Reviews - Donmegawatt

People can't be everything to everybody …

… and it seems that Cozur may have stumbled as a "man."
But after experiencing "A Clash of Kings" … he is certainly … a very talented modder.

It is important to hold people accountable for their actions … but sometimes … it's wise to separate an artist from their art … and this is ART.

There is story telling here … polish … and originality in the balance of the economy, quests, progression, map, locations, characters, dialogue, and items.

Whoever Cozur may be ... I hope that he continues to grow as a "man" and an "artist." Many men never excel at either … but he has.

Thank you for sharing your talent.

I played to around day 450 but am losing interest cause I was never able to accomplish a siege, or faction related battle. This mod has the most challenging gameplay I've experienced with a Warband mod ... which is cool … and as a result … victories were rewarding but ultimately … I felt very restricted as a player because it was very clear that I couldn't interact with 95% of the "players" on the map. This clear difficulty-driven-division between you and everyone else is a bit exhausting because it makes the map desolate and dull … For hundreds of days you can fight nothing … which is frustrating ... cause fighting is one of the most rewarding gameplay loops in Warband ... but ... you grind because every combat mission that any guild offers is certain death … every village that needs protection from bandits is certain death … so .. you … trade, trade, trade, trade, run, trade, trade, do a bounty mission, trade, trade, escort cattle and caravans over, and over, and over, and over, and over, … and ever so gradually you can afford some companions and gear ... begin to beat some units that were collecting prisoners for the 150+ days you were a scrub … You beat them ... get some sweet recruits that you really can't afford and … all the sudden … you progress to a mid-tier threat … and this is kind of exciting ... and then you realize … there is still very little to do … because those threats you beat don't seem to respawn … so now … there is a spattering of little groups that are easy to defeat but they are very thinly spread over the map … and difficult to find and ultimately unrewarding as far as experience or loot ... sometimes a guild master will say kill some exiled knights, or special bandit groups but … even with the CTRL+T cheat ... I couldn't find them … they just spawn ANYWHERE on the giant map … no logic ... so good luck … I accepted two dozen of these missions and 23 were killed before I ever saw them … mission failed … … and then all you are left with are faction affiliated units that have 250+ soldiers and a dozen friends … and would clearly smash you if you dared to attempt assaulting one of their castles (which I attempted once and can't even figure out the mechanics of because it never actually gave me the option to assault … I think you might have to wait for as many days of food they have or something ... who cares) … So then ... you've got a 100+ squad ... and it's essential to have ships to get them around the map with a thousand bottlenecks to prevent land-movement between locations ... and the ships require a ton of cash ... which again requires a ton of trading … and the whole time ... the trading system is really crude … it's simply fur, salt, stone, and a few spots for wool. Nothing else is even worth considering … Virtually no silk, oil, dye … you find it … it isn't even profitable …

I did play this mod for a couple weeks but … it needs more … EVERYTHING … weapons, armor, horses, missions, enemies, enemy numbers, enemy difficulties, unique characters like POP has … I had a fun time but … this mod doesn't play to the strengths of Warband in my opinion … it actually steers away from them and creates clear incentives to just trade all the time … which is weird …

It's a cool concept but … really needs more TLC to reach the level of Prophesy of Pendor … and certainly could with all the nostalgia and familiarity with the GOT theme but … at the moment … I just feel frustrated … which probably isn't fair … but … there it is …

Good luck guys … I'll keep an eye out for your next releases …

One simple change … use SPEED as a scalable difficulty dynamic .. when you start off … let players be swift enough to avoid major threats … and increase the quantity of small groups that are fightable … 6 bandits … 3 knights … 10 whatever … this map is virtually EMPTY for anything but an end-game player … You don't need to change the brutal difficulty … I was able to adjust … but I still can't take on armies by myself … give players with less than 300-400 days something to do!!!

After extensive playthroughs of Call of Chernobyl 1.4, 1.5, Last Day, and all the original titles … Anomaly is my favorite. I enjoy a challenge. Last Day made me a better Stalker with it’s punishing difficulty and meager payouts so I was worried that Anomaly would be too easy … but it’s not … it’s just … BALANCED.

I’m having fun in ways I hadn’t anticipated because a surprise encounter isn’t always a death sentence like it was in Last Day. Anomaly made me realize that Last Day forced me to save-scum through so many situations that it ended up breaking the experience into artificial chunks. Chunks where I had to play perfectly, exploit the AI, know where the enemy is, how many of them there are, and experiment with different strategies again n’ again n’ again until I was happy with the outcome … which can be a rewarding “Dark Souls” type of experience but … Anomaly feels more “REAL.” There is a better sense of progression and fluidity here because … I’m still dying … but to use a tennis analogy … more of my loses feel like exciting “rallies” rather than my opponent slamming and acing me. So ultimately … I’m having more fun, and it’s ironic that I’m playing more cautiously in Anomaly than I did in Last Day because I’m not in that fatalistic F9 mindset. Anomaly is still a subjectively difficult Stalker game but if I’m prepared, careful, and quick … I might not need F9 … and that creates tension. So in Anomaly I’m using more med-kits, sucking up repair costs, and just moving on after less-than-ideal scenarios which has allowed me to settle in and role-play the experience more than I ever could in Last Day. I feel less like “The Perfect Stalker” and more like a “Survivor.”

At first I was worried about how payouts are generally 60%+ more for missions and artifacts and weapon drops are more generous than they were in Last Day … I was worried my climb to the top would be too quick … but … it hasn’t been. The overall prices for things hasn’t changed much … so there is still a lot to buy and upgrade if you want to experiment with different loadouts and become a zone legend ;)

TLDR:
- My favorite CoC inspired mod.
- Beautiful version of the Zone
- Great balance and gameplay
- Runs smooth
- No crashes for the first 20+ hours … very few in the next 40+
- Developer seems motivated, capable, and approachable.