Posts from Mapmaster 2013 | [CONTEST] Mapmaster 2013 Auto-translated

Ment
Could you provide a Russian translation of the map names to make them easier to find?

Ment suggested placing a post with links to download maps on the first page of the thread. In my opinion, this would be more convenient for everyone.

Yeah, I guess I'll just copy the whole thing; a link to a post with links might look a bit strange.

I finished the first map, "Illusion of Victory." :) The terrain is excellent. Bushes, stumps, everything is in its place. The plot is also great, connected to the campaign storyline, which is definitely a plus. I just didn't quite manage to make good use of the Pufflings. At first, I didn't have enough resources to summon them, and I was able to recruit troops faster. Then, when I had plenty of resources, they became less relevant. But the town still helped: it's convenient to summon caravans there, and it also generates income. I kept an eye on my ally, and soon the yellow player was left with only a town and heroes, even though the blue player was literally "giving" mines and dwellings from me to the yellow player. However, I must give credit to my ally: somewhere in the second or third week, he defeated a fairly powerful blue hero that Nimues couldn't handle. As for the drawbacks, there's only one: the northern fort on the hill allows the blue player to upgrade to Altguard, which doesn't quite fit the storyline, and it would be better to restrict not tiers, but specific creatures; otherwise, it prevents you from choosing regular demons, and it will also resolve conflicts with the NCF mod. The balance is good, and there's no need to change it. A magnificent map; I wish the author of this creation success in the future! I will vote as soon as I finish the second single-player map. Here are some video recordings, by the way. One is the siege of the third rebel castle, and the other is a battle with Marbas.

Dragon Utopia, completed the initial quest (defeat all dragons), a message appeared saying that a new quest is available, but what this quest is, is unknown. Am I right in understanding that I need to defeat the neighbor as well? And also, can someone translate the map names into Russian?

Also, maybe someone could translate the map names into Russian.

Heleg, in the game, the map names are translated into Russian. You cannot name the files in Cyrillic. In the first post of the thread, Ment indicated the map names in both languages.

How to install the "Illusion of Victory" map.

Heleg,

Dragon Utopia

Yes, and then kill your neighbor, if I understand correctly.

illusion of victory

Unzip into the Maps folder.

In the Single Player Map category, I cast my vote for "Illusion of Victory". In my opinion, this map is practically perfect. The artwork is magnificent, and the storyline has found its place in the history of Ashan. I enjoyed interacting with the ally, but due to script errors in the "Hero" difficulty, I couldn't complete the map. The issue is that my ally managed to capture the third city on their own. After that, the game stopped progressing, and I could only close it. It would be great if the author had anticipated this scenario in the script. In the "Warrior" difficulty, the computer-controlled players are noticeably weaker, so I was able to complete all three challenging battles ("Hero" difficulty) – against Jezebeth, Glen, and Marbas – with almost no losses. There is only one significant drawback: the excessive use of punctuation in the cutscenes. The dialogues should be adjusted to match the style used in the Campaigns. "Fiery Storm" is also a very interesting map. It stands out primarily due to its gameplay: the author offers the opportunity to try out different Necromancer builds, there are many side quests, and the siege of the city is truly epic. However, I didn't like the fact that the storyline contradicts the storyline of the Campaign. I didn't have enough time for the side quests in the Dungeon, and I didn't have the patience to clear the farms, as the battles with the legions of peasants are very tedious, and I was too lazy to replay them. The tactical exercise in the form of Sigrif's battles, on the other hand, was very engaging: it was interesting and fun to defeat armies of 3 million experience points without any losses. Unfortunately, I didn't finish the map even in the "Warrior" difficulty: the heroes guarding the Stronghold completely crush my heroes, but that's more of a flaw in my strategy. I would like the author to refine the map design: the slopes in the center of the Dungeon are very steep, the platform where the large elf stands is too high, and there are many empty areas on the surface. The forest definitely needs to be thinned out, as the abundance of objects and effects causes the game to lag significantly. It would be great if portals were added to the Dungeon for easier movement between cities: Railag with the "Skilled Logistics" skill took two weeks to travel from the city of Shadia to his own. A huge thank you to both authors for participating in the contest and creating wonderful maps. With the permission of Ment'a, I will not be voting in the second category. I don't have experience with online games, so I can only evaluate their design, which wouldn't be entirely fair.

With Ment'a's permission, I won't be voting in the second category. I don't have experience with online gameplay, so I can only evaluate their design, which wouldn't be entirely fair.

It's up to you, but for the sake of fairness, almost everyone here plays against the AI. Play a game, give it a try... You might even team up with someone for it. But you can also choose not to vote, of course; it won't be a disaster.

The winner, that's another thing... Could you elaborate on how "Storm" contradicts the campaign's plot? It's quite interesting...

Winner, here's another thing... Could you elaborate on how "Storm" contradicts the campaign's plot? It's interesting...

The five main heroes are Tralsai, Shadia, Railag, Ilaya, and Sigrif. In the message box on the second day, the author tells the backstory of the map, stating that Sigrif visited hell and brought Tralsai, Shadia, and Markel from there. Even if we assume he managed to do that (and there is no hell in Ashan, Shio is just a demon prison), it's hard to imagine that Tralsai, killed by Railag, Shadia-Biara, who betrayed him, Ilaya, and Railag himself, who became a knight of the Dragon Order and is no longer involved in the affairs of Igg-Shail, would work together to capture the sacred city of humans, Heavenly Gates, which was not mentioned in the plot, and at the same time obey some Sigrif.

Since I will be leaving soon and won’t return until after the contest ends, I don’t have time to play through the corrected versions again. And the authors themselves don’t seem to be in a hurry to fix the bugs. Each map was interesting in its own way. I’m especially disappointed with the “Hell Invasion” map, because, of all people, I know what it means to put a huge amount of effort into a map, only for it to “fail” due to its save system. There are enough bugs in all the maps; I’ve already written about them. Some people probably didn’t have enough time, or experience, or just weren’t paying attention. I’m giving my vote to the Whisper of Death map for two reasons:
1) This is the only map where I saw a victory message.
2) I want to support some kind of intrigue. (Although, what kind of intrigue can there be when the number of people voting is less than the number of participants:smile35: :smile07: )

It's your decision, but to be fair, almost everyone here plays against the AI. Play it, give it a try...

That's what I did. I have a favorite now, I'm voting for "Whispers of Death".

Regarding "Invasion from the Underworld," it's already been said: the map is unplayable. There are too many effects that cause lag, and saves don't work. I'll also add that the starting conditions are difficult: you get a hero without an army, and there are many high-level enemies around that are difficult to defeat even on "Recruit" difficulty.

"Dragon Utopia" was generally enjoyable, but the map is a bit empty. Transitions between locations are abrupt, and there are unclaimed relics lying around. But there's a mod and a storyline, which make the map more interesting. However, dragons are a difficult challenge for an unprepared hero. The first time I ventured into the Dungeon (or rather, the over-dungeon), I couldn't find my way back. Because of this, I suggest the author remove the script that prevents the hero from returning. Do this, fill the area with decorations, and you'll have a very good map.

"Whispers of Death" seemed the most well-developed to me. The populated part of the surface looks nice, and thanks to the resource scripts and the four levels built in the city, the game turned out to be interesting and dynamic. There are even quests: two reward artifacts could have helped in the decisive battle, but I completed it earlier. There are also drawbacks: the Dungeon is empty and geometrically correct, empty areas of the surface are visible, and you can teleport to them using "Astral Gates." This should be fixed: add spikes or ban the spell. I don't understand why there's an Orcish city in the center of the map that doesn't provide any bonuses. Based on the map's backstory, it would be more logical if there were a Dwarven Fortress there. In addition, random cities can seriously disrupt the balance: in my game, the cities didn't match the players' factions, but if one of them does and the other doesn't, then one player will receive a double bonus from the first week, gaining an absolute advantage over their opponent. I would remove the second cities if it's not possible to make them always match the faction of the player who owns the first city.

In the single-player map category, I vote for the map "Illusion of Victory". It's beautiful, well-made, and interesting to play. "Firestorm" is technically not bad, but interest in the map fades as the game progresses.
I'm posting the final battle from "Firestorm"; maybe someone will be interested in what awaits at the end of the path through these Himalayan mountains of flesh.