“The Fall of the Song”Screenshots from the playtest, January-March 2009. Items 1-20 of 20. TuShaWuJin's Songzhou. Playtester TuShaWuJin utilized the Songzhou map with efficiency and skill, using various micro-management gameplay techniques. This mini-map shows his winning strategy. Gweilo's Songzhou. You can see Gweilo's strategy for Songzhou is quite different from TuShaWuJin. Gweilo used more elite housing and added a second market to aid goods distribution. This strategy is also successful, and shows the flexibility of the map, even though it is small in size. Mini-map Showcase. The campaign features two new custom maps, designed to challenge a players space-management skills. Minimap's made courtesy of Pecunia's EmperorMapper software program. TuShaWuJin's Luo Island. Playtester TuShaWuJin's build for Luo Island featured 3 housing blocks and a population of over 3400 citizens. Counter Attack. Sun Tzu is leading a counter attack of the Luo island garrison against a strong band of pirates who have attempted a flanking maneuver. The counter attack arrived just in time to crush the pirates. Prepared Defenses. TuShaWuJin built this set defense at Luo Island. However, don't count on using this same defense, it may not prove successful for you! (hint: remember this was playtesting) Island Bounty. Luo Island will provide many opportunities for fishing and hunting, as playtester TuShaWuJin shows here. Space Management. Playtester Um Lei Tung has built a prosperous Songzhou, but how flexible will this layout prove to be if future renovation is needed? Bridging Power. Playtester TuShaWuJin has illustrated the power of using bridges to complete housing blocks. The usage of bridges and ferries will be an essential strategy for success in this campaign. Gweilo's Luo Island. One solution for success on the Luo Island map, from Gweilo's alpha testing. 3rd Draft of the Luo Island Map. Playtesting showed the map need more land masses. The northern islet was expanded with a new land mass, and a new islet was added to the northeast of it. What playtesting uncovers. My playtesting convinced me the island map needs more land masses to provide the player with more options. This consideration is an important part of providing replayability to a custom campaign. Tiger Pit. This Tiger is happy to sun himself on the warm quarry stones. A Pirate Rampage. If the Chao Pirates don't find what they are looking for, they may just burn everything in sight! Visit from a Hero. It is always an auspicious sign when a Divine Hero visits your palace, especially when they come bearing gifts! You will certainly look forward to these visits during your first lonely years on Luo Island. A pitched battle. This pitched battle with pirates was barely won. What could the pirates be looking for at the temple construction site? Pirate Raiders. The Chao Pirates will challenge your foothold on Luo Island in the South China Sea. They are wily sea raiders, with an agenda you won't like! Mongol Scouts. Mongol scouts will test your defenses for weakness, as in this battle. The Empire Map for the campaign. The Empire Map will feature 7 cities. All cities are historically accurate (circa 1275 CE) except for Songzhou, Luo, and Chao. The Songzhou map. Your space-management skills will be tested on the Songzhou map, which is a new custom map of 'small' size. That's the South China Sea you see on the east edge.