Here you may request a review for your file or for another's, whether it be because you would like a second opinion or because you believe a certain file is rated unfairly or is even over-rated. To do so simply leave a comment and the
If you would like to help out with the community and become a Thread Reviewer, you need just four approved reviews. Please post your request in this thread or send a mail to panel@heavengames.com, naming your last review. You do not have to review regularly, but keep in mind that if you have not posted or updated a review within three months you will be put on inactive. To become active again, simply find your name below and post a review. If your name is not listed inactive anymore, your last review will have dated before 01/01/09 (DD/MM/YY) and you may re-enter the thread after one posted review only.
(In order of number of reviews)
* = Official Reviewer
169 Possidon*:
107 Lord Basse*:
92 Mashek*:
80 Sword_of_Storm (Jatayu)*:
45 Panel*:
35 alekshs:
30 dragonslayermcmx:
27 Sarn:
18 Mayank Sharma:
9 RladalFatih:
6 Dead_End:
4 HockeySam18:
(In order of time of inactivity)
11 Leif Ericson:
55 Popeychops*:
26 Julius999*:
25 Dtrungle*:
09 joshua4missions:
10 Fanica:
05 Jecon:
08 hailstorm65:
27 Cilibinarii:
23 FuzzyFurry25:
16 Guthan:
Mashek
Lord Basse
Popeychops
Julius999
Jatayu (aka Sword_of_Storm)
Possidon
Dtrungle
Stephen Richards
Panel
231 Tanneur99
95 Lord_Fadawah
92 BrandNewCar
61 clayperboy
54 rwilde
31 Stephen Richards*
30 zyxomma100
25 Magnum Zero
24 RF_Gandalf
The list below consists of a number of requests and/or downloads recently rated by thread reviewers. Requests are marked
R Notepad++ AI Editor, by beladar; No Reviewer
R Enchanced Editor, by GeneralR; Reviewer: panel
DirectDrawFix - Color Update, by scripter64; Reviewer: panel
All Bitmaps of all Units, by dragonslayermcmx; Reviewer: Lord Basse
All Bitmaps of all Buildings, by dragonslayermcmx; Reviewer: Lord Basse
Advanced Genie Editor 2, by Keisari Tapsa; Reviewer: Lord Basse
SLP Editor 2.2.5, by Hawk_Ruralist; Reviewer: Lord Basse
DirectDrawFix - Color Update, by scripter64; Reviewer: Possidon
U Age of Vampires, by Khan Ivayl; Reviewer: Mashek
Explosive Turtle Ship, by dragonslayermcmx; Reviewer: panel
AH-64 Apache Armed Helicopter, by Hawk_Adongct; Reviewer: Lord Basse
Archery Range Pack, by Rageofempires; Reviewer: Mayank Sharma
Transformers BUMBLEBEE, by Hawk_Adongct; Reviewer: dragonslayermcmx
Oriental shield king, by Hawk_Adongct; Reviewer: dragonslayermcmx
ACSC10 - The Last Samurai - Blood Memories, by Sebastien; Reviewer: Mashek
A Tribute To RU42, by Hawk_Adongct; Reviewer: panel
R A Mans Home is His Castle, by joshua4missions; No Reviewer
R Sir Spart on Trench Shores, Demo, by Algren t l s; No reviewer
R Brotherhood of War (updated 1.3 version), by kahn1969; Reviewer: Panel;
R The Arabian Nights, by Jackrum; no reviewer
R ICE AGE ICE MAZE, by Xylon Draganthus; Reviewer: Panel
The Jaguar Gold, by Lord Basse; Reviewer: Sarn
R Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, by Celebi Megatron; Reviewer: panel
The Conquest of Kent by Andrew W; Reviewer: Sarn
Phoenix (Unfinished), by Teotl; Reviewer: panel
Demon Town, by Devastator; Reviewer: panel
the TWO KINGS by Genghis, by Pro_Designer; Reviewer: Alekshs
Britannia Colonia, by Yekkelle; Reviewer: Sarn
Treasure Predator, by Devastator; Reviewer: Sword_Of_Storm
Helm's Deep by Magnus, by Lord Magnus; Reviewer: Sarn
MGC12-An evil "surprise", by Alekshs; Reviewer: Sarn
MGC2012 - The Siege of the Fort, by Mephiles5; Reviewer: Sarn
R Forest, by Dragonslayermcmx; panel
The Jungle Thinghy, by IsuckatXbows; panel
R District of Allin, by Algren t l s; panel
R Fertile Crescent, Revision 1, by OtmShankIiI; no reviewer
R Compilation of Multiplayer Games, by jburnell; No Reviewer
R Persia - Non Random Map, by Lakayaa; No Reviewer
R UDP - Deathly Cliffs - V3.2, by Heroes; No Reviewer
R Battleships, by TheReal_Hunter; No Reviewer
R The Seas of Egressa RP, by Guthan; No Reviewer
R city catastrophe(complete version), by bigboy37731; No Reviewer
R UDP Prison Break, by Alevo; No Reviewer
R Paradise Lands, by sathcooperation; No Reviewer
R SAVE YOUR @$$ (beta2), by rohit021089; No Reviewer
DM 1 vs 4 Hardest.mgx, by zebratangozebra; Reviewer: Alekshs
Please edit your review after an update. A designer can ask for the removal of all reviews after an update if he feels that they do not represent the actual version of his submission. Reviews that address issues that are fixed, altered or ameliorated do not serve the visitors of our site. A review has to be a valuable tool for the designer and the downloader.
(In order of date of the update)
10/23/11 Roots to Noah's Arc, by Pancho Villa 347; Reviewer: Mashek
11/25/11 Age of Vampires - Blood Reign in Transsylvania, by Khan Ivayl; Reviewers: Mashek
Without trying to enforce the Review Guidelines as something as law, they are still a very important part of the review system here at
In some cases, a small percentage of reviewers tend to review files according to their own rules, leading to inconsistency between reviews at the Blacksmith, which is neither helpful nor fair to anyone. To have reviews at the Blacksmith that are fair and helpful, reviewers have to follow some rules to score consistently.
If you have any questions about reviewing, please do not hesitate to post in this thread!
There are many invaluable lessons to learn when becoming a good reviewer, and a few other things besides that will result in a good and fair review. Some things are self-evident when reviewing a file; in general, do not review game styles you do not enjoy and review files according to the date of its release. There are many files back in 2000-2002 that received a score of a high 4, which would not fit the standards of today. You have to take into account the standards of the day, and rate accordingly. In addition, if the scenario is designed for original Age of Kings, review it playing AoK.
Below you will find a general breakdown of each category from a review for your convenience.
For files such as those where playability is void and map design is the only feature of the file (e.g. entries to the Totally-Terrain Contest), the category should therefore be used to take a look at the technical and creative qualities of the map design, while referring to how that design pushes the boundaries of realism in an AOK environment. One particular thing to note here is that just because the file is all about pretty map design, that doesn’t mean it cannot feature any creative features that might breathe life into the design, such as towns brought to life by wandering villagers, people going about their everyday lives, and other unique devices besides. Basically, anything that goes into making the map more alive and as such realistic should be taken into consideration. As the file will likely feature little anything else other than map design, a single overall rating between 1 and 5 will be fine.
An exception to the balance category is when the author of a particular file did not intend any fighting, or very little of, to feature in the scenario. From the review guidelines:
For files such as the
Cut-scenes rate like any other scenario, the only difference is that most cut-scenes do not allow any interaction for the player, requiring only that the player sits down and watch as the story unfolds. Cut-scenes are a mixed bag of lollies; some designers appreciate them, others however do not. The purpose of a cut-scene is to tell a story, to continue or conclude a project, like in
The very definition of Playability denotes many errors, some already obvious. In Tanneur99’s words, the previous Blacksmith administrator and owner of this thread, “playability is a bastard word. It does not exist in the English language and separating the
For rating Balance in cut-scenes, the review guideline gives us this description:
This means that reviewers can now rate down in this category for all those dodgy timing sequences, overlapping music, and anything else that would not necessarily affect one’s enjoyment but the technical aspect of a cut-scene. This also gives balance in cinematic scenarios more depth and meaning, and contributes more to the overall rating of a review than previously attained. Every technical aspect is to be taken into account, and what happens on-screen should generally correspond smoothly with dialogue and the overall transition of the story. Generally speaking, the less the cinematic leaves up to the viewer’s imagination, the higher the quality of the presentation. In saying all that, a cinematic should never feel rushed or sluggish, but proceed from scene to scene as the atmosphere and story suggests.
Unfinished files, demos and teasers are common at the Blacksmith and make up a great percentage of submissions. Many designers, like writers, look for feedback on their work: to help get past a certain point in their project where they might be hindered from progressing, or to catch up on any bugs that might be bothering them. Some authors return to the file and provide the Blacksmith with a complete update of the file as a result of the feedback.
When reviewing unfinished files, it’s important not to discriminate because it is an incomplete work. There’s no reason to knock down points just because somebody put
The
The first question to ask when rating an AI-File is
If the AI-file is developed for Age of Kings test it playing Age of Kings only. Rating an AI according to your own experience might be biased unless the AI cheats. Cheating AI-files, as forbidden for tournaments, are meant to play against human players. A good way to test a non-cheating AI is against the standard AI. If its performance compares to the standard one, it is average and the minimum rating should be a 3. In general, rate the AI-file according to its time. Many AI-files were developed to beat another specific one. It would be unfair to knock off points of an AI developed in 2000 because it loses against a more recent one.
A Modification Pack Script (MPS) is mainly an item for the player, which has a limited use for designers; the content will not always suit a designer’s endeavours in scenario design and is very limited to its audience. Keep this in mind when you rate mod pack scripts for
There is no official guideline for reviewing utilities, but for some ideas you can go
The value of a recorded game is highly subjective depending mainly on the purpose for which the submitter uploaded it. A recorded game must have a specific and defined purpose so the viewer can gain knowledge and/or entertainment value from the game. The submitter must specify exactly what to look for, what the point of the upload is.
It is up to the reviewer to check if there was any purpose and how well the recorded game met the intended goals. If it is supposed to be an example of a rushing tactic but no attacks happen until 30 minutes into the game, it is a bad example of the tactic. The rating is not about how well everybody played, if the teams were equally strong, you can mention that but it should not affect the rating.
The questions to answer:
Luke Gevaerts started the Review Request Thread 03/30/2002. Tanneur took over 11/30/2002 until 7/11/2009. I (Mashek) have since taken over and updated the thread as best I can (disputable) to feature more relevant information according to today’s guidelines.
[This message has been edited by Dead_End (edited 05-18-2012 @ 07:04 PM).]