|
|
   |
PTC04 - Pretty Town Contest Winners 2004
|
| Author |
File Description |
| Aro |
Posted on 09/06/04 @ 12:00 AM
| File Details |
|---|
| Version: |
The Conquerors 1.0c |
| Style: |
Other |
The Pretty Town Contest is a contest held by Age of Kings Heaven to see who can make the best looking (i.e. "prettiest") town. These scenarios are the entries that made it into the top four, with the winner (Jerker's Widow) and three runner ups (Intrepid, Ckn_chaos, and LiQi).
Winner:
Jerkermania by Jerker's Widow
Runner Ups:
Chowichan by Intrepid
Tlizopec by Cknchaos
PTC 2004 Entry by LiQi
You can find more information on the Pretty Town Contest by visiting it's official page or the PTC Results page. |
| Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
|---|
Possidon
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 06/17/21 @ 05:25 AM
The six scenarios are as follows:
1st Place: Jerkermania by Jerker's Widow
2nd Place: Chowichan by Intrepid
3rd Place: Tlizopec by Cknchaos
4th Place: PTC 2004 Entry by LiQi
Playability: 5
All four of these scenario are thoroughly enjoyable, although I didn’t find any of the same quite at the same level as some of the scenarios from the previous two years contests. Each scenario is a city tour of a large city designed to be the most beautiful as possible. The tours a well guided and there is much to see and admire in these designs. Dialogue is also used really well as well to create some interactive atmosphere. It’s important to note that these scenarios were designed in AOKs earliest years. Whilst these scenarios can look a bit bland and boring compared to today's standards of map design, it is important to note that many of the skills and tools that we take for granted today (such as UserPatch's off-grid placement and effects, Trigger Studio, etc) were not available at this time. These are fantastic showcases of what can be achieved with the vanilla editor. Being all under a similar theme showed a range of different designs styles, which was interesting to see, considering that they were all using similar architecture styles, terrains and eye-candy object.
Balance: 5
Not applicable as there is not fighting or cinematic elements to this scenario.
Creativity: 4
As previously stated, these scenarios are as vanilla as its possible to make. These were created years before the advancements in map design that we take for granted today. No Trigger Studio, no UserPatch, No data editing. Therefore everything you see in each of these scenarios is pure vanilla scenario editing. Each of these scenarios are beuaitufllyp crafted, and showcase some incredible map design. The swamp theme can be quite limiting but there were some creative ideas used to create realistic swamps.
Map Design: 4
Due to limitations with the Swamp theme I found that all four of these scenarios were not as impressive as previous entries into the Pretty Town Contest. Most of the scenarios relied on an overuse of the shallow terrain covered in Flower patches which, while convincing as a swamp floor, could be a bit sore on the eyes. Of the four scenarios in this pack I found Jerkmania and Tlizopec to be my favourites. Jerkmania was probably the scenario that looked the most swamp-like whilst also using less flower patches. Its strengths lies in its building layout of the main central town and the surrounding areas, such as the graveyard and farmlands. These were very nicely designed and had some good elements of eye candy in them. I also really enjoyed the military camp and large monument surrounded by ruined pillars. There was also a far greater use of terrain mixing in this scenario compared to some others. Cowichan came in second place and consisted of a city on a swamp island surrounded by sea. The water mixing was good, and I really like the way that the author used pine trees and dead trees rather than jungle trees. It created a different and unique look for a swamp in comparison to other entries. Unfortunately there isn’t much terrain to see here as almost the entire map was covered in flower patches, so the beauty it in the eye-candy - the placement of the trees, rocks and buildings. It’s a solid effort, but definitely could be better and not my personal favourite. Tlizopec was the most diverse and different of the four entries, as it didn’t rely on an overuse of flower patches. Theres much more terrain mixing to see and some lovely Cris-crossing rivers. The city is huge and covers the majority of the map in different smaller sections. Ironically, whilst I found Tlizopec my favourite design, it is probably the scenario that looks least like a swamp, and that is probably why it didn’t fare better in the competition. Finally we come to LiQi’s entry, which is boasts a large city sitting in the middle of a watery swamp. It’s an interesting design, made more interesting by its blend of Mesoamerican and Asian architecture. It has a number of pretty elements, mainly in its building layout and swamp design, but has some ugly sections, such as the weird walls and the random European buildings placed here and there.
Story/Instructions: 4
Unlike modern PTC contest, stories were not judged as a part of the entry and therefore for most of these scenario no such thing was included. Each scenario has its own personal tour guide which guides the player through the city nicely and these were done well. The use of dialogue helped create an atmosphere and there are some nicely written history sections for a couple of the scenarios too to add to the background.
Additional Comments:
Overall these four scenarios are great examples of how too create simple swamplands, and an excellent showcase of what can be done with the pure vanilla editor. A recommended download.
Possidon |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
| Rating |
|---|
| 4.4 | | Breakdown |
|---|
| Playability | 5.0 | | Balance | 5.0 | | Creativity | 4.0 | | Map Design | 4.0 | | Story/Instructions | 4.0 |
| Statistics |
| Downloads: | 2,049 |
| Favorites: [] | 2 |
| Size: | 315.60 KB |
| Added: | 09/06/04 |
|
