fun time playing it. I hope to release it in September to celebrate the 2001st anniversary of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, though who ever knows with these things.
I was planning on waiting a while longer to go public with this, but I’m excited and figured the Civ2 community could use another scenario to look forward to. This should also help motivate me to get this thing photo ready!
In other news… How’ve you all been?
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