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Theme:
Theme Specifics:
The stories of men at war are many and widespread. Common is the bard's tale showering glory on some iron-thewed, brawny, testosterone-laden male. But what of the women?
From the accomplished sorceress to the swift and silent cat burglar, from the tomboy or the girl hiding her gender to the saint called to lead armies, from the highly competent Lady or Queen taking care of her lands in her husband's absence to the grief-stricken mother - women see many different views of war. Some say that if women ruled the world there would be no war. Certainly she who cherishes her children may hesitate to strike down another woman's children ... at least until the instant her own are threatened.
Glory is incidental. These are the stories of women who deserve respect.
Possible interpretations include:
Entry Deadlines:
All maps must be received no later than Midnight, January 31, 2004 - Canberra time! (That's about 10am January 31st for most Americans. Check the submission script if you want an 'hours and days' count.) The script will not accept map submissions after this time. It will start accepting map submissions on January 1, 2004.
Contest Categories:
Each version of HOMM4 (Standard, Gathering Storm, Winds of War) will be treated as a separate category. Judges reserve the option of adjusting this if one category attracts too few entries.
Size:
No Restrictions.
It should be noted that the smaller the map the more critical the judgement. In other words, the judges will expect way more event trimming, structure trimming, and overall detail on small and medium sized single-layer maps than they will on maps that are large or huge and contain a full "dungeon" or "underground" area. At the same time, it should also be noted that map makers who produce the largest size of map should ensure that they have enough story-line, action, and detail to keep the Player interested. A bored judge is a negative judge.
Terrain: No Restrictions.
Player Positions: No Restrictions.
Win/Lose: No Restrictions.
Miscellaneous Information and Tips:
Be very careful with the difficulty of your map. If most of the judges cannot complete it, you will suffer ... if it is too easy, you may also suffer. You, as the mapmaker, should probably be able to complete the map with no more than about two reloads (idiocy allowance).
Maps that involve significant story and quests will be at an advantage.
Mapmakers are asked to mention in the readme file what difficulty or difficulties the map was playtested at.
General Map Submission Rules Still Apply:
Remember that the standard readme text file must be fully and completely filled out and be included with the map, and the map must have been playtested by someone other than the mapmaker. If the readme text or the map does not meet MapHaven standards and requirements it will be tossed without warning. Because of the nature of the contest we don't have the time to open up a "fix me" dialogue with contestants over readme files or maps that don't follow the rules.
Maps should be submitted to MapHaven normally, and then (without needing to be approved) entered in the competition via This webform
| Gloria Mapmaking Competition results |
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I would like to thank all the contributing mapmakers for making this
competition so very difficult to judge - trying to choose between several
very good maps is one of the problems we like to have!
However, it means not everyone will agree with the choices the judges made. The maps come in a variety of styles, and different people will prefer different styles, sometimes with considerable feeling. Just remember - different strokes for different folks. I give first prize, the Royal Knight award, to Angels are Back, which all the judges completed and enjoyed. The picture map is exquisite, and I really enjoyed watching my view of it grow while I played the map; the gameplay is solid and the quests worthwhile. The Hero's Crown award was difficult to award, since three of the six maps received the same number of votes from the community. (Angels are Back, Lost Crusade, and Draconic.) I thought the award should go to Draconic, (which the judges all enjoyed, but would not give the Royal Knight award to because the adherence to the contest theme was poor,) because Draconic has been praised so much on Celestial Heavens. (Draconic could switch its enemy heroes from male to female by changing a few references from 'sisters' to 'brothers' with zero impact on gameplay or storyline coherence, partly because there wasn't much storyline. What makes Draconic enjoyable is the hero development - my main party of four heroes hit level 50 and maxed out all skills; my secondary party of two thieves could take out 50 black dragons without support; and the custom heroes you can choose from each come with their own special abilities. It's an XL map that takes a long time to play.) However, I went and looked at the ratings people submitted for all the maps in the competition, and they clearly favoured Angels are Back. So - despite the competition being very close - this map gets two of the awards! I was tossing up whether the Clover Magic award for originality should go to Lost Crusade or Lunch. Charles Watkins and Chris Tiahrt both have long histories of producing high quality, original maps. However, feedback from the other judges amounted to the fact that Chris Tiahrt (aka Fizbin the Magniloquent) ran away with the originality prize for Lunch - which he won in the Power of a Hero competition as well! Lunch is the story of a Dragon who resents the absence of his sacrificial princess and sets out to right the situation. From a dragon's point of view, unfortunately for the kingdom who was supposed to supply the princess. It is designed with tight constraints and close battles - the latter is a turn-off for some players, as some battles may need to be re-fought several times, both to get the strategy right and because the mega-dragon's 50% magic resistance may or may not work at the right time. Lost Crusade is likely to be updated shortly, and since it was a contender for the first prize despite a range of rough edges needing polishing, it is likely to be an excellent map after the update. It will still be complex and involved - all Watkins maps are - so if that's your style, keep an eye out for the map to appear on MapHaven's front page, as it will after an update. Lost Crusade involves Eleanor of Aquitane setting out to bring the Sword of the Gods to Jerusalem - only there's a hitch and her crusade is soon lost in another world. Steal Magnolia is the first ever recipient of my personal award.[1] It gets Rachel's Rubies award essentially because I liked it and wanted to give it something. It was a very strong contender to be the recipient of the Royal Knight award. It fit the competition theme extremely well. Ky missed out on a prize partly because of the difficulty rating - Novice it ain't, despite the text file saying that's what it was meant to be. Not only because there are a range of fights available that the player can't win (you don't do that to a novice!) but also because there are a range of places to get into unwinnable situations, and you don't want to do that to experienced players either. Suggestions for the theme of the next HOMM4 mapmaking competition are now invited. [1] Other people wishing to be able to give their personal award to maps should apply by email. |
| DragonSister@heroes.mycomport.com |
There have been 6 responses to this survey so far.
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