Contest 100: Maritis Merites: A Cleopatra Contest
Welcome to the contest
page for Contest 100 : Maritis Merites! (part two)
This is a Cleopatra game, and should only be played with Pharaoh
V2.1.0.0.
Use the link below to
download the starting position:
Maritis Merites
part two (normal difficulty)
file
is in zip format
To download the mission, simply click the appropriate
link. The files you receive will be in a zipped format. After downloading,
decompress the files you want to inspect (using, e.g. PowerArchiver or
Winzip). You can get Winzip free from their website at www.winzip.com.
To play the game, start Pharoah/Cleopatra, go to your family, and select
"Load Saved Game". You will find the files as a saved game.
There are nine different starting positions, all with the names of Egyptian
gods. Three players have added a note with their save, Those notes are
comprised within the download file. The name of the text file indicates
to what save it belongs.
All saves are to be played at Normal difficulty. Please make sure you
play the game from the start at the correct level of difficulty. If a
map is played at a lower difficulty level, it becomes invalid. Select
Options>Difficulty and check it. If necessary adjust the difficulty,
select new game and reselect the Maritis Merites saved game. Now you can
play.
All players are advised
to peruse the remainder of the contest pages (links to which can be found
at the foot of the page), as well as the General Rules and Pharaoh/Cleopatra game features.
The Story
Pharaoh Nebka is greatly impressed with your achievements. In such a
short time, your colony has grown substantially in both importance and
stature, and your contributions to Pharaoh's monument have ensured its
timely completion. Many caravans which initially paled at journeying to
Selima Oasis now flock to your storage yards to do business, bringing
new and important commodities to your city. Your reward will surely be
great when you return to Pharaoh's court with this success in hand…
assuming you do not cast away all that you have won so far, of course…
With the cessation of construction at Menat Khufu, the price of construction
materials has fallen throughout the world, as supply dramatically exceeds
demand. However, your town is certainly more than capable of standing
on its own two feet now, thanks to your good governance.
You will be pleased to note that, as per my instructions from Pharaoh,
I have assembled the finest craftsmen of our time in convoy to your city.
They should be arriving with this message. Find homes for them and forges
for their hands, and they will produce the finest armour in the land for
the use of your soldiers. Armed with strong bronze swords and shields,
your men will fear no enemy, and will not hesitate to meet him in the
skirmish line. Your archers, while still an important aspect of your defence,
will pale in the face of such might warriors.
There have, unfortunately, some concessions been made to these men to
persuade them to make the journey to your city. The guild of armourers
has been arguing with the royal court for decades about the taxes they
pay on the weapons and armour they produce, much of which is then taken
by the state anyway. They have demanded that they be absolved from these
taxes forthwith if they are to continue to supply the Egyptian army with
equipment. Pharaoh has reluctantly agreed - he had little choice in the
matter - and so these craftsmen, some of whom are incredibly wealthy,
are soon to be relieved of any impediment to the further increase of their
riches. The precise details of the new tax codes for these gentlemen will
doubtless take years to hammer out, but I tell you this merely to warn
you: the great sums of money you gain from these men will not continue
to pour forth for long.
To facilitate the supply of your armourers, I have left strict instructions
with Mesentet, the Nomarch of Sawu, for the shipping of fine Timnan copper
across the red sea to his city. It will then be available to you to import
directly. I have no doubt that Mesentet will be lining his pockets comfortably
with this middleman position, but it should ensure a more reliable source
of copper for your city.
Maritis has won some considerable victories in the early stages of his
campaign. The mighty city of Nekhen, before the walls of which many of
Egypt's finest generals have broken, was captured in barely a month's
fighting after some truly audacious manoeuvres from Maritis and the commendable
valour of his soldiers - your own forces not least among them, I might
add. Maritis now marches on the great fortress of Abu, its walls more
impregnable even than those of Nekhen, if that is possible. He will surely
need all his will and strength to prevail against such indomitable fortifications.
Seth's blessing upon him!
Rules
Completion Criteria:
none
Winning Criteria:
Each map will be scored according to the following formula:
Score =
Culture Rating + 2*Prosperity
Rating + 3*Monument Rating + Kingdom
Rating +
Treasury/1000 + #People/100
+ #Weapons/3 +
#Infantry + 2*#Archers
+ #Stately Manors +
%Pyramid + %Obelisk + 3*(360 - #Months Pyramid) + 10*(360
- #Months Obelisk)
All score elements will
be checked with the appropriate overseer and taken from the submitted
save in the final stage. The number of months it took to complete the
obelisk and the pyramid will be derived from the message list. For instance
if the obelisk is finished in Jan AD3, 36 months are taken for the completion.
If a monument is not finished the number of months is set to 360.
Notes
This contest map consists of three distinct parts, each lasting ten game years. Players can download the finishing positions of the first stage, and play the second part or stage. Annual saves should be made each December, signalled by a price change of sandstone by the end of November. This serves as a reminder only, sandstone plays no role in this scenario. In November AD19 there is also an attack by a single mummy.
The mummy will appear at a temple, a temple complex, or a monument. The
player has to find out how to deal with the mummy. The appearance of the
mummy also serves as a reminder to make a final save. At the end of AD19
a series of catastrophes will be triggered, that makes further game play
(virtually) impossible. Though the player is invited to sit back and watch
the show, it is not allowed to try to survive for a prolonged period.
Defeat should occur within at most six months, and provide an effective
blocking of future events.
Players can load any of the modified save files from the first stage,
and continue play, with the exception of the one they submitted themselves.
Players can of course continue with their own modified save if they want
to, but these will not provide a valid entry. In the second stage
it is no longer possible to build archer forts, but weapon smiths are
available. Further changes are subject to the normal events occurring
in the game. Again price changes of sandstone act as a reminder for the
required annual saves. The attack of another mummy at the end of November
AD19 signals the end of the second stage. Again the catastrophes beginning
at the end of AD19 are meant to disable the scenario to continue. Some
of the events in early AD20 can be observed. Players can submit their
final save dated from December AD19. Before saving the players
should delete any tax collector offices present on the map. The
design team will again modify the submitted files, move the blocking events
another decade beyond, and make the save available for download.
Again players may choose to continue from any of the modified saves, with
the exception of those to which they already contributed in either the
first or the second stage. In the third stage tax collectors offices
are disabled, but the festival square is available. Annual saves are still
required, the mummy in November AD29 signals the end of the third stage.
The blocking by the catastrophes serves no other purpose than to provide
the player with the option to see their precious city go to waste. Enjoy!
Final saves made in December AD29 are rated by the judges using the scoring
formula given above.
Players may submit as many entries as they prefer. In the second stage
only the last entry will be made available for download by others. In
the third stage only the highest rated entry will be considered. If a
player wants a different entry to be selected, the design team should
be notified clearly and timely.
Designer's Notes
and Advice
A contest map 'with a difference' was WinterPharaoh's introduction in
the HeavenGames Pharaoh forum to the idea of having a relay contest. Others
have played with that idea too; we have, with more than a little trouble,
managed to produce what we think to be a playable, and more importantly,
enjoyable map. We are honoured that it may serve now as contest #100 here
at Ancient Maps.
It is different from other contests not only in the sense that you are
part of a team, be it that you do not know who your team mates will be,
but also because you do not know what is ahead in the scenario itself.
If you want to have a successful team effort, make sure your entry is
playable by whomever will play it, and whatever will be the upcoming events.
The event tree, the way the different events in this scenario are linked,
is rather complicated for a contest map. That was WP's original idea of
balance and counterbalance, as phrased in the mission briefing text above.
In a normal map a player would strive to comply immediately with any request,
and never give in to extortion. In a contest map the standard strategy
may not always be the optimal one, in this map in particular the player
is invited to investigate the alternatives. Specifically if the effect
of your action extends beyond a stage boundary, you may want to provide
your unknown successor with all the options. Sometimes that is not possible,
and you have to make a choice. A map with a difference indeed.
.
Maritis Merites was designed and tested by WinterPharaoh, Civilis, and Joshofet.
Competitors are reminded
that the normal AM General Rules apply to this contest. Competitors
are also advised to peruse the list of Pharaoh/Cleopatra game features.
This contest will close at 11PM EST (US), on Sunday, January 31st.
Please note the date!!!!
This contest has ended.
General Rules|Pharaoh/Cleopatra
game features|Results
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