GCI/Playtesting/An Orcish Incursion/Beginner

Preamble

Google Code-In 2010: This page shows the results of testing "An Orcish Incursion" Campaign on Beginner (Easy) difficulty using Version 1.9.2. The analysis was done following the guidelines on this page.

The following has been quoted from the page for reference purposes:

1. What difficulty levels and what version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
2. How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
3. How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
4. How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
5. What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
6. How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
7. What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
8. Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
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?

Scenario 1: Defend the Forests

1. Difficulty: Beginner; Version 1.9.2.
2. Challenge level: 2 easy; this level is expected in the first scenario.
3. Very clear scenario objectives.
4. Good. The introduction provides a good understanding of the setting which this campaign takes place in, even for someone who is not familiar with the history of Wesnoth.
5. No challenges to meeting objectives.
6. Fun: 3. The Scenario is pretty mundane.
7. I have not tried the map editor so I am unsure of the feasibility of this, but perhaps the map could be slightly enlarged. The playing field felt slightly cramped.
8. No events caused me to lose or restart the scenario.
9. Although I don't know WML specifically I know HTML and have a general understanding of markup languages. The WML appears fairly intuitive and cleanly written on a quick glance.

Scenario 2: Assassins

1. Difficulty: Beginner; Version 1.9.2.
2. Challenge level 2-3, depending on whether or not the player has a druid.
3. Very clear objectives.
4. Below average. Storywise not much happens in this scenario.
5. The major challenge is keeping units alive if you do not have a druid.
6. Fun: 5.
7. No changes needed.
8. Reload caused by shaman dying, although this was not the fault of the game.
9. Nothing wrong with WML.

Scenario 3: Wasteland

1. Difficulty: Beginner; Version 1.9.2.
2. Challenge level: 5.
3. Objectives were clear.
4. Good. The descriptions of the orcs and the destroyed landscape was very vivid.
5. Largest challenge was fighting the enemy leader.
6. Fun 7: I thought the "no villages" was a neat twist.
7. No changes needed.
8. Reload cause by leader dying when facing enemy leader.
9. Looks fine.

Scenario 4: Valley of Trolls

1. Difficulty: Beginner; Version 1.9.2.
2. Challenge level: 4.
3. Objectives were clear.
4. Average.
5. No significant challenges, actually. This might have been because I started this scenario with many units near level up.
6. Fun: 7.
7. No changes needed.
8. None
9. Code is good.

Scenario 5: Linaera the Quick

1. Difficulty: Beginner; Version 1.9.2.
2. Challenge level: 7.
3. Objectives were clear, as always.
4. Very good. The new character introduced was interesting.
5. The largest challenge seemed to be keeping characters alive. Linaera and the mages are especially prone to this if you try to attack quickly on the first day. The strategy I used to overcome this was to recruit a couple of elvish fighters as fodder and set up a defensive position on the starting island (forcing them to attack from the water), this allowed me to survive the first night with only minor losses.
6. Fun: 8. This is one of the better scenarios.
7. The difficulty could be lowered a bit by slightly raising the minimum starting gold; I didn't seem to have much left over from the previous scenario. Also, the hint about using scouts and Linaera in hit-and-run attacks didn't seem to be helpful and may be misleading. Perhaps it could be rephrased to be more informative such as "Hint: Linaera's power of teleportation allows her to move quickly between unoccupied controlled villages".
8. See challenges.
9. I may have missed it, but I don't see any events for Erlornas' death or turns running out. I only see the event for Linaera's death.

Scenario 6: A Detour Through the Swamp

1. Difficulty: Beginner; Version 1.9.2.
2. Challenge level: 4.
3. Objectives clear.
4. Average. Not much happened storylinewise.
5. The only challenge was keeping the mages alive, and even that wasn't too difficult.
6. Fun 5.
7. Nothing needs to be changed.
8. None.
9. Also seems to be missing events similar to scenario 5, but is otherwise fine.

Scenario 7: Showdown

1. Difficulty: Beginner; Version 1.9.2.
2. Challenge level: 2.
3. Objectives were clear.
4. Good, concluded the scenario and fitted well into the Wesnoth timeline. Although I thought it was a bit brief.
5. No challenges.
6. Fun: 6.
7. This scenario was a bit too easy, especially with the reinforcements and the hint. I didn't lose a single unit in the time it took for my rangers to reach the enemy. I would suggest giving the enemy stronger units (some level 3s and more level 2s) so that I'd have a tougher fight in the six turns (or so) this scenario lasts.
8. None.
9. The same missing events as scenario 5 and 6.

Summary

Overall, I thought this campaign was very well made. The storyline was solid, the gameplay excellent, and there were no bugs or glitches. Aside from a few minor adjustments, the campaign is excellent and should not require change. "An Orcish Incursion" works well as one of the official campaigns. --S.Lee94 05:45, 25 November 2010 (UTC)