Winners announcementGreetings, companions of the Edain!
Two months ago, we launched our first Half-Castle mapping contest. In addition to winning creative maps using Half-Castles, the goal was to bring the community together for collaborative modding, give community members an opportunity to showcase their work, and introduce newcomers to mapping who may never have had anything to do with it before. To this end, we used resources such as the
Wiki and the
template map . Many members of the community got involved in mapping, some for the first time, but in the end only maps from two members of the community were submitted. However, several team members took the opportunity to get creative and create their own maps! The following participants took part in the contest (in alphabetical order): Brechstange, EdSup, Elendil, FG15, Halbarad, TheOnlyOneTrueWitchking. The maps will be presented together below. We will reveal who created which map in a week.
The Maps Map 1: Castles of Middle Earth by EdSup
Middle Earth Map, including 4 big castles of Middle-Earth. Fill left 4 spots with good factions, right 4 spots with evil factions.
Map 2: Fennas Harad by OnlyTrueWK
It is the year 2222 of the Third Age, during the Watchful Peace. While Sauron is hiding in the east after his retreat from Dol Guldur, the Nazgûl govern Mordor from the City of Minas Morgul, which they took 2 centuries prior. But during the absence of their Dark Lord, many in the south have forgotten who they owe their allegiance to, and now trouble brews in Khand and Harad. Stirred up by an unknown force, an ambitious king of Harad refuses to pay tribute and marches to challenge the Nazgûl, aided by Variags and reportedly even some eastern Dwarves. The Witch-king sends The Fell Rider, Ninth of the Nine, to the Nargil-Pass, which is guarded by the small Fortress of Fennas Harad (Gate of the South), under command of The Watcher of Nurn, Seventh of the Nine. Here, the traitorous Southron shall see what comes to him who sets his foolish webs before the feet of Sauron the great. The defending player starts with 2 Half-Castles.
Info: 420x420, Half-Castles
Expansion Points: 2 Outposts and 12 Settlements
Creeps: 2x Trolls
Map 3: Sukûb Gundabadul by Brechstange
The Welkin-lofts is an area on the western slopes of Mount Gundabad. Known as Lugroz to the Orcs, the Welkin-lofts sit high in the mountains, among the three peaks of Gundabad.
Info: 400x400, Half-castles
Expansion Points: 2 Outposts and 14 Settlements
Lairs: 6x Orcs, 2x Trolls, 2x Spiders and 2x Wargs
Map 4: Tol Droeg by Halbarad
An island in the River Sírlith, one of the tributaries of the Sea of Nurnen in Mordor. It was known for its warg population, which is why it was given the name “Island of Wolves.”
Info: 500x500, Half-Castles
Expansion points: 5 outposts, 23 settlements, 4 shipyards
Lairs: 19x Orcs, 9x Wargs, 5x Trolls
On this map, which is designed for 2vs2, the teams share an outpost directly behind their Half-Castle. There are plenty of creeps, many settlements, and, with 3 additional outposts on the map, good opportunities to obtain additional resources and building sites. If players are interested in naval combat, ships can also be produced in the shipyards. Using those, troops can be transported off the island to the mainland in the corners of the map or behind enemy walls. The design of the map is based on Mordor as we know it, but is intended to appear more fertile, as the area around the Nurnen Sea was cultivated by Sauron and the river Sírlith was one of its tributaries.
(With the release of the next Edain version, the troll in the middle will be replaced by a werewolf).
Map 5: Arnor: Coldfells by Elendil
Before the fall of the Northern Kingdom, the Coldfells belonged to Rhudaur. By the end of the third age, the area was deserted and haunted by evil creatures.
This 1v1 map features a large and easily accessible lower half of the map and a more secluded upper half, divided by a large river. The lower side of the river is more plentiful, with many settlements and two outposts to fight over and a clear avenue of attack towards your enemy. On the other side of the river, the third outpost at the top of the map is protected by powerful creeps, and ruins of old Arnorian fortifications may block your paths. But pay heed - these ruins are about to collapse, opening up new attack paths into the back of your previously secure halfcastle!
Info: 400x400, Half-Castles
Expansion points: 3 outposts and 18 settlements
Lairs: 1x dragon, 5x wolves, 10x orcs, 4x trolls
Map 6: Horde: Dragonhill (Beta-Version) by FG15
Located at the northern tip of the Withered Heath, the Dragonhill was formed by rising magma that could not break through the surface. Here lives the lord of dragons with hoard.
However, greedy dwarves from all 4 dwarven realms have foolishly decided to covet that gold.
Help the dragon lord defend his land and gold.
Info: Horde map, 430x430, Half castles
Expansion points: 4-5 outpost and 28 settlements
The map is a 4 player horde map that is playable in multiplayer or with allied AIs. The 4 half castles enclose an area in the center of the map, where the dragon lord resides. Dwarven hordes arrive from the borders of the map.
The map is visually heavily based on the map Withered Heath.
The map is not finished and needs further balancing, but is already playable and can thus be tested.
VotingDue to the low number of community maps, we have decided to skip the official vote and build in all maps (possibly after individual adjustments). However you can now show your support for the map(s) you like best. We've opened up a poll on the
Community-Discord-Server for that.
Download all Maps