GCI/Playtesting/Under the Burning Suns/Challenging

Playtested and reviewed by Captain_Wrathbow

Note: I kept note of bugs as I played, and was intending to report all of them at once when I submitted this report, however bugs.wesnoth.org (actually gna.org) is currently down, so I am unable to report or link to bugs. So for now you will just find them mentioned in the appropriate scenarios in my report.

The Morning After

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      No more than 3. But it is the first scenario of the campaign, after all.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      No problem.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Very well-written and immersive.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      None.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      7. It's a pretty good start to a very good campaign.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      None.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      Nope, no tomatoes here.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      It's an overwhelmingly huge scenario file, (then again, all of UtBS's scenario files are like that...) but it's some of the most well-commented WML I've seen. Although... I've never seen any legitimate need for swearing in Wesnoth's dialog, let alone in the comments...

Bugs

None.

Other comments

None.

Across the Harsh Sands

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      5.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      Just fine.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Okay. Nothing spectacular, but certainly not bad.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      The blasted dehydration mechanic.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      Only a 5. See next answer.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      Remove the dehydration mechanics. It's a neat, creative idea, but it doesn't actually add much to the scenario. In fact, it does little more than frustrate the player, in my opinion. For me, this one issue made the whole scenario less enjoyable.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      No.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      There's some really creative and clever code in there, but it isn't as well-commented as the first scenario was. However, I couldn't care less, personally.

Bugs

I noticed a few fairly minor grammatical mistakes:

When Nym opens the bottle containing the Dust Devil, Kaleh comments, "It seems to like you, looks like you just got yourself a pet." The comma should be a semicolon.

After rescuing Elyssa from the undead in the ruined castle, she mentions that they look like elves and Kaleh replies, "We are, we're the Quenoth elves and we are traveling north." This should be split into two sentences or separated by a semicolon. The same goes for Elyssa's similar reply.

And a "real" bug:

The (dialog-only) event when you meet the "Black Hand" outlaws guarding the third oasis triggered twice: once when I moved close enough to sight them, and again when one of their units moved on their turn. I don't know what caused this, although I suspect that the unreliable "sighted" event- name may be the culprit. I don't really feel like wading through 2200 lines of code to find the problem, though.

And then there was this also:

In the ruined castle near the end of the scenario, both the ogres and the undead appeared. Is this intentional? If not, then there's a bug, and if so, then this is poor design; I got to just stand back and watch as they killed each other, then I went in and killed a couple nearly-dead survivors with hardly any resistance.

Other comments

When the defeated scorpions drop the Ring of Travel, it is placed on the hex where the last scorpion died. The next one of your units to move onto that hex immediately takes the ring. I would suggest adding in an message with two [option]s so the player can decide if he wants that unit to take the ring or not. This is a better idea for two reasons: (a) Pick-up-able objects in every other mainline campaign are handled this way, and (b) it just makes more sense and prevents accidentally taking an object.

A Stirring in the Night

Before I start, I should mention that I didn't beat this scenario in the "usual" way; I managed to defeat both enemy leaders by turn 10, skipping the whole possession scene. (Which I had never liked anyways)

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      9.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      Okay.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Not that great. This scenario really doesn't have much to do with the campaign's storyline, and, in my opinion, contributes very little to the campaign as a whole.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      Just about everything. There's too much going on in this scenario, too many things you need to do, too many things you can't do or allow to happen. No particular objective in itself gave me much trouble, but the combination of having to keep five people alive, having to not lose my villages, trying to fight two (actually three of them after turn 8 or so) enemy leaders at once (not to mention that one of them spams nearly-leveled bats that only have to engage in combat once with one of my veterans in order to level up) is a huge pain.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      2. I couldn't wait to get it over with and go on to the next one.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      Remove one or more of the objectives; perhaps the village-protection one. And get rid of the orc raid as well.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      No, but only because I managed to defeat the two undead leaders one turn after the orcs came. If the orcs had gotten more time to spread out and capture my (completely undefended from the rear) villages, I would have gotten slaughtered.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      I'm not going to go through the entire scenario file in detail, but from a 3-minute scroll-through, it looks pretty good to me.

Bugs

None.

Other comments

Overall, I'm not very impressed with this scenario. To be honest, I would remove it from the campaign if it was up to me.

Descending into Darkness

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      6, because of a certain odd bug that I will be mentioning later.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      Not the best. How is the player supposed to know what an "exit tunnel" is? At least we know it's at the north edge of the map, but does that mean there is more than one tunnel at the north edge, but only one is the "exit tunnel"? I would suggest rephrasing it to say, "Kaleh must enter the tunnels and reach the north edge of the map." That way the player doesn't have to worry about finding an "exit tunnel", just getting Kaleh to the north edge of the map.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Pretty good.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      Fending off the initial overwhelming flood of orcs. After that, it wasn't too bad.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      7.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      None.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      Nope.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      Looks fine.

Bugs

This scenario contained one very strange bug- the orcs were attacking each other. I know for certain that the green and blue sides were fighting; I don't know about purple. (They were more or less in their own little world inside the caves) I checked the code, and, mysteriously, all sides except the elves had the same team name. But in-game, they were fighting amongst themselves. There was one good thing about it though- it made the scenario considerably easier.

That aside, the only other bug I found was a minor grammar mistake in the first story screen: "There was so much death in this land, had it always been this way?" The comma needs to be replaced by a semicolon.

Other comments

For the Ring of Speed, I would suggest adding an option message when a character moves onto its location. (See my comment on scenario two, regarding the Ring of Travel.)

A Subterranean Struggle

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      7.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      Perfectly clear.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Very good. The overall concept of the scenario is brilliant.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      Having to fight in little bottlenecks.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      9.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      None.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      No.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      Good.

Bugs

This isn't actually a bug with this scenario specifically, but I first noticed it on this one, so I'll stick it in here. When Zhul reaches Desert Shyde level, she gains flight and can move over unwalkable terrain. However, she has 0% defense on these locations.

Other comments

Two very small, merely aesthetic suggestions:
Before the elves join the battle, they meet a wounded dwarf fleeing out of the large cavern. Why not actually make him wounded? (i.e. lower his hitpoints)
And secondly, if the player chooses to ally with the trolls, partway through the scenario, the "dwarf grenadiers" appear, and the screen flashes red. It would be neat to also add an explosion (or gunshot) sound effect at this point.

In the Domain of the Dwarves

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      5.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      Crystal clear.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Very good.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      I got a bit frustrated with bats coming out of nowhere and killing my units that were in the water, but it wasn't actually that bad- just a nuisance.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      8. It's a good scenario; there are enough "events" and dialog to keep you interested, and it's enough of a challenge that you don't get bored.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      None.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      Nope.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      Very well-written and clearly commented.

Bugs

Another bug that isn't actually an issue with this scenario, but I'll mention it here since the bug first came to my attention in this scenario. When Zhul is a Desert Star, (and maybe at Desert Shyde level as well, I didn't check.) she has 30% defense on Deep Water, but is unable to move on that terrain.

Other comments

An aesthetic suggestion similar to the one in the previous scenario: it might be a good idea to play an explosion sound effect each time the dwarves "blow the charges". (they do so twice in the scenario)

I really enjoyed this scenario, in fact, it was probably my favorite in the campaign so far.

Talking with Trolls

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      N/A.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      N/A.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Very interesting and well thought out.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      N/A.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      8. Some people get bored during long dialog sequences and want to skip them, but I love cutscene scenarios.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      None.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      N/A.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      Looks okay.

Bugs

None.

Other comments

None.

Out of the Frying Pan

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      4, but that's only because of a certain bug that made it absurdly easy.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      Perfectly clear.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Incredible. Especially the latter half of the scenario; in terms of dialog and plot, this is perhaps the best scenario in the campaign.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      None.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      7, and that's without the flooding. If the rising water worked correctly, I would rank it as a 9 or 10.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      Make the flooding work.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      No.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      

Bugs

The water spreading mechanics are completely broken. The cave doesn't flood. This was quite a disappointment, and made the scenario significantly easier.

Also, there was a spelling mistake in the dialog sequence when the elves first meet Durstrag. When Durstrag says, "Your dare defy me?!", the "your" should be "you".

Other comments

This is a fantastic scenario. Period. It's just a shame that the flooding mechanics don't work. I hope this gets fixed soon.

Blood is Thicker than Water

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      7.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      No issues.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Very good.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      Trying to keep my units from getting too scattered and overextended.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      9.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      None.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      No.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      Very clear.

Bugs

Grammar/spelling: At the start of Tanstafaal's rebellion, Nym comments, "If that is not our god, than what is?" "Then" is the correct word here, not "than".

A few turns after Tanstafaal's insurrection begins, Zhul defects to his side and tries to negotiate with Eloh. Then Eloh punishes her by transforming her into a statue. But the code for this doesn't work. I get a message in the corner of the screen saying "<invalid WML found> [petrify] not supported". Perhaps related to the transition from "stone" to "petrify"...?

Other comments

I like this scenario a lot. It's neat how the three distinct parts all play out without having to load a new map and scenario. Very well-designed, and the important thing: fun to play.

Speaking with the Fishes

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      N/A
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      N/A
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Well-written and interesting, but a bit long...
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      N/A
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      7.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      None, I suppose. Except perhaps finding a way to shorten it.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      No.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      Fine.

Bugs

One grammatical mistake I noticed: (although there are bound to be more in such a long sequence of dialog) Melusand says, "Long has it been since she has seriously been attacked; it is the one thing she not will be anticipating." "Will" and "not" need to switch places.

Other comments

None.

The Battle for Zocthanol Isle

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      8. A good challenge, without being overly frustrating.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      Crystal clear.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Very good.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      Probably surviving the initial onslaught in the first few turns, before I had gotten a chance to build up my forces.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      8.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      None.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      No.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      Very well-commented and easy to read.

Bugs

Before entering the dark citadel, Kaleh says, "If I do not prevail than please flee this place with the merfolk and find somewhere where you can have peace and safety." "Than" should be "then".

Other comments

None.

The Final Confrontation

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      3. I had all characters fully leveled up and with the extra two elves to help, I had no trouble keeping everyone alive. Even the two level one elves survived.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      Fine.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Okay. There wasn't much of it, but what little there was, was good.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      None.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      5. There just isn't much to it. The scenario is cool, but it's over in five minutes, and just isn't that fun.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      Make it longer. Perhaps force the player to kill the spires to weaken the central body, then after a certain amount of damage has been dealt to the central body, respawn more spires and have the player repeat the process to get another chance to damage the central body.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      Nope.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      Looks good to me.

Bugs

When Kaleh tricks Eloh and stabs her instead of bowing down, "-6" is displayed in red letters like normal damage. However, normal damage doesn't have a negative sign before the number.

Other comments

None.

Epilogue

Questionnaire

(1) What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
      Version 1.9.2, and "Challenging" difficulty level.
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario (1-10)
      N/A
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
      N/A
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
      Good.
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
      N/A.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
      7.
(7) What, if any, are the changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
      None.
(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
      No.
(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
      Well, there isn't exactly much to comment on in a dialogue-only scenario, but it looked fine to me.

Bugs

None.

Other comments

A fitting and well-written epilogue for a great campaign.