Video games - Battle for Wesnoth

Home > Listing Index > Video games > Battle for Wesnoth

	Video games - Battle for Wesnoth

Battle for Wesnoth is a cross platform, turn based strategy computer game programmed in C++. The game is free software licensed under the GNU GPL. It runs on AmigaOS 4, BeOS, FreeBSD, Linux, Mac OS X, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris and Windows.

Though the Battle for Wesnoth is a product of many programmers, artists and designers, it was originally designed in July, 2003 by David White, who currently serves as the lead developer for the project. White based Wesnoth on the Sega Genesis games Master of Monsters and Warsong
(aka Langrisser). He wanted to create a free open-source strategy game that had very simple rules, but had a strong AI, and was challenging and fun. The of Battle for Wesnoth development is the KISS principle; for a new idea to be accepted, it should not complicate gameplay.

Development of Battle for Wesnoth is very active, and in October 2005, the game reached its 1.0 milestone release. The development version (currently 1.1.2a) already offers many graphic and gameplay enhancements.

Overview

Battle for Wesnoth is set in a fantasy environment, where players can build an army of different kinds of fighters from races such as elves, dwarves, orcs, trolls, and more. It is a turn-based strategy game on a hexgrid with single-player campaigns and multi-player matches.

Each unit has its own strengths and weaknesses. A unit's defense is based solely on the type of terrain it stands on, making terrain and placement of units very important. Different types of attacks (such as melee and ranged), weapon types (such as pierce and fire), and a day-night cycle that alternately favors lawful and chaotic units add to the strategy. Throughout the campaigns units can advance to higher level counterparts and become more powerful. Part of the fun of the game is developing your own army of advanced units as you play through the campaigns.

The name 'Wesnoth' was originally developed by the game's creator as a combination of syllables that he thought would sound good as a name for a fantasy land . However, when the project became larger and more elaborate, the developers created a fictional etymology for the name: the inhabitants of the land of Wesnoth came from the West and North, giving Westnorth, which eventually evolved to Wesnoth. This etymology is explained in the campaign 'The Rise of Wesnoth'.

Factions

Battle for Wesnoth currently has six factions to choose from.

Rebels: Consist mostly of Elvish units. Most of their level 1 units are capable of both melee and ranged attacks. Elves ignore time of day and have high defense in forests.
Knalgan Alliance: These consist of slow, sturdy Dwarves with strong melee attacks and human outlaws that fight better under the cover of darkness.
Loyalists: These are human cavalry, mages, and infantry that ordinarily fight better in the daytime.
Northerners: Orcs, goblins, and trolls. Their focus is on cheap recruiting and close combat, and they fight much better at night.
Undead: The undead have high resistance to conventional damage but are vulnerable to fire and especially holy attacks. Using walking corpses, they can overwhelm their enemies with superior numbers.
Drakes: A dragon-like race that fights better by day. Most can fly and breathe fire. Their Saurian allies are faster and prefer fighting by night, though they share the drakes' vulnerability to cold.

The exact units used by the factions, and the faction names, change based on the era of the campaign. The above are the most commonly used factions from the "Battle for Wesnoth" era, set in the first campaign.

Campaigns

Battle for Wesnoth currently ships with campaigns each having three levels of difficulty. More campaigns, including user-authored ones, can be obtained by clicking on the "Get more campaigns" button which connects you to the campaign server.

Heir to the Throne: In this campaign, you play a young heir, Konrad, who allies with rebellious elves to claim the throne from the evil queen Asheviere and her loyalists. There are about 26 scenarios in all. This is the most developed and popular campaign.
Son of the Black Eye: You play as an orcish ruler trying to save his people from humans. It is widely considered the most difficult of the mainline scenarios.
The Eastern Invasion: In this campaign, you play as an officer in the army of Wesnoth trying to save it from an undead invasion. Also known as the Loyalist Campaign, it contains 17 scenarios.
The Rise of Wesnoth: This campaign is about the founding of Wesnoth by Haldric, its first king.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Battle for Wesnoth ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Battle for Wesnoth; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay