Melee Mapping Contest #4 - 2v2

[mafe]

MELEE MAPPING CONTEST #4

Create a 2v2 melee map that excels in balance, terrain and creativity, while being suitable for Warcraft III Reforged.

• No submission may violate any of the site rules.
• If a submission does not follow the map submission rules the creator will be disqualified.
• All submissions must follow the current theme. If any submission does not fit, a moderator will tell you as soon as possible as to avoid confusion.
  • You must submit your entry before the deadline. To submit your final entry, you must upload the entry's contents as a bundle in the Maps Section, and link to that bundle in this thread confirming the submission.
  • Several screenshots of terrain and gameplay.
  • The file in the appropriate format.
• You must show at least one unfinished preview of your submission, before the deadline, as proof that it’s yours.
  
• Your submission may not be started/made before the official launch of the contest.
• Judges may not participate.
• Your final submission must be bug free.
• Teamwork is allowed under following conditions: Up to two people may work jointly on a contest submission. If you want to enter as a team, both participants must state this in the contest thread.
  • Prize money will be evenly shared between both mappers.
    
  • Finding testers to help you with your submission is not considered teamwork.
  • You can participate either in one team or as a single contestant.
• No custom imports are allowed.
• Triggers are not allowed.
• Only one entry per contestant or team.
  
• For melee maps, any gameplay altering data may not be changed. (No custom units/spells/buffs. Destructibles/objects may be changed, however we would highly apreciate, if you wouldn't do so.)
• To participate in this contest, register by stating your intention in this thread. There will be a limit of 25 submissions. A list of registered participants will be available in the post below this one. Please also leave a note if you know that won't be able to finish your map in time, so that your spot can be taken by someone else instead.
• In the public poll that will decide a part of the overall score, you are not allowed to vote for your own submission.
  
• Please also consider the FAQ in first post after this thread.

Breaking any of these rules may lead to punishment in the judgement score, up to disqualification from the contest, depending on the weight of the issue. In case of doubts towards a certain rule you are very encouraged to discuss it in the contest thread so others and judges may help with sorting it out.

• 1st place: 50 reputation points and €50 through paypal.
• 2nd place: 30 reputation points and €20 through paypal.
• 3rd place: 20 reputation points and €10 through paypal.
• Judge: 25 reputation points

The three winners will receive an award icon, representing the winning entry.

• Lawliet (Twitch , Liquipedia)
• @Hi2Chaco (Twitch , Liquipedia)
• @mafe

Balance:	Is the map balanced for both teams? Are the positions and distance between points of interest fair? Does the map allow the 4 races to be balanced? Consider balance when implementing the pathing, resources, creep camps, and item drops.	50/100
Terrain:	Is the map visually pleasing in mediums of terrain, doodad placement, and overall theme? Is the map repetitive? Is the aesthetic well designed but not overly obstructive?	35/100
Creativity & Uniqueness:	Does the map bring something new or creative to the table? This should primarily refer to gameplay, but terrain may also be included.	15/100
Bugs:	Scores may be brought down if there are bug-like issues such as faulty pathing, unusable resources, etc.

• 80% of the winner shall be determined by the contest's appointed judges.
• 20% of the winner shall be determined by the results of a public poll.

• The contest shall begin on March 16th and conclude on April 25th, 23:59 GMT

Assigned Moderator: @Naze​

Big thanks to anyone helping to organize this contest, in particular @Naze , @Mr.Henci and @XanderD

 

[mafe]

Participant(s)	WIP	Final entry
1. @XanderD	WIP	Lordaeron Plaza
2. @Mr.Henci	WIP	Hillsbrad Creek
3. @DuckDuckGoose	WIP	Overgrown Center
4. @Keito	WIP	The Consortium
5. @JaleVeliki	WIP	Vile Reef
6. @Ragnaros17	WIP	Stairs of Destiny
7. @JamesWoW	---	---
8. @Meerel	WIP	King and Country
9. @BronzeOregon	---	---
10. @mmtt	WIP	Forgotten Halls
11. @Khaldaiel	WIP	Veilswamp
12. @Rockstar356	WIP	Bandits City
13. @Twilight	WIP	The Time Gates
14. @Nudl9	WIP	Terrace Fields
15. @Blood Raven	WIP	Underground Oasis
16. @eubz	---	---
17. @Battleborn	WIP	---
18. @sentrywiz	WIP	Venture Co. Shipyards
19. @FranzVader_CZ	WIP	Westfall Adventure
20. @aSpaghettiMan	WIP	---
21. @Arrr	WIP	Guardians
22.
23.
24.
25.
Waiting List

FAQ:

What is a melee map?	A melee map is map that is suitable for unaltered wc3 gameplay. The kind of maps you play on when you go to battle.net and hit the "play game" buttom.
How can I tell if my map is a melee map?	Set game data to default and play your map. When you have all 8 heroes in the tavern, your map is fine. Alternatively, when you open your map in the World Editor, there is a small text in the bottom right which says Melee map: Yes or No. If you hover your mouse over this text, it will give indicators your why your map is not considered a melee map. Sometimes (for example, if you open a map that has been created in an World Editor with a different language setting), it will still say it isnt a melee map, but will nevertheless work as a default melee map.
Why this restrictive setting? I could just make sure it is a melee map by setting game datat to "Melee (latest patch)"?	@Kam has stated before that in order to be considered for Battle.net, melee maps should satisfy the "Melee Map: Yes" condition, see here: Melee Mapping Contest #2 - 1 vs 1 . So this condition is set to ensure all maps entries will satisfy this condition, as the dream of almost all melee mappers is to have their maps adopted by blizzard. If you are not happy with this, then unfortunately this contest is not for you, but nothing prevents you from uploading and sharing your map anyway.
Why doesnt the contest start right away?	Participants shall have enough time to consider if they want to work as a team and talk to potential partners without missing time during which they could be working on their maps. Also during the previous melee mapping contests, there have always been some questions about rules and other stuff which should better be answered before the contest itself begins.
Please define "2v2 map".	For this contest, maps shall be rated with respect to how suitable they are for 2v2. If your map is also playable for other game modes such as 1v1, FFA,... is not relevant for this contest, neither positively nor negatively.
What does "ready for reforged mean"?	While I'm not entirely sure where I heard it, but if I remember correctly a blizzard employee said that maps using only data that is included in the World Editor by default can be ported to Reforged without any problems. This seems to imply that if you import resources for your map, this might cause issues with respect to porting the map to Reforged.
Why the limit of participants?	It is to limit the number of submissions that the judges will have to review, as these reviews will take a lot of time if taken seriously, and the judges are doing this in their own free time. However, if it is foreseeable that there is much greater interest in this contest than anticipated, this topic can be discussed further.
Any further explanations about teamwork?	There are probably some issues if someone tries to insist on a very "creative" interpretation of the rules. Please try to be reasonable. Other than that, it would of course be good idea to find teams of people who complement each other well, for example an experienced player (with little mapping experience, but knowledge about gameplay and balance) and an experienced mapper (who already knows some tricks about the editor, but maybe isnt playing too much).
Why am I not added to the list of participants?	For some reason, sometimes comments dont show up immediately for. If I missed your post about joining the contest, please post again or send a direct message to me.[/URL]

 

[Chaosy]

So explain to a melee ultra scrub like me what exactly defines a melee map.

I do not have much interest in melee itself, though I could see it as a terraining challenge and just slap some melee gameplay on top when I am done.
So for my purposes I would most likely import a lot of doodad models but make sure to not make a single custom doodad and just modify the model of existing stuff.

Would this technically count?

edit: above post kinda explains it.

 

[XanderD]

count me in!

 

[Mr.Henci]

Count me in.

 

[JamesWoW]

my name is James and I would like to participate

 

[DuckDuckGoose]

Count me in as well

 

[Keito]

Sign me up scotty!

 

[JaleVeliki]

I'll be joining the contest as well. Count me in! 2v2 hype lets go!

 

[WolfFarkas]

@mafe

"The contest shall begin on March 16th and conclude on April 23th, 23:59 GMT"

Explain this:

we can state to join before hand and you add us to the list but we can not start the map till 16 right?? or I am missing something?, because you stated that the contest was on.


in other topic, please add me to the list I want to participate, I will participate as single contestant (because of RL times).

 

[mafe]

@mafe

"The contest shall begin on March 16th and conclude on April 23th, 23:59 GMT"

Explain this:

we can state to join before hand and you add us to the list but we can not start the map till 16 right?? or I am missing something?, because you stated that the contest was on.


in other topic, please add me to the list I would like to participate, I will participate alone.

This is correct. Iirc it has been like this at the previous contests too. Also please read the FAQ regaring this topic.

 

[WolfFarkas]

This is correct. Iirc it has been like this at the previous contests too. Also please read the FAQ regaring this topic.

great!

the pre-start joining confused me, yeah it was in the FAQ, I miss it, thanks for explain.

 

[Restor]

 

[Meerel]

i would like to participate

 

[Arrr]

I'm in

 

[BronzeOregon]

I too, shall join.

 

[nightelfbuilder]

count me in and i swear i'll finish my entry this time lol although i'm scared of the no import part but i'll try to be creative with what vanilla models lol.

 

[mmtt]

Count me in. I still can't deside what tileset i will use last time it was easy but now i have no idea.

 

[Khaldaiel]

Count me in too !

 

[Rockstar356]

I would like to participate!
I will give the best of me for this one

 

[Knecht]

Seems like we'll be the first team to enter. Sign me and @W3Sour up

 

[W3Sour]

Sign me up with @Knecht !

 

[Abovegame]

Count me in !

 

[Twilight]

I ghosted the last contest, since I had tons of stuff on my shoulders.

But I can do this one!! Sign me in chief!

Best of luck to everyone of the contestants!!

 

[WolfFarkas]

Count me in. I still can't deside what tileset i will use last time it was easy but now i have no idea.

I am thinking in Black Citadel, because nobody use it, and if somone goes with that they tend to use outland instead because the void is super cool.

try dungeon or underground, they have a lot of potential, I would really like to see someone going with those.

 

[mafe]

Updated list of participants, hope I didnt forget anyone. Great to see so many of people join already!
Please tell me if I missed someone

 

[Loner-Magixxar]

Well, looks like we have another one.

Actually I don't see myself as a good melee mapper (and personaly I don't find melee mapping interesting), but the thrill of the competition is worth the time even though it might be very exhausting. And given that the previous one brought me out of a dire depresson, I will join this one too. It woud also be an opportunity to test my gathered experience from the last one and see if I can improve on that.

Sign me up then. This time I'm going for a small map because I'm really pinched for time.

 

[WolfFarkas]

Well, looks like we have another one.

Actually I don't see myself as a good melee mapper (and personaly I don't find melee mapping interesting), but the thrill of the competition is worth the time even though it might be very exhausting. And given that the previous one brought me out of a dire depresson, I will join this one too. It woud also be an opportunity to test my gathered experience from the last one and see if I can improve on that.

Sign me up then. This time I'm going for a small map because I'm really pinched for time.

Actually I see you as a good melee mapper.

hey cheer up!!, I voted your map, and you got 8 place, me six and it was only 1 point of diference, it was a really hard contest, this is another chance to try and do better,

 

[Nudl9]

Sign me up.

 

[Blood Raven]

I cannot guarantee that I'll participate, but I'd like to save myself a spot if that's okay :3
Good luck to all participants!

 

[WolfFarkas]

I cannot guarantee that I'll participate, but I'd like to save myself a spot if that's okay :3
Good luck to all participants!

if you are busy with time try to aim something small, mirrow terrain, and not that powerfully decorated.

 

[XanderD]

I cannot guarantee that I'll participate, but I'd like to save myself a spot if that's okay :3
Good luck to all participants!

if you are busy with time try to aim something small, mirrow terrain, and not that powerfully decorated.

Or you could team up with someone.

 

[eubz]

Will I join or judge?

 

[WolfFarkas]

Will I join or judge?

• Lawliet (Twitch , Liquipedia)
• @Hi2Chaco (Twitch , Liquipedia)
• TBD (for now it's me) mafe

I think we already have 3 judges, have you talked with @mafe about this?

 

[mafe]

I cannot guarantee that I'll participate, but I'd like to save myself a spot if that's okay :3
Good luck to all participants!

I've reserved a spot for you. In case you change your mind, please make sure to leave a message.

 

[Deleted member 238589]

Sign me up.

 

[Ether]

I'm going in. Make me #24 or #25

 

[WolfFarkas]

@mafe

please post here a message when we can start mapping so we can safely start mapping and upload wips, since is very likely that we have diferents local times.

 

[XanderD]

@mafe

please post here a message when we can start mapping so we can safely start mapping and upload wips, since is very likely that we have diferents local times.

I thought it was GMT for the beginning as well.

 

[mafe]

I thought it was GMT for the beginning as well.

Yes, that's how it was meant. In any case: The contest has officiall begun now and you may start mapping

 

[sentrywiz]

I'm in. Gotta try redeem myself
Gonna put serious effort now, fair warning!

gl to all others and I'm glad that teamwork is now officially stated as such in contest rules.
gl to all teams, can't wait to see what all comes up with.

p.s - I haven't started mapping yet and might consider teaming up.

So explain to a melee ultra scrub like me what exactly defines a melee map.

I do not have much interest in melee itself, though I could see it as a terraining challenge and just slap some melee gameplay on top when I am done.
So for my purposes I would most likely import a lot of doodad models but make sure to not make a single custom doodad and just modify the model of existing stuff.

Would this technically count?

edit: above post kinda explains it.

Are custom doodads allowed?

Nowhere in the rules states that we can't make custom doodads or edit the native ones.
I'm all for reforged friendly without custom models, but not even custom vanilla doodads?
What would it change if I make a shrub "slightly blue" ? Doesn't impact the game.

This was also a problem in the last contest. So just answer it for all of us to avoid further confusion.

 

[mafe]

I'm in. Gotta try redeem myself
Gonna put serious effort now, fair warning!

gl to all others and I'm glad that teamwork is now officially stated as such in contest rules.
gl to all teams, can't wait to see what all comes up with.

p.s - I haven't started mapping yet and might consider teaming up.



Are custom doodads allowed?

Nowhere in the rules states that we can't make custom doodads or edit the native ones.
I'm all for reforged friendly without custom models, but not even custom vanilla doodads?
What would it change if I make a shrub "slightly blue" ? Doesn't impact the game.

This was also a problem in the last contest. So just answer it for all of us to avoid further confusion.

The purpose of the "no custom doodad" rule isnt to make the map reforged-friendly. The purpose is to satisfy the wonky "Melee Map: Yes" condition (and therefore satisfy Blizzards condition for being eligible for ladder). Because afaik if you use custom doodads, your map wont be classified as melee anymore.
If you can modify doodads and still get the editor to say "Melee Map: Yes", then I dont see any harm in using them, but this probably wont work technically unless there is a mechanic which I am unaware of.

Looking at this issue now, it seems I should have cleared this up in the rules. Apparently I have only written in the FAQ that submissions should have game data "Standard" while being "Melee Map: Yes". The actual rules only state "For melee maps, any gameplay altering data may not be changed. (No custom units/spells/buffs. Destructibles/objects may be changed, however we would highly apreciate, if you wouldn't do so.)", and make no reference to game data.

I'm not sure what the best solution would be. How do others feel about it?

 

[WolfFarkas]

@mafe

please post here a message when we can start mapping so we can safely start mapping and upload wips, since is very likely that we have diferents local times.

Yes, that's how it was meant. In any case: The contest has officiall begun now and you may start mapping

Yeah I would imagine the same but I dont know where to check the GMT of the site.

great start mapping! start mapping!




If you can modify doodads and still get the editor to say "Melee Map: Yes",


thats imposible


game data should be default (based on melee status), change colors of the cristals wont get you to Blizzard, thats why I stoped using that trick and so many others tricks.

 

[Abovegame]

Here's a prototype WIP.

 

[WolfFarkas]

Here's a prototype WIP.

View attachment 318628

ah you won me in being first with the wip, well second is also nice

Sunken ruins!! great, when designing your melee map, try to be orthodox. these kind of contest are hard with balance.

WIP 1

1) Map title: Stair of Destiny, Stair of Destiny

2) Tileset: Black citadel in adition with poison fellwood tile and brick dungeon tile.

3) Just some neutral placing, very early stage

 

[JaleVeliki]

Let the games begin!!

 

[Nudl9]

First WIP.

 

[Abovegame]

This resembles Echo Isles quite a bit.

 

[WolfFarkas]

@mafe

should we ask and give feedback between us to the wips , or we should play silent to leave the work to the Judges, in either ways I am ok with what ever (but free feedback is more nice).

 

[Nudl9]

Judges really shouldnt interfere.
Everyone else should be free to give feedback.
The underlying goal with the contest is obviously to create a bunch of good 2v2 maps.
So if people help each other out, it's in everyone's favour.
Unless you're super tryhard about winning.