Author File Description

Ingo van Thiel Posted on 08/24/02 @ 12:00 AM (updated 11/24/03) Posted on 08/24/02 @ 12:00 AM (updated File Details Version: The Conquerors 1.0c Number of scenarios: 6 THE STORY



In this campaign you will step into a dead man's shoes.



You will be part of a mad hermit's tale. A tale of hatred and vendetta, of schemes and noble motives... and of guilt.



Not only will your battle skills be challenged. You will be challenged to follow Ulio on his way into his downfall, and to only leave him behind at the very end. You'll be the actor, you'll be the spectator. And you'll be the judge.



No radiant victory waits at the end... only clarity about Ulio's fate.





THE GAME



Important: Sound files are a must for this campaign, unless you want to miss a lot of the experience. They are divided into zips of roughly 1,3 MB each, so that each of them fits on one floppy disk. You can get the music files here:



Sound File 1

Sound File 2

Sound File 3

Sound File 4

Sound File 5



Ulio 3.0 also has new sound files for the 3rd person narrator. Those files are optional:



UlioNarrator1.zip

UlioNarrator2.zip



The other sound files (1-5) have not changed. If you already downloaded them earlier, you don't need to download them again. If you wonder whether to download the voice files or not, the Ulio 3.0 zip contains one voice sample, which plays after the first battle in the Foundling.



The campaign also plays the Attack on Murron soundfile that comes along with Mark Stoker's classic "Tamerlane, Prince of Destruction" campaign. If you haven't got that campaign yet, I can heartily recommend it. Thanks to Mark for allowing me to use that file!



The campaign contains two cutscene scenarios and four playable scenarios. Style: "Storyteller campaign". A mix of Cutscene/Fixed Force/Role Playing. B&D elements are minimal, you won't build a single building - only train units at existing ones.



The playable scenarios are difficulty-level-dynamic. You should have at least some gaming experience even if you play on Standard. If you are quite familiar with the game and experienced at battle tactics and micromanagement, Moderate will offer you a good challenge. If you like to test your gaming skills to the maximum, check out the Hard level.





INSTALLING THE FILES



Unzip the campaign file and all soundfiles into your Age of Empires II folder. They should go into the right directories.





CHANGES IN ULIO 3.0



- Sound files for narrator are included as extra zips (see above).

- New soundfiles for the dream in the Lion & Cat scenario are in the Ulio 3.0 zip file.

- Some typos have been fixed.

- Foundling: The "Barracks with Child inside" gets renamed again after the battle.

- Lion & Cat: Punishment for Ulio if he walks away from the village (-10 hp).

- Triangle: Fast players who went North could still end up with the general circling in the arena. Fixed.

- Epilogue: Younger and elder traveler got mixed up at the beginning. Fixed.





MISCELLANEOUS



Here are some things which were new to me when I made them: Probably the first movie-like scrolling text on the screen; a developed version of the Pyromaniac's rain trick; thunder & lightning and other effects with light and shadow; a well; some slightly altered town centers; a touchy general; armies moving, stopping and moving again in formations; an armed villager (static); impaled people; sneaking up upon a guard; a stampede; sea gates and sea towers on solid ground; alert watchtowers with fast-footed watchmen; a slippery hill; a nightmare sequence with burning ghosts and lost souls; entering an enemy castle, and a couple more.



This campaign has been tested by many people, so most bugs should have been found and fixed. However, if you do encounter any more bugs, please email me at van-thiel@web.de, so that I can look into them.



Thanks again to everyone who playtested the campaign for me! The names of the playtesters are listed in the Aftermath message of the Epilogue scenario.

Author Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only )

Philip Dunscombe Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM



Ulio has all the necessary components: good characters enlightening us to the mystery of the campaign, puzzles, a complex story that unfolds over the course of the game, and no standard way for the character to be brought to light.(There are many ways to loose the game not just by being killed). Ulio tells the story of, a young man who is faced with a great many of troubles well wandering the country side.



As well as Ingo’s campaign giving an interesting story he does a good job of giving his puzzles real context and giving you real motivation to solve them--if you don't, you will never be able to get clarity.



The story starts with a short well engineered cut scene. With no extensive opening sequence this makes it all not overly dramatic. Ingo deserves credit for taking such a cinematic approach and succeeding, no problems mar the storytelling. The cut scene direction in the story look’s great. The scenes themselves don’t suffer from being overly lengthy to the point of tedium.



It has fine-tuned, well-balanced game play, it's got a quick pace, it's got some new game play twists that should surprise even the most hard-core Ager’s, and it's simply a lot of fun.

The candy in the campaign is wonderful, and adds to the game as it is well designed you won’t be grumbling about it. Ingo has assured us that everything is exactly where he wants it.

The campaign is not a resource hog and it is very easy to get into. I found it very addicting to say the least I could not stop until I had completed all of the scenarios. Ingo’s creativity flourishes with new ideas on every turn including a very well done marching army.



If you like this sort of campaign point your mouse over to the download button(Now). After all it is free :-) .

Tom Edwards Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM



It'll be worth it, I'm sure!

Tom Edwards Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM

Tom Edwards Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM



After the battle in Chapter 2, nothing happens! :(

Tom Edwards Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM

Philip Dunscombe Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM Posted on 08/27/02 @ 12:00 AM

Alla Posted on 08/28/02 @ 12:00 AM Posted on 08/28/02 @ 12:00 AM

dream supposed to follow? HELP!!

Ingo van Thiel

File Author Posted on 08/28/02 @ 12:00 AM Posted on 08/28/02 @ 12:00 AM

The Kestrel Posted on 08/29/02 @ 12:00 AM Posted on 08/29/02 @ 12:00 AM



PLAYABLILITY:

The playability was nearly perfect! I didn't find any bugs whatsoever and everything flowed smoothly from start to finish, begining with a short intro. The only gripe I have is that its often hard to make it load the right scenario and takes four or five times through clicking and quitting out before it works. It's a bug in the game and there's nothing to be done about it.



BALANCE:

This campaign was very hard, but still beatable. I honestly never made it past the battle in The Lion and the Cat on moderate difficlulty, but I standard I had no trouble. Many fights are also nearly impossible to win with brute force. For example, in the last scenario, there is a slippery hill. You can spike your boots and then lure your enemies to fall down the hill. I once managed to win that fight with no caualties until I had to deal with the siege weapon and tower.



CREATIVITY:

You will see all kinds of creative elements in this campaign such as sneaking up on a guard, a horse stampeede, a joust, a nightmare, a slippery hill which people break their necks on if they fall down, a new way of doing enterable buildings without having to change the view, an army that moves in formation, and various other things (play it and see for yourself, I'm not spoiling the fun).



MAP DEGISN:

The map degisn in this campaign is ashtonishinly good. The snow terrains are ok, but the temperate areas are very pleasing to the eye, though not too complicated and cluttered, like many campaigns.



STORY / INSTRUCTIONS:

This campaign has one of the best stories I've ever seen in AOK. Unlike most, there is no glory waiting for you at the end, when you discover the truth about everyhting. The instructions were detailed, but still left some things for you to figure out yourelf.



+Points:

~Great Maps

~Detailed Story

~Perfect Balance

~Many new creative elements



-Points:

~Ummm...I didn't find any of these! :-)



OVERALL:

This is a must download for those who like RPGs and FFs, with a few small B&D elements. Nevermind, this is a must download no matter what. Even if you don't like playing, (I don't see how that's possible, though) you can learn a lot of new and creative ideas just from looking at the scearios, or even extracting them and examiing the triggers.



I will end with one final comment: Get downloading and don't forget the sound packs!



~Silas TK