Pretty Town Contest 2019 - Results are IN! - Age of Kings Heaven Forums

posted 06-06-19 09:25 AM CT (US)

It's baaaaack! AoKH's unquestionably most popular contest is once again upon us, making it once again time to design your pretty towns. The premise is simple: design the most outstanding town or city map you can! Combat and gameplay are absent, in favour of allowing the player (and the judges) to leisurely tour your map and explore all the attractions your busy (or deserted) towns have to offer. If you are interested and considering entering, please be sure to read all of the rules below before committing your name in a reply. Last time this contest was run in 2017 proved to be the most competitive and exciting contest in AoKH's history, with only 3 points separating first from third. Lord Basse and Julius, both former winners, were crowned joint kings, while Mr. Wednesday, another former winner, rounded out the top three. Five other excellent entries would all also score above average. This year can't possibly top that, or can it? Perhaps some of AoKH's former greats will return for one last hurrah to outdo even themselves, or some bright new face will harness the power of three new expansions to claim the most coveted trophy in AoK design!

Submit all entries to the Showcase Scenarios category in the Blacksmith, with the initials "PTC19" typed in the submission title. All entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM EST, November 30^th. It must meet the requirements listed below to be eligible for judging. Otherwise, you will face disqualification. As an added note, we will not be approving the files in the Blacksmith until the judging phase has passed, so don't worry if your submission doesn't appear. Our goal is to run the contests this year simultaneously with long deadlines, hopefully encouraging people to enter whatever they feel like and plan their designing hours accordingly.

In addition, please keep in mind that this contest strictly follows the guidelines of how the PTC was previously run and judged to keep with the tradition and intended nature of the contest.

Rules

1. No cut-scenes are allowed, except for opening dialogue to set up the scenario. The player must gain access to their unit(s) within 1 minute of in game time.
2. No combat allowed. Player 1 must win the scenario without having to kill or attack anything.
3. One entry per person or per team only.
4. The use of Userpatch and AOK:HD are allowed.
5. The Use of The Forgotten Expansion, African Kingdoms, and Rise of the Rajas is permitted.
6. Graphical or data mods are not allowed.
7. Any mapsize up to 255x255 is allowed.
8. There is no trigger limit. However, the use of extra triggers will not necessarily warrant a higher score. Be warned however, that everything which is allowed can be used to increase your score.
9. The use of custom soundtracks and sound effects is permitted and encouraged. Everything which is allowed can be used to increase your score. If using custom sound files, please specify somewhere on which speed the scenario is to be played, as otherwise the soundtracks might overlap if the scenario is played on a speed other than what the designer intended, which will cause points to be deducted.
10. You must supply at least 1 unit that the judge can scout with. Any unit may be used, though the judges will deduct points for unnecessarily slow units which decrease the enjoyment of the scenario.
11. A story is encouraged to add further interest, however no 3,000 word epics please. Alternatively, you can have a short narrative, a journal from a traveller or a history of the land to get us, the tourist, into it all! Use whatever you like, but make sure to remember that this is a design-oriented contest. That said, everything which is allowed can be used to increase your score.
12. Please submit your scenario in campaign (.cpx) format.

One final note. Everything which is allowed can be used to increase your score. As story, soundtracks, and triggers are allowed, it stands to reason that they will matter. Judges experience everything as a whole.

Judging

All entries will be judged on how they look, however only what is seen will be judged. The categories are simple and are as follows:

Aesthetic (20) - Covers how the map looks and fits into the world in which it is set. Simply, how well does the design work? How real does the world feel? This criteria also takes into account the atmosphere of the scenario and the overall quality of the design.
Creativity (10) - Covers the creative elements you incorporate into your map and designs.
Layout (15) - Covers the layout of your map. How the different districts of your town connect with each other, layout of the countryside, landmarks, monuments, city design and structure, etc. This category is less concerned with the minute details of your map design and more with the overall arrangement of your town or city, and specifically your vision for the scenario map.
Attention to Detail (5) - Covers the clever little details that make your map stand out and the overall polish of your scenario. Judges will reward careful thought and object placement, renaming of objects, etc. Nothing is too insignificant to be overlooked. Marks may be deducted for mistakes such as 'floating objects', split cliffs, overlapping soundtracks, music or sound effects that are far too loud or too soft, etc.

(total of 50 possible points)

Prizes

To be confirmed...

Judges

1. HockeySam18
2. Devious Dev
3.

Past Pretty Town Contest Entries for Inspiration:

Pretty Town Contest 2017

Pretty Town Contest 2015

Pretty Town Contest 2013

Pretty Town Contest 2011

Pretty Town Contest Winners 2008 - Winter Theme

Pretty Town Contest Winners 2004 - Swamp Theme

Pretty Town Contest Winners 2003 - Aztec and Mayan Theme

Pretty Town Contest Winners 2002 - Unthemed

Results:

1^st Lord Basse:
HockeySam18: 20 + 10 + 15 + 5 = 50/50 (3rd)
Devious Dev: 20 + 10 + 15 + 5 = 50/50 (1st)
Total: 100/100

1^st Mr. Wednesday:
HockeySam18: 20 + 10 + 15 + 5 = 50/50 (1st)
Devious Dev: 20 + 10 + 15 + 5 = 50/50 (3rd)
Total: 100/100

1^st Julius999:
HockeySam18: 20 + 10 + 15 + 5 = 50/50 (2nd)
Devious Dev: 20 + 10 + 15 + 5 = 50/50 (2nd)
Total: 100/100

4^th Possidon
HockeySam18: 17 + 7 + 12 + 4 = 40/50
Devious Dev: 14 + 8 + 14 + 2 = 38/50
Total: 78/100

5^th Zetnus
HockeySam18: 12 + 7 + 10 + 4 = 33/50
Devious Dev: 14 + 7 + 9 + 3 = 33/50
Total: 66/100

6^th MrMew
HockeySam18: 8 + 4 + 10 + 2 = 24/50
Devious Dev: 14 + 6 + 10 + 3 = 33/50
Total: 57/100

7^th Igelior
HockeySam18: 6 + 2 + 5 + 2 = 15/50
Devious Dev: 12 + 7 + 13 + 3 = 35/50
Total: 50/100

Congratulations to the winners and all contestants on a fine set of entries!

posted 06-06-19 11:55 AM CT (US) 1 / 183

Count me in!

__[]_________
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The ~~|||||||||||||||||~~ Hus
OF | [/ \] |�| [/ \] | ME
______________________________________________________________________________ |__ _ |�|____|_______________________________________________________________________________
The Relics of Athal�n (5.0) | AoK Opus - 100,000+ downloads | StormWind Studios | "I consider the conversion of Basse to be one of the great triumphs of my modding crusade" - Matt LiVecchi

posted 06-06-19 01:59 PM CT (US) 2 / 183

Hell yeah! Sign me up.

Co-creator and leader of Monsoon Studios

You are kneeling with your tongue out? What exactly do you think is going to happen here? - Matt

A drush is not a knockout punch; it is the first punch in a combo - Barbarossa

posted 06-06-19 02:07 PM CT (US) 3 / 183

Sign me up. I want to retain the title and I don't want to share this time.

Who backs themselves to stop me? Don't be shy.

1010011010
[ All_That_Glitters | Pretty_Town_Contest | Other_AoK_Designs | AoE_Designs ]
Member of Stormwind Studios

posted 06-06-19 03:28 PM CT (US) 4 / 183

I think it's been over five years since I opened the editor so I probably won't give Julius and Basse a run for their money but what the hell.

Sign me up.

~~~~ always do whatever's next. ~~~~

______The Successor: Act One (4.8) - voted Best Story of 2011______
______The Successor: Act Two (4.9) - voted Release of the Year 2013______
______The Successor: Act Three - Retribution ... In progress!______
______non-AOK work______

posted 06-06-19 10:17 PM CT (US) 5 / 183

Count me in.

Expect me to drop out a week before deadline.

-�|�- StormWind Studios -�|�- Blacksmith Files -�|�- Fabula Fatalis -�|�-

"No more gold lights for the queen earth to keep you warm in your kingdoms,
high on the waves you make for us, but not since you left have the waves come."

posted 06-07-19 01:41 AM CT (US) 6 / 183

I don't prefer PTCs personally due to containing only map design. So I want to ask you a question. Will you make an another contest this year that is other than PTC and includes gameplay elements?.. If you do I will definitely join it.

Regards... HELLKNIGHT61

posted 06-07-19 02:45 AM CT (US) 7 / 183

My designing days are more than likely done, but I still got a few playin' days left

Sign me up as a judge.

posted 06-07-19 10:37 AM CT (US) 9 / 183

Fine. I'll umm, put my name down. Not sure I have the drive to finish an entry but I'll try.

"And Matt is a prolific lurker, watching over the forum from afar in silence, like Batman. He's the president TC needs, and possibly also the one it deserves." - trebuchet king

posted 06-08-19 07:34 AM CT (US) 10 / 183

Signing up!
Maybe this year I'll actually start early enough to make something great, rather than pull an all-nighter the weekend ~~before~~ of the deadline to create my entry.

......../�/\
......./ / / \ Check out my Blacksmith submissions as well as my Random Map Scripts.
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...../ /_/_\\ \ Proud guardian of the Definitive Random Map Scripting Guide
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[This message has been edited by Zetnus (edited 06-08-2019 @ 07:37 AM).]

posted 06-08-19 11:19 AM CT (US) 11 / 183

I enter! Hopefully I can make a pretty town.

Someone should post this on the main page so more people see it!

posted 06-08-19 12:55 PM CT (US) 12 / 183

Already a question: I know it says mods aren't allowed but would it be by any chance allowed for me to use a mod for HD edition that returns the original cliffs? I don't see an issue since it techically isn't any new graphics, but I'd understand if I'm denied the option to do so.

posted 06-08-19 09:06 PM CT (US) 13 / 183

Personally, I think that should be allowed. I'm not planning to use HD myself, but I'm not in favour of people who are using it being handicapped by the ridiculous decision to replace the cliffs with uglier ones.

1010011010
[ All_That_Glitters | Pretty_Town_Contest | Other_AoK_Designs | AoE_Designs ]
Member of Stormwind Studios

posted 06-08-19 10:18 PM CT (US) 14 / 183

It seems especially reasonable as the old cliffs are actually in HD. As I recall all you have to do is delete an SLP from your game file and it goes back to normal.

I also think my fix of the HD waterfall needs to be universally accepted as part of the standard game...but alas, that is a lost battle lol.

"And Matt is a prolific lurker, watching over the forum from afar in silence, like Batman. He's the president TC needs, and possibly also the one it deserves." - trebuchet king

posted 06-09-19 03:27 AM CT (US) 15 / 183

So that's a green light?

posted 06-09-19 07:55 AM CT (US) 16 / 183

The judges should give the go ahead.

"And Matt is a prolific lurker, watching over the forum from afar in silence, like Batman. He's the president TC needs, and possibly also the one it deserves." - trebuchet king

posted 06-09-19 11:34 PM CT (US) 17 / 183

I have returned.

Sign me up.

posted 06-10-19 02:50 AM CT (US) 18 / 183

So that's a green light?

Personally I don't mind, as long as it's just that and no more. HS should weigh in though.

posted 06-10-19 09:01 AM CT (US) 19 / 183

Possidon

Mr. Wednesday

Zetnus

Gastropod

Darth Sarek

Need to add that to contestants list.

"And Matt is a prolific lurker, watching over the forum from afar in silence, like Batman. He's the president TC needs, and possibly also the one it deserves." - trebuchet king

posted 06-11-19 04:13 PM CT (US) 20 / 183

Apologies, was away from my computer during the past several days. Updated!

Regarding the cliffs, it is allowed, for the aforementioned reasons, to request that the judges view an entry with the original cliffs.

~ Forgotten Empires ~

Storm on the Steppe | Galderton Hill RP | Proud member of Stormwind Studios

"Deyr f�, deyja fr�ndr, deyr sj�lfr it sama; ek veit einn at aldri deyr, d�mr um dau�an hvern." - H�vam�l 77.

posted 06-12-19 08:26 AM CT (US) 21 / 183

Thank you very much!

posted 06-17-19 05:55 AM CT (US) 22 / 183

This is quite embarassing, but anyway I'm dropping out. Need to focus on nothing else but my project.

posted 06-17-19 06:30 AM CT (US) 23 / 183

Sad to hear it. Best of luck on the project, though!

posted 06-20-19 08:24 AM CT (US) 24 / 183

IN!

Was there a map size limit?

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posted 06-20-19 11:14 AM CT (US) 25 / 183

Anything up to 255x255 is fine. That's the largest mapsize that the game can support in a stable fashion, and it's more than enough space for the purposes of the PTC.

'Giant' size, selectable within the editor, is 240x240, for reference.

posted 06-21-19 06:03 AM CT (US) 26 / 183

Two things are always guaranteed when there's a PTC; the bloody rivalry between Julius, Lord Basse and Mr Wednesday, and Andan dropping out early.

Best of luck to all those involved!

Heart of the Dragon | Aethelflaed ~ The Lady of the Mercians
Wind of the North | Defence at Lorgan's Watch | Blood of the Bear
StormWind Studios

posted 06-21-19 07:22 AM CT (US) 27 / 183

Mash, you should enter. You can always make a dark, cold town. It could even be a showcase remake of Blood of the Bear. I know that's the only scenario you're contractually allowed to make.

What I want to know is where is Lilthbehr and where is the betting thread. I've been really nice for a long time. Its not as fun as I'd imagined it would be.

"And Matt is a prolific lurker, watching over the forum from afar in silence, like Batman. He's the president TC needs, and possibly also the one it deserves." - trebuchet king

posted 06-21-19 07:48 AM CT (US) 28 / 183

We need to perform a summoning ritual.

posted 06-21-19 08:05 AM CT (US) 29 / 183

The chirping in the betting threads has been known to scare off at least one contestant per year. One particular fellow even departed permanently

posted 06-24-19 03:57 PM CT (US) 30 / 183

How are you guys coming along? I'm about 25% done with my map I would guess, not counting any trigger work.

posted 06-24-19 06:05 PM CT (US) 31 / 183

I haven't started

posted 06-25-19 03:28 AM CT (US) 32 / 183

Brainstorming, and mostly focused on Fantasy Contest :/

posted 06-25-19 05:13 AM CT (US) 33 / 183

Map design done, just trigger work left for me.

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posted 06-25-19 05:28 AM CT (US) 34 / 183

I've started on a map but I'm not convinced it's heading anywhere so I won't sign up... yet.

Heart of the Dragon | Aethelflaed ~ The Lady of the Mercians
Wind of the North | Defence at Lorgan's Watch | Blood of the Bear
StormWind Studios

posted 06-25-19 05:34 PM CT (US) 35 / 183

About 40% done now. If all goes well I will have the map itself done by next week. Then I have five months to come up with the story for it!