Coming of the Dark
by Ares of Creation
Coming of the Dark is the first series of single player / co-op maps made by a team of many diversely talented and dedicated people. It not only features excellent map scripts by Ares, Merlin, and Imperator, but also has very realistic and functional terrain designed and colormapped by Drunkbob and Omac. New voices by many different people, the artwork of Rust Dragon (whose art also graced this year's MWC), and a detailed story chronicling the early year of the war against the Fallen Lords add to the ambience of this single-player experience.
Important to PC users: If you are on a PC, do NOT use the new main menu interface included with the download. Just delete the collections folder from the included local or trash the local altogether. All this time it wasn't the plugin after all, apparently, but the main menu tag! Many thanks to Jonathan Haas of Bungie for telling me this.
Included in the download are three maps, new formations and interface as optional features, and much more.
CoD3: A Debt Repaid
This level details the holding of Bagrada by the Heron Guard 27 years before the war in the west. Story buffs will know that the Heron Guard cast off their glory to become the Journeymen when Muirthemne fell during their absence. This is where they are during the seige of Muirthemne - holding the pass of Bagrada against Soulblighter. Because of them, the West was saved but the East was lost.
CoD8: The Drowned Kingdom
This level can most easily be compared to "The Deciever" and "Seven Gates," due to the presence of two seperate enemies that are also fighting against each other. However, this level does not have the rigid, planned route of Seven Gates - you can develop your own route wherever you want to go - and it promotes a LOT more bloody melee fighting than "The Deciever." It is possible for there to be over 350 dead enemy units on this map depending on the difficulty level and how many battles you promote, but because the vast majority are melee deaths, there have never been any of the "too many projectiles" problems associated with other large maps.
CoD9: Raiders of the Ermine
You get not one, but two hero units in this level - iu'Shee, Captain of Archers, with the fire-wall setting Bow of Infernal Fury, and Acheron, father of Balin, the first Dwarven Pathfinder. You also get tons of fir'Bolg, bowmen, berserks, wolves, and journeymen. There are also hundreds of enemy units - it is a very large scale level, perfect for co-op.
Your offensive army must fight against patrols of bre'Unor and wolves, led by their Shaman, Gor-Ash, and also against The Watcher as he passes through the Ermine. Then you must defend the University from Gor-Ash' final, desperation assault. Then you get control of both armies to attack the Watcher's camp.
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© 2004 the tain