Map section rule revision.

[Dr Super Good]

About the Maps Section

The Maps resource section is a place for users to show off and obtain feedback for their fully functional map creations for Warcraft III. Being available to the public it is also the perfect place for a Warcraft III player to find something new and interesting to play. Both user created map and campaign resources are supported by this section.

Submissions must obey certain rules or they will be rejected and become unavailable to both users and the public. In addition to enforcing the Site Rules and General Resource Rules there are a number of Maps section specific rules that must be obeyed. These cover many Warcraft III map relevant topics as well as enforcing a trivial level of quality. The necessary level of quality can be easily reached by mappers of any skill level and exists to safeguard both players and authors from wasting their time.

Only major or a large number of rule violations will result in a resource being permanently rejected. Mostly you will be instructed that the resource requires fixing to be approved and given a chance to revise it. Any rule violations will be clearly described on the moderator feedback so making the required changes should be easy. Future amendments made to the rules will only be applied to submissions made after a specified cut-off date.
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Maps Section Rules

All Maps resource submissions must comply with the following list of rules.

• Appropriately named.
• Author is verifiable.
• Is described.
• Resources are credited.
• Is a major release.
• Can be played.
• Is in English.
• Is non-trivial.
• Good runtime performance.

Rule Details

Appropriately named.

All map submissions must be appropriately named. This applies to both the map name and map file name. A name is appropriate if it fits the map and is unique enough to discern it from other maps. A file name is appropriate if it resembles the map name in some way and is sufficiently short for Warcraft III to see it in the Maps\Download folder of the average Warcraft III installation.

The map name can be altered in World Edit from the main window by selecting Scenario->Map Description... and modifying the Name: field. Map files can be renamed like any other file as long as no application is using the map file at the time.

Names often include the type of game (e.g. Wars, Maul, TD, Defence, Survival), a brand (e.g. DBZ, Risk, LoaP), some unique identifier (e.g. Tribute, Allstars, Gold) and can even be completely made up. File names are usually constructed by abbreviating the map name. It is good practice to tag a version number at the end of map names so that people can always choose the most recent revision to play.

Examples:

Approved: Map Name "Hive Workshop Wars 1.0", File Name "HWsW 1.0.w3x"
Rejected: Map Name "Just another Warcraft III map", File Name "WorldEditTestMap.w3x"
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Author is verifiable.

All map submissions must be done with permission from the author. This is straight forward when the declared map author name is the same as your account name. If the names differ, a declaration must be made specifying your relationship with the name. Examples of such relationships might be the author being another alias of yours, you submitting as a proxy of the author or the author being a group you are a member of.

If a moderator has reason to suspect that your declared relationship with the author is fake then you may be asked to provide proof. Such proof can come in the form of communication dumps explaining your relationship, an unprotected version of a protected map proving ownership or contact details for the author to verify your relationship with them. Proof can also be used by map authors to request removal or ownership change if it was submitted by a proxy.

Examples:

Approved (same names): Created by Dr Super Good ; Uploaded by: Dr Super Good
Approved (alias): Created by Imperial Good ; Uploaded by: Dr Super Good ; In description: Imperial Good is an alias of mine.
Approved (group): Created by Clan THW ; Uploaded by: Dr Super Good ; In description: Map made by my clan, THW.
Approved (proxy): Created by Dr Super Evil ; Uploaded by: Dr Super Good ; In description: Uploaded on behalf of my friend Dr Super Evil.
Rejected (unclear author): Created by Doog Repus Rd ; Uploaded by: Dr Super Good ; Nothing in description
Rejected (map theft): Created by Ralle ; Uploaded by: Dr Super Good ; In description: I made this map!
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Is described.

All map submissions must be described within the designated description field. From such a description a reader must know the basics of how to play the map. A minimum description would include basic map objectives and gameplay information for the map. Better descriptions might mention some history behind the map, give out detailed gameplay information and possibly link to some videos of the map being played.

Descriptions will not be judged by their literal worth. Spelling and grammar mistakes will be ignored as long as the ideas can still be understood. Descriptions designed to waste the readers time or falsely advertise the gameplay of the map will result in rejection.

Be aware that map descriptions help convince players to play a map. It is recommend that time and care is taken when writing a map description. A minimum description will be approved but a detailed, formatted and well written description might attract more downloads.

Examples:

Approved (sufficient): submission Gaias Retaliation ORPG
Approved (good): submission Sunken City
Rejected (insufficient): In description: THIS MAP GOOD! PLAY NOW!
Rejected (wasting time): In description: Spammity spam, spammity spam! (repeated 1,000 times)
Rejected (false advertising): In description: Playing this map will make your computer run 50 times faster, give you super powers and expose you to all maps ever made in Warcraft III.
Rejected (no description): Nothing in description
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Resources are credited.

All map submissions must sufficiently credit all used resources as appropriate. Crediting a resource is as simple as mentioning the author's name once in a list of credits located both in game and in the map submission's description. Author names are 1 or more aliases, real names or groups which are declared as the creator of a resource. Resources from unknown authors or resources with licences permitting use without credit do not need to be credited. Resources with licences preventing their use will result in map rejection even if credited.

This rule is passively enforced due to its complex nature. This means that failure to credit all resources will not result in immediate rejection. Moderators may only be aware of the existence of a small number of resources in a map during testing and as long as some appear credited the map will be approved. Instead it is largely up to the community as a whole to enforce this rule by flagging up violators.

Maps might be subjected to auditing in order to protect the rights of resource authors. If a player or resource author finds out that a credit for a resource used in a map is missing or if a resource is being used without permission then they can report the map for auditing. During the audit the map resources are examined more closely and both the reporter and submitter may be asked to provide evidence to support their claims. If a map fails auditing then it will be rejected.

For all resources located on Hive Workshop it is sufficient to just mention the author's account name. As long as the resource is still available, approved and is credited at the time of map submission the map's right to use the resource will be protected. If a resource author later decides to change his name or the resource licence he cannot use that as a grounds to get the map submission audited.

Credits exist to give recognition to contributors to a map submission. Although resource authors are forced to be credited by rules, other people who helped are not. Out of gratitude it is recommended that anyone who has invested significant effort helping with the map is credited. It is also a good idea (but in no way required) to credit "hiveworkshop.com" for hosting your map.
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