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Mourning's end part III

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Apple iQuest

Apple iQuest

Posts: 914 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
~Official Quest Writer's Database Review~


Mourning's Ends Part III - The Crystal City
By: Any-sao

Plot: 17/25
The plot is well written and covers a lot of things that players have been speculating about for the finale, such as King Tyras still being alive, although it was really predictable that he was General Hining.

All of the things that happened in the previous quests were also taken into consideration to avoid plotholes, such as the barrier we placed around the Temple of Light to prevent the Iorwerth clan from entering. I'm sure it took a lot of reading, but you did a great job including all the little things.

The plot is interesting and mysterious, using lots of the pre-existing lore, while also introducing new lore. Although I realise this is an older quest suggestion, some of this new lore is contradicted by Fate of the Gods (such as the presence of Seren and her dialogue). Also, the reaction of the elves when you tell them about the return of Seren is a bit... underwhelming, as is the reaction of the Tyras guards when their king dies.

I liked the teamwork between the rebels, Tyras and Finda, and all of them laying siege the city of Prifddinas together was great! Furthermore, having a choice in whether to kill off the mourners or get them out of West Ardougne peacefully was also a great idea.

There were some things in the plot that I didn't like, however. Personally, I thought it would have been a better idea to leave Seren out of it, as she did not contribute to the overall story much, and her behaviour seemed strange, in a way. I'm also disappointed that this fabled Dark Lord that the Iorwerth clan worshipped was just Zamorak, that guy who does all the evil things ever.

I also thought King Lathas was severely under-used, and he could have easily had a bigger role, perhaps even in the siege of Prifddinas, to avenge the death of his brother now that he realises he made a mistake working with the dark elves.
My Quest Suggestions

Quest Series: Heart of the World
Quest Series: Call of the Sea

29-Jul-2014 21:08:29

Apple iQuest

Apple iQuest

Posts: 914 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Practicality: 18/25
Most of the content described is very much possible for developers to make, and most of the story does not conflict with existing lore. The gameplay, most notably the combat, seems balanced and not overly difficult, and any type of player, casual or veteran, should be able to play through the quest and have a nice challenge.

The only problems I have in terms of practicality are the conflict in lore with the inclusion of Seren, and the fact that the mourners are still trying to pave the way for Zamorak, while he has already returned.

Use of in-game content: 9/10
Naturally, most of the characters from the previous elf quests return, and they all have dialogue that fits their personality. No one feels left out, with even the dwarves from Underground Pass being back. You did a great job bringing back all of these characters and gave them all either a small or big role, depending on how involved they were before. Well done!

I'm a big fan of using the elves at Moblising Armies in this quest and giving them some lore and backstory, especially since there was next to none. You managed to have it make sense for the elves to be there and found a way to involve them in the quest. Another well done!

Creativity: 6/10
The creativity shines in the light and colour puzzles. They are well thought out and must have required a lot of imagination to come up with. Other things seem less creative and more rushed, such as the Dark Lord just being Zamorak instead of a new, interesting character.

Aside from the puzzles, the gameplay isn't very creative in most parts. Most of it is just general running from place to place and going through dialogue, which is not up-to-par with the quality of quests that we've seen recently, especially in Grandmasters.
My Quest Suggestions

Quest Series: Heart of the World
Quest Series: Call of the Sea

29-Jul-2014 21:08:51 - Last edited on 29-Jul-2014 21:32:30 by Apple iQuest

Apple iQuest

Apple iQuest

Posts: 914 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Gameplay: 7/10
The quest involves a lot of the player having to figure out stuff for themselves, which is a definite plus!

The fight with the two assassins in the beginning was a bit underwhelming, though the fight right after it, with the Iorwerth tracker, made up for it with his special abilities to stun you and steal the life from other elves. Right after that, the player has to find out who betrayed the Cadarn clan, and I thought that part was rather dull and could have been more fleshed out, rather than simply pickpocketing a bunch of elves.

It was great to see the catapult gameplay from Catapult Construction return, and to actually get a chance to put that catapult to use.

The sabotaging in Prifddinas also seemed rather dull and didn't involve much else than dialogue and going from place to place. I would have liked to see some kind of sneaking section involved (something like in Kennith's Concerns). I almost cried when I read about that chest you have to open there that's like the one in Desert Treasure, but I'm really glad you decided to only give it one lock and have it not require lockpicks. That would simply have been tedious, and not fun.

Finding proof of Bertol being part of H.A.M had the same problem as the investigation in Lletya did, it was simply pickpocketing, nothing exciting. This very same problem persists throughout the quest, such as when you have to find proof for Bravek, you simply speak to the Head Mourner again for another note. I think all of these things could have been replaced by more creative gameplay that actually involves the player doing something new.
My Quest Suggestions

Quest Series: Heart of the World
Quest Series: Call of the Sea

29-Jul-2014 21:09:15

Apple iQuest

Apple iQuest

Posts: 914 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
However, these hiccups are made up for with the various light and colour puzzles throughout the quest, which I thought were very creative and felt like a throwback to the puzzles in the previous two quests. They seem difficult and frustrating to an extent, which I think is a good thing, considering that this is a grandmaster quest, and also a sequel to Within the Light and Mourning's Ends Part II, which had puzzles of the same difficulty, if not worse.

I also thought laying siege to the city with the mechanics of mobilising armies was an example of good gameplay, even though I'm not a fan of the minigame (which is why there is a choice not to do it!). While the other choice, going with Arianwyn, which seemed more appealing to me to avoid the minigame that I'm really bad at, it only had the player fight a few regular enemies and the spymaster. While the fight against Warlow has some good mechanics, it was somewhat boring for a fight that takes place right before the final one.

However, I thought the final battle, against the Crystalline Shapeshifter, was a lot better. It seems just the right difficulty for a grandmaster boss, in the way that it would probably take a few tries to learn the mechanics, but it's not as horribly frustrating as Nomad was.

Writing Skill: 9/10
Reviewer’s Note: The dialogue is generally well written with lots of options, and it also has little bits of comic relief in it every now and then, which is good for a quest that has a really serious tone, as long as it doesn't turn into a comedy. :P

Anything that wasn't dialogue was communicated well to the reader. The only complaints I have is that you should make a little more use of the 'enter' key to seperate the dialogue from gameplay, and that there were a few minor spelling mistakes, which is understandable for a quest that's this long.
My Quest Suggestions

Quest Series: Heart of the World
Quest Series: Call of the Sea

29-Jul-2014 21:09:31

Apple iQuest

Apple iQuest

Posts: 914 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Rewards and appeal: 9/10
Though I personally don't have the 85 Thieving requirement on my proper account, the quest's length, difficulty and story are appealing enough for me to be encouraged to get that requirement. I would definitely enjoy the quest, even with the flaws I've mentioned, and I wouldn't just be doing it for the rewards, though I do think I would be disappointed with some things I've mentioned.

On the subject of rewards, an entire new city is of course very appealing, and that would be reason enough to do the quest for people who aren't interested in the story. Aside from that, there are a few extras such as the new poison and XP lamps, and extras are always good.


Best things about the quest:
+ A great and unexpected boss battle that is just the right difficulty.
+ Creative and difficult puzzles that feel like a throwback to previous elf quests.
+ Inclusion of the elves of Moblising Armies and new lore for them.
+ An epic, final siege against the crystal city and the Iorwerth clan.

Parts of the quest that should be reviewed by the author:
- Some things in the plot are very predictable, such as King Tyras being General Hining.
- There are many missed opportunities in terms of new gameplay.
- The fabled Dark Lord is none other than Zamorak.
- The inclusion of Seren goes against the new lore.

Final Score: 7.5/10

Additional Notes:
While the elf quest finale is already coming out, I think Jagex has a lot to do if they want to make it better than your suggestion! You've included everything that was there in the previous quests, and you did a great job doing that for the most part. I would be surprised if the upcoming finale hasn't taken any ideas from your suggestion. We'll see!
My Quest Suggestions

Quest Series: Heart of the World
Quest Series: Call of the Sea

29-Jul-2014 21:09:49 - Last edited on 29-Jul-2014 21:10:11 by Apple iQuest

Any-sao
Dec Member 2020

Any-sao

Posts: 2,424 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Original message details are unavailable.
While the elf quest finale is already coming out, I think Jagex has a lot to do if they want to make it better than your suggestion! You've included everything that was there in the previous quests, and you did a great job doing that for the most part. I would be surprised if the upcoming finale hasn't taken any ideas from your suggestion. We'll see!

Good to know I've still got it. Not as high a score as I expected, but that's my own fault I guess. I wrote this just after the release of The World Wakes, so much of this lore is indeed old.

I wrote this to resemble an old style quest: Running around to perform various tasks. I disagree that today's Grandmasters are of anything that resembles high quality, so I actively tried to make this old school.

Seren's crystal plosion was not what I expected when I wrote this, I only went off a recent podcast that described her as "here all along."

Zamorak as the dark lord was intended, as at the time I wanted a god that could be seen as bad, but also as a leader for the elves. I tried to make an AoG tie in about why the Iorwerth converted.

And lastly: I actually wrote an edited version of this! Added a lot more intelligent lore, but alas, it was too late when I did...

But anyway: Thank you for the review! I can only hope that Jagex read part of this and had some form of inspiration. Fingers crossed. I’m not great at this game, but I do love quests.

29-Jul-2014 22:01:36

Any-sao
Dec Member 2020

Any-sao

Posts: 2,424 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
So before I went into work this morning I sat in my car to watch the August BTS video. As they started to give details on Plague's End, I almost wanted to cry. After a year of bumping and posting on my baby thread here on the forums, our Elf finale is finally here.

Thank you to everyone who managed to read this colossol quest script and left their opinions behind. I can only hope our project made a dent into Plague's End's story. I'll see you all within the crystal walls of Prifddinas. I’m not great at this game, but I do love quests.

01-Aug-2014 17:44:40

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