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Express Delivery


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Express Delivery

Mac/Windows

 

Author: Arancaytar

Rating:

Difficulty:

Version: 1.0.0

 

[composite=eyJ0aXRsZSI6IkV4cHJlc3MgRGVsaXZlcnkiLCJ0aWQiOiIxNTY2MSIsInRhZ3MiOltdLCJiZ2FzcCI6eyI1IjowLCI0Ijo0LCIzIjo2LCIyIjoyLCIxIjowfX0=]

Composite Score: 3.2/5.0

 

Best: 0.00% (0/12)

Good: 33.33% (4/12)

Average: 50.00% (6/12)

Substandard: 16.67% (2/12)

Poor: 0.00% (0/12)

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[/composite]

 

Keywords:

Edited by SylaeBot
Automated Sybot edit; worker IPB::csrThread/vanadium
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From Nioca on the CSR:

 

Does it deliver? (Sorry for the horrible pun, I just couldn't help it.)

 

That is the question. The answer? That's coming up. Basically, the plot is about delivering a possibly-important letter to a city. You stop at an inn for the night, and the message gets stolen. Now you have four days to get it back.

 

The story was believable and simple, yet rather original. I don't really have any major plot complaints about it.

 

Combat was fun, though goblins? Eh, I won't judge. Anyway, the combat, to me, seemed a bit overpowered. At any rate, if a bunch of goblins can challenge a L18 singleton priest, it raises a bit of a red flag. However, with the non-combat ones coming out, this one was a bit of a relief.

 

It was possible to complete, win, and lose this scenario, and the winning fight was somewhat hilarious.

 

So, we come back to the original question: Does it deliver? (Again, sorry.)

.

.

.

Yes. Yes it does.

 

[rating]GOOD[/rating]

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From Thralni on the CSR:

 

It is absolutely clear this is a beginner's scenario. Short and small. I'm pleased to see Aran did the wise thing: keep it small. He also finished it quite rapidly, for all I know, which i think is good. I wasn't very convinced by the plot, though. It's ended was apparently suppoed to reveal things, but I got only more confused.

 

Overall i think it's nice, but not really brilliant or anything.

 

[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

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From S M Adventurer on the CSR:

 

I "completed" this scenario. I wasn't exactly sure what to do in order to "win" it. It's a small scenario, a bit rough. The upside is free horses!

 

Can't really add too much to what's already been said.

 

So I rate it [rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

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From Nikki on the CSR:

 

I'm going to be a little bit mean here... I mean, whilst ED is a good beginner's scenario, and is actually quite neat in a lot of ways, it is no way a 7.1 (whoever gave it that, apologies).

 

Right, the things I liked were the fact it was short, well-thought out (on the whole), and that point in the caves where the music changed. That was pretty neat, actually. Also, it was simple. This is good.

 

However, it's short. The ending also bugs me - I mean, say you stole a satchel. Would you then make a nice hologram IMPLICATING YOU for some adventurers to find? It all just seemed a bit... flimsy.

 

That said, I can't find that much wrong with it. And it is worth the download. So I'm rating it [rating]AVERAGE[/rating]. I think that's pretty fair.

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From Ephesos on the CSR:

 

 

Right, so even though I though I'd gotten the fixed version, it seems that I haven't. But oh well.

 

Pros:

+ Nice town design. Everything was very pretty, and believable enough for me. I also like how there were parts of Backus that you just weren't supposed to be able to access.

+ Goblins were... well, goblins. My lvl 11 fighter just mowed them down, like he should've. So that felt appropriate. And the fight with the goblin chief was appropriately difficult, compared to the normal goblins.

+ Nice twist, and I'm really glad that I was curious enough to keep prodding the generator.

+ Good cutscenes. The sparkly illusions were a nice touch.

+ Yay for multiple endings!

+ Kudos to Aran for keeping it small.

 

Cons:

- Combat was, in my experience, a little weak. Granted, I typically play with a full party on Normal, so I guess it could be expected. But I was basically able to walk through all combat without entering combat mode, except for the goblin chief and the shades.

- The caves felt a little too open, but that's basically irrelevant. However, I wish there was something that happened after looting the tribe's dead on the lower level.

- Going north after getting back the (fake) message gave me the option to ride south, which seemed odd.

- While I like it when some areas of the towns can't be accessed, I wish that I could've seen the upper level of the inn, particularly because it seemed relevant to the plot.

- It did feel a little too small, honestly...

 

In the end, excellent first effort.

 

[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

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From Smoo on the CSR:

 

I don't know why but the intro text of Express Delivery made me smile. It isn't trying to be funny but there is something jolly about the whole scenario. Overall I deem it to be a tiny light-hearted adventure. The only thing I thought was missing was any kind of new item. There could have at least been a +1 intelligence ring on the baddie or something!

 

Generally speaking the design in ED is pretty uninspired. The dungeon is a standard set of hallways, although it does use height more than usual. As for Backus, the starter town, I know it's supposed to be a tiny settlement but still: it looked empty. The outdoor section is also empty. Apart from the one outdoor encounter, there isn't much to explore. Not that the scenario needs more random stuff.

 

Other random things that come to mind:

- Aran painted the goblins green. This too made me smile because everyone knows goblins are green.

- In the second part of the dungeon Aran uses the "gets darker 10 times faster option." I realized that it isn't used much in third party scenarios. Probably because it's annoying.

- Why are the shades in the final fight called "sending"

- Just how many levels of healing can you buy? I ran out of money before I hit any kind of limits.

- Oh, and the time left/amount of reward meter was fun, pointless but fun.

 

I played ED two times because I wanted to see if you can win it and if the fights are challenging at all. I first finished it with a wizard singleton that was actually a bit over the level range and he had no problems with it. Then I played it, and won, after I fixed the bug that prevented me from winning, with a group of spell casters and a fighter whose overall level range were one or two levels above the minimum requirement. They too had no problems.

 

In short, ED is a quick and harmless adventure and as Nioca said: it does indeed deliver.

 

[rating]GOOD[/rating]

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From an unknown Reviewer on the CSR:

 

One of my favourite short scenarios. The concept was somewhat original and the first town's inn had some real atmosphere to it. By that I mean, it felt like a small backwater town, with there being only a single table and four odd strangers. I would like to know what's behind those two lvl 200 doors though; it almost looks like some temple. Any how, it is a well executed scenario. The combat probably could be toughened up a bit. Or maybe the beginning recommended lvl range dropped to beginner level 1 only. My biggest complaint is, there are no up to date versions available. Which means you have to fix the scenario yourself in order to win. Tyrans website really should get the latest version soon. Excellent scenario.

 

[rating]GOOD[/rating]

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From Excalibur on SV:

 

Express Delivery

 

Combat - Good - I thought it was too easy, maybe if the goblins had some more hit points.

 

Visual design - Good - It's normal and not bland, so I'd say it's good in this field.

 

Technical design - Best - Having people leave their shops at night and having a projection theater whatchamacallit was awesome.

 

Writing - Good - I think this scenario had the best introduction of any, and the rest was alright.

 

Story/Plot - Average - Okay, I thought it was really strange that goblins would take your package. I was also disappointed by the ending because it seemed so sudden.

 

Enjoyability - Good - Good, especially for a first effort. I'd like to see more of his work.

 

Overall - [rating]GOOD[/rating]- A very nice first scenario.

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From TM on SV:

 

Bain, that's unusually harsh. Care to explain further?

 

Well, I'm not THAT impressed. But it did have me replay it once to figure out what I had missed the first time. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it on the second playthrough, and I had to look in the editor to see what I was missing--ouch. Nevertheless, everything's in order, and it's minimally better than doing nothing.

 

[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

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Fron Jewels on SV:

 

 

You all are dillusional. I mean, I know Aran made it and all, but you're giving it a bit too much credit.

 

The plot was tiny. The premis, while humerous, was insignificant. The technicality was basic. And the plot had holes. A scenario this short shouldn't have holes.

 

If I'm honest with myself, the only reason to put it above 5 is because Aran made it. I was excited to play it, but I was dissapointed. Sorry...

 

[rating]SUBSTANDARD[/rating]

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From The Lurker on SV:

 

+Horses.

+The plot is more interesting than Undead Valley's.

+NPCs who actually notice that it's daytime/nighttime.

+Green Goblins, yo.

+The cave cutscene with the recording is nicely done.

+Time limit.

+The Goblin Archers can drop bows, which is good since the arrow shop doesn't sell bows.

 

-"Challenging combat"? Come on, it's for "Levels 5-15", but most players should easily be able to beat this with a Level 1 party on Torment (yeah, I know, Torment has very little effect on the actual gameplay), and still get the 3000 gold reward.

-Telling people to "learn alchemy and stock up on potions" in a scenario where you can't buy potions is bad.

-Telling people to move in combat mode and be blessed and hasted when going through unexplored areas is generally not good advice, especially in this scenario.

-Making incredibly strong doors in a mini-town is bad.

 

[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

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