| Falling Stars | |
| by Ian Klinkhamer (alcritas@att.net) | |
| The Creator’s Review | |
Generally speaking, I think it unfair to judge a scenario without playing through it completely at least once. In Falling Stars, I deviate from this. It’s unfair to judge this scenario without playing through several times.
This is a scenario with HUGE replay value. There is just so much in it that you won’t find in your first playthrough that it’s impossible to form an accurate opinion of it. My only beef here is that because of this, during the first playthrough some aspects may feel somewhat lacking.
The programming in the scenario is impressive, to say the least. Aside from extensive use of special spells, special NPCs and his trademark cinematic sequences, Alcritas produces a couple of very nice technical innovations.
The Debug Check. This simply prevents the player from exploiting the “Debug bug” (as I like to call it) by stopping him from entering the scenario in debug mode. It functions in very similar fashion to the level check in An Apology. Unlike the Apology level check, it is not melded smoothly into the scenario. The player is certain to notice it, even if he is unable to figure out what it is or why it’s there.
The Reputation System. This, I assume, is a very much enhanced version of the Of Good And Evil karma system. It comes off very well indeed. Your reputation affects nearly every aspect of the scenario, and nearly everything you do affects your reputation. Don’t go breaking into people’s homes!
The combat is pretty unbalanced, in my opinion. Too many dungeons are too easy. Rokig Kodar (orc version) only has two spellcasters in the entire dungeon, and neither are particularly good. I can (and have) easily beat it with a level 1 party. Many places are similar. On the other hand, that final fight... ouch.
Speaking of the final fight, this is easily the most criticized aspect of the scenario. I understand that Alcritas’ reason behind making it so difficult was to encourage the player to search out additional firepower throughout the scenario. I just don’t think it works very well. The first time through, you won’t know it’s coming, and won’t know you need to find help. In fact, the deteriorating conditions make a player want to go through to the end as quickly as possible, where he is promptly hammered. Subsequent playthroughs will be much easier, as you’ll know to prepare and you’ll have a better idea of where to find NPCs, Legendary Artifacts and suchlike.
I can forgive the author for the difficulty of the final fight. The idea behind it is good, even if it doesn’t really work. What I can’t forgive is the fact that all there is to it is a big empty room with monsters in it. Not only is it long and hard, it’s very boring. The “final fight” immediately previous is much, much better. The cramped space forces the player to adapt his tactics, and those wraiths are a very nice touch. Not to mention that it’s plenty tough enough itself.
Another part that becomes much easier in later playthroughs is the Under Ground Library (UGLI). Quite frankly, it ought to called the Everlasting Infernal Library (EVIL). When I first went in there it took me no less than three days (game time) of searching to find those books. There is a map provided, but it is almost as confusing as the UGLI itself until you begin to get a feel of the layout. After the Ancient Library in Redemption, I feel strongly inclined to wonder if Alcritas just has a thing for big, confusing libraries. It’s much easier to find your way after going through it a couple of times, but I found that first time to be little short of torture.
The plot is best described as more of the same. If you like the storyline of Alcritas’ previous scenarios, you’ll probably love this one. If you aren’t so keen on them you’ll probably still enjoy it, but not as much. I have one minor complaint here that several parts of the scenario assume the player doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. In most scenarios I would have no problems with this at all, but most scenarios are not as reliant on replay value as Falling Stars. The plot is the one aspect of the scenario that does not improve with repeated playthroughs. Still, it’s plenty good to start with so it’s not a big problem.
The custom graphics file for this scenario is something massive, and of good overall quality. Graphically it’s not the best scenario out there, but it’s certainly one of the better ones.
Special NPCs are used to a great degree. They are pretty hard to find at first, but if you explore thoroughly (much harder than it sounds) you’ll find them. I would have liked them to talk after battles like in Doom Moon II, but I’ll let it slide.
I highly recommend that you download this scenario and play it twice at least. I wouldn’t have chosen it to win the Fourth Scenario Design Contest, but it is a very good scenario and is worthy of the honor. I give it a score of 9.3.
Falling Stars is rated R and is designed for high level parties.
— The Creator