CO Ember (Hack Version)

[Tronn_Bonne]

Theme Music: http://www.geocities.com/x0isleet/ember.mid [Composed by X0_000]
Name: Ember (Hack version 1.2)
Army: Bolt Guard

Physical Description:
Ember is an attractive woman in her early twenties. She is of average height and has muddy blonde hair that hangs down past her shoulders. Her eyes are icy blue and she always has a hostile, almost mad, gaze. She wears a black and red military uniform that is typical of the Bolt Guard.

History:
Even at an early age there was always something different about Ember despite the fact that she was raised in a normal upper-middle class home with loving parents. She was very dominating of others and would bully people to get the things she wanted. Yet she also had a very short temper and if anyone tried to oppose her wishes she would verbally, and sometimes physically, attack them. It was clear that there was a mean streak within her and Ember seemed to take great pleasure in violence. Furthermore, she always did things the way she thought they should be done and she never listened to the advice of others.

Ember’s aggressive behavior proved too much for her family and they sent her off to military school with hopes that it would help her become more disciplined. However, Ember quickly liked her new situation since the military did provide her with the authority to bully her subordinates as well as provide her with plenty of opportunities to partake in violence. The only thing that irritated her was the army’s structured lifestyle and rigid hierarchy but she, for the most part, was able to ignore it. Ember eventually became a Special Forces operative in the Black Hole Army. She proved to be an extremely effective combatant and able leader which caused her to quickly rise up the ranks. However, she also proved to be an exceptionally ruthless commander that became notorious for her brutal methods while conducting an operation. She rarely took prisoners and preferred to annihilate her enemies even when they had surrendered.

Ember’s belligerent nature and love of violence did not bother Sturm who was in command of Black Hole during her initial years as a CO. What did disturb Sturm was Ember’s tendency to ignore orders to capture the enemy and their territory with minimal damage. More often than not many of Ember’s victories were useless to Sturm since valuable intel was lost and enemy facilities were unnecessarily damaged. Despite this Sturm still made her second-in-command to Hawke who would be the leader of the invasion of Macro Land. However, one of Ember’s subordinate COs by the name of Adder was power hungry and fed up with her harsh treatment of him. He began plotting of different ways he could remove her from power.

Adder utilized Ember’s tendency to ignore orders to make her look like a traitor and he convinced Sturm that she could not be entrusted with conquering Yellow Comet. Sturm accepted Adder’s reasoning and had Ember imprisoned for her past insubordination which is where she remained during the Macro Land War. Meanwhile, Sturm appointed Adder to be the second-in-command of the Macro Land invasion and Hawke was forced to quickly find another CO to replace Ember. He did this by randomly picking some BH private called Flak.

Sturm’s demise unfortunately did not improve Ember’s situation. Hawke felt that he could not trust her so he did nothing to remove her from prison. Furthermore, Von Bolt had no interest in recruiting additional COs since he felt he had enough between his own Bolt Guard and the remaining Black Hole COs that remained loyal. Thus, he did nothing to release her from prison when he came to power and Ember was forced to sit out on yet another war.

It was after the Omega War that Ember got her chance for freedom. Black Hole was on the verge of Civil War as different factions formed around the Bolt Guard, led by Kindle, and around the Black Hole Regular Army, led by Hawke. The military prison Ember was housed in favored the Bolt Guard and Kindle, knowledgeable of Ember’s impressive if somewhat dark war record and in need of talented COs, offered Ember a position as a CO in the Bolt Guard. Ember immediately accepted the offer since it not only gave her the opportunity to fight battles again but it also gave her the chance to get revenge against the treacherous Adder who caused her to be sent to prison in the first place. Thus, Ember was integrated into the Bolt Guard hierarchy and was back on the frontlines.

Personality:
Ember is loud, aggressive, and very quick to anger. She is always barking orders at both her soldiers and her enemies; both of which tend to fear her. Ember likes power but not for money or fame but because she simply enjoys being able to dominate others. Furthermore, she especially enjoys battles simply for the violence involved in them and she tends to measure victory not in the amount of territory gained but in the number of enemy units destroyed. Ember also cares little about what her superiors think of her actions and will quite regularly ignore orders in order to fight a battle as she sees fit.

In-Game Description:
An extremely belligerent Bolt Guard CO that is notorious for her ruthlessness.

Roses
Violets


Ember is a competent CO that excels with any unit type. Thus, she has bland stats day-to-day.

Normal Stats:
All Units 100/100

CO Meter:

COP: Rampage
Ember orders her units to destroy everything in sight and annihilate all enemy opposition. Thus, all of her units go on a rampage and receive a 30% attack boost. However, they do not receive the standard 10% defense boost.

COP Stats:
All Units 130/100

SCOP: Scorched Earth
Ember orders her units to take extreme measure when dealing with the enemy. They attack civilians, destroy crops, and burn villages. Thus, all enemy units are dealt 1 HP of mass damage to represent both the demoralizing effects and material loss caused by these actions. Furthermore, all of Ember’s units are whipped up into a frenzy and receive a 50% attack boost. However, they do not receive the standard 10% defense boost.

SCOP Stats:
All Units 150/100

Quotes:
“Take no prisoners!”
“Ahahaha… I’ll destroy you all!”
“You won't like me when I am angry!"
“I swear to make you rue this day!"
“Burn everything! I don’t want to see anything left untouched!”
“I have fury!”

Victory Quotes:
“I love this job!”
"You had better hope we do not meet again."

[Treedweller]

Hmmm, I rather like this version, though she loses a bit of her uniqueness; but that can't be helped, and you did a great job of making a hackable version Tronn.

[ThrawnFett]

Theme Music: http://www.geocities.com/x0isleet/ember.mid [Composed by X0_000]
Name: Ember (Hack version 1.0)
Army: Bolt Guard

Physical Description:
Ember is an attractive woman in her early twenties. She is of average height and has muddy blonde hair that hangs down past her shoulders. Her eyes are icy blue and she always has a hostile, almost mad, gaze. She wears a black and purplish red military uniform typical of the Bolt Guard.

History:
Ember started out as a Special Forces operative in the Black Hole Army. She proved to be an extremely effective combatant and able leader which caused her to quickly rise up the ranks. However, she was also an exceptionally ruthless commander that gained a notorious reputation for excessive violence while conducting an operation. She rarely took prisoners and preferred to annihilate her enemies even when they had surrendered.

Ember’s belligerent nature did not bother Sturm who was in command of Black Hole during her initial years as a CO. What did disturb Sturm was Ember’s tendency to ignore orders to capture the enemy and their territory with minimal damage. More often than not many of Ember’s victories were useless to Sturm since valuable intel was lost and enemy facilities were unnecessarily damaged. Despite this Sturm still made her second-in-command to Hawke who would be the leader of the invasion of Macro Land. However, one of Ember’s subordinate COs by the name of Adder was power hungry and wanted to replace her.

Adder utilized Ember’s tendency to ignore orders to make her look like a traitor and he convinced Sturm that she could not be entrusted with conquering Yellow Comet. Sturm bought Adder’s reasoning and had Ember imprisoned for her past insubordination which is where she remained during the Macro and Omega Wars. Meanwhile, Sturm appointed Adder to be the second-in-command of the Macro Land invasion and Hawke was forced to quickly find another CO to replace Ember. He did this by randomly picking some BH private called Flak.

It was after the Omega War that Ember got her chance for freedom. Black Hole was on the verge of Civil War as different factions formed around the Bolt Guard, led by Kindle, and around the Black Hole Regular Army, led by Hawke. The military prison Ember was housed in favored the Bolt Guard and Kindle, knowledgeable of Ember’s impressive if somewhat dark war record and in need of talented COs, offered Ember a position as a CO in the Bolt Guard. Ember immediately accepted the offer since it not only gave her the opportunity to fight battles again but it also gave her the chance to get revenge against Adder who she knew was responsible for her imprisonment. Thus, Ember was integrated into the Bolt Guard hierarchy and was back on the frontlines.

Personality:
Ember is loud, aggressive, and very quick to anger. She is always barking orders at both her soldiers and her enemies; both of which tend to fear her. She enjoys battles simply for the violence involved in them and she tends to measure victory not in the amount of territory gained but in the number of enemy units destroyed. Ember also cares little about what her superiors think of her actions and will quite regularly ignore orders in order to fight a battle as she sees fit.

In-Game Description:
An extremely belligerent Bolt Guard CO that is notorious for excessive ruthlessness.

Roses
Violets


Ember is a competent and ruthless CO that excels with any unit type. Thus, she has bland stats day-to-day.

Normal Stats:
All Units 100/100

CO Meter:

COP: Rampage
Ember orders her units to destroy everything in sight and annihilate all enemy opposition. Thus, all of her units go on a rampage and receive a 30% attack boost but incur a 15% defense loss. All units also receive the default 10% defense boost.

COP Stats:
All Units 130/95

SCOP: Scorched Earth
Ember orders her units to take extreme measure when dealing with the enemy. They attack civilians, destroy crops, and burn villages. Thus, all enemy units are dealt 1 HP of mass damage to represent both the demoralizing effects and material loss caused by these actions. Furthermore, all of Ember’s units are whipped up in a frenzy and receive a 50% attack boost but incur a 25% defense loss. All units also receive the default 10% defense boost.

SCOP Stats:
All Units 150/85

Quotes:
“Take no prisoners!”
“Hehehe… I’ll destroy you all!”
“I hate you!”
“Hehehe…Now the fun begins.”
“Burn everything!”
“I have fury!”

Victory Quotes:
“I love this job!”

Name: Works thematically and it's very close to an actual name (Amber), so I'm gonna give you full points here. Not Max-level, but still a good fit. 5/5

Bio: Definitely one of the better written bios I've seen. I like the story and you did a good job explaining why she wasn't in the actual game. You didn't really explain why she's not in AWDS, but we're talking AW2 here. There's a couple of discrepancies between the description and the picture (I wouldn't call that purplish red). A couple of your sentences are worded weirdly, but aside from that I can't really complain. 8/10

Quotes: Well, you could use another victory quote (I normally want 2). The multiple "Hehehe... " quotes bug me. I don't like quotes that are similar. Also, all your quotes are short. You can say a longer sentence, you know? (For some reason, the "I hate you!" quote seems out of place. Sounds like a 14 year old to her mom rather than a young 20 to her foe). All in all, though, my complaints are really minor. And you have Fawful. 3/5

Creative Total: 16/20

Abilities: Bland! Bland is good. Not many use bland. 0/0

COP: *goes on a regal rampage* I BEQUEATH THEE! Anyway, I personally don't like powers that both hurt and help, but the net hurt of this one is really only 5% def. 130 attack will certainly allow you to take out any unit you can get first strike on. It'll also help you on the counter since you're aren't going to take much more damage than day to day. So, I really just need to figure out how much +30 attack is worth to a bland CO, eh? Looking at Max (balance hack version), +30 attack for all directs is 3 stars. Granted, he's starting a bit higher, so from bland I'd probably say +30 to all directs at 2 stars. To all units is probably 3 stars, maybe 3.5. -15% defense is a bit harder to figure out, but my guts says -1 star, maybe -1.5. Which places you right about 2 stars. Which is fine and dandy until you remember that due to blandness, you can have just slightly more than the true cost. So I'm gonna have to say this power is underpowered, just slightly. Otherwise, I like it a lot. 37/40

SCOP: Alrighty, you've hit my favorite power effect. Mass damage! 1 HP is about 2.5 stars (which can be argued). Kanbei's COP gives 150/130 stats for 4 stars. Take out 55% defense and it's worth less. A lot less. I'd probably call it 2.5 - 3 stars at most. So, I'm looking at a 5 - 5.5 star SCOP. The blandness means that you can round down (see Adder), so I can easily see this at 5 stars. You could probably even tone it up a little and keep it at 5. It's definitely underpowered for six stars. 30/40

Technical Total: 67/80

Total Rank: 83/100 -->

I like the idea. I like the bland. I like the mass damage. I just don't like the defense drop. While it fits, it also makes your powers underpowered. And with a bland CCO, powers are everything.

I look forward to seeing Ember get better. She's got the potential.

[Tronn_Bonne]

Thanks for the rate Thrawn and I really appreciate your detail on the power cost/effect ratio. Your criticisms with the bio section can all be easily fixed although your request for two victory quotes is a little strange since all the AW2 COs have only 1 victory quote. Regardless, from what you are saying the CO Powers can be fixed by simply reducing the defense loss. Furthermore, while I understand your dislike of the defense drop it does make Ember a little more unique while keeping her in character. Thanks again

[Tronn_Bonne]

Updated.

If anyone does not like the changes and think they are overpowered/underpowered please tell me now before I ask for another rate

[Sven]

+50 attack for all units in addition to some mass damage makes baby Jesus cry. Maybe nerf the attack to +40 to give COP incentive?

[Tronn_Bonne]

Well in raw numbers if we agree that the COP is balanced then the SCOP is technically balanced too. For 2 stars she gets a 30% attack boost but no defense boost. Thus, for 3 stars she should get a 45% attack boost with no defense boost (both the attack damage and star cost is increased by 50%). Therefore, if 1 HP of mass damage is worth 2.5 stars then the extra .5 star is made up for by the extra 5% damage (bringing it up to 50%) and the raw synergy between mass damage and a raw attack boost. Still, I have similar reservations as you about it but for the time being I will see what another rater says.

Thank you for your comments Sven

[Sven]

Perhaps make the bar 2/5 but drop the firepower?

Otherwise, with that logic, you may as well have an 8 star power with 250/100.

EDIT: On second thought, you might as well keep it as is. A SCOP is supposed to be devastating, Many other COs get very devastating powers for 6 stars.

[ThrawnFett]

The extra victory quote is kinda a tradition around here...

And I swear that AW2 COs had two victory quotes... been too long since I played it...

[Tronn_Bonne]

@Thrawny

I'm pretty sure they only had one but it has been a long time since I have played AW2 as well Regardless, I have three quotes for AWDS Ember so it was not a big deal

Otherwise, with that logic, you may as well have an 8 star power with 250/100.

There is a limit to that logic because the default 10% defense boost becomes less valuable as the CO Power’s cost increases. Thus, the SCOP could be slightly overpowered but it is a little tricky to tell Regardless, if anything I might end up just giving her a 5%-10% defense loss during her SCOP to balance things out if I have to.

[Treedweller]

CCO Ember (Hack Version) - Tronn Bonne
by: treedweller15

Name
Score: 4/5
The name is solid and fits her theme quite well, and seeing as she's part of the Bolt Guard, her name is quite well-suited to her environment. Good job, though it still isn't quite perfect enough to garner a five from me.
+4 Good job picking a name, yet it still isn't quite perfect enough to garner a perfect score.

Description/Biography
Score: 9/10
The description alone is apt at spurring the imagination into creating a picture of Ember, but the addition of a sprite (and a good one too) makes for an even better physical gauge of how she looks. That garners you the full two points and one bonus one. The biography is both interesting and informative, and I enjoy the way that it ties in other CO's stories (especially the bit about Flak) giving Ember a genuine Wars feel to her. However, the only reservation I have is that you don't go too far into her emotions to discern her personality. It feels as though you're a distant observer and have no way to discover what she's actually thinking and feeling, but this really isn't a big deal. Great job creating a believable and perfectly adjusted AW CCO.
+2 The physical description is competent and believable.
+1 The sprite is nice, and as such it garners you a bonus point.
+6 The biography and personality are well done, but I would like to the personality section a bit more up close to discern her emotions

Quotes
Score: 4/5
The quotes are above average, but I'd appreciate a few being a bit longer. As it is now, it's fine, but a few more lengthy quotes would have more of a creative impact on me and speak of her emotions a bit louder than it does now.
+4 The quotes are very good, but there needs to be a few with more to them to speak of her character a bit louder.

Creative Total: 17/20
A very strong creative section held back by a lack of emotional detail and the lack of some longer quotes. Fix that, and I assure you a higher score here. I especially appreciate all the effort you put into Ember's history and weaving her into the storyline; it was flawless.

Skill
Score: 0/0
Bland is a fine choice, especially for AW2.

CO Power
Score: 36/40
First to see if the COP is balanced, I'll examine the approximate star costs of each aspect of the ability. 30% of general attack is worth approximately 3 stars, with the lack of the default defense boost worth around -.5 stars, putting you at around 2.5 stars. Since she's bland, I'll forgive the power being slightly undercosted, as bland COs need something with a punch; I think this is balanced, netting you at the very least twenty points. However, I believe this is an interesting and creative power despite it just being a flat attack boost, and I'll tell you why. Almost no CO in AW2 can boast of the ability to DCOP an attack boost, and this is a useful ability that grants OHKOs and overall superior unit-unit match-ups. It comes in especially handy when that extra oomph is needed for all types of tanks and air, making them fear terrain stars less. However, it isn't quite original enough to warrant a perfect score, and as such I'll grant you sixteen additional points.
+20 The power, though slightly undercosted, is balanced taking into consideration that Ember is bland, netting you the basis for a solid score.
+16 The power, though seemingly only a flat attack boost, has some interesting and creative strategies surrounding it, including the ability to DCOP and the lack of a default defense boost to help keep it fair. I've never seen such a high attack boost done right for so little, and that’s something admirable.

SCO Power
Score: 31/40
This power appears balanced, as one damage on a SCOP is worth around 2.5 stars, with your 50% general attack boost worth a further 4.5; the default defense is again worth -.5 stars. Slightly undercosted yet I believe it’s perfectly fair due to Ember’s blandness, netting you fifteen points for the SCOP. Now, this power appears to be more than just a stronger version of the COP, and the mass one damage goes a long way in encouraging SCOP use over double COPing, making it in my opinion unique and powerful. Good job with the SCOP, and it’s interesting how you managed to make a CO who encourages use of both powers depending on the situation. It’s not completely original though, keeping you from top marks yet I understand that this is indeed a hack version.
+15 The SCOP is balanced and useful.
+16 The SCOP isn’t completely original, but it has its interesting quirks; the fact that Ember can both save for her SCOP and DCOP to implement a variety of strategies is a welcome one. I would like to see something slightly more original, keeping you from a perfect score here.

Technical Total: 67/80
A solid effort here, but it would be even better with a slightly more original SCOP.

Final Total: 84/100


A great CCO, especially for a hack version, and the only real thing holding you back is a slight lack of originality with the SCOP. I appreciate a bland CCO to have a completely different SCOP, and while you did a good job of differentiating it, I cannot simply dismiss the fact that it does work off the same premise of the COP thanks to the attack boost. I don’t know what I’d do with it, but it’s obvious she was initially built with a small D2D strength in mind, so perhaps you could alter it in that way wherein you wouldn’t lose so many points from me. Or you could get a different rater...

[Tronn_Bonne]

Thanks for the rate treedweller^.^ My biggest concern with the hack version was the balance of the CCO and it seems that I was able to achieve it. However, I’m not exactly sure why you gave the COP a 20 for balance but the SCOP a 15 for balance when both are balanced in the same way (slightly under priced for the effects but Ember is bland day-to-day <.<). Regardless, I am reluctant to make changes to the SCOP at this stage since the existing one is fine as is and it does fit her theme. Plus, there is only so much you can do in a hack and no other ability that can be easily programmed strikes me as really fitting her.

Anyway, I particularly appreciate your helpful comments on Ember's bio and I will do what I can to improve it. Part of me actually would like to just get this version of Ember into the Hall of Fame if I can. The other version was really designed for AWDS and fine tuning the balance with that one is proving to be very difficult >.<

Anyway, thanks again

[Treedweller]

I'm glad you liked the rate Tronn.

As for the reason I gave her 15 for balance on the SCOP, my personal rubric does it a bit different. I give 20 simply for a balanced COP and 20 for creativity and synergy. However, for SCOPs, I give 15/40 for simply having a balanced SCOP that's functional, and the rest of the points are creativity and originality as I believe that's more important for a super than a regular power. However, if a COP/SCOP is grossly over or underpowered, they will not recieve lower that 20 or 15 and I'll skip giving points for creativity altogether; you actually did very well. I hope that makes more sense...

[Tronn_Bonne]

Ok, I see where you are coming from now. Thanks^.^

[RadioShadow]

Tronn, I have nearly nearly finshed adding Ember to Advance Wars 2 but while I was adding I noticed that the sprite contains more than 16 colours.

Since AW2 can only accept 16 colours per sprit I removed four of the colours. The sprite however still looks good know and you will have to look closely to see what colours have been replaced.

Anyway, once I have finsh editing Hawke's pallette I will be adding the Neutral, happy and angry/shock/sad face. Adding the neutral face is fine since thats the normal expression on the CO.

What you need to do is edit her face so one shows her happy and the other angry (or sad/shocked).

Also I can only use one Victory quote so you need to tell me which one I should add to AW2.

[Tronn_Bonne]

That is awesome RS and I am glad to hear it^-^ Anyway, I will send you the other facial expressions ASAP. Also, if possible I would like Ember to replace Flak in Xen's v 1.8 balance patch. In fact if I can edit the combat/map CO portraits with MS Paint then I am willing to make those for you too (you just need to send me ripped ones so I can edit them). Also, if possible can you send me your edited version of the sprite? I am curious to see what you changed.

As for the victory quote I would like the “I love this job!” quote to be used. Also, if you could not get X0’s theme music to work properly then please use “The World of Macro Land” song for her theme music.

Thanks again ^o^

[RadioShadow]

The one thing I forgot to mention is that at the moment we can only change mass damage powers and Drake, Olaf and Hawke are the only COs that use mass damage powers. So Ember will ever have to use Winter Fury, Tsunami, Typhoon, Black Wave or Black Strom for her SCOP. One of them will be edited to do 1HP damage to all units.

I can ever

- Ember to replace Hawke
- Ember to replace Flak but Hawke’s powers will have changed. So I would have to over right Hawke with Flak or change Hawke’s abilities.
- Replace Ember with Flak but Olaf’s or Drake’s powers will have be changed. Will need to change their stats or replace another CO over Olaf or Drake.

I think the better option would be to replace Hawke (which is what I am doing at the moment) since the second and third option evolves more editing (especially changing the campaign dialogue). Also the first option does not screw up any COs.


I will send you the face sprites after school and a screenshot of what Ember looks like in the game.

I can try and put X0_000 theme in the game but it might not work. Even if it does work you must realise that we do not know how to make the themes loop let. For know I will use the ‘The World of Macro Land’ theme.

[Xenesis]

Hey would you mind sending me the stuff when you're done as well? It would mean less doubling up of work.

[RadioShadow]

Sure. All I have done at the moment is edited hawke's stats (not mass damage let) and started adding ember sprite.


When I get home I will send you:

Ember sprite head

Ember sprite body

Ember neutral face

and a list of colours (bytes) that need to be entered in the first palette.


I may even send you the IPS patch of what I done so far.

[Xenesis]

Well, just sending me the sprites would probably be more helpful, as it's not that likely that I'll replace the same CO for the CCOBT (I think I'm replacing Lash for Ember)

[RadioShadow]

Xen and Tronn. I sent you an e-mail containing the pics you need.

Please ignore the first e-mail since one of images placed in there is wrong (ember sprite face).


EDIT: Xen I sent it too you hotmail address so check your hotmail accont.

2nd EDIT: I also sent it to your warsworldnews e-mail address too

[Xenesis]

Gracias.

That helps me a lot.

[RadioShadow]

In fact if I can edit the combat/map CO portraits with MS Paint then I am willing to make those for you too (you just need to send me ripped ones so I can edit them).

Thanks again ^o^

The CO menu/battle sprites I got to find first. Luckily Xen wrote their location in the old WWN form. Once i worked out how to rip them out of tile layer pro I will send them too you.

I give it a go tonight.

[Tronn_Bonne]

The reason why I wanted Flak to be replaced was because the game already has two luck based COs and having Ember take his spot would not disturb the CO distribution. That and it makes thematic sense because the patch represents an alternate reality where Ember did not go to prison

Still, I can't complain and I thank you both for your hard work^-^. Also, the sprite looks good even with the few colors missing on the belt RS. However, I see that you replaced the light blue on the eyes with a skin color. That looks a little strange so can you just extend the dark blue? I will send you back the neutral face with that edit in it. Also, I finished the victory and defeat faces so I will send those to you both shortly (I will replace the light blue with the dark blue in those).

Anyway, I am perfectly fine with "The World of Macro Land" song being used since I think it fits her well. Also, out of curiosity but is it known how to replace CO names? I see that she is still listed as Hawke and I was just curios<.< Regardless, excellent work and I can’t wait to see the end results ^o^

[RadioShadow]

The CO Names are Graphics and I have not got round to making a Ember Graphic name let. That is on one of my list to do.

I planning to rip Hawke's CO Battle and menu face so I send it to you as soon as possible.

What you could be doing while I editing the CO is decided on some alternative colours for Ember since ecah CO has 8 diffrent palettes.

[Tronn_Bonne]

Ah, so the name is a graphic. I was not aware of that but I am glad to hear that you will make one in the future^-^ If you would like any help with that then please let me know.

Anyway, in the meantime I will start making the alternate colors for the sprite. The existing color scheme will be the default one (palette #1) so I will start sending you the other 7 as I complete them (with the faces in alt colors in addition to the whole sprite).

[ThrawnFett]

Theme Music: http://www.geocities.com/x0isleet/ember.mid [Composed by X0_000]
Name: Ember (Hack version 1.2)
Army: Bolt Guard

Physical Description:
Ember is an attractive woman in her early twenties. She is of average height and has muddy blonde hair that hangs down past her shoulders. Her eyes are icy blue and she always has a hostile, almost mad, gaze. She wears a black and red military uniform that is typical of the Bolt Guard.

History:
Even at an early age there was always something different about Ember despite the fact that she was raised in a normal upper-middle class home with loving parents. She was very dominating of others and would bully people to get the things she wanted. Yet she also had a very short temper and if anyone tried to oppose her wishes she would verbally, and sometimes physically, attack them. It was clear that there was a mean streak within her and Ember seemed to take great pleasure in violence. Furthermore, she always did things the way she thought they should be done and she never listened to the advice of others.

Ember’s aggressive behavior proved too much for her family and they sent her off to military school with hopes that it would help her become more disciplined. However, Ember quickly liked her new situation since the military did provide her with the authority to bully her subordinates as well as provide her with plenty of opportunities to partake in violence. The only thing that irritated her was the army’s structured lifestyle and rigid hierarchy but she, for the most part, was able to ignore it. Ember eventually became a Special Forces operative in the Black Hole Army. She proved to be an extremely effective combatant and able leader which caused her to quickly rise up the ranks. However, she also proved to be an exceptionally ruthless commander that became notorious for her brutal methods while conducting an operation. She rarely took prisoners and preferred to annihilate her enemies even when they had surrendered.

Ember’s belligerent nature and love of violence did not bother Sturm who was in command of Black Hole during her initial years as a CO. What did disturb Sturm was Ember’s tendency to ignore orders to capture the enemy and their territory with minimal damage. More often than not many of Ember’s victories were useless to Sturm since valuable intel was lost and enemy facilities were unnecessarily damaged. Despite this Sturm still made her second-in-command to Hawke who would be the leader of the invasion of Macro Land. However, one of Ember’s subordinate COs by the name of Adder was power hungry and fed up with her harsh treatment of him. He began plotting of different ways he could remove her from power.

Adder utilized Ember’s tendency to ignore orders to make her look like a traitor and he convinced Sturm that she could not be entrusted with conquering Yellow Comet. Sturm accepted Adder’s reasoning and had Ember imprisoned for her past insubordination which is where she remained during the Macro Land War. Meanwhile, Sturm appointed Adder to be the second-in-command of the Macro Land invasion and Hawke was forced to quickly find another CO to replace Ember. He did this by randomly picking some BH private called Flak.

Sturm’s demise unfortunately did not improve Ember’s situation. Hawke felt that he could not trust her so he did nothing to remove her from prison. Furthermore, Von Bolt had no interest in recruiting additional COs since he felt he had enough between his own Bolt Guard and the remaining Black Hole COs that remained loyal. Thus, he did nothing to release her from prison when he came to power and Ember was forced to sit out on yet another war.

It was after the Omega War that Ember got her chance for freedom. Black Hole was on the verge of Civil War as different factions formed around the Bolt Guard, led by Kindle, and around the Black Hole Regular Army, led by Hawke. The military prison Ember was housed in favored the Bolt Guard and Kindle, knowledgeable of Ember’s impressive if somewhat dark war record and in need of talented COs, offered Ember a position as a CO in the Bolt Guard. Ember immediately accepted the offer since it not only gave her the opportunity to fight battles again but it also gave her the chance to get revenge against the treacherous Adder who caused her to be sent to prison in the first place. Thus, Ember was integrated into the Bolt Guard hierarchy and was back on the frontlines.

Personality:
Ember is loud, aggressive, and very quick to anger. She is always barking orders at both her soldiers and her enemies; both of which tend to fear her. Ember likes power but not for money or fame but because she simply enjoys being able to dominate others. Furthermore, she especially enjoys battles simply for the violence involved in them and she tends to measure victory not in the amount of territory gained but in the number of enemy units destroyed. Ember also cares little about what her superiors think of her actions and will quite regularly ignore orders in order to fight a battle as she sees fit.

In-Game Description:
An extremely belligerent Bolt Guard CO that is notorious for her ruthlessness.

Roses
Violets


Ember is a competent CO that excels with any unit type. Thus, she has bland stats day-to-day.

Normal Stats:
All Units 100/100

CO Meter:

COP: Rampage
Ember orders her units to destroy everything in sight and annihilate all enemy opposition. Thus, all of her units go on a rampage and receive a 30% attack boost. However, they do not receive the standard 10% defense boost.

COP Stats:
All Units 130/100

SCOP: Scorched Earth
Ember orders her units to take extreme measure when dealing with the enemy. They attack civilians, destroy crops, and burn villages. Thus, all enemy units are dealt 1 HP of mass damage to represent both the demoralizing effects and material loss caused by these actions. Furthermore, all of Ember’s units are whipped up into a frenzy and receive a 50% attack boost. However, they do not receive the standard 10% defense boost.

SCOP Stats:
All Units 150/100

Quotes:
“Take no prisoners!”
“Ahahaha… I’ll destroy you all!”
“You won't like me when I am angry!"
“I swear to make you rue this day!"
“Burn everything! I don’t want to see anything left untouched!”
“I have fury!”

Victory Quotes:
“I love this job!”
"You had better hope we do not meet again."

Name: No change here. 5/5

Bio: Well, you fixed the few mistakes I pointed out. I really have no complaints except that I reserve full points for the bios that go above and beyond and just blow me away. 9/10

Quotes: Fawful + Hulk = Winnar! 5/5

Creative Total: 19/20

Abilities: Blander than beurre manie (look it up) 0/0

COP: +30 attack for 2 stars, eh? As Treed pointed out, it would probably come in at around 2.5 stars. Due to blandness, I'll allow you the 2 stars. However, unlike Treed, I find the power rather bland too. Sure, a nice attack boost can be useful, but it doesn't allow for the same kind of strategies that other COPs give you. Heck, even Adder's COP give you a lot of strategy options. Here, it's just "Lookie! I can hit you harder!" for a turn. The lack of defense mixes it up just slightly, but I'm not a big fan of plain ole attack boosts, especially on a bland CO. 34/40

SCOP: Once again, mass damage > j00. Especially when you get a nice effect with it. I like the fact that you only used 1 HP. It seperates it from the other mass damage SCOPs. And then you get +50 attack along with it. Cost-wise, I'd say you are on the mark (if slightly overpowered) with 6.5 - 7 stars and a bland reduction. The DCOP is also a nice addition. My only real complaint about it is, once again, the blandness of the attack boost. I would really like to see something more creative. 36/40

Technical Total: 70/80

Total Rank: 89/100 -->

You know, 89/100 seems to be the most commom rank I hand out. I like Ember, but I just can't see her in the Hall of Fame as she is. Balance-wise, she's perfectly fine. However, she's a bland CO with bland powers. Bland day to day requires powers with a lot of strategic variety. Adder's powers are bland at first glance, but they give him quite a few options. Just ask fally.

Now, to be fair, this is the hack version. You can't be too creative with the powers or else you can't get it hacked. I understand that. But I'm still not going to S-rank this version without creative powers.

Oh, and let me rate the other Ember next time. With a 19/20 creative from me, she'll already be really close to an S. I tend to take points out of creative just to deny an S that's not deserved...

[Tronn_Bonne]

Thanks for the rate Thrawny^-^ Yeah, I know that she is a blandy with bland powers but this is (as you said) a hack version so there is only so much that can be done. (although I personally don't have a problem with hitting people harder for a turn \^o^/). Plus, a really high attack boost at the cost of no defense increase fits her personality well. Anyway, I did not expect the hack version of Ember to get an S (or into the HoF) but I just wanted to double check the balance. Now that I know she is perfectly balanced (and that the quotes are better) there is nothing holding her back from being fully hacked into the game.

I currently have treedweller looking at the original version of Ember which has gone through some major changes. I basically made her similar to the hack version but she is far, far more original and creative in her abilities. Once I get the rate from treedweller I will gladly give you the opportunity to rate her

[Treedweller]

I'm sorry Tronn, but that rate of Ember won't happen for at least a couple of days... I've just been really busy, but I'll try to have it up soon.

[RadioShadow]

Well Tronn I have nearly finshed hacking Ember into Avance Wars but it is only 75% complete.

The remaining things I got to do are:

- Add COP Quotes
- Add the remaining 6 palletes
- Sort out one of Hachi's sentence he says in the shop
- Change Campaign Dialogue (only if you are willing to do write out what Ember is going to say)

I have uploaded an IPS patch of what I have are done so far. She is fully playable but just beware there are a few things that I have not edited let. I also added mine and your name in the credits. Should appear near the end.

[Tronn_Bonne]

Superb work Radioshadow! I tried out the patch and everything is great so far with two small exceptions. The first is that in the SCOP description you have a typo where “enemy” is spelled as “enermy”. The second thing is that during Ember’s SCOP the game’s colors can become distorted during Ember’s turn. If visuals are on then the colors in the battle cut scenes are inverted. Furthermore, if you look at the CO chart and then go back to the map you will see all of the map’s colors inverted as well. However, when the enemy starts their turn the screen flashes white and the colors revert to normal.

Anyway, great work and I will be happy to write out the dialogue for the campaign. If possible, please send me the old dialogue of Hawke and the COs/soldiers he is conversing with. Also, one other tiny thing but in Adder’s description it does say he is second in rank to Hawke so you should replace that with Ember (And any reference in the campaign to Hawke or Lord Hawke should be replaced with Ember or Mistress Ember).

Thanks again for all of your hard work and please let me know if there is anything else you would like me to take care of besides the campaign dialogue ^-^

[RadioShadow]

Ember is now available to play on AW2 which means the IPS patch has been released.

Click on the link below to view the topic which contains the Ember IPS patch and screenshots (56k warning)

http://forums.warsworldnews.com/viewtopic.php?t=3700