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The AI is out for blood!

  • Waxius
  • 04/12/2018 02:03 PM
  • 1474 views
MinST - by Irog

First Thoughts:
MinST is a MINimalist STragegy game that will have you hitting the nuke button frequently. It's a combat tactics game made in C, but don't let the simple looking graphics fool you into thinking it's an easy game! The computer's AI is a cold calculator and will capitalize on your mistakes and you will be defeated more often than not at first.



Game Play:
MinST gives you control of 5 unit types. There's no better description about the units than on the game page itself... so I'll list them again here:

Shield
Shields are the backbone of your forces. They have the best defensive equipment and easily block the enemy. They work best in tight formation where each unit protects his peers from getting surrounded. In a well planned charge move, they inflict devastating damages to the enemy line.

Archer
The archer shoots a powerful longbow. This weapon gives a lot of range (2-4) to shoot down enemies before the melee. Wielding a longbow requires a lot of movement freedom thus greatly limits the armor the archer can wear. Archers must stay away from close combat. They make excellent use of obstacle and fortification coverage.

Cavalry
Cavalry units move quickly on the battlefield. They are ideal at flanking the enemy and taking down isolated units. The horse high mobility gives a lot of charge opportunities. Combine a charge of your infantry with some cavalry charges to break any enemy formation.

Billmen
A billmen attacks at range 2 but, unlike the archer, he can't attack behind an obstacle. On the other hand, he can charge the enemy. He is the unit of choice for your second line and provides excellent support when your formation charges the enemy.

Crossbowmen
The crossbowmen shoot deadly quarrels that inflict 3 damages at range 3 and 4 damages at range 2. Compared to the 1 damage per attack or 2 damages per charge attack of other units, the crossbow is very powerful but it requires a long time to load. You'll need some good strategy to take full advantage of the crossbowmen in your ranks!


You play as the blue team, against the red team controlled by the computer AI or another player sharing your keyboard. The object is simple, kill your opponent's units before they kill yours. Minst is played on a hexagonal grid, giving your units movement in 6 directions.

At the start of Map01, you have three Shield Units and three Calvary Units. The red team has the same units on the opposite side of the battlefield. Each unit has Action Points(A) that you can use to either move or attack with, and they also have Health Points(H) to show life remaining.



Since you are the blue team and go first, your units start the map with 7 Action Points while the red team's units have 10 each. This is done to balance the first-turn advantage you would otherwise have.

You have a cursor that allows you to select and move units, which is nice and allows you to move any unit that has available action points. Attacking is accomplished by either moving the unit into the enemy's location, or pressing the action button if the unit has a ranged attack.

In general, moving costs 2 Action points, while attacking costs 3. The only exception to this is the Calvary unit, which takes 1 Action point to move because they are so fast.

After you have performed all your actions, you can end your turn by pressing the backspace key and then Return. It is possible to end your turn early and without moving any of your units! Again, you have complete control of who you move or don't move.

Game Play Options:
MinST allows you to configure your keys so you can set what works best for you.

You also have the option of playing any of the maps available in the game at any time. You do not have to pass Map01 to proceed to Map02. In fact, whether you win or lose to the red team, the game will ask you if you want to restart the map or move on to the next one. At the time of this writing, MinST has 19 playable maps.

Map19 is very hard by the way:


Lastly, you have the ability to edit or create new maps from scratch using the map editor. In the editor, you don't have to follow the recommended values for giving Action Points or Health points to units. Therefore, if you wanted to make a Calvary Captain or Champion Archer, you could increase their Health and Action points as high as 99. The editor allows you to plant trees, put up walls, rocks, and all of the elements that make the battlefield. You can also edit the existing maps from the game and overwrite them. (Psst.. don't tell Irog, but I added three archers to Map02 to my side and didn't give any to the red team... MWA HA HA!)

I do plan to using the editor and start making some serious maps. Unfortunately I was short on time and this was all I could come up with. Don't laugh:



I told you not to laugh... :D


Overall:
MinST, though seemingly a simple game, can actually get quite addictive if only to learn how to beat the AI. It's not easy and in the later levels it seems impossible without really thinking through each and every move. It's a big mistake to move units without careful planning. The music sounds good to me, but I mostly played with the sound off in the late hours. One thing to watch out for is to be very careful with your Billmen, Archers, and Crossbowmen... you CAN kill your own teammates if you spear them or shoot them. Friendly fire! It could be a bug, but if it is.. I'd leave it in because if you're not paying attention to what you're doing or you are rushing without planning, you deserve what you get.

I've spent more than 12 hours playing MinST over the last three days. I highly recommend it for those who like strategy and tactical games. It is challenging and well as satisfying when you can finally beat the AI on a hard map.

Posts

Pages: 1
This game is a hidden gem for strategy games. I hope more people are willing overlook the graphics and give it a chance.
Tanks a lot Waxius for the very informative review.

The game lacks a difficulty option. I built the maps assuming the player would like some good challenge so the difficulty rises quickly.

author=Waxius
You can also edit the existing maps from the game and overwrite them. (Psst.. don't tell Irog, but I added three archers to Map02 to my side and didn't give any to the red team... MWA HA HA!)

Your action clearly indicates the need for easier maps where the player control additional units. Could you share the edits you made to the original maps and rate their difficulty.

btw, nice map editor joke :-)



author=Waxius
be very careful with your Billmen, Archers, and Crossbowmen... you CAN kill your own teammates if you spear them or shoot them. Friendly fire! It could be a bug, but if it is.. I'd leave it in because if you're not paying attention to what you're doing or you are rushing without planning, you deserve what you get.

Great observation and very useful feedback. The range attack function doesn't check if the target is an enemy. This is a bug an undocumented feature. And indeed, it should stay in the game.



author=lianderson
This game is a hidden gem for strategy games. I hope more people are willing overlook the graphics and give it a chance.

I'm glad you enjoy MinST too!
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