Beam's Super Challenge: Full-Sized Realistic Fortress

I've been around for a long time, and very rarely do I see many exceptional maps/screens. There are exceptions, but as I said, they are rarely seen. So, in the hopes of stimulating some real progress in the terrain industry, I issue this challenge.

Create a realistic full-sized fortress.

Simple huh? Think again.

RESTRICTIONS AND LIMITATIONS

I will be placing a set of limitations on your doodad use. The use of premade doodads (while certainly very useful and cool (sup reinless)) severely hampers your creative secretions. Therefore, your restrictions are:

- You may not use the stone walls found in the destructibles section of the original WE.
- You may not use the walls included in the Gaiascape Breed Barrens Pack or the custom wall models found in the Ultimate Terraining Map.
- You may not use any custom made wall models, whether of your own make, or requested from someone else.

STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS

I have a set of standards which I will outline below. I am also expecting only top-quality work. This means I want to see that you thought about the placement of doodads, and that you thought about the limitations and restrictions presented in real life (as well as those presented by me). Some general expectations and standards include:

- Adherence to reality. If a construction crew can't recreate your design in real life, then you've obviously not met the standard. "But Beam, Warcraft isn't real! My castle is supported by magic!" Shut up, this is the way it is.
- Faithfulness to the theme. That is, creating a full-sized, realistic fortress. Consider those words, "full-sized", "realistic", and "fortress". "Realistic" we've covered in the previous bullet. Now consider the other two. "Full-sized" means that I expect this to one big motherfucker. Now consider "fortress". A fortress is an instrument of war. It has garrisons for soldiers, stables for horses, kitchens, storage rooms, dungeons. It is strategically placed and built, usually on high ground, surrounded by a moat, commanding view, strong defenses. If ol' Bush would think twice about bombing this, then you've met the standard.
- Attention to detail. I'll be looking for things like weeds growing around the bottom of the walls, doors, windows, etc. "But Beam, there are no door or window doodads!" Tough luck, I'll still be looking for them, so they better be there.
- Atmosphere. Fog isn't that hard to do people. Use it!! There are a lot of people who totally forget about the great effect fog gives a map. "But Beam, you can't see far with fog!" Goddamn, you whine a lot. This is how it is.

REQUIREMENTS

Now, here's the general requirements to get your entries qualified.

- No less than 10 screenshots.
- Provide WIP shots with details/descriptions in the WIP thread here.
- Adherance to the rules and restrictions explained above.

TAKING SCREENSHOTS

There will be two types of screenshots:

Aesthetic shots, in which you do your best to present your map in all its coolness and glory.
AND
Structural shots, in which you show certain aspects of the fortress that might not be noticed upon first glance. These will be taken without fog, so I can get a clear look at the detail you're highlighting.

Both types of shots must be included in your entry. It's up to you how many to take of each, but no less than ten total.

JUDGING

I will be doing the judging of the screenshots. The criteria I will be judging on will be:
- Realism 10 pt
- Detail 10 pt
- Doodad Usage 10 pt
- Terrain (tile variation etc) 10 pt
- Atmosphere 10 pt

I will also post a poll after the contest has ended, but the winner will ultimately be decided by me. I will not participate in the contest, because I'd give myself 20 out of 10 for every category, and you would lose.

DEADLINE

The deadline for this challenge will be on February 1st, 2005. You'll need the time I can tell.

PARTICIPANTS

Mordrag
Kablamo185
[Death]
JetPack
Freakazoid
d0ok
TDR
terrainer666
Shining Force
Vilkacis
funkid2
Wazza
GreyArchon
Gitlich

Have fun all.

This seems like an exciting idea, may we base our scene off any real life images? like try to re-create any locations of intrest?

No no, I've got a better idea. Let's make a forest without the use of any tree models.

yeah im in i ahvent been terrainign for long but ill give it a try also what is the prize for winning


edit: also with the walls can we use the building walls in the barrens pack?

ooh ooh or how about have dragon make a post that's not stupid. that'd be a real challenge.

mordrag, you can if you want.

kablamo, no you can't use the barrens pack walls. it's up there in the restrictions section.

prize... uh.. bragging rights? who really participates in these challenges for a real prize? most people just do it for fun and the right to gloat when you win.

yeah i know it says no walls in the rules but i thought that only meant the fortress walls not the building walls coz i was going to use the building ones for well buildings so i gess i cant do that now yeah?

I'll try. Good luck to me.

...Bleh, anything but a fortress...

I'll see what I can do though.

I got a few questions.

Are we allowed to use custom models, besides custom walls? Warcraft trees =

Are we allowed to use custom skins?

Got any pictures of a garrison? Google shows me pictures of people with that name.

Got any pictures/information of a good fortress? I know what it looks like, but I don't know everything that's in it.



.... :(

Bur already did what I wanted to do for the exterior walls of the fortress, I never knew that...

ok maybe i should clarify. you CAN'T use the FORTRESS walls, more specifically, these files (from the Barrens Pack):

FortressGate.mdx
FortressRoundTower.mdx
FortressTower.mdx
FortressWall0.mdx
FortressWall.mdx
FortressWallWithLStairs.mdx
FortressWallWithRStairs.mdx
FortressWallCornerInside.mdx
FortressWallCornerOutside.mdx

Anything else from the pack goes.

custom models that AREN'T walls CAN BE USED. if it's a premade wall, then it's out. what i mean by wall is something like the battlements of a castle. with the little up down things and walkway. you have to make those yourself. if you want to use the building walls from the barrens pack, it's fine, but 1) it'll look horrible if you scale it up, and 2) it doesn't really fit the theme of "STONE fortress".

Custom tree models are allowed.

A garrison is like a barracks. a place where soldiers live. for stuff inside a fortress, just think of anything it would need to survive on its own. for example, you'd need a kitchen, storage, stuff like that.

Custom skins aren't allowed. i want you to come up with uses for doodads that normally wouldn't have any other uses.

I'm in, but does it have to be made out of stone because I can think of some doodads that would make some nice walls that aren't stone. But I have a ton of time to think so I'll probobly find something better. This looks like a ton of fun, I'm going to start soon, but not now because I'm lazy, probobly on the day before the contest ends.

well, no one's really attempted a full blown stone fortress so try to keep it mostly stone. if there's like, some buildings that are made of wood or something by all means use wood.

and to any of those who doubt that walls can't be made without, well walls, here's a way to do it.



I'm gonna do this challenge myself. Mine won't count though, i'll just use them to motivate people or give ideas. it'll be fun to do something like this again.

btw, thanks to bur who orignally came up with this idea. works wonders. thanks bur! you'll be entering right?

ahh yes, thats a nice trick, tho now we should come up with new ideas, or everyone will do that :\ even though most likely thats whats going to happen anyways.


-Murcielago)