The Last Fortress - FINAL Released!

[jackrabbit]

I really did enjoy this map, but it had some minor issues (gameplay wise) which unfortunately brought it down a few notches. Being an EXU fan, I got through this one with no problem. I think MMAN pretty much listed everything that bothered me as well, but I also have another complaint:

SPOILER ALERTS:
The boss has way too much health!!!! LOLWTF! (at least for me, I shot him directly 12 times with the new weapon you made and he still wasn't dead after that!).

Things that were memorable (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Climbing up the castle was fucking awesome. I really loved charting it like that.. very new and very original. I think this was my favorite part about the map. The new rocket weapon was freaking sweet. I used it to my advantage alot of times which made the map a hell of alot easier on medium.

MORE SPOILERS (Summary):
All in all, I thought the beginning was a bit rough and rugged (repetitive environment and repetitive game play). With that said, it didn't last for very long (only 2 turns?) so it wasn't bad at all really... just a rough start. When I got into the castle.. I enjoyed everything from there. Titan battles were epic and brute rockets were epic. Do I think its a contest winner? No not really.. but damn it was fun as hell for what it was. Good job Waff, and I hope to see this one in EXU.

[Buff Skeleton]

Thanks for the feedback. And yeah I purposefully made Lord Sk'rath take 75% less damage from SK-6 rockets, since otherwise he's just a really simple, easy-to-kill Warlord. Without the health bonuses and resistance to explosives (he's wearing advanced body armor; I made him a new skin too), you could have killed him in like 3 shots. That's not much of a climax!

Glad you enjoyed it at any rate! The EXU edition should be a lot more awesome, both visually and gameplay wise, since it will be pretty much jam-packed with flying things (especially Archdemons).

[UBerserker]

Ok, I'm also stuck with where to go. There's only one staircase which leads to Jumpboots (which I used to get the Shield Belt and other stuff), but I don't know where to go.

P.S.: The StoneTitans are more retarded than I have ever thought. And back in the day they were my gameplay nightmare... geez.

[Buff Skeleton]

Explore near the gap between the library (big building with lots of big windows, not the housing near the cistern) and the main fortress itself, past the gate.

[Hellscrag]

Explore near the gap between the library (big building with lots of big windows, not the housing near the cistern) and the main fortress itself, past the gate.

I don't know how close I am to the end, but I had to bail out as it was getting too late and I needed to go to bed. That chain is far, far too hard to find, and the route you have to follow immediately afterwards is also far from clear. This is secret area style gameplay flow.

I had searched the area for about half an hour and I still didn't find it. I had to read the above post to know where to go next. I would suggest that the compilation version feature a light source near the bottom of the chain or give the player a searchlight.

[Buff Skeleton]

Yeah, I'm definitely going to make it a lot more obvious for the compilation. In fact, I think that area originally was going to be a secret area, but then it just kinda ended up being "the way" and I didn't take into account how hard it is to see

[UBerserker]

Yeah, I have to agree - I found the location, but it's really, really hard to see. At least it will get fixed.
SK Rocket Launcher = orgasm. I can't wait to finish this, it's an incredibly satisfying experience

[Buff Skeleton]

I just added Stinger ammo next to the crack between the two walls, and then a subtly-flickering lantern on the ground next to the chain. I also added a flare on the exposed brick you need to jump to. Think that will do it?

[UBerserker]

The flickering lamp seems good enough to solve the problem.

[salsaSkaarj]

OMFG Waff, what have you made? Conceptual grandness in basically a square setting. After completing the map I just had to fly around and ghost everywhere to see how everything interconnects. Awesome, striking, even flabergasting.

Concerning gameplay - I played on Medium and consider all battles fair (except for the boss, don't know what I would have done without the MasterBlaster).

*SPOILER ALERT + (possible bug)
The first time the wall has to be climbed, I could see that one has to get on top of the boxes and then jump onto the small ledge in order to access the "ladder" - I couldn't get on that ledge and eventually had to ghost onto the ledge - it's probably something to do with my jumping technique but perhaps a slightly lower ledge could make things easier)
*END SPOILER*

Of all the submitted maps I have played up to now - this is currently the strongest candidate for gold. But considering Waff's track record it's only normal and expected that he manages to conceive something much more astonishing than first time-mappers. Yet this is more than just a good map - This is what the last map in RTNP should have been (although it was an OK map, something was missing).

After trying out the other submitted maps I will definitely play this again on Unreal difficulty.

[Buff Skeleton]

Awesome, thanks Are you talking about the grate on the wall above the exposed brick with the slanted chip coming out of it? I might move the "chip" subtraction brush a bit more towards the wall so you don't get stuck on it; as it is now, it's really kind of sloppy and you can get bumped off by the non-chipped piece of the brick, which is stupid. I'll try to improve that for the final, and also add some better loot up there. Although you DO get the jumpboots which allow you to collect dropped SK-6 ammo from the first gunner AND safely jump down into the fenced in area with the superhealth and even MORE SK-6 ammo... hmm. OK maybe there's already enough inventory

[UBerserker]

I thought the Jumpboots were needed to get the Shield Belt over one of those ledges near the cistern.

[Buff Skeleton]

You CAN use them for that, but why do that when you can jump off of the Skaarj bridge and pray to your favorite deity you land in the cistern?

[Hellscrag]

OK, so, being a glutton for punishment, I decided to go back in and finish the map.

A VERY clever twist when the true identity of the fortress is revealed, and a great in-game scripted scene at the end. Very gratifying. The boss, however, was overpowered.

An exhausting map that has taken me 2½ hours to play, well done. (although that includes my ½hr+ of running around like a lost soul, failing to find that chain).

Btw, the bit where several Skaarj attack as you're climbing the very long rope at the end is lame. I lost a huge amount of health at that point, because the attack happens when you're already well above the minimum height for falling damage.

[Buff Skeleton]

Ah shit, I knew I forgot something. I was going to lower that trigger a substantial amount so you would have time to leap off without taking too much damage. I think I also forgot the Skaarj sound that was supposed to play, indicating they were near. Whoops.

Lots of stuff to change for the compilation!

[Edit] I don't see what was so overpowering about the boss, though. On Medium I beat him with armor to spare and like 180 health. Is it too much health or the rocket damage/splash radius etc?