Comments - isaac632

Greetings from deep underground,

I have managed to escape the prison of that monster named Mornamarth with days of careful planning. Apparently he was called to action after a large army of foolhardy besiegers from Arnor magically slipped through the gates of Carn Dum for the twelfth time. While he was away, I changed back to my feral form to slip out of my bonds and squeeze through the bars. I sallied forth, unseen and unopposed.

I have since tried to find refuge in Mirkwood and the Gap of Rohan--but the invisible and malevolent force of destruction always seems to destroy my whole camp once I'm set up. And I thought the absurd "passing through closed gates" was a real problem to be fixed. How am I ever going to visit these beautiful forests and plains if I can't even start a game there without being instantly vaporized? One may as well be trying to buy clothes at the soup store.

My ring spoke to me to head for the Shire to wait for the chaotic bugs to be fixed, but my path was through the mountains. Stopping by a cavern to rest, I changed out of my fuzzy disguise and sat down. Then all I remember is hearing "Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!"

The ambush was unforeseeable for even a cunning lad like me. At first the guardians tried to jail me for trespassing until I told them about the gates of Carn Dum. In exchange for my freedom and a place to stay, I will now be living among the Dwarves, teaching them how to magically squeeze through Carn Dum's gates by exploiting that bug. Other than that, there isn't much I can do to earn my freedom back for inadvertently trespassing Dwarven territory. But what I am doing can suit me at least. Being underground, you'll be surprised that the Dwarves do have some agricultural practices. For regaining my freedom back, the coming days can only mean one thing... Mushroom farming.

I pray that Manwë will come soon to lead me home again,

-Festus, the Red Wizard

The regions; Eaves of Fangorn, the Lonely Mountain, Gap of Rohan, and four-player Mirkwood, all suffer either from the game crashing when you bring them up, or from all of your units and buildings being destroyed once the game begins, making them unplayable.

The Lonely Mountain itself doesn't crash the game until you win or lose.

But I suppose crashing is the least of my worries. I have been jailed by a tyrant.

-Festus, the Red Wizard.

Greetings, from an Icy Prison in the North.

In the past days, I have been avoiding new lands, in fear that calamity would befall me again, such as when the Gap of Rohan crashed everything as I tried to enter. I saw my ring start to emit an odd glow that pointed me northwards, and with few better things to do, I made Northwards, leaving behind the cursed lands of Rohan to succumb to it's plague of game-crashing bugs and existential errors.

Blindly traversing the snowy Mountains of Angmar, I relied heavily on my fur-coated disguise to brave the cold. The ring stopped glowing as I arrived on each peak, with the feeling that my ring was binding me to some fateful encounter. It was then that I heard the whistling of arrows and a net trapped me in place. Before me, a beautiful woman in black robes with a bow approached, ready to take me away. It must have been Helegwen, the Winter's Arrow--a servant of Angmar.

I bit through the net with my fangs and immediately made a run for it, but I could hear Helegwen taunting me as though she could see right through my clever disguise. I tried to run for cover numerous times, but something about her arrows made every roof unbearably frosty, and I could not hide. In a sweet, teasing voice, Helegwen dared me to run away--but when I tried to do so, she hit my neck with an arrow that made me weak. This archer was truly legendary, but she was merely toying with me. Had my ring led me here to die again?

I could not accept this again--humiliated by a hunter once again, and there was no escape, or so I dared never to believe. My last resort was to call for help, howling into the roaring blizzard, and white foxes crawled out of the snow to fend her off so I could escape. But I watched with despair as Helegwen easily shot volley upon volley of many arrows, killing off my brothers and sisters in desperation. She cast off her playful act, exchanging her beautiful whispers for horrifying shouts and curses as I tried to get away.

Then in front of me there appeared a tall hooded man in black robes, who halted my progress with a knife to my gullet. He glared at me with horrible eyes like a wolf to it's prey--my sheer terror caused my disguise to fade to nothing, and a terrible, cold magic forced me to shed my skin and become human again. Cold, numb, and bleeding, I could not help but surrender.

Durmarth and Helegwen have taken me back to Carn Dum to be imprisoned. The stone and iron of this dungeon cell is not any warmer than the cruel and unforgiving winter outside. Some of the other prisoners in here look skeletal, and there are deep wounds in their bodies. I fear that no-one can hear me scream.

But I have indeed learned some important lessons this day; I have met two friends of Mornamarth--and both of them have captured me on his behalf. Fangs and cunning are no match for magical arrows and the blade of a rogue.

-Festus, the Red Wizard

Zounds! I really should check my eyes next time. It is so hard to see the letters on the map with all of this unrelenting snow in the way.

Greetings, from Gungabad

After being reborn in the flesh, I sought refuge in the Gap of Rohan. Unfortunately, when I attempted to go there, the game crashed. I tried to inform King Theoden of the bizarre happenings, but he could not determine what wicked force has presided over that region of his land. I had experienced a similar clash at the end of every visit I've had at the Lonely Mountain--after a successful win, the game crashes. It would seem that these two regions are subjected to a foul sorcery.

My next journey is to Gungabad, where I hope to track down and visit Helegwen, who may teach me a thing or two about dodging arrows. I wouldn't want to be killed again by the Elves or Rangers out there. It's rather cold up here, but it's a good thing I bring myself a beautiful coat of fur when I transform.

Pouncing Mice and Trotting By,

Festus, the Red Wizard.

I'll see what I can do!

Many thanks, Glorious King Theoden! I'm glad you enjoy my talents.

I'm doing a mix of the two, really. I found that people really liked it when I made stories out of my bug reports, so that's sort of what i'm doing now. Entertaining the masses!

Seriously though, fix Mirkwood and Eaves of Fangorn--they destroy me instantly when I run them.

Salutations from the realm unseen,

The power of the ring given to me by a mysterious force in Mirkwood seemed to guide me to the Eaves of Fangorn. I suspected that it would be a good place to hide and heal for a while before I could go back to my explorations. I could not have been more wrong.

On my way southwards, I came across the body of a Dunlanding, who was dying of his injuries after a bear attacked him and ran off. As I reached my hand out to help him up, I suddenly felt my conscience fade into his body in the form of a bright flame. My soul entered the mortal's body, burning up the old flesh and forming a new one for me to live in. The water's reflection of me was just as I remembered it to be--before my death, of course.

Just like before, I then entranced a group of dim-witted orc-folk to follow me into Fangorn to help me set up a lair for me to rest in. Could you imagine my surprise when the unseen force at the Eaves of Fangorn came again to lay waste to me and my servants? The moment I set foot in those lands, I fell prey to exactly that. Once again, just like in Mirkwood, an invisible power destroyed every wall of my fortress, and slew the orcs I bent to my will. The sound of the violent collapse drew the attention of some of the Ithilien rangers who were patrolling the area. In my desperation, I felt my ring glow, and foxes from the underbrush were summoned to my aid. They attacked the hostile rangers as I tried desperately to escape. Who better to foil my flight, than Faramir? Like before, Faramir hunted me down as I ran through the hills, and with a well-aimed arrow, he took my life.

This has become a concern for me, but I am shocked to still be bound to this odd ring. Once again, I am dead by mysterious circumstances, in which an unseen force destroys my camp and my servants, and then me. In Mirkwood, and the Eaves of Fangorn, there appears to be a major disturbance of nature. I write to you in seek of help, that this volatile force will be nullified once and for all.

In the meantime, I will drift about in search of a new body. I feel that the power of this amber-studded ring of mine may become far more useful to me in the coming days.

-Festus, the Red Wizard

I am so very excited, Gorkil, to attend your feast someday. Once I find myself a physical stomach and some teeth, I'll be well on my way back into the mountains. It should be safer up there away from the forest rangers.

Helegwen? I believe you must mean the archer of Angmar. I think I shall look for her whereabouts sometime soon. After I reclaim my bod, of course.

I believe the only things to be worried about are the Mirkwood Mushrooms. I've heard they're a popular Elven delicacy, provided that they're cooked first. It doesn't matter now though, since I can't start a fire with these ethereal hands.

Greetings, from an unspecified location beyond the grave.

For my next expedition, I wanted to visit the great forest of Mirkwood in the hopes of meeting the Elves. Such a journey would require much planning, as I hear rumors of the geography changing day by day--or so the non-residents say. Brought with me, there was a secret map I swiped from the catacombs of a barrow wight's home--a mystical treasure that had the layout of Mirkwood from all directions. I also used my eyes on a stranded squadron of orc folk to convince their minds to accompany me in my adventure.

And zounds! Just as I thought I had set up camp, a mysterious magic banished me and my companions as instantly as I came. An unseen force felled every load-bearer in my cabin, as my enslaved orc guardians all fell dead of mysterious causes. Desperate, I sought to deceive these elves by disguising myself as a fox in the underbrush, but the clever ones sensed my worry and panic. The last thing I heard was a whistling silverthorn arrow that found its way in between my eyes, killing me instantly.

With the aid of nothing more than the hospitality of what I can only describe as a shadow amidst some ruins, I once again write and wander. Strange, it was, to not be seen--yet to watch the elves of Mirkwood hunt down the remaining intruders to their lands, destroying the other camps that I erected as a distraction. I fear it will be a while before I can seek a body once again... For now, the only fragment remaining of my physical form is a ring given to me by the shadows. A beautiful one at that--silver, with a gem of amber. As it is, so am I--and my hope is to find my way back to mortality soon.

The forest of Mirkwood seems to do this to me every time I enter--but only now have they killed me.

-Festus, the Red Wizard

Greetings, from the northern lands!

After my close encounter with the vampire Mornamarth, I had hoped that I would not have to cross paths with Angmar again. But my curiosity might as well be leading me to certain doom, for I am once again exploring the deep, cold places where their remaining hideouts lurk.

Gulzar's tower here looks well-defended by a ring of walls and trebuchets, but a bustling group of Arnor's swordsmen have broken the barrier again, and they seem to magically melt through the front gates. This seems to be a recurring problem with Angmar. I should look into this bug more.

A group of Gulzar's sorcerers tried to use one of their new experimental spells that would draw strength from these poor fools like a well of water in their souls. Unfortunately, their spell didn't work as planned, and none of the swordsmen became ghosts as was intended. Gulzar was furious at this too, as he had hoped to raise an army of barrow wights out of those soldiers.

I hear Gulzar has spies everywhere searching for new victims of his experiments, but I have luckily escaped his hideout by changing into my fox shape. When the spies saw me, they merely chased me away with their brooms. I'm proud to report these two shortcomings without Gulzar's knowledge.

-Festus, the Red Wizard.

I have escaped Mornamarth's blood-lusting blades. As it turns out, I didn't need to open the gate myself if I could squeeze through it like those spearmen already did. Their fate at his hands was... disappointing, to say the least.

-Festus, the Red Wizard.

Greetings, from the Northern Hemisphere.

I came to visit the city of Carn Dum after being invited there by a royal, but what I found there was quite an odd series of bugs. There's this particular section of wall that builds itself up far slower than the rest of them, and each gate is covered by a decorative line of spikes. I could only manage to open and close the first gate, but the other two wouldn't budge.

Some unruly spearmen from Arnor wanted to tresspass the first gate and interrupt my meeting with this Mornamarth, but even though the gate was shut, some mystical barrier was broken and they walked right through the doors as though through air.

I believe I'll need to write back soon. I've got chills down my spine at the cold of this place, and if i'm not mistaken, that must be Mornamarth running after me with sword in hand. He looks much too happy to see me... dead.

In a hurry,

Festus, the Red Wizard.

Thank you for your hospitality; my work is on its way. May long life and peace be unto thee, DieWalkure!

-Festus, the Red Wizard

Salutations, my friends!

It would seem that I've taken such an interest and fascination with the Edain Mod, that I've been inadvertently writing up a strategy guide full of my observations. At first it was for me to remember the strategies and quirks of the game, but it's gradually evolved into a book with chapters.

Is there any place where I may put out what I have written so far? May I mail it to DieWalkure? I'm sure some of us may be very interested in collaborating on this possible asset to our mod. After all, the original game never had a proper strategy guide as far as I could tell.

Sincerely,

Festus, the Red Wizard

Excellent! The Master will be pleased, and so will I. Because that means no more deserters hidin' in the walls with the maggots and worms. I can't wait to see them all linin' up properly like they should be.

You can count on me coming back to visit later. I think I just heard the shuffling of Shagrat--it's time to fall in!

-Gishnak, the Orc

Well thank badness! I'd hate to be thinkin' that I was the only one to bark out the issue. That big mouth doesn't talk about a lot of the bugs around Mordor except old Shelob.

I'll catch up to you later, we've got a deserter at Cirth Ungol who needs some persuasion!

-Gishnak, the Orc

Oi, you lot! Listen up!

I'm currently on Dol Goldur, and there are some major renovations needed. The build plots are all wonky, so whenever I put a Barracks anywhere, the door's always facing the wrong way! The scum that I try to train always walk out the door and then they end up somewhere stupid like in the wall or on the hill. I can't keep track of the rag-tag rats if they keep hidin' in the crevices.

Also I got a couple o' questions. Mouth of Sauron seems to have a problem, and I don't mean his rotten old teeth. When M'Lord gets to level ten, I thought he got a new voice-power, but I can't click on it. The icon's faded like it wasn't unlocked yet. Words of Misery, I think it was called. Somebody oughta check that out 'cause even the Mouth o' Sauron can't see what the problem is.

I'm going back to the slave camp. These sack of lard won't till the ground by themselves. I'll come back later with more bugs.

-Gishnak, the Orc

Hello again, my friends! As promised on an earlier comment, here are some ideas and observations for me to share. Do what you want with them.

Uruk Scouts are hard to control. When you command a bunch of them to shoot their hunting arrows, some of them just don't do it. When one battalion's a different level from the rest, you can't even shoot their hunting arrows.

Saruman's transformation is random between the Blessed and the Cursed. What if he becomes the Blessed from receiving the ring if you don't have "Saruman of many Colors" purchased, and he becomes the Cursed if you do?

Isengard's battering ram is okay for small buildings, and their explosive mine for defenses. Can their Ballista be changed to be more effective against units and other artillery? They aren't too good against units since their accuracy and splash damage aren't quite as good as catapults.

Mordor is missing a lot of units from Haradwaith. This issue could be fixed either by making a sub-faction option between Udun Vale and Haradwaith at the beginning of a game, or by making a third fortress option for outpost foundations, to produce a Haradrim palace that trains Easterling spearmen, Haradrim lancers, Umbar corsairs, Haradrim archers, and Mumakil.

Angmar is too anomalous a faction to figure out as quickly as the other armies, but they tend to favor their heroes, sorcerers, barrow wights and monsters. I think more of an emphasis should be put on those four things, since their defense and their normal troops are sub-par with the others.

A common complaint about Angmar is that the Witch King is terrible at fighting--but he is in fact, excellent at taking out large numbers of weak units. It would encourage people to recruit him more if this was emphasized--give him abilities that have large areas of effect--and when he gets the One Ring, make him a vanquisher of masses. Increase his splash damage reach.

There needs to be a tweak with how much damage infantry can do to buildings. I've seen one puny battalion of Dwarven guardians nearly destroy my heavily-guarded furnace, and I've seen two battalions of Elven swordsmen deal considerable damage to someone's fortress. Put armor on the buildings to soak up the damage of swords and spears--leave the building-bashing to the siege weapons.

It gets depressing staring at a Helms Deep that's constantly in the black of a storm at night. A day/night cycle could bring ease to the eyes so that the weather doesn't get boring.

Make additional options between "Random Good" and "Random Evil" for choosing factions. I just like to organize things that way.

And with this, I leave you. May it only bring good feedback and reception as intended.

-Festus the Red.

Greetings, friends of Middle Earth!

I have a new update of a few details that seemed out of place for your information. I am glad to report these details to help improve the game experience for everyone!

There is a need for a bit of tweaking with the dialogue of some of the scouts. For Gondor, the scout announcing the completion of a stonemason will speak in German--as Isengard, there's a German orc who informs you if you have insufficient funds. The Witch-King when get receives the One Ring will screech and make a dramatic statement... in German. These aren't real big problems, but translation would further enhance one's immersion into the game. There is also one more error with a scout voice in Angmar--when you construct a Wolf Tamer's Pit, sometimes your scout will announce "There are trolls and wolves in our new den," when in fact, it's called a wolf tamer's pit, and you cannot train trolls there.

Saruman's voice is fixed--but now there's a few other tweaks needed for Isengard. Some of Saruman's spells don't work when he is on top of the wizard tower. He cannot use "Industrial Obsession," or "Power of Mercy," while he carries the ring and stand on top of the tower. That aside, Lurtz and Ugluck are in need of a few tweaks concerning their upgrade bonuses that they give to their Uruk Scouts. Sometimes when they're both on the field, you can give some of your Uruk Scouts one of their special upgrades, but not the other. But then, when you train new ones, you can purchase both upgrades, leaving the older Uruk Scouts lacking. Whether or not this is intentional, I have no clue.

There is also something to do with one of the maps--I once tried to re-enact a great war between good and evil by besieging The Lonely Mountain held by the Dwarves. Having no Goblins, I instead played as Isengard with a Mordor ally. But then, as I exited the game to re-adjust my position on the map, the game crashed instead of exiting the session. It seems to crash every time I exit.

I will make a separate post of ideas for future patches. Until then, let my observations be not in vain.

Sincerely, Festus the Red

Oh no, what discord have I wrought?! [laughs]

What of the Balrog though?

Hail to the Great Goblin!

I can't help but agree with you--the Witch King needs at least something else to show for his status as the Ruler of Angmar. But I think a good solution would be to put some meat on them bones of his! And by meat, I don't necessarily mean "just throw more hp and armor on him".

There are some heroes like Gandalf and Saruman who don't have as much health or armor as some of the bruisers of the hero units, but they make up for it by having super powerful abilities! I think if we could somehow increase the power of the Witch-King's powers, it could help him fulfill a greater role. Hence, he will have splash-damage in his left hand, and supportive spells in his right hand--all to make up for his surprisingly poor application in actual combat.

For instance--what if the Witch King could also bestow his power on normal troops of Angmar, similarly to how Lord Sauron could bestow his power on the buildings of Mordor? What if his first power (not the horse one) dealt area-of-effect damage instead of being an anomalous power?

Most importantly of all, I find it hard to understand what happens when the Witch-King acquires the One Ring. From what I have heard, it weakens all enemy units on the map, but I don't think he acquires any other powers beyond that.

May neither your crown, nor your throne, ever be broken!

-Festus the Red

Hello again!

I do beg your pardon, for I am just as eager to see Imladris appear in the next update as I am to see the Misty Mountains enter the scene. Do not mistake my words--Imaldris looks promising! I get to see Elrond come out to play, after all. I'm just as hyped about the Misty Mountains though, since I'll be able to see if Gorkil is going to be the green scorpion-riding goblin, or the big pale one from the film. Also the Balrog--if you recall, the Balrog woke up when he heard the goblins of Moria make a huge racket. I think if it's anything to think about, the Moria faction chosen at the start of a skirmish as the Goblins should allow for summoning of the Balrog as an endgame spellbook power. The Balrog was one of the things that made the game fantastic!

Aye, t'is also true that the Ring of Power can change its shape to fit its wearer. I'm just baffled by the thought of it because for all I know, the dragons of the pre-modded game all flew across the sky rather than crawling along the ground... Well, except for the summoned dragon who was lazy. How would we manage to get the ring to Smaugs wing-hands if he's soaring around in the air and nobody can reach him? I'm not really trying to chastise anyone, but I'm just overly curious and excited to see how that works.

It was a pleasure to meet you, DieWalkure! Long life and prosperity unto you!

-Festus the Red

Greetings, Lord of the Woods!

You are making some astute observations here with the content concerning some of the heroes and forces of this, our Middle Earth. I can most certainly agree that Gandalf needs a little bit of work on his A-game. When I commanded him to face a wild cave troll, it nearly slew him! Such travesty seems taxing to my faith in him, both as a Great Wizard, and as the main hero of Gondor--the Ring Hero no less.

But then it occurred to me, that Gandalf and Saruman are both wizards with an arsenal of powerful spells as abilities--as such, the recharge time of their abilities is a lot longer than some other powers such as that of more battle-ready heroes like Strider or Gimli. This would make sense, considering magic in the game is used more to support a large army rather than wielded as a direct method of attack. I find that the wizards fare better with some of their forces in front of them so that they're able to cast their spells without getting hurt.

Concerning Lord Sauron however, I do agree that the Dark Lord a little bit too far ahead of Gandalf, Saruman, and others. When a ring hero acquires the ring, I do agree that they should gain a greater boost to their health points, attack points, and armor value.

The Mumakil were among my favorite monsters when I played as Mordor back then, and I think there should be a way to bring them back! I may make a proposal that there be a fourth "Outpost" option for Mordor where one can build a "Haradrim Palace". No, not the tiny tent from the pre-modded game, but I am imagining a magnificent structure like a great fortress. Who knows? Maybe it can allow for the training of Easterling or Haradrim forces! I missed the corsairs, too. I think ultimately, this palace would be able to train Mumakil though.

Have a good day,

-Festus the Red

Hello again, friends of Middle Earth!

I am excited to see the next update where the Goblins enter the fray! But I'm also quite curious about what that entails. I remember in my pre-mod days when I noticed how different Gorkil the Goblin King was compared to the Great Goblin from the movie. I wonder which one of those versions will represent that leader in the game?

Also, in the "One Ring" tab up above where it mentions each ring hero, I am utterly baffled by the thought of the the Mighty Smaug being able to take the Ring of Power. I don't know very much about dragons myself, but as I recall, Smaug isn't the kind that has actual fingers. Where on his wings would he put the ring on? Should the One Ring be given to Gorkil instead, since he actually has hands?

All of that aside, I am very happy to say that I would like to thank you all for your hard work being put into this mod, and I am glad that I've been able to contribute to the effort of development by pointing out a few bugs here and there. It makes me feel wonderful knowing that i'm not only improving the experience for me, but also for everyone else who is playing. Keep up the good work, you're all doing great! I can't wait to play as the Goblins again! Who knows? Maybe I get to summon the Balrog as a ring power? I'd love to see that happen!

Sincerely,

Festus the Red

Greetings!

Saruman the White has a bit of a problem. When I try to use Speechcraft on my own units on any map, he doesn't do anything. Instead of giving them some motivational speeches, Saruman just stands there and stares at them. Then his ability is set to "just-used" and the soldiers I used it on don't even get any experience. I don't know, maybe someone duct-taped his mouth, but aside from that possible bug, you guys are doing great with the project. For Lord and Land!

-Festus the Red