ShemHaMephorash

This is just a very quickly written and messy piece as I will revisit it later. I just need to let out some of my enthusiams right now. I spent my weekend playing only [i]ShemHaMephorash[/i]. You probably do not care, but I want to explain that playing for such extended period of time is very much not a thing I do anymore. The game is so fascinating! It is a game very similar to the [i]Dominions[/i] games in its approach. You play the game on a strategy map with nodes connected, but the main goal is just to produce and move around units, which can be produced under a variety of specifics. It is very micromanagement intensive, although less so than Dominions. Then battles happen in a pseudo real time view that you can pause. Here the main difference with Dominions is that you can give orders to your units. But it is mostly a laid back affair, as you will want to order specifics here and there, while letting the computer pursue units. I want to give a special mention to the arrow laying out the way you want to orientate your troops, which reminds me of older Japanese strategy games like the Gingaeiyudensetsu ones. What sets the game apart and makes it fascinating to me is that it evokes a not well known conflict, the Second English-Afghan War, with a special attention to historicity, such as big events happening like they did happen during the conflict, but with an extra layer of mysticism and fantasy through the presence and matter (ho ho) of Golems and their masters, amongst other curios. The narration is very effective, with quite beautiful and unusual characters, not the less the main protagonist, happening at various points during any phase of the game. It can be skipped, if you really do not care, but you should! I cannot vouch for the English version, as I am playing in Japanese. The author got an interesting sensitivity with often very witty inner dialogues lighting the scenes under a new light. The documentation is a bit lacking, and I am yet in the process of discovering whole aspects of mechanics every half hour. Some inconsistancies in the game jargon and formulas also probably will make master strategists raise eyebrows. I am not a min-maxer and just enjoying surfing the narrative I more or less build up in my brain in such games, so I was not bothered by it. That being said, I suspect the game might be a bit on the puzzley side of things, although it asked mainly common sense and some attention to details from the player as far as I progressed in the game. The game is using the same engine as niche favourite [i]Lost Technology[/i], although ironically the current game is made by the original author of the engine. It also launches beautifully, albeit slowly in Wine, and works perfectly without requiring Steam to be launched, which is how I like to play my game (hence the low clocking on this profile). Anyway, let us stop that rambling! I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ love it. I cannot recommend it highly enough, and I just want to hug the developer for crafting this little jewel. As a history and philology enthusiast, this is a dream come true. Europa Universalis 2 met Dominions, woah.

[h1] 可愛い見た目に反した骨太ストラテジー [/h1] これは時間泥棒系のストラテジーだ。 死んで覚える系のゲームで、私は何度も１章アフガニスタン臨時政府を繰り返している。 大したことないゲームかと思っていたが、攻略法を考えているうち夢にまで出てきてしまった。重症だ。 そう、本当に、何もかもがよくわからないゲームなので、手探りが楽しい。 ユニット育成や内政外交、また戦闘時の戦略などなど、そういったことが理解できるまでの過程も楽しいが、理解できた後はたぶん時間が溶けていくと思う（まだ溶けてない） 要素があまりにもたくさんで、ユニットの情報や特徴をつかむうち、次はこれを試そうという意欲がわいてくる。 しかし、欠点があまりにも多い。 まずゲームを開始して、その情報量の多さに驚くだろう。 ちまっこいキャラクター、ちまっこい文字、ちまっこいアイコン。何もかもが小さい。見づらい。 ここでだいぶ心が折れかけた。チュートリアル（？）も操作方法が出るだけで、それぞれの要素を一つ一つ説明してくれるほど親切ではない。初見ではほとんどを理解できない。 ここで思い出したのが、20年前。まだインターネットで個人ページが盛んだった、フリーゲームで賑わっていたあの頃。 フォントといい、キャラクターの雰囲気といい、UIといい、まさにあの頃のゲームだ。 当時は不親切なゲームも多かった。マインクラフトだって最初はクラフトの情報などまるで無かった。 しかし時は現代。小さい文字も、小さいアイコンも、２０年前のディスプレイならばちょうどよい大きさで表示されただろうが、現代の解像度では、ただただ見づらいだけ…老眼が進んでいる方には尚更つらい。 わちゃわちゃ感を出したい、という製作者の意図は汲み取れるが、それ以上に戦況が掴みづらい… また、操作性も他社のゲームと違う部分で引っかかってしまった。 画面スクロールはマウスポインタを画面端に持っていくと初めてスクロールしてくれるのだが、その操作が少々まどろっこしく感じた。 また、出撃選択時もドラッグアンドドロップではなくダブルクリックで選択できるようにしてほしかった。 慣れればなんということはないが… 私にとっては、このゲームの情報量の多さは致命的に感じたが、 プログラムのソースコードを見て、頭が痛くならないどころか逆にワクワクしてしまう人なら、最初から物凄く楽しめるゲームかと思う。 ＊＊＊追記＊＊＊ 派生元のヴァーレントゥーガを遊んできました。 操作性やUIはヴァーレントゥーガを踏襲しているらしい。 以下、ヴァーレントゥーガとの違いをば ・ストーリー重視であるため、自由度が低い。 ・ウインドウサイズが大きい（情報過多に見えるのは、おおむねこれのせい） ・雇用できる人材が少ない（ストーリー重視の弊害か） ・ラビ（召喚）が強い（ヴァーレンでいうラクタイナが凶悪になったようなのがゴロゴロ）ので、騎兵でラビを刺していくのが基本戦略？ ・ヴァーレントゥーガより難易度が高い。 先ずはヴァーレントゥーガを先にプレイして、そちらに慣れてからをおすすめします。

[h1]お話がメインかな？いやいやゲーム部分もぎっちりRTS[/h1] とりあえずチュートリアルを遊ぼう！と 気合を入れて起動したらいい感じの演出…からの RTSパート、操作方法がのみ込めないまま チュートリアルが終わってしまったので もう一回チュートリアルプレイ 右下のマップで味方の状況把握をしたり出来るんだなぁ と眺めてたらチュートリアルが終わってしまった…ｗ ユニットに具体的な指示を出して戦況を弄ること出来るのだけど RTSなのでぼーっと遊ぶ感じではなく それぞれのユニット特性や地形、陣形など 出来る事が多そうなゲームだなという印象 端的に言うと可愛らしいユニットが わちゃわちゃドカンドカンである（なんじゃそりゃ） お話の方はシリアス気味、戦記系やRTS好きな人なら～

Well, this is one of the most beautiful discoveries you may happen to make playing it. The game tends to be a peculiar mix of RTS and Tactical Strategy which constitutes, probably, the less known form of japanese sengoku-like indies. The plot backgroung is set in Anglo-Afghan War meshed with cabbalistic mysteries of magic words power turning unliving forms into controlable golems, it surely makes clear references (for me) to the anime Shisha no Teikoku, quite close but not the same. Playing before in Lost Technology which is also made with Vahrentuga tools (or engine, I didn't understand well), I profoundly have broadened my experience of the genre because ShemHaMephorash is played in similar way but with its own features. For instance, there's other class unit system and combat positioning compared to Lost Technology, even not speaking of the plot. In a nutshell it seems worth to buy ShemHaMephorahs just for trying something rather new to your gaming competances, to enlarge your own inner gaming bibliothèque.

A very interesting setting. I really like that you have multiple ways to win and how the conflict grows in terms of both story and gameplay. The next few things I mention can be used to distinguish this game from another one available on Steam that has a similar systemic origin, called lost technology. The balance between heroes and regular soldiers makes both of them important in the game. During the game, you make important decisions regarding the development of regions and your country. Proper deployment of troops on the strategic map is crucial to victory. Finally, I find the musket and golem warfare to be fun and tactically deep.

土埃と蒼天の山岳地帯をゴーレム兵と人間がメルティングポットして闊歩する戦場の光景ってよくないですか？ よいです。 よいですよ。 よいです。

面白いけどチュートリアルが機能してないうえに説明書もないせいで 初見ではNovice難易度すらクリアできないと思われる 左下のスキル欄を使用しないと何しないユニットがいるので注意

令和のハルスベリヤ叙事詩2 開発者のサイトでフリー版を公開しているのでヴァーレントゥーガの拡張シナリオをやったことがない人 あるいは書いていることがわからない人はそこからダウンロードして遊んでみるのがいいと思います チュートリアル的なものがほしい人は開発者のサイトから前作ウエステリア戦記をダウンロードして遊んでみましょう 別ゲームですがチュートリアル部分はほぼ共通です 今後の追加要素に期待するなら購入をおすすめします

The best Strategy about the Great Game out there. Which isn't saying much since there aren't any games about 19th Century Afghanistan (Paradox Grand Strategies don't count imho). It's very ambitious. What I appreciated was that: -The maps are all handcrafted and feature landmarks (like lakes etc.) that can be seen from the World Map -Because the maps are handcrafted, they have unique designs with points that can be exploited strategically -Because the maps have unique designs, they all feel visually distinct. It's worth mentioning, because almost all the maps are some variation on "Afghanistani Mountains". It takes subtle but hard work to make one mountain look different from another. -Every faction has its own unit roster, that is unique both aesthetically and strategically. (For example: The British Infantry that can be hired from Day 1 features Pashtun Militias (cheap, fast, crowd control), Vampire Golems (cheap, good upgrades), Indian Recruits (???, didn't use), British Marines (expensive, tanky)) -Every unit has 2+ abilities that are (at least situationally) useful. The ability amount can be confusing: British Light Cavalry has 4 different attack skills to choose from. -All abilities and spells, even minor ones, have a few sentences of description text, that help in understanding the setting's lore and tone. -Magic changes across factions. Not only in terms of Heroes and Spells. But also thematically: the more "industrial" Western approach to magic clashes with its more "traditional" use in the Islamicate world, eventually "something" happens in the main story because of this. It's satisfying to see dynamic lore. -There are many Hero units per faction and neutrals that can be hired, all have unique skills or spells and dialogues (at least when dying). -British Golem Magic is very fun. "Summoning a flood of undead troops" and "(somewhat realistic) 19th c. Line Infantry Tactics" go together like bread and butter. -The game's "gunplay", the way the gun and artillery shots feel slow but powerful, manages to make the fights feel like 19th c. Line Infantry combat. The gameplay forced me to think like a 19th c. General and was the most immersive part so far. "Take that hill! I don't care if they have a gatling gun! Just take the shot!" <- I suddenly understood movie generals that said lines like that. -Some levels involved strategies and positioning that felt like they could have been used by a British general from the 19th century. They weren't frequent, but there were some "hey, is it possible that something like this happened in real life?" moments. -The (first) campaign focuses on a personal story of self-discovery by a teenage Rabbi. It contrasts with the larger-than-life events and cutthroat politics unfolding across all of Afghanistan. At first the contrast felt jarring, but I appreciate it after completing the game. A personal, subjective point of view helps with grounding the setting - thereby making it feel lived-in. ^ The best thing about the elements I listed above, is that they synergize with each other to increase fun or immersion. Not necessarily in the same battle. But there's a "build-up" of "immersion" that happened over time, as I watched a teenager try to calm herself before a cavalry charge in one match, read an evocative spell description in another one, had a tense artillery duel in another... At some point I started believing in the setting, it became its own thing. Very few games managed to get me immersed/invested like that. And those games had x10 the budget and team of Shem HaMephorash. Shem HaMephorash is also a case of "a setting the author wanted to express". I respect authors that don't compromise on their world, especially in something as commercially-oriented as the gaming market. It does so many things right, I love it. I love it in its incompleteness and flawedness. It is flawed and incomplete. I don't want to list my issues with it, because I think it's unfair to complain about something this small yet ambitious.

私はマグノリア姉妹の話がとても好きです。視界が滲みました。 大きなストーリーだけじゃなく、スキル等の説明文にも結構ニヤッとさせられるものが多くて作り込みと愛を感じます。