The Marken Saga: Rebooted

As of today, work on the second generation Marken Saga has officially begun. On the conceptual level, in this new 'reboot' continuity of The Marken Saga, the entire story has been restarted from scratch. Or, as close as it gets to that, as I have no intention of completely starting a new campaign. Gameplay of the new version of the Marken Saga will be very similar to Version 1, as I'm going to adapt all of the scenarios over. There will, of course, be tweaks every here and there, so don't worry Marken, you won't be playing the same things over again.


Back to the story, the changes. Firstly, the entire setting is completely different. Instead of beginning with Ashviere's purges at the very beginning of Heir to the Throne and, at least according to plans, to slowly distance itself from mainstream Wesnoth into the complex and mythical Land of JY. In the new Marken Saga, guess what? We start off right away in the midst of the Land of JY! What does this mean? Think original Land of JY content. Maps. Portraits. That sort of thing. But don't expect it anytime soon. Oh, and I'll still be sticking to Wesnoth graphics for the rest.


Next, there is Marken and Co.. Still with the old plot, the story starts with Marken and Archonas in their small settlement putting up a makeshift resistance against a group of marauding orcs. However, Soniel's role in the new plot is still now in question, as I have another female lead planned for one of her roles. (Eek! Oops! A leak! This is important, please forget all that you've just read and move on!)The same goes for Yran, also facing an uncertain fate.


Now, another major aspect with equally major changes, the gameplay itself. Most noticeably, the reboot continuity will not use the exact same maps as Version 1. Everything will receive slight to complete edits. Don't worry, things only get better. And more interesting, if you know what that means in Marken Saga context.


Just as obvious, the scenarios themselves are different, mainly because scenarios are built around a story, so if the story changes, it does too. But deeper, what lies beneath the story changes too. For example, the player no longer starts scenario 01 with the imba host of L2 units like in Version 1. Instead, he gets the same number of L1 units, with the orcs being correspondingly nerfed as well. Look on the bright side! You can learn the arts of efficient exp gathering and distribution, and not to forget the sense of satisfaction of nurturing the pride and honour of your army. 

Another change to the scenarios from Version 1 is that Scenario 06 has been split, nicely along the line of it's two parts, finding Archonas and then... Well, you will know if you've played it. Other scenarios which I also had another look at include... Actually, everything. The more unique ones like 03 and 04 will of course receive more attention, and might just come out quite different, but I aim to preserve the experience. Hunting down every last orc or bashing through heavy infantrymen... You never forget that.


Okay, it's late now, 10 minutes past 11, and anyway this post is roughly done already. And that means... Cut!