[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Macedonia 34 - The Hiding Place (326 BC)

After conquering the valleys of the Kunar and Swat, Alexander the Great crossed to the river Indus, probably through the Shang-La pass. He wanted to capture the last stand of the native population in this part of India, Aornus (the name translates to "hiding place"). A local myth told that a god, probably Krishna, had been unable to capture this rock, which is 1500 meters high; this was enough to make Alexander decide that he had to capture it.

Ptolemy is currently occupying the Western summit while the Indians hold the Eastern one. You are to meet up with Ptolemy and help launch the assault on the Indian fort. Marching up the rock will be a challenge as the Indians have built a large number of towers and small forts. Your scouts have reported a sighting of an abandoned catapult in the area. The Indian defenders are numerous but your intelligence officers suggest you can severely limit their morale and ability to defend should we destroy the enemy's civilian houses (as they would be worried about getting their families out to safety).

Primary Objective: Destroy the Indian civil centre within 25 minutes of meeting up with Ptolemy (note: taking longer will result in defeat!)

AI Settings: All AIs should be set to Sandbox

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Macedonia 33 - The Swat Valley (326 BC)

Shortly after the Winter of 326 BC, Alexander the Great crossed into the valley of the Soastus (Swat). He entered this beautiful country along a small river, the Wuch, and prepared to lay siege to the ancient city of Massaga. After an Indian mercenary leader had been killed, his men surrendered. Negotiations started and Alexander ordered the mercenaries to occupy a nearby hill.

However, during the cease-fire, Alexander ordered his men to attack the Indian mercenaries. Your initial objective is to destroy the mercenaries and their camp, after which the city is going to be under your command. Further up the river lie the fortresses of Bazira and Ora. You are to take them by force and establish a firm grip on the Swat Valley.

Your scouts warn that Bazira relies heavily on supplies from Ora. Destroying Bazira's market, as well as taking the fight to Ora are a few strategies they suggest about dealing with the situation. Your scouts also report that nearby villages may be suitable trading partners. Finally, tribesmen from the mountain have heard of your arrival and will likely harass your forces every chance they get.

AI Settings: Player 6: Petra, with a difficulty of your choice; all others: Sandbox.

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

After a brief hiatus, I am back with the next one. Only a few more to go!

Macedonia 32  - A Band of Heroes (Part 1, 328 BC)

After defeating Spitamenes' rebels, Alexander took some time to govern the newly founded empire. Alexander spent a few week in Maracanda (modern day Samarkand) to assemble his empire's administration and court. Anyone who was anyone was there, from Greek and Macedonian nobles, Egyptian warriors, Persian satraps who are loyal, even Indian royalty.

One night (after heavy drinking), Alexander's court wakes up in disarray -- Alexander has been kidnapped! You rush outside the palace and there is chaos in the street -- the local guard is desperate to repulse the assailants. Playing as Alexander's most trusted warriors and guards, your job is to repel the attacks, find Alexander and free him!

Hints and notes:
- It is best to complete all "side quests" before proceeding with the attempt to free Alexander
- You can trigger a conversation with the allied commander of Alexander's forces by walking near the camp's "mercenary camp" building. If you choose to wait, come back in a bit to trigger the same conversation.
- After rescuing Alexander, you will need to destroy the enemy "mercenary camp" building to defeat them

AI Settings: All AIs should be set to Sandbox.

[New Scenario Map: The Limes]

Looks nice, I'll try it out soon.

If you're looking for how to make structures not loose points when in neutral territory, I had to do the same in some of my scenarios, you can find an example here, in line 137:

https://github.com/SciGuy42/Macedonia_0ad/blob/master/maps/scenarios/Macedonia_31.js

Basically, periodically (like every 10 seconds or so), the function is called and it checks every structure of the player and if that structure has gaia capture points, it sets those to 0 and adds them back to the player in question.

Also, by default, towers that are garrisoned with troops won't lose capture points.

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

On 03/01/2021 at 12:57 AM, Freagarach said:

What they probably need is a trigger that finished the game, I guess? Take a look at the EndGameManager.js in the simulation/components. There is a function "MarkPlayerAndAlliesAsWon" that can be called from a trigger. That implies that other players are marked as defeated.

Thanks, I figured it out! The latest mission now has a proper victory check Once I am done (mission 40 should be the end), I will go back and work to fix the victory conditions from the start.

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Macedonia 31 - Margiana Oasis (328 BC)

After Spitamenes' forces failed to capture Bactra, there were fewer and fewer places for them to find shelter and supplies. One of the remaining towns where the Sogdian rebels could still use for re-supplies was the oasis town of Margiana. In the spring of 328 BC, Alexander sent out his general Craterus to the west, to fortify the town and prevent Spitamenes from using it as a base.

Playing as Craterus, you arrive south of Margiana. Your scouts report that Spitamenes' horsemen are circling the town, while two large rebel camps are located to the north. Your primary objective is to secure the town, take charge of its defenses and fortify it in preparation for any rebel attacks. Your secondary objective is to destroy the rebel camps in the area. The town is surrounded by several farmsteads which the rebels are so far leaving alone (as they surely hope to secure some of the food for their supplies).

AI Settings: all AIs should be set to Sandbox

 

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Macedonia 30 - Bactra (328 BC)

After the victory over the Sacae at the Jaxartes, Alexander had the opportunity to deal with the revolt of Spitamenes, the Sogdian rebel leader. Alexander headed south, to Maracanda which was beseiged by Spitamenes, but by the time he arrived, the siege was lifted and the Sogdian rebels were gone.

During the winter of of 329/328 BC, Spitamenes, on the other hand, had moved on to Bactra, the capital of Bactria, and has captured several nearby settlements. You have been sent by Alexander to reinforce the Macedonian garrison and assist Artabazus, the loyal satrap of Bactria, in the defense of the city and the destruction of the rebels.

Upon arriving, Artabazus offers his welcome and dispatches a dozen horse archers to be at your service. Your primary objective is to defend the town, build up your own forces and work together with Artabazus to conquer the nearby rebels.

There are also neutral traders in the area who may be suitable trading partners. Artabazus suggests that you use your cavalry to disrupt the rebels' trade for extra loot. A workshop not far to the north-east of our town will likely be willing to sell you some siege equipment. Meanwhile, a dock on a nearby river has traders in search of stone who would be willing to give plenty of fish in return.

As you finish discussions, all of a sudden there is chaos and mayhem on the streets of the city -- the rebels must have infiltrated the town and are not trying to take it from within. To arms!

AI Settings: Players 2 through 5: Petra with a difficulty of your choice. Players 6 and 7: Sandbox.

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Next up: Macedonia 29 - Battle of Jaxartes (329 BC)

After securing Alexandria Eschatê, Alexander's forces continued to battle the Sogdian rebellion. The Sogdian leader Spitamenes was besieging Maracanda in the south; at the same time, an army of Saka mounted nomadic warriors appeared north of the Jaxartes, eager to join in the struggle and take away the loot. The Macedonian king sent an officer named Pharnouches south to confront Spitamenes, and personally attacked the Sacae in what was to become a sensational fight.

The Jaxartes is wider than a bowshot, which meant that the Macedonians could board their hurriedly prepared ships and rafts in safety, but that they would enter the Sacaen field of fire halfway across the river. Your advisors suggest two strategies to pursue to cross the river effectively: 1) your rafts should make a landing en masse, and 2) use your siege equipment to provide cover fire -- we may be able to eliminate some of the archers before they realize their bows and arrows are useless against our catapults -- we just need to find a good spot for our siege equipment that can target their archers from our side of the river.

Your ships and rafts already have some troops loaded but you may want to load additional ones as soon as you can. You can "signal" an order for all your vessels to automatically head to the other side of the river by destroying your outpost (click on it and click on the delete button).

AI Settings: all AIs should be set to Sandbox

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

On 30/12/2020 at 3:56 AM, wraitii said:

That someone is me, in fact. 'Requires' specifies level identifiers that are needed to unlock the next mission. So if you have one level that requires two missions, you would write ["mission_a", "mission_b"] instead.

Thanks, that makes sense! Do you have an example of how to declare the human player a winner (and loser) from code? In many of my missions, the goal isn't to destroy all enemy units and structures (sometimes it is impossible in fact) and also, the human player may lose even if they have units and structures. I will need to implement the victory conditions so that it will work with this scheme where certain missions need to be officially done before others.

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Macedonia 28 - Alexandria Eschatê (329 BC)

Of the many cities founded by Alexander the Great, Alexandria Eschatê was probably the one that created most problems. This must have surprised Alexander, because the march to the river Jaxartes, in the early summer of 329, had been easy. The last resistance to his rule had vanished after his friend Ptolemy had captured the Persian leader, Bessus.

Now, he wanted to build a city on the bank of the river that was the boundary between Sogdia and the Hunger Steppe, which was inhabited by the Sacae (known as Scythians to the Greeks). It was to be an important site, because on the one hand it was to be the empire's northernmost military base, and a defense against the Sacan tribesmen, and on the other hand, it could be a base for a return to the west across the plains of the Ukraine.

You have been sent by Alexander to fortify and expand the new-found colony. Your precise orders are to construct at leas 3 fortresses and at least 8 defense towers. You are also strongly advised to build a wall around your town as soon as possible as we do not know when our neighbors may turn hostile. You play as Phillip, a young charismatic (but hardened) officer who was put in charge of the situation while Alexander's main force is nearby.

To the north, lie the realms of two Sacae tribes, the Ma Saka and the Apa Saka. While mostly nomadic, there are several outposts that you should map out just in case. Far to the north, in the mountains, there are also reports of outposts that we probably want to know about. There is also a nearby Sogdian settlement which has negotiated its presence with the Sacae. We have established ambassadors with all three groups and for the time being, they welcome trade with us. Finally, our scouts report that a group of bandits have been spotted on the south bank of the river, to the West of our town.

AI Settings: Player 2 (Sogdians) should be set to Petra with a difficulty of your choice. All other AI players should be set to Sandbox.

This scenario features a dynamic horse herd population model -- horse herds will grow up to a point so it may make sense not to kill all horses for food that are nearest to you right away.

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

On 10/12/2020 at 1:32 AM, Stan` said:

See https://github.com/0ADMods/terra_magna/blob/master/mod.json for instance

 

@wraitii

Thanks, someone actually made a commit that does it, I think:

https://github.com/SciGuy42/Macedonia_0ad/pull/1/commits/1bebcafe51ddd61e5b96356e717b084a77d9d59c

Do you know what the requires command does? Is that a pointer to the .js file or something else? I am asking because for one of the missions, two .js files are needed.

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Next up: Macedonia 27 - Conquest of Aria (330 BC)

In September 330 BC, the Macedonian king Alexander the Great conquered Aria in pursuit of the leaders of the Persian national resistance, king Bessus and the last satrap of Aria, Satibarzanes. Alexander used siege towers to take Artacoana, the Arian capital; the inhabitants were killed or sold as slaves. The empty town was rebuilt and called Alexandria.

Your forces have recently arrived and your first order of business is to identify the supply routes that caravans are using to supply the town and block them with your troops. We cannot let supplies continue into the city!

The town is heavily fortified. Rather than a direct assault, you are advised to hurt the town's economy by destroying its mines and farm fields which are outside the city walls. This will reduce the town's ability to draw reinforcements.

We need to find loot as soon as we can. Taking down the supply caravans should give us a nice boost. Our scouts also report of local nomadic tribes with trading posts, we may be able to trade with them. Finally, we need to use the terrain to our advantage. The enemy is numerous and will fight to do the death. To make matters worse, while the Greek Mercenaries have been soundly defeated, Satibarzanes has somehow acquired their siege equipment, which is no defending the city.

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Added Macedonia 26 - Death of an Emperor (330 BC)

After defeating Ariobarzanes, the Satrap of Persis, Alexander's army marches on Persepolis and sacks the city. Darius has fled further into Bactria, along with Bessus and other loyal Satraps. Alexnader is in hot pursuit, for as long as Darius lives, he cannot claim to be the legitimate emperor of the former Achamenid Empire.

As Alexander's forces close in on Darius, things are not as they seem. Bessus has betrayed Darius -- as the Emperor lie dying, he formally conceals the title of Emperor to Alexander. In exchange, he wants only one thing -- revenge! Defeat Bessus and the rest of the traitors and the Empire is yours.

Bessus' forces have taken over a small town north-west of our position. The town is heavily fortified. The last remaining Greek mercenaries in service of the Achamenids are located in a camp further west. They are likely to fight to the death.

Darius has commanded his most loyal servants to help you establish a camp and defeat Bessus. You will need to rely on local Persians for your forces. Your primary objective is to defeat Bessus' forces and put the remainder of the Greek mercenaries to the sword. Your scouts report that there are local traders whom you can trade with for additional supplies.

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

The next mission is up: Macedonia 25 - The Last Stand (330 BC)

In the winter of 330 BC, Ariobarzanes led a last stand of the remaining Persian forces at the Persian Gates near Persepolis. After the conquest of Susa, Alexander split the Macedonian army into two parts. Alexander's general, Parmenion, took one half along the Royal Road, and Alexander himself took the route towards Persis. Passing into Persis required traversing the Persian Gates, a narrow mountain pass that lent itself easily to ambush. Alexander eventually found a path to the rear of the Persians from the captured prisoners of war or a local shepherd, defeating the Persians and capturing Persepolis.

You lead a small contingent of elite forces, which are about to march through the mountain pass. Your primary objective is to discover a path to the Persian controlled side of the mountains. Good luck!

 

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

On 30/11/2020 at 3:16 PM, hyperion said:

Thanks for sharing. Just a little nitpick. Would be nice if you could add a mod.json to your repository so it could just be cloned into the mods folder as-is.

Thanks for the suggestion. If someone points me to an example, I'll be happy to add this.

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Update: added Macedonia 24 - Gaugamela (331 BC)

The final showdown between Alexander and Darius is at hand. A much smaller (but much better trained) Greek and Macedonian army meets the much larger Persian forces near the village of Arbela. Darius has gathered forces from all corners of the empire, including Indian war elephants and cavalry. He rides in his chariot flanked by his most trusted soldiers as well as Greek mercenaries.

As Alexander, you are in charge of the companion cavalry, as well as a few other elite units. A small force of Egyptian warriors has also decided to follow you into Persia in seek of adventure and glory.

The Macedonian reserve waits back at the camp but can be signaled into action by lighting "bonfires". There are three such fires (represented as Outposts) at your disposal. The first, if lit, will send half our reserve infantry towards Craterus. The second will send the other half towards Alexander. The third will let the reserve cavalry known to join the fight and head towards Alexander. You can "light" each bonfire by clicking on the outpost and then destroying it (press the 'Del' key on the keyboard or click the skull button under the building description).

Also, this one uses k-means clustering

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Yet another update: added Macedonia 23 - Zopyrion's Campaign

Zopyrion was made a governor of Thrace by Alexander the Great. In 331 BC, he led an invasion of Scythian lands, "thinking that, if he did not attempt something, he should be stigmatized as indolent". He collected a force of thirty thousand men, marched along the Black Sea coast and besieged Olbia, a colony of Miletus (which was taken by Alexander in 334 BC). You have been put in charge of our reserves with the main goal of procuring supplies for our main force. What could possibly go wrong?

 

 

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Another update: added Macedonia 22 - The Spartan Revolt

While Alexnader leaves Egypt for Persia, the homeland is in trouble. The king of Sparta, Agis III, has taken it upon himself to organize a revolt again Macedonian rule. Alexander's man in Macedonia, Antipater, must put out the revolt before it gets out of hand.

This one uses the Thessaly skirmish map, thank the original creator for all the eye candy!

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Update: added the next mission, Macedonia 21 - Up the Nile River.

A more or less standard build and conquer scenario with a few twists. Enjoy! This concludes the Egyptian chapter of the campaign.

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Update: Added Mission 20: The Oracle's Quest

Alexander finally meets the Oracle of Amun at Siwa Oasis. The Oracle is ready to give his blessings -- but Alexander must perform a task. An adventure like no other.

This is basically a tactical RPG using 0ad as the engine

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Another Update: Mission 19: On the Road to Siwa (332 BC)

After conquering the fortress of Gaza, Alexander was greeted in Egypt as a liberator and a living God. He set out to meet the Oracle at Siwa, and on the way, he and his bodyguards seek shelter at a small village. Little do they know that the village's warrior princess has been kidnapped and needs to be rescued while remaining Persian holdouts and anti-Greek Egyptian rebels plot an attack.

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

Update: Added Mission 18: The Siege of Gaza (332 BC)

If you played any of these, please let me know, even if you think they totally suck! Always looking for feedback.

 

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

On 8/13/2020 at 5:33 PM, SolarEagle said:

 Thanks for your comprehensive answer! I tried to follow the description but sometimes I don't if I did the right thing or went to the right place. For example in "Conquest of the Getae" I used a merchant boat to get the free wood near the isle, built a dock on the isle near the allied dock, set up trade with the latter and at the same time used the slingers to get wood, stone and metal (save one to repair the boat), used only resources to upgrade the boat's armour, while the other units captured the catapult on the isle, then put a successful defense against other attackers while stockpiling resources, and just after my city centre and a single house were built, I was attacked by 20+ units.

 I'll try to make the maps visible indeed. Since it looks the AI knows exactly where I am, it won't be cheating.

Yeah, there are actually multiple ways to win in that one but not including the one you took

I have started going through the scenarios and making them a tiny bit easier, let's see how it goes.

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

17 minutes ago, SolarEagle said:

 Many thanks for the campaign! The only minor point is that I lost on almost every map. The only maps where I've won were some maps where I managed to create or to occupy a civic center and build up my forces, like "Illyran Campaign" (the one which resembles the most regular 0AD) or "Pelium", where a strategy in several steps was somewhat tedious but helped me to win. But on others strategies must be more complex.  For example, in "Consolidating control", I've saved a few troops, tried to kill the maximum enemy troops in the town with the others, disregarding losses, and seize the market to exchange the food gained by killing enemies for stone. My remaining troops (6 or 7 slingers) built a civic center on the South of the map but were attacked a few moments later by far superior forces. I'm not that versed in attack tactics to win without some economical superiority and grinding or mass attack. On "Caria" or "Conquest of the Getae", I had the same problem: I got a way to have a troop buildup, but the enemy overwhelmed me quite fast. I have the same problem as with the OG Danubius or Jebel Barkal maps (where Gaia overwhelms one very fast, especially on the first one).

 Do some of you have some strategies?

Well, I was afraid it was too easy

So my first suggestion would be to play on the lowest difficult level above sandbox. Keep in mind though that for some scenarios, you have to set certain players to sandbox (read the description). The description also contains a lot of hints, make sure to follow them. Often, you have to act very quick on those hints right as the scenario starts.

The other advice I have would be to try playing them with an explored and revealed map (you'll have to edit the scenarios using atlas). That should make things a lot easier. I myself have played through all of them and won but then again, I knew what was going to happen

[Campaign: Macedonia - Rise to Power + Balkan Campaign + Into Asia]

14 hours ago, Carltonus said:

These maps seem to be needing some visual improvements. Does anyone know how to edit these scenario maps? The Trac article on the Atlas Editor doesn't mention such steps. Hope it doesn't affect the trigger(s).

If you want to make improvements, I would be happy to give you access to the repo, just make a branch. The only thing you should not do is modify unique entities and trigger points. This campaign is heavily based on scripting, so what may appear to be random ruins or something may actually be important.