Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight

Turn-based strategy/RPG game from Age of Games, a talented team from Italy.
Philkian
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Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight

Post by Philkian »

Below you can read the first of a three-parts After Action Report made by Beta Tester jpankako. It features the beginning of the Human Campaigns. The following parts will be posted soon!

Since the human campaign is the first one that new players face once coming off the boot camp, I decided to jot down a brief AAR from my experiences to smoothen down the learning curve. The multiple strategy options that FK provides allow players to excel in the game & train their troops in number of different ways, so I’m no way implying that my way of playing the game is any better than others – it’s just one way of getting through the first days of the battle & dealing with Kaos forces.

801 a.U.c. – Empire is striking back
Emperor Karl has finally decided to act on the growing threat of Kaos forces pillaging the region of Icilsud. As a newly appointed Kommander, I’ve been commissioned a small army to free the province of Krieg. I already know from the training camp that one of the key challenges I’m faced with early on, is the poor stamina of my newly recruited men. Before my units reach a sufficient level of expertise, I need to ensure that I don’t expose them too aggressively to enemy – one or two big blows may be all that is needed to kill an untrained unit even if it would be in perfect health at the start of the battle.

Dark Signs – First encounter
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This first task should be easy and fast to deal with. No actual armies to encounter, just some lightly armed units between myself and the third village. I’ll place the few units I have in front, close to the main road and open field – I want to get this over and done with so that I can move forward. Making certain that units are facing front and don’t have their backs exposed in case enemy would go first or have some surprises waiting, I’m ready to go to battle.
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Five turns to epic victory. After listening the “advise” from Julius, who seems like a useless baggage to carry around (where does the Emperor come up with these clowns?), I move my archers ahead and aim at the two zombies in front. FK allows me to move ranged units during the same turn as firing, as long as I do it first – and I will use this opportunity now to maximize my reach. Both zombies become demoralized from the hail of arrows, which likely makes them immobile for the next turn. Encouraged by this, I move my two light infantry units to take control of the nearby villages – and Marcus appears from thin air. This guys stats suggest that he can be very useful in battle, so I move him immediately forward next to my light infantry & archer – and activate the Offensive military tactics. I don’t expect that finishing off enemy will take too long, so there’s no reason to hold back – and this will assist the adjacent fresh units in taking hits from the undead. Looking last time that my units are faced well to the enemy, I finish the first turn.

Kaos goes next. Zombies stand still, immobilized by the demoralizing effect, which leads only the skeleton in the middle capable for attack. The unit charges against Marcus, and collapses into a pile of bones with practically no damage done. Apparently Kaos neglected to resurrect brains – these undead are just aggression without any IQ, otherwise they would have stood back or tried their luck with my infantry instead. Now I just need to finish the zombies - no wait, another skeleton appears at the cemetery where the first one just came from. I need to quickly take control of these portals before something more powerful emerges and turns this into a real battle.

I let my archers finish the demoralized zombie standing at the cemetery on right, emptying the hex for Marcus to move in and wipe out the skeleton – this allows me to move Marcus to the freed hex and take control of both cemeteries during the same turn. Respectively, I let my light infantry unit on left to maneuver to the backside of the remaining zombie and viola, all that remains is to beat through the bushes to get to the remaining village in time to record my first epic victory – likely the easiest of them all.
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Back at the encampment
Happy to not have lost any troops at the first enemy encounter, I have ample of funds to upgrade my units to their new level of experience. I accept the automated skill change proposals, and prefer Recovery as a special skill. After a brief consideration, I decide to complement the team with a standard infantry unit. I’m too concerned of the archers low health level and not sufficiently impressed by light infantry’s added mobility to evaluate other alternatives. With a quick pit stop at the HQ, I’m ready to embark on my first real battle.

Divide the enemy - baptism by fire
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From the very first glimpse, the setup appears much more challenging than in the previous scenario. I’m faced with a goblin horde three times the size of my troops – and to reach my objectives, I need to cross a river which will halt my movement and make me extremely vulnerable for attack. With these odds, I would be more inclined to sit back and wait for enforcements – but that option was not available in the briefing. Hopefully goblins will remain passive and focus on protecting their villages, otherwise this will be a slaughter. I split my forces into two: Marcus will lead the charge to the bridge, supported by the infantry unit. Archers will remain close to the riverbank, utilizing their superior range against goblin slingers, and weaken the troops on the other side of river. Light infantry units will remain in the middle, waiting for the outcome in these two fronts and using their good mobility to go where they’re most needed. With this setup, I hope for the best and start the battle.
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I get the initiative and decide to change plans almost immediately. My infantry units would not be able to reach the slinger unit on my side of the bank, so instead of deploying Marcus first, I hit the light goblin infantry with my std infantry unit from left flank. I manage to weaken the unit just sufficiently to deliver a killing blow with light infantry, and use the created opening for Marcus to ride in and finish the slinger. This bank secured. My archer gets a good shot at the goblin positioned at the village, and I finish the job with the second archer. Instead of holding my second light infantry unit at reserve, I decide to move him closer to the river to protect exposed archers. First turn completed.
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Goblins launch a counterattack, but like I hoped, they fail to take advantage of their numbers – units move close to river but don’t attempt to cross it. Cowards. I take a small hit from one of the slingers but other than that, no harm comes my way. Good start.

I kick off the second turn. The slinger who hit me is positioned at the bank which allows me to kill it with light infantry unit, move to the vacated hex and get immediately out of harm’s way. I’m not overly comfortable with a single unit standing alone surrounded by goblins, and try to even up the situation by firing arrows at close by units. Too late I notice that they’ve turned on their special defense ability and arrows bounce off from their armor. Wasted ammo. I turn to my northern “front” and let Marcus charge to the goblin village, even though the odds are not promising immediate success. To my surprise, the defending goblin caves in and I find myself in possession of the first goblin village after turn two. I finish the turn, waiting for goblin’s counter offence.
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Nothing. Not even a single attack on my infantry unit standing alone on the beach. These are not seasoned units – they’re either level one or two – but I would have expected some initiative from them. My attack must have really taken them by surprise. This will be a slaughter, but not the kind I was expecting.

I start off third turn by finishing the slinger in north with my light infantry. I decide to let Marcus ride forward to the small clearing between the woods and move my remaining infantry unit away from the bridge. Since I know that the goblin guarding the village has already used up its special defense ability, I hit it again with both archers. The unit is seriously low on health, and for a moment I contemplate whether to finish it off with my light infantry unit – but since I yet don’t have other supporting units nearby, I decide to play it safe and attack the slinger instead. I manage to kill the slinger, but receive so much injury that I use the recovery skill. The beauty of special skills is that they can be used at any stage of units turn – before or after movement and attack. With all actions exhausted, I close turn three.
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Finally, the goblins manage to muster sufficient amount of courage to hit back. My light infantry unit gets surrounded from two fronts and a slinger hits it from behind. However – too little, too late. I finish the already weakened goblin with one archer, use another to hit another goblin from behind and then finish it off with my light infantry. Another infantry unit kills the slinger in the woods and Marcus – boosted with special skill – makes an impressive attack on the infantry unit in the third village.

I’ve now secured a dominant position on the map - my only concern is whether my already weakened infantry unit will last through the next round or whether the goblins will cut his throat…
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Instead of attacking my weak unit, the goblin infantry decided to join the troops north trying to fight off Marcus. Opposition is still very weak – instead of fighting the goblins focus on protecting their villages, so I decide to push forward in north and take some additional risk. I eliminate the supporting slinger with Marcus and try to root off the goblin that just joined the troops with my light infantry. This was not the best move in this battle: minor damage to both parties and my light infantry ends up demoralized. I manage to compensate this with a better success lower down – my archers start slowly draining the life out of last goblin guarding the Adamantian village and my weakened light infantry unit still has enough juice in it to hit the supporting slinger with sufficient force to cause it to retreat and become demoralized.

End of turn – goblins regroup but are already weak enough to provide any resistance. The remaining steps are thus just for cleanup & gathering experience, at the same time ensuring that I keep within the time allowed to score a decisive victory.

Turn six. My archers weaken the last goblin stronghold in south sufficiently for the infantry unit to finish the job. Marcus runs over the unit in north village while the infantryman uses the opportunity to drive his spear in the back of the last goblin infantry unit – always a pleasure when you don’t have to worry about consequences. I finish this turn with just one demoralized, immobilized goblin slinger left and all my units standing. One archer attack, moving in to occupy the last remaining village, and I’ve achieved epic victory in seven turns.
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Back at the encampment
Thanks to achieving again both primary and secondary objectives I have no shortage of funds. Once my units are upgraded, I recruit another infantry unit and a cavalry unit to bring my total strength to eight. Quick refresher, and we’re ready to take this battle to the trolls.

The Desecrated Monastery
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Instead of letting me finally deal with a proper enemy, I’m seconded to deal with another desecrated holy location. Well, I suppose Monastery plus two cemeteries is an upgrade from a just two cemeteries… Somewhat grudgingly, I accept the mission and start deploying my troops on what should be an easy job with light resistance.
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I take up a loose formation, putting my mobile units up in front and start making headway towards the first cemetery. Remembering undead’s capability to appear from thin air, I halt my units in forest, providing them some additional protection.
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…and just like in previous cemetery battle, the first group of undead appear! Two zombies and one skeleton archer are however no match to my troops.
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I let my archers deal with the skeleton, rider and two infantry units to finish zombies and close the portal, while Marcus regroups with the other team in east to approach the second cemetery.
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This time I’m faced with one zombie, two skeletons and a skeleton warrior. These may prove out to be slightly more of a challenge, but nothing that I really couldn’t handle – but if every resurrection is going to be more tough than the previous, then I really need to put some pace into closing the remaining two portals.
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The zombie and the skeleton on the right should be the easiest to deal with, so I let my infantrymen loose. The two undead now permanently dead leave a hole to the right of the skeleton warrior, who should be the strongest of this lot. I decide to risk, move my archer next to the warrior and fire away a weakening shot. I then follow this with a charge from my rider, hitting the warrior to left side. This eases the job for Marcus to finish the warrior and take the hex. I close my other troops in, place an archer to support Marcus and finish the turn with a healing spell from cleric.
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Start of turn four. The remaining skeleton attacks Marcus and falls apart trying – they haven’t become any smarter since we last met. The next uprising replaces at the cemetery the just departed skeleton with a new one, which is soon to follow its comrades, but the posse that just appeared next to the monastery does give a reason for a serious concern. Not the zombies or the skeletons, but the horn-headed guy in the middle. Just looking at the stats, the skeleton king appears to be almost as strong as Marcus and in possession of several special skills, which could mean trouble to my inexperienced troops.
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One thing at a time. I weaken the skeleton with my archer and finish it off with my light infantry unit. This allows me to close the second portal and move my troops through the withered woods which negatively impact my defense. Marcus charges forward and slices the first skeleton in half.

It is Kaos’s turn to respond. One after another the undead attack Marcus and fall to pieces. When all have tried and failed, the skeleton king steps forward – casts a spell on one of my archers nearly killing him at once and deals a serious blow on Marcus. One new zombie appears, but the pace of resurrected monstrosities seems to slow down.

I have a difficult decision to make. I could simply ignore the king when I still have all my troops alive, make Marcus charge the portal and close it, allowing me to withdraw from the battle with full score, all objectives achieved. Or I could see what this king is made of, finish it off even at the risk of some casualties, and not risk encountering it later in the game. Or wait,… …since he is already dead, there is a risk of that happening anyway.
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I decide to give it at least one turn to see what happens if I hit the king with all that I’ve got. I can always charge the portal next turn, right? I start by letting the cleric fix my wounded archer – after which the same unit gets to go first by firing at the king. Arrows bounce off with little damage, but I continue with the next archer. I activate one of Marcus’s special skills and hit king from side. I follow this with rider’s blow from left and infantry charge from right,… …but my all is not nearly enough to take down the king.
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The turn does not end well. Skeleton king is still standing – not quite as strong as in the beginning of the turn but still formidable enough, Marcus has his back exposed to the zombie, and several of my troops are weakened from the battle. I use a recovery skill to heal the demoralized infantry unit and finish the turn.

Start of turn six. Zombie and the remaining skeleton start by taking bites off Marcus. Skeleton king turns around and delivers a head-on critical hit on Marcus – but he absorbs it and returns a strong counterattack. Good that I activated that special skill during previous round. Tables have turned: skeleton king is weak and exposed, now is the time to hit and finish this battle.
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I start off with one archer and then go for the kill with my horseman. Skeleton king disappears into ashes, leaving nothing but empty threats and two feeble undead to deal with. I finish the skeleton with my second archer, paralyzed zombie with my now recovered infantry unit and let Marcus take the glory for regaining back the monastery.
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Refreshing and recruiting
Back at the HQ I upgrade my units to their new level of experience, with the exception of one infantry unit. I noticed that new units have appeared in the roster, but since I’m not allowed to recruit any additional troops, I need to reduce the existing ones first.
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I sell off the weaker infantry unit, wish him all the best with his new army and turn to the available replacements. I’d love to recruit a cleric as strong as I had in the monastery scenario, but the disciple volunteering for recruitment is way too inexperienced and so weak that he wouldn’t last a single day in battle. Same applies to the war machine: too weak to start with, and I don’t have time or troops enough to mature these units in reserve or take them through multiple resurrections. The Man-At-Arms looks promising though – strong enough in the beginning and valuable once properly trained. I welcome the newcomer and head for the next adventure.
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wodin
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by wodin »

The battle part looks just like the browser game. Can you say what is different from the free browser games and this when it comes to the tactical battles? I found the browser game pretty boring and have little immersion..which puts me off this title esp when they look so similar.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by Rosseau »

Developing a game like this is certainly an accomplishment. So I wish you well. But why should I buy this over Battle of Wesnoth, which also happens to be free and entirely moddable? You are competing in a tough niche here.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by wodin »

I also take my hat off to you for developing a game..I just struggle to understand why you have a free browser game (well a fair few of them) which looks just like this (though this is abit more polished looking). If I had been you I'd have asked Slitherine if I could so a fantasy game using either the BA2 engine or the Panzer Corps engine.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by ComradeP »

I agree that it looks more like a browser game, or something for an iPad or the like.

As much as I like the genre, I'm seeing small scenarios and a mostly passive AI, just like in the similar browser games people don't have to pay for, and something like the Battle for Wesnoth is also quite a polished product by now.

What is the added value this game offers compared to browser games?
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by FabioBelsanti »

Hi Guys

I fully understand that players like you represent a tough niche of hardcore wargamers.

Personally, as a player, I was "born" more than twenty years ago with wargames like Panzerkrieg, World in Flames and Squad Leader (just to name a few). As a wargamer (and Rpg player), if I saw a game like this, honestly, I'd buy it.

I understand your criticisms and concerns, but I do not agree with you.

Honestly, you seem a little too biased towards our project and I don't understand why.

About Wesnoth, as I have already said in other posts:

I think that Wesnoth is a fun, good and solid game, but it's more "casual-strategy" than Fantasy Kommander.

Our game is a true (and in the current gaming market, unique) Fantasy Wargame with an intuitive, but very deep and detailed, battle system.

Our setting is also more structured and "cultured".

The continent of Eukarion is a Fantasy version of the real medieval Europe. We can say that our setting is a fictional scenario "What if Medieval Europe had been inhabited (and invaded) by orcs, wizards and dragons?".

As you might see (if you bought the game) from our game manual (over 100 pages), behind this game there is a high quality Battle System.

I can understand that in-game graphics give you a wrong feeling, that makes you believe that you have to do with a silly browser game, but it is not.

Also in this case I have written elsewhere that I do not love this aesthetic, and I want to change it as soon as possible. I would use a more mature and realistic graphics.

Unfortunately, the financial resources have prevented us from changing this aspect, but I do not think this should affect real wargamers like you.

Dear wodin, it looks like you are our number one detractor at the time. You do not like Fantasy Kommander series, you do not like that Slitherine is publishing Eukarion Wars, and for some reason I do not know, you do not like those who have developed this game.

What can I say?

From players like you, used to think, I would expect less superficial considerations.

If you're still reading, and would like to better understand not only this game, but this project, you can read our "developers diary" from here: http://www.ageofgames.net/en/under-deve ... ary-1.html

Oh well, but obviously, you are more than free to continue to think that this game is horrible, that we are idiots to have developed it, that there are tons of free games better than this one, and that we should burn in hell for having convinced Slitherine and Matrix to publish this garbage.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by ComradeP »

Well, for the sake of the health of the genre I'd very much like the game to be a success so as to inspire more games like this. When I look at those screenshots, I see small maps and when I read the AAR, it seems the AI is fairly passive, which is why I said it looks like a browser game or something for a smartphone.

Looking at the dev diary you linked to, you mention that flash games have issues with big maps and large armies. However, this game might have those same issues, and you intend to release it for a premium price. In other words, what you imply is: it's very similar to other flash games (which are free) and has some of the same issues. That's why I'm wondering what the added value is. The multiplayer maybe?

The person mentioning in the comments that the game is fairly cheap probably has a different perspective on what similar games usually cost.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by FabioBelsanti »

ORIGINAL: ComradeP

Well, for the sake of the health of the genre I'd very much like the game to be a success so as to inspire more games like this. When I look at those screenshots, I see small maps and when I read the AAR, it seems the AI is fairly passive, which is why I said it looks like a browser game or something for a smartphone.

Looking at the dev diary you linked to, you mention that flash games have issues with big maps and large armies. However, this game might have those same issues, and you intend to release it for a premium price. In other words, what you imply is: it's very similar to other flash games (which are free) and has some of the same issues. That's why I'm wondering what the added value is. The multiplayer maybe?

The person mentioning in the comments that the game is fairly cheap probably has a different perspective on what similar games usually cost.

As you can read in the dev diary, there I admit that there was an error to make Fantasy Wargames in flash and for flash market.

That said, Eukarion Wars is really better than the other episodes of this series.

Also, I belive that in the market (free or premium) there are not Fantasy Wargames like this one.

This AAR is about the first human campaign that have not big maps, but from the second campaign of the elves you'll see bigger maps.

Technically, considering that was developed in flash, this game is a miracle.

Most of the beta testers (we had many) do not even realize that it was developed in flash.

Other games (like machinarium), developed in flash and sold as "premium" had great success.

Flash does not mean of little (or no) value.

Gaming market is very competitive complex and difficult today, but it is also very dynamic, and thanks to the gods, without fixed rules about the value of the works developed.

Added Value?

This game is much better than its "competitors" (an the other episodes of the series) for:

Battle System;
Vastness and complexity of the Armies (and the units);
Setting;
Storyline (the game is full voiced).

And if that's not enough for you, I'm sorry if you do not want to become a Kommander, but I think you'll lose hours and hours of a very interesting game/project.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by jpankako »

I heard that FK Eukarion Wars had sparked some lively discussion in Matrix games forum so had to sign in and check it out myself.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I wasn't aware of Battle of Wesnoth until lately when the name started popping up in this context, so I went & downloaded the game and played it for quite some time, in hope that I would have perhaps discovered a game that would stand up to FK and give me hours of fun gaming time. Well...

Why should you by this game over BoW? Why should you use a helicopter for transportation when cars have already been invented? Why should you go hiking on a mountain when walking on a field can already be so much fun? Why should you bother yourself with Civ series when Pokemon games include similar elements of gameplay? Why is chess needed when you have checkers?

Different games appeal to different gamers, and this game is very different from BoW. I myself was raised up with SSI games before I discovered Sid Meier's works, which perhaps tells something regarding my bias in strategy gaming. I went to AoG website in search of a fun stategy game called Medieval Wars but found myself falling in love with FK flash game series. If you want a taster of previous evolution stages of Eukarion Wars and experience the difference btw FK and other strategy games, go and try those out - but make no mistake, this is a very different and very much evolved game, even though old FK gamers will find several familiar features in the game that make learning curve less steep.

I don't consider Eukarion Wars as "completed". During beta testing, I gave strong criticism towards battle lengths & map sizes. That however didn't keep me from going back and playing the game hours on end - and the very strong likelihood that I will in future see more campaigns added by developers and gamers will just mean that this enjoyment will be further extended. The game is however ready and the engine is strong. Current storyline is well made with several sudden turns that keep the player constantly awake and require swift changes in battle strategy. I consider the package now presented as the first episode of a great story - and jumping on at this stage allows me to enjoy the journey fully.

I'm also truly sorry if the AAR makes the game sound too plain or gives an impression of a passive and unresponsive AI. The strategy I use has been developed through several trials & errors - and reason for creating the AAR was to convince other players - after initial feedback - that the game can be won. Seems like I made it look too easy. ;) But from here on, it gets even more difficult...

Anyway; even though all babies appear beautiful to their parents that doesn't make all babies beautiful - and although I'm not a parent for this great game, I know that I'm very biased towards it. This game will not appeal every strategy gamer - but if you're serious in wanting to know why you should want to play this game over BoW or the previous flash games... ...then boy, you really must buy this game to find that out. ;D

BR,
J
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by Perturabo »

ORIGINAL: Fabivs

And if that's not enough for you, I'm sorry if you do not want to become a Kommander, but I think you'll lose hours and hours of a very interesting game/project.
What about the AI? Also, "I'm sorry if you do not want to become a Kommander"? Seriously?
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by FabioBelsanti »

ORIGINAL: Perturabo
ORIGINAL: Fabivs

And if that's not enough for you, I'm sorry if you do not want to become a Kommander, but I think you'll lose hours and hours of a very interesting game/project.
What about the AI? Also, "I'm sorry if you do not want to become a Kommander"? Seriously?

AI: I'm sure you know Panzer General, Fantasy General and Panzer Corps. FK AI is very similar and definitely not less.

I'm sorry to lose or disappoint any good strategy-war-gamer.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by GrumpyMel »

This game looks interesting. I don't care about the graphics. I do have to agree though, if the army and map sizes in this AAR are representative of the scenario's in the game, it would move it solidly into the "no buy" category for me as well. I'd want to at least be able to command say 20 units or so in a battle with a decent A.I. It'd be one thing if the tactical battles were just one aspect of the game...like Fallen Enchantress....but if they're the main show, you really want some meat to them. YMMV.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by FabioBelsanti »

ORIGINAL: GrumpyMel

This game looks interesting. I don't care about the graphics. I do have to agree though, if the army and map sizes in this AAR are representative of the scenario's in the game, it would move it solidly into the "no buy" category for me as well. I'd want to at least be able to command say 20 units or so in a battle with a decent A.I. It'd be one thing if the tactical battles were just one aspect of the game...like Fallen Enchantress....but if they're the main show, you really want some meat to them. YMMV.


Image


Hi GrympyMel

This is a screenshot of the Battle of Delenfel (Second Campaign of the Elves).

As you can see there are well over 20 enemy goblin units and about 15 elven units (The level also extends beyond the visual of the screenshot).

In this scenario both sides receive reinforcements during the course of the battle, which is very bloody.

The first Human Campaign is only a part of the game, and in this first AAR jpankako talks about the first three battles, which could be called an introduction for less experienced players.

The game evolves and develops in multiple and different tactical and strategic situations, differing in each campaign.

I hope you will have the chance to try this game and give us your feedback.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by Maulet »

hello, one question:

are there only campaigns? or I can play random maps?

thanks.
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by FabioBelsanti »

ORIGINAL: Maulet

hello, one question:

are there only campaigns? or I can play random maps?

thanks.

4 Big Campaigns with the first release (tomorrow!!!)

But we plan to add more contents following the players feedbacks ;)
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by Philkian »

Here comes the second part!

After a good nights rest at the encampment, my troops are preparing themselves for the next battle. Let's see what is in store for us!

Ritual of the Orcs – opposition is getting tougher

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My assistant has not exposed the full map for viewing so the next assignment arrow points out of my view. I pull down the map and find out that Emperor Karl has decided to let me hit the troll encampment at the border of the Marquisate. On the way over, I notice orcs around a ritual site that looks concerning. Hesitant to divert from my given mission but aware that my troops desperately need more experience, I decide to take a detour to check the situation. Julius strongly objects my decision but based on his past behavior, I’m not really impacted by his remarks. With little fortune, he may just accidentally walk at a stray arrow…

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Was this a mistake? The muscular orcs seem a bit more willing to battle than the cowardly goblins I met before, and I’m definitely not that keen on placing my troops in line of those archers. I place my units so that I can charge for the bridge, but make certain that my weaker units stay away from the orc archers’ line of fire.

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Turn one, my initiative. I start off by weakening both units standing on this shore with my archers’ arrows. I then charge ahead with the horseman, hitting the first infantry on left side. Marcus deals with the single orc archer whilst other units regroup between the horseman and my archers, getting support from the latter and facing directly to the opposing orcs. Turn one completed.
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Kaos responds. Orcs break up their ritual and rush to defense, but manage to do very little harm during their first turn. This is my opening to build a bridgehead, and I need to plan carefully to make it strong from the very beginning – one single unit would not last long in company of these beasts.

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I activate a special skill and hit the archer on the other side of the river with Marcus, since there is a strong likelihood that the orc will cave in, letting Marcus move forward and leave space for the others to follow. The plan succeeds and I use the opening to move my horseman across the bridge, hit the orc guarding the encampment, and let the Man-At-Arms to follow. My archers and infantry units move closer, keeping a tight formation. End of turn two.

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Turn three. I take some hits from the approaching archers and orc priests, but nothing that my units’ recovery skills couldn’t handle. However, as my turn starts I notice that it wasn’t such a good idea to let the orc archer pass the river unharmed. At land, his defense stats are a tough match to my light infantry units. Taking this guy down will require both archers, likely also both infantry units, inflict heavy injuries… …and there’s two more units about to cross over.

I start off with the archer closest to the enemy and follow this by hitting the orc archer with one infantry unit. Just like I predicted: this will require more ammo – I can’t let this monster run loose in my backyard. I use my remaining arrows and finish the orc with my second infantry unit. Now I still need to figure out what to do with the remaining two…

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I decide to break my offense on the encampment and focus on the ranged units crossing the riverbank. This will leave my back exposed, but I’ll have to worry about that later. Marcus makes a U-turn and hits the first priest from the backside. Perfect hit, and he moves into the vacated hex. My recently recruited Man-At-Arms joins the effort and hits the orc archer crossing the river, who runs away, demoralized and badly injured. Panicking, it runs straight to my infantry unit, who easily lets it out of its misery.

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My horseman is left alone at the encampment to deal with two orcs. Hitting the infantry unit would result in less casualties, but that would not help me in reaching my objectives. I hit the encampment orc from side, forcing the supporting infantry unit to move away from its protective position if it is to attack my horseman. I suffer bad injuries in process, but manage to hold my ground. End of turn three.

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Kaos returns fire. Orc supporting the encampment moves and hits my horseman, who starts to be seriously low on health. Both the priest and the orc archer consider their odds better with the lightly armored infantry units and attack them, inflicting minor damage.

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My turn. I see two turned orc backs in the battlefield which leads me to grin – this is the final turning point of this battle. I fire off arrows to the priest and the archer standing in the middle of the stream. Weakened archer is then attacked by my infantrymen while the priest backs off in search for cover.

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My objective with Marcus was just to get through the thorn bushes, but now he gets to kill the priest as well. My back is exposed to the orc guarding the ritual site, but I expect him to hold put and protect his position. Now the other front.

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My infantry unit uses the opportunity and hits the orc in the back. Man-At-Arms follows and delivers a strong blow at the orc. My horseman moves into forest for additional protection and uses his recovery skill just in case the weakened orc would go berserk…

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…but the orc puts all his efforts in holding the fort – so in the beginning of turn five my horseman attacks and kills the defender, moves in, and the encampment is ours!!

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Other units make their way to the ritual site. Marcus gets there first and with a help of special skill, delivers the first blow. End of turn five.

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The orc uses its recovery skill but it only delays the inevitable. Archers move into position and fire away, infantry unit next to the orc finishes the battle – and Marcus moves in to secure another epic victory.

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Back at the HQ
Based on Julius’s reaction, I was expecting someone to meet me at the HQ with shackles to escort me to the court for misusing Emperors troops. Not the case. Apparently winning big awards you with some freedom of movement. I upgrade my units, but unfortunately the experience is not sufficient for the Man-At-Arms to upgrade to the next level. For some reason, I think that I will sorely miss some melee muscle when faced with an army of trolls…
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The Hills of trolls – using terrain to my advantage
The briefing I get for this next battle makes me thoughtful. Trolls have innate capacity to regenerate, which means that they need to be individually targeted and finished off as quickly as possible. Left alone, their wounds heal quickly and their health regains original levels. The briefing suggests that I attack them first rather than try to defend my position. Solid advise, but should be complemented with a wise use of terrain. Humans are at their best on plains, while trolls strive on mountainous terrain. Without dwarfs to face them, I must first see if I can lure them out to match me in the open ground.

Following my strategy, I place my units as low as possible on the grid, fast units down at the bottom, making it easiest to move forward quickly, ensuring that I always keep a slice of open ground between myself and the hills.

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Time to go. Julius is still with me – disappointingly – offering his best advice. Marcus steps in and supports my idea in trying to avoid the hills. I move forward, as far from the trolls as possible, and hold off to see their reaction. Trolls have no true ranged units and will thus need to move closer to get into attack position.

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The troll horde rushes down the hill but fortunately can’t quite reach me. One infantry unit is hit, but not critically. When my turn starts, I need however to decide how can I best eliminate as many enemies as possible: if I was faced with any other race, just weakening them sufficiently would be good enough – but not with trolls. The two trolls carrying axes are most strongest, so I’ll save those to my strongest units. Archers seem to be quite effective so I’ll move them into range, trying at the same time to ensure that I don’t leave any gaps in my attack line that would allow the trolls to break into my back.

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Turn two draws to close with moderate success. I managed to eliminate only one troll, but hopefully weaken several others so that even with the regenerating capability, they won’t recover fully before counterattack. I use recovery skill wherever necessary and hand the turn over to trolls.

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My light units are hurt, but still manage – barely – to survive the onslaught. I’m likely saved by the fact that the two strongest trolls are demoralized and can’t join the attack… This is my opportunity, so I use the mobility of my light units, redeploy archers into better protected positions and use my cavalry to hit remaining trolls in the back. At the end of turn three, the battle is all but over with just two trolls remaining in the open ground.

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Turn four. The one remaining troll capable of attacking hits my horseman – the other faces Marcus in hope to better withstand the coming attack. I finish the units with my Man-At-Arms, cavalry, and archers, take possession of the imperial village and start making headway to the two entrenched trolls. How an earth am I going to get these regenerating, heavily armored units to budge?

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At first, the task seems insurmountable. I rush my units into position around the two camps and divide them so that I can hit both trolls with an archer and an armored unit. I avoid using weaker troops in the first rounds, since based on battle predictions they would mainly end up hurting themselves. After four rounds of relentless pounding I start seeing the trolls' defenses give in – but my own troops are getting dangerously low on health as well. I push for final closure, switching healthier units in place of worn ones, use up all remaining special skills and finally on round ten I make heavy progress.

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At the very last minute, both trolls sigh their last cries and I conquer the strongholds. This was a very tight call – and if I end up facing trolls again, I need to be better prepared.

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Recovering at the HQ
Returning to the Encampment, I find that Emperor Karl has decided to assign a full army – 12 units – under my leadership. Great news, but he had made this decision earlier, I would have been able to prepare these troops for battle by training them. Still, I don’t consider this as a big issue, since I have already quite seasoned veterans in my army. I inspect the candidates and decide straight off to drop the infantry units, archers, clerics, and cavalry – too weak at this stage of the campaign to be brought in as fresh units, even though I’d love to welcome a good healer or a ranged unit. I finally decide to go with two Men-At-Arms, a Feudal Knight, and a War Machine. The three first should be able to withstand at least some enemy hits and the War Machine has good enough of a range to be useful from longer distance, where it needs to stay in order to keep alive. With all preparations now done, I let my troops start preparing the camp and withdraw to my tent for well earned nights rest.
ComradeP
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by ComradeP »

Interesting, you fought all the trolls that were not guarding objectives in the open. Based on the first part of the AAR, I thought Kaos might recruit or spawn new units from towns so I rushed there as soon as I could and ended up fighting half the trolls in the hills.

Not a major problem, but certainly a challenge. I attacked the units in the towns on the right primarily with archers (I had 3 or 4 at this point, not entirely sure) to lower their entrenchment, and with Marcus and the melee units afterwards.

I only bought a siege unit in one of the final battles of this campaign, so taking cities was always pretty challenging, although the strategy of pelting the defenders with arrows worked well. Elven archers, in the next campaign, in particular are so good that you don't really need siege equipment provided you can level them up and spend the points on attack.

When upgrading your units, do you spread the stat points between attack and defence?
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jpankako
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight, part one

Post by jpankako »

At hindsight, recruiting more archers than the two I ended up having would likely have made more sense. Trolls appear to be very vulnerable to archers attacks and at the same time very resilient at melee fights, so rooting trolls out of encampments with just two archers was a struggle: I think you made a better choice. However, I enjoy using my light infantry units in situations where map and enemy placement allows more flexibility for movement - hard to find anything that would compare well with stabbing enemy in back... ;)

In upgrading, I just used the default values suggested - couldn't make my mind up between trying to keep units alive or being able to deliver decisive blows.
Philkian
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight

Post by Philkian »

At last, the After Action Report made by Beta tester jpankako featuring the Human Campaign is complete! Below is the final part.

The Abandoned Mine – Easy Money and Experience

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At first dawn, I open up the map and notice that my epic performance at the trolls encampment has opened up a new opportunity to train my troops and collect more Augustali. Excellent – I want to be as well prepared as possible before attacking Krig castle.

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Unless Kaos again has something up its sleeve, this should be an easy victory – odds are just one to two on my favor. I purposefully select three out of the four new recruited units to follow me – if I can get them upgraded before the next battle, then they may even be used in frontline action.

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I let the first Man-At-Arms to charge the opposing archer, almost succeeding to finish it with first blow. The other one charges the infantry unit who is now deprived of archer support, catapult fires at the first enemy unit and let’s Marcus do the rest. On turn two, catapult and Marcus continue pushing forward and reach the mine, while Men-At-Arms deal with the opposing orcs at the right side. Two more rounds of determined hacking and the battle map is cleared of enemy units – in time to reach another epic victory. This was an easy win with no sudden surprises, and it allows me to upgrade three rookie units to the next level. I don’t expect the war to continue like this - that would be too easy - but one simple, non-complicated victory is a welcome booster to both my troops morale and my treasure coffins.

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The Battle of Fabel – Marcus’s revenge

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I’m pleased to see that my next assignment should take me to the thick of the battle – I finally get a chance to attack head on instead of going around my enemy and avoiding straight confrontation. This will show whether I’m ready to lead a proper army or if my skills are only limited to handling small skirmishes.

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I observe the coming battlefield and try to decide how to place my troops. Fabel is my primary objective, but based on the experience I got from the last battle, I don’t want to attack it from a disadvantaged position at the bridge, when faced with a regenerative armored troll sitting inside a fortification, supported by ranged units. Marcus agrees – last time when in Fabel, he was sitting inside that fortification, watching as attacking troops wasted themselves on the walls of the city. Without the red dragon, Kaos would have never gotten hold of Fabel – and deprived of that advantage, I need to come up with something else.
I decide to use the riverbank at the northeast as my crossing point. Kaos does not have many troops there and archers can’t sight me through the withered woods. First I need however to eliminate the trolls ahead of me and leave a sufficient fortification in place to take care of my encampment in case the Goblins decide to come out of woods.

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Let the battle commence! Before I’m able to take my first step, my intelligence officer tells me to watch out for the energy coming from the circle of Kaos. When he’s not gloating on enemy’s misfortune or cheering loudly from behind, he usually has a point – so I decide to move in a bit more carefully than I intended. I was given 12 full turns to finish this battle and based on the look of it, it should not necessarily take that long…

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I finish the two inexperienced trolls with my ranged units and a hit from Marcus, close in a tight formation and start making progress towards the river. I leave one infantry unit fortified to guard the encampment, knowing that I still support him with my ranged units if needed.

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At once, the war messenger’s ominous warning realizes. Five new Kaos troops appear next to the ritual circle and two Harpies, seemingly unaffected by my units zone of control, strike at one of my new recruits. On the other side of the battlefield, goblins attack my lone infantry unit.

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Turn two. Happy to not have had exposed my back to the screaming harpies, I launch a counterattack and cut down these flying menaces with my archer and two Men-At-Arms. The two other ranged units help to kill the already weakened goblin whilst the infantry unit guarding the encampment delivers a decisive blow at the slinger. There’s still a chance to cross river during this turn! The newly arrived undead will unwillingly assist Marcus in crossing, as he slices through the skeleton archer and takes the empty hex. Three other units follow but are left vulnerable to enemy’s attack, while I form a second front to hit the Orc encampment on this side of the river. End of turn.

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Kaos attacks and I find myself struggling to keep my positions. One blow from the goblin wolfrider and my experienced light infantry unit is gone. Another from ranged units next to Fabel and my cavalry crossing the stream is immobilized and at half health. Another skeleton appears through the circle – if I let this continue, it can change the course of battle.

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I forget everything else and let Marcus focus on the Kaos portal. Supported with a special skill, he evaporates the skeleton and closes the gate for undead.

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All my ranged units turn to fire at the wolfrider, who has been followed by a nasty-looking Orc with a sizable meat-cleaver. I manage to kill the wolfrider and with exhausted march bring my Man-At-Arms in place to stop the Orc from breaking through. Behind Marcus, my two other troops cross the river, but the panicking horserider is left in middle to wait for the next round – all I can do is recover as much of his health as is possible.

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Turn four. My cavalry barely manages the attack and retreats back to south bank, still immobilized. I use nearly all my troops left in the south bank to deal with the ferocious orc, who is trying to push through my Man-At-Arms. Five strikes later, the orc has left the map to join the skeleton army. Up north, I put my focus on clearing away the ranged units surrounding Fabel. The Man-At-Arms who survived the harpies attack is sufficiently recovered to finish off the skeleton archer, light infantry kills the orc priest with the help of an archer, and Marcus takes out the orc archer behind the castle. I finish the turn firmly in control of the battleground – this will be another glorious day for Adamantia!

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It takes me three turns to finish off the orc guarding Fabel, with Marcus furiously hacking away pieces of the enemy. The Man-At-Arms gets carried away following my hero’s actions and is crushed by one of orcs counterattacks. In the meanwhile, my remaining troops at the south bank have cleared the encampment and have started softening the enemy in the remaining stronghold.
By turn nine, the orc hero is getting weaker. I’ve let Marcus join the battle and left one weakened infantry unit stand next to Fabel, waiting for the outcome of this final stage. By turn ten, the Adamantian encampment is ours and by turn eleven, the last enemy unit is down.

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I end the battle and to my surprise receive acknowledgements from the sourpuss I’ve been dragging along my journey. As we depart, his last words remain ringing in my ears… …and now I understand where his comments are coming from – Julius is from a former nation, nowadays just a small province of Adamantia, known for its accomplished and misunderstood bureaucrats and know-it-alls! Had I understood to carry fried frog legs and flowery Prospel wine with me, his comments might have been much smoother...

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Having supplied my troops, resurrected my dead, and recruited new freshmen interested in joining the fabled Kommanders forces, I’m ready to face new adventures.
I’ll let the future Kommanders face The Wrath of Evil with their own advisors supporting them, but just as a closure teaser, this is what my battle outcome for the last human mission looked like…

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Long live Adamantia!!
ComradeP
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RE: Fantasy Kommander AAR – The Courage of a Knight

Post by ComradeP »

I'm surprised you held the fortified encampment in the final mission. I've restarted the map several times, but the puny inexperienced unit there is usually no match for what Kaos throws at it.
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