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Mini-Mapping Contest 14 - Poll

Who made the best map?


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    38
  • Poll closed .
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Level 26
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Stealth
Contestants are to create a map where the player should hide, sneak, pickpocket, assassinate or perform similiar quiet and stealthy things.
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  • 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.
  • Your submission must be posted before the deadline in the contest thread. The post containing your final submission must also contain the following:
    • 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 should be mostly bug free.
  • Teamwork is not allowed.
    • Finding testers and voice actors to help you with your submission is not considered teamwork.
  • Imports may be used in the map, however they must all be credited. You may make new models, icons, etc specifically for the contest.

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  • First Place: 45 reputation points and your entry on the award icon
  • Second Place: 30 reputation points and an award icon
  • Third Place: 15 reputation points and an award icon
  • Finished entry and judges: 5 reputation points


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trebla ratilla - Jeffreys Misssion
Cokemonkey11 - Windwalked
Svetli - Underground Volcano
ZiBitheWand3r3r - Alien Invasion
DD_legionTN - Silent Intruder

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  • Deepstrazs
  • -

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ThemeHow well does the entry comform the contest theme "Stealth"?20%

Gameplay
The fun factor: Does the whole package create an enjoyable experience for the player?
e.g. Are the spell effects satisfying, is there replayability, is the plot compelling, ...?
40%
AestheticsIs it good looking terrain-wise? How polished are the details such as preview pictures, title, in-game texts and icons?30%
TriggersDoes the map run well performance-wise?
Factors which influence this category are: efficiency of the triggers/coding, memory leaks, etc.
10%
  • 65% of the winner shall be determined by the contest's appointed judge(s).
  • 35% of the winner shall be determined by the results of a public poll.
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  • This poll will be closed in three weeks, on November 5.
 
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  • No submission may violate any of the site rules.
  • All submissions must follow the current theme.
  • Your submission must be posted before the deadline in the contest thread. The post containing your final submission must also contain the following:
    • 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 should be mostly bug free.
  • Teamwork is not allowed.
    • Finding testers and voice actors to help you with your submission is not considered teamwork.
  • Imports may be used in the map, however they must all be credited. You may make new models, icons, etc specifically for the contest
These are the contest rules, not the poll ones.
Anyway, I'll try to vote. Good luck guys! :)
 
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Let me give quick review (I'm not good at reviewing though...):
So, this will be my reviewing criteria:
- Aesthetics
- Systems
- Mechanics (Which runs the system)
- Gameplay
Ranking up from 1 to 5.
- At Aesthetics and Systems, I can only give positive reviews. The Aesthetics and Systems are just my personal opinions.
- At the first three criterias, I'm not talking about the theme.
Aesthetics (I'm not good at rating this)
1. Svetli
- Good-looking terrain. I love the way it's not flat.
- Icons are nice, the UI fits the location.
- The tooltips are well-made. There's an error though in Edwuin's description "...Can learn Holy Light, Frozen Shards..." I didn't see that he can learn the spells mentioned above.
2. ZiBitheWand3r3r
- The terrain is simple but it's really interesting to look at.
- The tooltips are good, though I think you should put the building/training cost in a different row. UI is good.
- Icons are good-looking and it matches the units.
3. trebla ratilla (Having trouble because your map is protected)
- The terrain is nice. The house interior are placed well.
- The icons are nice, it fits well.
4. DD_legionTN
- Terrain is simple, just some walls and statues, but I understand the purposes of the interiors there.
- The chosen icons are the stock ones, still they fit. Not all though.
5. Cokemonkey11
- Terrain is simple, just adding some trees as a blockade.
- Icons are the stock ones, but I know the effect is different.
- No descriptions make it hard to know what the theme is.

Systems
1. Svetli
- The systems get the theme really well. You get to puzzle around to get to the volcano with stealth.
- Spells are similar to the stock ones, with a bit of change, it's good.
- It's a campaign-styled map.
2. ZiBitheWand3r3r
- Very good systems. The techtree is nice.
- I love how it does mutations and other stuffs.
- I don't see some interesting spells though.
3. trebla ratilla
- Well-made system. The flashlights of the security turns red whenever they see your unit.
- Some spells are stock, some spells are edited. That hat-changing thing is a good example.
4. DD_legionTN
- Nice system. That square can limit the detection range of a patrol.
- Nice triggered spells.
5. Cokemonkey11
- Nice system. It's more like a hide and seek AoS.
- Spells are well-made and good stock edits.

Mechanics
1. ZiBitheWand3r3r
- The techtree connects each other.
- The mutating system is good. Though something with this is, when I mutate three at once, I would lose one and remain two, and If I mutate two I lose one and remain one. Was it intended?
- Resource gathering system is good. We have to puzzle around the locations to find resources so we can upgrade to the best. Sometimes, unit stops harvesting after gathering a resource.
2. Svetli
- The spells are good for this. It can serve as stealthy weapons. The scout is good for puzzling around.
- I think the enemies revealing using a shade is somehow generic, like everybody coud do it because you know shades are invisible.
3. DD_legionTN
- The detection system is well-made. But since the area is too narrow, we are easily detected.
- The sprint spell is good for rushing to a place quickly, but it's really short-timed so it's not good for escaping, and I would hope that when it's cast, it doesn't stop the caster.
4. trebla ratilla
- The stealth system is nice, and it runs good. Your interesting thing is just the stealth mechanics. There is a problem, they can see us through a wall, as well as moving fast, making them easily meat & flesh us.
5. Cokemonkey11
- It's just a regular AoS system usually used on AoSes.
- The detection system is simple. Use scout on a windwalking blademaster and done.
Gameplay
1. Svetli
- Gameplay is easy at first, but gets challenging further.
- I think increasing movement speed in invisibility is a bad idea. If we're near the volcano, we can just ignore the enemies and touch the enter zone easily.
- The enemy frigates and battleships are way overpowered. One on one against a frigate can destroy our ship because they have far more damage than our ship.
2. DD_legionTN
- Gameplay is hard, but nice.
- It's better if our unit gets better move speed, since it's impossible to outrun them, after that, we can no longer hide. Even health regenerates less.
- I think the area should be a bit wider. It's too easy for them to detect us. Once they're coming, it's hard to hide.
3. trebla ratilla
- Gameplay is medium.
- If we're targeted by a security, we still can throw a banana, but if we're chased by multiple securities, it's almost impossible to run. They are combined with fast movement speed. The short-timed invisibility is useful for this. Should the ability be in cooldown, then it's almost a guarantee to lose.
- They can detect the unit through a wall. The flashlight turns red even if a wall blocks it.
4. ZiBitheWand3r3r
- Gameplay is medium.
- I see 40% of stealth elements. It's like build your own techtree and do some LOAP.
- The securities aren't that strong. I can even kill a police car with two beholders. It's actually okay to war around, and the details should say "Avoid fighting if you don't have some durable units" because they're not that strong.
5. Cokemonkey11
- Gameplay is easy to medium.
- This is just a simple-made AoS map. It's like a hide and seek AoS. It's just as a piece of cake to get those blademasters. We just need to move the scouts around and done.

Overalls - Votes go to the first two.
1. Svetli
2. DD_legionTN
3. trebla ratilla
4. ZiBitheWand3r3r
5. Cokemonkey11

Well, I'm sorry if anyone is offended, because these are just personal reviews, it come from what I see using my very own eyes.
 
People nowadays don't understand the value or effort that makers put into their games. I think that's why newer games are so mediocre, game studios are desperate to make quick cash at the cost of quality. Majority of audience is to blame, too, they are the reason why games are dumbed down these days. This poll proves my point.

Anyway, I voted for trebla ratilla and DD_legionTN. Excellent work, guys! Your efforts are highly appreciated. +rep

Congratulations for the rest of the entries! +rep
 
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@A Void You mean this for my entry, don't you. But not to worry, I accept your disrespect and your desire to put down my map...

People, is he right that you are to blame?

Not entirely, it's not your fault. You did an amazing job nevertheless. I'm talking about the quality, effort and design, those two entries were top notch.

Your entry is not that unique to those of standard Warcraft 3 map, we can agree that you've put a lot less effort into it. I'm saying that people worked harder and they barely get the recognition they deserve. This in turn lowers motivation for future contests and map makers who put so much effort into little details; from the code to the very design and gameplay. I'd rather play something unique with quality rather than a hundred of mediocre similar maps that keep popping out in numbers.

I think as a map maker you are prone to receive such criticism and my points are completely fair.
 
Level 11
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Not entirely, it's not your fault. You did an amazing job nevertheless. I'm talking about the quality, effort and design, those two entries were top notch.

Your entry is not that unique to those of standard Warcraft 3 map, we can agree that you've put a lot less effort into it. I'm saying that people worked harder and they barely get the recognition they deserve. This in turn lowers motivation for future contests and map makers who put so much effort into little details; from the code to the very design and gameplay. I'd rather play something unique with quality rather than a hundred of mediocre similar maps that keep popping out in numbers.

I think as a map maker you are prone to receive such criticism and my points are completely fair.
As you say. I'm tired of arguing. However, everyone has his own opinion... And it's rude to say that I have put a lot less efforts, cause it's not true.
 
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Level 35
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Messages
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trebla ratilla - Jeffreys Misssion

It looked good when I checked the abilities, imagining their use. While the story showed potential. However as I began playing, issues cropped up. There is no guards if you just spawn the pet into the mansion without passing the door. The guards are way too twitchy and random, as a result you don't really get the feeling of being able to plan your sneak maneuver - instead I find myself just waiting for mana to slowly regenerate, so I have my abilities ready. It also makes the pet almost useless besides a vain hope to find items, as you can't get an impression of any routes or patterns the guards might have (as they don't).
The detect could be useful, except that the guards (there seems to be only 3) will always move in a location near you and it appear to be fixed to a certain distance.
Clearly a lot of effort went into the terrain, but I am sadly not seeing a pattern. For instance one garden contains giant alien eggs, there are lots of old furniture mixed with new tech like AC and a computer. I know the idea was to create a home environment, but it became too much clutter.
The guards also seem to be able to see and sometimes walk through doodads as opposed to the player, which again creates some odd moments. The banana peel is a fun poke at comics, but given the otherwise serious theme, I would have gone for another name for it. Still it is worth noting that opposed to most of the other entries this went for a stealth style, where avoiding detection and following punishment is key.

Sadly due to the above I didn't really enjoy this.

ZiBitheWand3r3r - Alien Invasion

Good start, and the alien theme shows, with some effort into the diff settings. But the terrain doesn't really shine, and the initial tool-tip that says build anywhere you want makes a bad first impression. Given that one can teleport it is very easy to build in a location where you will just be stuck (say on a cliff) - thus I had to restart my first game.
Some other technical aspects hamper the immersion. There is a slight delay on the transformation process, so the unit will stand next to the "egg", which looks odd. If you spawn for instance 3 beholders, without enough food, it will just remove some instead of building it, without information or returning your loss.

I enjoyed the map, but it didn't really come anywhere close to stealth. I could build my lair right next to two civilians without a problem. Nobody except enemies reacted to my presence and one could just overwhelm them with an army. The resources was also a bit odd, as they became quickly irrelevant once I had one flying unit to just go around and infect. Then there was the infect when they are alone mechanic. Its a good idea, but as most civilians didn't move unless attacked, it just forced me to kill those that were in the way, which goes against stealth. When I read the description I had hoped for something like the old popular aliens & marines map, where you can hide in plain sight or sneak around infecting people, trying to avoid notice while slowly evolving.

Svetli - Underground Volcano


Not really feeling much stealth from this, but its fun. I am mostly just wrecking the enemies (normal mode, but thanks to position and items it isn't hard - More so when you get fast teleport).
A big + for using my icon :smile: Damn that made me happy to discover :grin:. Love the effort put into the terrain (the attempt at the volcano with the colored waterfalls :wink:) and the cinematic's.
Good Warcraft fitting story, but again not really stealth - more of a lone journey for revenge while getting stronger (or finding items to do it, such as the +5 crown). This could be a Warcraft Campaign map, but in the context of this contest I cannot vote for it.

DD_legionTN - Silent Intruder
Tiny spelling error in the intro, but nonetheless a fine introduction. This is stealth from the get go, without a doubt someone went through a ton of effort to create this map. I sense a clear thief inspiration from it, and the unique way you interact with the world makes one almost forget that it is Warcraft 3. The attention to proper hints, sounds and dialog is very much appreciated, even if there is some slight visibility problems with doors being almost invisible thanks to the wall interaction.

Right from the start its clear that this a is a stealth game, where you have to think ahead and plan. Easy to learn, hard to master fits well in here. There is patterns, risk management and profit, just as a proper thief. Could wish for a re-spawn mechanic though :wink: Hard, but rewarding.

Cokemonkey11 - Windwalked
I don't see the stealth. Seems like what has been done a lot before and nothing new. The arrow ability can trigger without a target, which just wastes mana. Doesn't feel unique or have any focus on stealth. Guess it could be an okay multiplayer map, but for this contest I don't see the point of it (Playing this solo might impact my experience). Other than to create a pattern, not much in the way of terrain. Heck even unit path-finding seems to have some issues as they can easily clump toward goldmines that are placed quite far out (and doesn't seem to serve a purpose).


Conclusion:
While I like the overall ideas for all of the maps, only two of them really tried to focus on stealth, without any alternative. Of those two Silent Intruder is clearly the superior, with a dedicated stealth focus, without going overboard on abilities and yet keeping things unique. Jeffreys Mission tries, but the lack of patterns forces it down a more ability focused approach, where it quickly becomes a chore.

DD-legionTN well done for creating a very well thought outstealth map, that manages to punish without destroying the feeling of joy from playing. You get my primary vote.

I am also voting for Jeffreys Misssion as it was the second to focus on stealth and punish a lack thereof, even if I liked it less than the others. It is however a vote of principle.
(Correction: I am not voting a second time, as I upon looking at the result see a sad lack of votes for the stealth maps - as such I will give that my only vote. Not meant as a bad word against Svetli's map, but I don't really feel that people actually considered the core contest subject when voting).

EDIT Reason: Attributed a terrain comment to the wrong map (Svetli's where it was supposed to be Cokemonkey11)
 
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Jeffrey's Mission :
Theme : 25/30
Gameplay : 30/40
Aesthetics : 25/30
Total : 80/100 [VOTE]

Windwalked :
Theme : 10/30
Gameplay : 35/40
Aesthetics : 20/30
Total : 65/100

Underground Volcano :
Theme : 15/30
Gameplay : 30/40
Aesthetics : 30/30
Total : 75/100 [VOTE]

Alien Invasion :
Theme : 15/30
Gameplay : 20/40
Aesthetics : 15/30
Total : 50/100

Silent Intruder :
Theme : 25/30
Gameplay : 25/40
Aesthetics : 20/30
Total : 70/100
 
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