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His Lordship, Duke Sculptor presented the map «Rebellion Suppression» for the contest, nominating it as the most beautiful map;
http://www.heroesportal.net/maps.php?search=Repulsing+the+mutiny
Censor's opinion:
This map begins to "please the eye" immediately upon opening it in the editor or in-game. Some might say that creating a worthy piece of work on size S is easier than on L or XL, and they would be right; however, not everyone can use every "centimeter" of available space as wonderfully as Sir Sculptor has done. There is practically not a single empty square on the map without game objects, decorations, or enemy detachments, yet all of this looks natural and harmonious – both "above" and "below".
Unfortunately, there is almost no plot on this map. However, this in no way diminishes its other merits and, most importantly, its magnificent playability. I recommend using this work for Portal tournaments.
Total:
Visuals: 80/100
Playability: 90/100
Plot: 10/100
Second censor's opinion:
The first impression that comes to mind is that this map could quite well be used for tournament purposes. It is very dense with objects that you literally have to fight your way through, while simultaneously solving the problem: should I take the artifact/visit the structure, or save move points for a forced march to the enemy? However, in my opinion, excessive gaudiness prevents one from enjoying the same beauties suggested by the nomination title. But it must be said that the landscapes and terrain changes combine and transition smoothly. If the work of filling the map was done by hand, then thanks should be given to the author for such an extensive labor.
PS/ His Lordship Duke Sculptor, I believe you will be pleased with the news that the map will be featured in the May tournament. You also receive 500 arob in addition to the amount earned from placing the map on the portal. As well as special status as the winner of the most interesting tournament map.
Added after 1 minute
Lady Midnight presented the map «Curse of the Red Hill» for the contest, nominating it as the best RPG map;
http://www.heroesportal.net/maps.php?search=Curse+of+the+Red+Hill
Censor's opinion:
Do you love RPG maps? Real RPG maps with an excellent plot, a bunch of quests, and fully customized victory conditions? Then this map is for you! Perhaps its only drawback is the very small size, but nevertheless, the adventure that awaits you here will be no less exciting, and the map looks worthy in terms of visuals and appearance. The gameplay, however, is limited exclusively to RPG elements, which makes the map unsuitable for tournaments.
The main role here is played by heroes – both your own and the enemy's, rather than castles or monsters, and this is felt from the very beginning. The Lady skillfully used the numerous capabilities of the HoMM4 editor – bombs that remove objects, quest huts, etc., which shows that she has great potential in the field of creating RPG maps. Well, we will wait for new works, preferably of a larger size!
Total:
Visuals: 70/100
Playability: 75/100
Plot: 90/100
Second censor's opinion:
Wonderful plot. Wonderful execution. Interesting puzzles. A very worthy map despite its small size and single level. There is even more to say - the author demonstrated excellent literary and mapmaking (mastery of the map editor) skills.
PS/ Lady Midnight. You receive 500 arob in addition to the amount earned from placing the map on the portal, and special status as the author of the most interesting RPG map.
Added after 1 minute
Lady Saint Ishtar presented the map «Honor of not chess queen» for the contest, nominating it as the best map about the Lands of Heroes and their inhabitants;
http://www.heroesportal.net/maps.php?search=Honor+of+non+chess+queen
Censor's opinion:
At first glance at this map, it becomes clear that the lady emphasized visuals and the artistic part of the map. However, she did not forget to pay attention to content and plot, which is undoubtedly pleasing. The chess queen in the center looks quite impressive, and other attributes of the "chess kingdom" - black and white squares and three ribbons resembling the colors of the Russian Federation flag (only slightly "inverted") are also very cute.
As for the content, in my taste, there are still too few objects. There are far more decorations on the map than buildings, resources, artifacts, etc., which again calls into question the progression of heroes (especially since it is an RPG map and heroes play the main role). However, one can still manage to expand with some difficulty. The plot is presented by several events, quest heroes, and a customized victory condition. Quite sparse, but better than nothing.
Total:
Visuals: 90/100
Playability: 60/100
Plot: 40/100
Second censor's opinion:
At first glance, it is felt that this map is not just for one evening of travels through the world of Heroes and exciting adventures. The inhabitants of the Portal have found their embodiment here, and the player no longer moves ephemeral game heroes, but takes a most direct part in the fate of these people, who in turn left their mark on the life of HP. The landscape is designed curiously - it would seem everything is about the mini-map, i.e., maps of the AirMage kingdom from a bird's eye view, but the author, in my view, pursued another goal as well - to keep the player from getting bored! To diversify the adventures so that there are no dull and monotonous rides through uniform terrain on an XL size map. The lava fields turned out especially successful - what extreme must the character experience traveling along a lava river? Perhaps a piece of this extreme will go to the player - just imagine yourself in the middle of this endless fire, on a horse. =)
I believe that the author handled the nomination task perfectly!
PS/ Lady Ishtar. You receive 500 arob in addition to the amount earned from placing the map on the portal, and special status as the author of the most beautiful map.
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His Majesty Sir SuperStar presented the map «Not for the sake of greed» for the contest, nominating it as the best and most interesting map;
http://www.heroesportal.net/maps.php?search=Not+for+the+sake+of+greed
Censor's opinion:
Taking into account that this map is almost the first work by Sir SuperStar in the 4 Lands, it must be admitted that it turned out quite satisfactory. The map definitely has a plot, quest events, and a customized victory condition; however, in terms of visuals, balance, and content, there is room for improvement.
The upper floor looks simple. Lots of water in the middle, abundant with black rocks (although there are quite a few visitable objects in the lake), and uniform green grass around the edges (although the elevation tool could have been used to raise the shores "above sea level" and somehow embellish the landscape). In the dungeon, an attempt to depict a ghost or death with a scythe? pleases the eye, and the internal visuals look much more worthy. However, there is trouble with visitable objects here – they are too few, especially in the bottom right corner of the map (a lonely mantis nest on practically bare land).
Resources, gold chests, etc. – that's a separate topic. If you don't count the "starting" pile of gold and resources near castles, these are COMPLETELY absent (!) from the map. How is the player supposed to develop when playing on the highest difficulty level, and how should they upgrade the hero? By amassing an army and skipping turns for years? There should be much more gold, chests with gold, XP, and artifacts, as well as monster detachments IMHO; otherwise, playing it will be very, very boring. The playability of this map is minimal.
Total:
Visuals: 40/100
Playability: 25/100
Plot: 60/100
Second censor's opinion:
The map pleased me with the humor embedded in it.=)) I admit, the first time I lost before even properly starting. I wanted to be greedy - and I was kicked out like a naughty kitten. It is noticeable that the author of the map tried to master the editor's capabilities as best as possible. The landscape is slightly confusing, as it is clearly "tailored" for the mini-map, which robs the landscapes of their naturalness. A pile of various treasures is heaped on the starting area,
obviously to delay the player and "force" them to read the plot components. The plot is funny and interesting - that cannot be denied. Although in terms of visuals it is inferior to previous maps. However, if I didn't know the plot, the visual style of this map and Sir Sculptor's map would have seemed very similar to me.
Map not participating in the «Little Green Men» contest
http://www.heroesportal.net/maps.php?search=Little+Green+Men
Censor's opinion:
I admit honestly, hand on heart - when I opened this map and looked closely, laughter literally began to choke me:) Not because I didn't like the map or it was of poor quality - that's not it. Look closely at the drawing of the "green man" on the surface... First - where are his legs? The little man is emerging from the ground like a genie from a lamp in Arabian fairy tales. But that's not the most important thing! Now answer my question - what is GROWING either from the chest or from the belly of the little man? IT doesn't look like a hand.. xD An old joke comes to mind: "it's not a tail," said the Wolf and blushed. (c)
And what do we have in the dungeon? :) Also a very remarkable creature. Something between an ant, a frog, and an alien from children's drawings. Moreover, it swims in a body of water:) But despite all this, the internal visuals of the map are already significantly better. There are more objects on it than were in the previous work, more buildings and other "interesting" places. But at the same time, there is still a major problem with the presence of resources and monsters and, consequently, the possibility of development for players and their heroes... The plot is presented by a series of calendar events and descriptions.
P.S. Looking at the map once more, it finally dawned on me who the creature below looks like! It's Grabby the Jackdaw! "Who's there? It's I, Magister Ermellot, bringing 'Women's Weekly Today' magazine!"
Total:
Visuals: 65/100 (for the mutants);
Playability: 45/100
Plot: 70/100
PS/ Your Majesty Super Star, you receive 300 arob in addition to the amount earned from placing the map on the portal. A commemorative gift in the form of a "for bravery" medal. And the audience choice award for the Little Green Men map.
Added after 2 minutes
Sir Jack ONeel presented the map «Black_Wall» for the contest, nominating it as the best and most interesting map;
http://www.heroesportal.net/maps.php?search=Black_Wall
Censor's opinion:
This map left me with a mixed impression. The following epithet fits it best: a beautiful blank. The author is a brilliant artist who put considerable effort into the visuals and visual appearance of the map, but that's where it ends. It feels as if after Sir Michalych, having worked hard, brilliantly painted various landscapes, he simply forgot... to fill this landscape, bringing it to life with inhabitants – monsters, as well as artifacts, resources, objects, and other game elements...
Indeed – the landscapes of this map are impressive in their beauty and harmony... while at the same time containing practically nothing. Even near the starting castles, besides trees and decorations, there is practically NOTHING. Not a single chest with gold and XP, not a single pile of resources, not a single detachment of monsters. Some objects and "stockpiles" with resources and chests are present on the map (under heavy guard), but they are extremely few and largely removed from the starting zones. The question arises – how is the player supposed to develop on a hard difficulty level? How many turns will he have to skip just to build up the castle a little? There's nowhere to go, except to run through the wastelands. And as for upgrading the hero... In short, in terms of playability, it is difficult even to recognize this map as finished, which is very, very bad.
The map contains several "plot" events and scripts, but the victory condition is not customized (the standard "defeat all" was left). Overall, I wouldn't venture to call this a plot. Too little and too sparse.
Overall, I would advise the author to take this undoubtedly beautiful blank and refine it so that it is playable and interesting not only to artists.
Total:
Visuals: 85/100
Playability: 30/100
Plot: 35/100
Second censor's opinion:
I will be brief here. Impressed. Impressed by the work done. Although the detail of the lower level is inferior to the upper one, lava landscapes in Four are apparently my weakness. Their epicness compensates for everything else. The player will have to explore a huge world, fight dozens of battles, spend not just an hour or evening, but perhaps a month playing. But I think it's worth it. A good map, the AI behaves actively, so the walkthrough will not be limited to beating/conquering static mobs. Thus, this work deserves the highest award in its nomination. For which I congratulate the author.
PS/ Our last participant, Sir Jack ONeel, you receive 200 arob in addition to the amount earned from placing the map on the portal. Plus a consolation prize.
More details can be read here:
http://www.heroesportal.net/tavern/?id=362192&pagenum=2
Why weren't you with us?!
Замысел без умысла называется вымыслом
br,
SF
