SLeague Scenario Design Contest 4

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Preamble

The Age of Sail, roughly 1500 AD thru 1801 AD, covered the time span from the first beginnings of global naval warfare and piracy up to the Napoleonic Wars, which effectively was the first "world" war. During this time, the world saw the most violent colonial wars that would ever occur. At the same time, vast changes occured across the world; piracy became commonsport, colonial levies became the norm, massive armies dominated vast empires not seen since the days of the Mongol and Roman empires. At the same time, man was bounding forward technologically with the development of the musket and cannon and their subsequent refinement.

Never again would the world see such great wars, such pioneering bravery and such suspense as was held during the Age of Sail. This era combined both legendary intrigue and military revolution as tactics and amphibious warfare became a finely tuned art. The fortress was developed and all around the world massive stone castles were erected and armed with cannon turrets, even to defend the smallest colonial outpost.

It is this setting in which you, the designer, may choose a campaign in which to build your scenario around. To help you understand what is expected of you and your entry, i've prepared some guidelines, like the introduction above.

-PBEM vs SP ~ Some people have asked me, why PBEM instead of single-player? Well the answer is this. PBEM is a relatively new concept to Civ gaming. It has not only brought life back into the scenario community, but it has opened a whole new field of multiplayer gaming. Therefore, to present a new and true challenge to designers, scenarios should be designed for PBEM instead of the normal single player. The administration realizes that scenarios are naturally intended for the single player, and that to create a PBEM scenario requires a lot of work. With that in mind, we WILL be accepting single-player scenarios. You will NOT be penalised for submitting a single-player work. Judging is based on the OVERALL PLAYABILITY of the scenario, not whether it is strictly PBEM of SP.

-Original Artwork ~ A scenario is often judged by it's originality, especially in the sense of artwork. When a judge, or rather, anybody opens the scenario, it is always the graphics which make the first and most striking impression. Unmodified and heavily recycled graphics are not always a designers best choice. Even simple modifications to units from other scenarios can make a scenario much better.

-Accuracy and Authenticity ~ As the SDC's namesake suggests, the theme this year is based upon a historical and realistic background. As such, a designer should strive to make sure his/her scenario is accurate to the setting they are attempting to portray. If you have a question, ask around in the forums, there are always plenty of people with a lot of knowledge willing to lend a helping hand. Each designer and/or team should strive to do the best work possible. Do not be intimidated by other "veteran" designers. We have seen many instances where an unknown has come forward from out of nowhere with an excellent scenario.

First Place: The Rape of Nations by Kobayashi

Beyond the obvious name that will undoubtedly draw lawsuits against our Trekkie friend for sexual harassment and Disney fraud ;-) the scenario is very original. It is very well balanced and is an excellent empire-building game. Original graphics and many new innovations have made this one of those scenarios I love to play simply to learn from. The only visible drawback to this scenario being Koby's over-reliance on using sounds ripped from ST movies (I hardly expected to hear Johnathan Frakes when I first ran that scenario hehe). The scenario itself is well balanced but limits the PBEMable civs to only a few players, leaving the Heathens and Other Europeans out of the loop. Regardless, it is a well done scenario and one I consider to be an excellent choice for first place.

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Second Place: Sengoku by DarthVeda

Possibly the most thoroughly done scenario submitted to the SDC. Sengoku is an absolute thrill to play (at least for me) and is perfectly done for a PBEM game. The included manual and strategy guide make it an even greater enjoyment. Very accurate historically and well balanced with great originality, I would grant this scenario first place - IF - it wasn't for the fact that it focuses on feudal Japan. This fact partially excludes it from the contest's theme. It is, however, within the right time spectrum. Overall, it is well done and well researched, an excellent choice for second place.

Third Place: The Big Little Ice Age by St. Leo

I absolutely love this scenario and would immediately consider it for first place - IF - it wasn't so imbalanced. As noted the the ReadMe, the Hapsburgs are a NPC civ and not mean't to be played. Their power at the start of the game is utterly overwhelming, and within a few game years they immediately amass enough power to wipe everyone else off the map. Otherwise, the scenario is very well done and much fun to play. While not directly PBEMable, it is an indirectly nice game because it presents a situation where players may take the lesser powers and "gang up" on the Hapsburgs. Only through this method can they [the Hapsburgs] be defeated. This is interesting because it truely limits to game to the PBEM scenario sector. While not as good as Imperial Ambition, nonetheless a worthy scenario.

Fourth Place: Asiento by Prometeus

A very nicely done scenario, but lacking in several areas which are greatly detrimental to it's overall performance. For starters, the scenario is very historically inaccurate. City placement and acuracy is key to the status of a historical scenario and, obviously, cities like St. Louis do not exist on the African sub-continent. Secondly, the scenario is missing several components as noted by Prometeus himself; city.txt, for instance. Thirdly, the scenario has not been playtested in the slightest. When playing as the Dutch, for instance, several major units self-disbanded upon the start of the scenario. On the turn, the scenario is very PBEMable if you ignore the errors and dive directly into the gaming aspect. All sides are fairly well considered and equally playable. And all can win the game within the scenarios limited amount of time.

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