Bring object to object
From GenieWiki
Bring object to object is a frequently used and very useful individual victory condition in Age of Empires. Its properties can be taken advantage of in many ways. As a creative objective it could involve a hero having to defeat an enemy leader in a duel. On the other hand it could be used to create multiple victory paths or a larger number of loss conditions than normally possible.
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Mechanics
Unless the designated player has completed all other individual victory conditions, bring object to object is not recorded as having taken place. The player must bring the two objects together at the end (once all other conditions are fulfilled) for it to be counted. Therefore bringing the two objects together before this point will achieve nothing at all. It is helpful if the designer can make this clear in the objectives explanation as less experienced players may not understand the underlying mechanics of it.
Object destruction clause
There is an exception to the aforementioned rule, which applies when one of the objects is destroyed. If the two objects are not adjacent (they should be almost touching) when one is destroyed, this breaks a logic rule: there is then no way to complete this condition and therefore win the scenario. The game handles this issue by defeating the player in question – a rather useful outcome. Conversely, if the objects were side by side when one was destroyed, the condition is counted as being met from then onwards. Bring object to object can therefore be used to require a specific unit to kill another unit in hand-to-hand combat. This is frequently used in duels, e.g. a fight between allied and enemy cavalry heroes. The remaining unit is now able to move around freely again, as its task is complete. The player will no longer lose if the remaining object is destroyed, unless there is another loss condition to make this happen, of course.
Workaround
There is no way to have the game permanently recognize that two objects have been brought together without killing them though, as this method relies on one object being destroyed. An intermediate object that the two units in question must both be brought to can be used as a workaround, though. This would mean that they must both be beside the intermediate object when it is destroyed – for example two short swordsmen must go into the hills and kill an elephant together, and then they may go their separate ways.
Applications
Open-ended objectives
There is a little ambiguity over which unit is destroyed, which allows for some interesting designing possibilities. In Drusus and Tiberius one objective is to bring two brothers to a barbarian general and try to avenge their father. It is optional, however, that they succeed.
- A cowardly chieftain has slain the noble Vipstanus Caecus in the hills to the far south. His sons (a pair of Heavy Cavalry) are located at the supplies camp. After you break the news to them, bring them to this chieftain and they must both fight him hand to hand. Whether they have their revenge on him is up to you.
As long as the brothers both die fighting the general it counts for completion. It is entirely optional that they kill him or survive. If they do kill him, however, they must both be beside him when he dies. Therefore there are different outcomes: They may both be killed; or they may avenge their father, but possibly only one will live to tell of their retribution. This feature is also good for keeping heroes in the front line instead of hanging back and hiding. Tiberius had to lead from the front in this level because the player was required to use him to destroy key buildings.
Multiple victory condition options
Besides loss conditions, the ‘decoy’ player can also be used as the victory condition. This is achieved by destroying ANY of the objects involved. For example a triangular set of bring object to object victory conditions for a CPU player can allow the human player to win by killing their commander, their high priest, or by destroying their Wonder or Wonders. This choice of victory path is alien to normal victory conditions which require the player to complete them all with no choices. The trick to this multiple victory path is that just one victory condition (defeating the player) is completed, but there are multiple ways that this defeat can occur (through destroying a range of possible objects).
The first use of the previous method is believed to be in The Mandate of Heaven, the first scenario of Chou Kung by Ingo van Thiel.
- The wild people of the Quiang are a nuisance for you, but they will also keep the Shang busy. Yet, Wu Wang needs to teach the Quiang a lesson: Either kill the Quiang leader (Mor Havoc) or destroy their pride, the Siege Workshop.
Increasing the number of loss conditions
The other side to 'Bring object to object' is its use as a loss condition – i.e. looking at it from the perspective of the defeated player. By destroying a single object any CPU or human player can be defeated, even if the unit does not belong to that player. This can create the effect that the player is defeated when for example their king is killed. As a purely artistic alternative, having the defeat message occur at the beginning of the scenario (for example by giving a CPU player only a wall section, flag etc) to show a person, ally, village etc has been killed/defeated can be impressive, e.g. in the first scenario of Imhotep’s Scipio and the Second Punic War. This effect can also be used to defeat a player upon destroying a key object, simply for the visual effect.
This condition can also be used to remove loss conditions for a player. See victory condition for an example showing how to create ordered victory conditions.
Loss conditions are restricted to 7 player slots, allowing for a theoretic maximum of seven loss conditions, if all players are utilized. Using bring object to object (or area) as part of the human player’s objectives may allow the player to lose if the related objects are destroyed, saving a few slots, but 7 loss conditions can often be insufficient. This is especially the case when a lot of destroy specific object based loss conditions are used.
There is a way to get around this limitation, however. Instead of using a player in the traditional way, stacking one player with bring object to object conditions for as many objects as there is need for loss conditions, and then making another player's goal to defeat them will result in many potential loss conditions. This uses up two player slots instead of one, but it allows a maximum of 24 loss conditions. The weakness of this method is that it only works for destroy object loss conditions. However these are one of the most common loss condition used in large number, so the extension will usually supply a designer with as many loss conditions as they desire. For example a rule could be made that the player cannot kill any of the opponents 20 villagers (which is normally impossible because the villagers do not count in Destroy number of objects since they keep changing forms).
- Summary of Method
- Decoy player - Fill this player's victory condition slots with 'Bring object to object' conditions that involve the units that must not be killed
- Victorious player - This player is simply set to win by defeating the 'Decoy player'. When they are victorious, the human player loses.
Buildings will work fine using this workaround, but units can be tricky. A unit that must not be destroyed will not result in loss if the pair of units are side by side. For example if none of four heroes are to die, player slots could be saved by using the described method, but if a designer gives the 'decoy' CPU player only two bring object to object loss conditions (each involving a pair the four heroes being brought together) then the player may not lose if the connected objects are side by side when they die. In this case it would be more reliable to use another object like a far off house hidden in the corner of the map that will never be destroyed as the second object and use 4 conditions instead. Each player does have a maximum 12 victory conditions, so there is no need for a designer to be miserly, especially if it could result in something going wrong. If all (24) slots must be used up, i.e. two loss conditions per decoy player victory condition, make sure that no pair of units can come together (or at least that it is highly unlikely), and if using an intermediate object like a house one should make sure it can't be destroyed in any way, as the person playing will have no knowledge of this outside object. It is also possible the ‘decoy’ player may win if all their conditions are met, however this situation is very unlikely.
It may not be in the best interests of the scenario to maximize slots used, as a large number of loss conditions can be frustrating, and confuse the player, perhaps resulting in poor playability or confusing scenario instructions.
Note on units
Note that BOTO will not work for some units, e.g. trees. This is not a huge disadvantage though, because the area the unit (e.g. Stone Mine) is in can be substituted for similar results. However, it does mean one can’t defeat a player by cutting down their favourite tree for example, by using the method described earlier.
