Video games - Majesty

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Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim is a unique real-time strategy game developed by Cyberlore Studios and published by MicroProse for Windows in March, 2000. MacPlay released a Mac OS port in December, 2000. Infogrames released the expansion pack Majesty: The Northern Expansion for Windows in March, 2001, and Majesty Gold Edition, a compilation for Windows bundling Majesty and The Northern Expansion, in January, 2002. Linux Game Publishing released a Linux port of Majesty Gold Edition in April, 2003.

Overview

Majesty was generally well-received by the gaming press, with many reviews commenting positively on its unique combination of elements from different genres. Base-building is comparable to other real-time strategy games of the period, but units are autonomous — a feature usually associated with sim games — and possess attributes borrowed from role-playing games. Majesty has nineteen single player scenarios but no overarching plotline. The Northern Expansion adds new unit abilities, buildings, monsters, and twelve new single player scenarios.

Majesty takes place in the land of Ardania, a clichéd fantasy setting - but one that follows the conventions of role-playing games, rather than strategy games. As such, it features city sewers infested with giant rats, landscapes dotted with ancient evil castles, and soldiers helpless against anything bigger than a goblin.
Gameplay
The player is the Sovereign of Ardania. Gameplay involves placing buildings and recruiting hero units to create a sustainable kingdom and fulfill scenario objectives. The first and most important building is the palace. If it is destroyed, then the game is lost (though the expansion introduces Outposts, which can be built as "back-up" palaces.)

Each scenario (or quest) has a unique map. Even if the player chooses the same quest twice, it will have a map that, while retaining the general terrain of the region, is totally different. The map is initially shrouded in blackness, but all activity in explored areas can be viewed no matter how far away from a building or character it is, with no fog of war.
Characters
Essential to the defence of the kingdom and the completion of the scenario are guilds that can be built from a menu in the palace window. For a price, the Sovereign can recruit various classes of characters from guilds. The characters are referred to collectively as "heroes."
Heroes
Any character recruited from a guild or temple is referred to as a "hero." These heroes are not under the direct control of the player, but they can be influenced by reward flags to perform certain tasks, such as slaying a particularly troublesome monster or exploring an unknown area of the map. However, their cooperation is not guaranteed even then. Heroes have free will, though some classes are more inclined to certain actions than other. (For example, a paladin is more likely to attack a dangerous monster than a rogue.)

Individual heroes gain experience points and level up as they would if they were characters in a role-playing game. Other hero attributes borrowed from role-playing games include ability scores, character classes, and inventories.

Though all heroes in a class share the samein-game sprite and portrait, they all have individual names, have unique stats levels, and varied levels. In all quests, heroes start at level 1 and gain experience by fighting monsters. Certain classes have different ways of leveling up, such as Rangers that gain most of their exp from exploring the map.

When a hero dies, he or she leaves a gravestone from which he or she can be revived with a spell, though the revival must take place within a limited time based on the dead heroes' level. If he or she is not revived within a certain time, the gravestone will disappear and the hero will be gone forever. In Majesty: The Northern Expansion, the mausoleum provides the opportunity to resurrect long-dead characters at a substantial price.

Each class of heroes has its own unique characteristics and traits. There are sixteen classes of hero in all.
Henchmen
The henchmen are the non-hero characters that are nonetheless essential to maintaining the realm. Unlike heroes, they are identified by number, and come at no cost to the kingdom. Each class of henchman has a particular job.

Peasants construct and repair buildings.

Tax collectors collect gold from guilds and houses to finance the realm.

Guards provide defence against monsters. Palace guards are always present, but city guards require a guardhouse, where they can be upgraded to veteran guards.

Trade carts come from trading posts to the marketplace, where they deliver gold based on the distance they travelled.

All of the classes of henchmen are rather fragile and easy to kill.
Hero Classes
The sixteen classes of heroes in Majesty each have their own strengths, weaknesses, and individual traits. Adepts

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