Are these suitable for beginners?
How does the grading system work?
Why do I keep getting Fs?
Why can I not get an A+?
What can I do to get a higher grade?
Can I play these scenarios on a different map?
Do you have any example recorded games?
Are there PDF/printable versions of these builds?
How do I download them?
How do I play them?
Why aren't these scenarios working for me?
Can I make a translation of this mod?
What hotkeys do you use?
How can I contact you?
How can I donate to you?
These scenarios are not intended for complete beginners. Before attempting them, I recommend that you are:
The grades are based on the timings for which you achieve certain benchmarks - the final being capped by your previous benchmark scores. For example, the first build order in the guide has three benchmarks: (1) click Feudal with 22 population, (2) acquire 6 scouts, (3) click Castle. A player who achieves "A" in the first benchmark and "C" in the second then cannot achieve better than a "C" overall. Therefore, following the build order exactly is not important (although you should always advance with the correct pop).
If you cannot get higher than an F on multiple tries, then this is the scenario telling you that these scenarios are probably not helpful for you at the moment. Build orders assume constant villager production, so there isn't that much point in trying to follow these builds exactly when you have significant TC idle time. The list provided above gives you some things you can be working on in your games.
Build orders take a lot of practice, and the grading system reflects this. Also, with the grading system, I've tried to provide an interesting challenge to wide a number of players, including many who are already well practiced with these builds. An "A+" is certainly not required for getting into multiplayer! If this is all new to you, expect some grades to be out of reach.
Also be aware that the grading system is somewhat 'narrow-minded' in what it is looking for - and therefore unforgiving if you aren't focusing on the specific requirements of the scenario. It is very possible to have a 'good' build order that grades poorly because you aren't focusing on the scenario requirements.
First, don't work on the whole scenario at once. Start by trying to achieve at least a "C" in the first benchmark. This is really all about minimising TC idle time - though you will also need to make sure your villagers are working efficiently. Watch out for villagers standing around doing nothing after you finish your boar for example. Getting housed in dark age will seriously hurt your grade, and if you lose a villager I recommend you restart.
Subsequent benchmarks are often a step up in difficulty if they are adding further production buildings. Wood utilisation here is key - something has gone wrong if you have a large amount of unspent wood in your stockpile. Unless you were saving up for a building, that wood should probably have already been spent on farms.
Yes! Simply open the scenario up in the editor and generate a new map to practice on. Only, be sure to use the correct map that comes with this mod. (Build Order Arabia, Build Order Island, or Build Order Arena).
Recorded games break with every update on DE, but you can find A+ demonstrations here.
Go to the page for the build order you want, and click "Print" in top-right of screen. From there you should be able to use 'Print to PDF'. You might want to uncheck 'Headers and Footers', and change the margin size.
The mod pages are linked here. You download the mods by subscribing to them, but if this doesn't work you can search for this you can just search for this mod ingame and subscribe to them there.
Start a game in Single-Player and choose Custom Scenario as the game mode.
Some possibilities: since the mod takes a bit longer to download, it seems it can get stuck in a partially downloaded state if downloading is interrupted. I recommend you try opening and deleting the mod directory before reloading the game and subscribing to the mod again. Also be aware you might need to restart your game for the sound files to load in DE. Finally, don't change the player colour! This will break the scenarios.
Yes - but please contact me first, so that I can give you some pointers, and let you know if there is a translation already in progress. To make a translation, you can use this script for making the audio files. You would also need to make a translation of this string table [download link].
You can see my hotkeys here.
Best ways are discord at Cicero#7740, or on AoEZone.
I don't request or expect donations for my work, but they are much appreciated and will help me to keep this website running. If you want to support you can use this link: paypal.me/ciceroaoe