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| Thread: Top Ten WoG Maps |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 · NEXT» |
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ByteBandit
Promising
Famous Hero
Soul Merchant
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posted July 22, 2005 10:23 PM |
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Top Ten WoG Maps
I thought since I saw in another thread something about an "HOMM3 Top Ten Favorite Maps" list, I would like to see what your favorite top 10 WoG maps are.
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dan1756
Tavern Dweller
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posted July 23, 2005 03:18 AM |
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A question...
Hey, I'm new to this community, but I've been playing Heroes for a long time - however I don't know a whole lot about computers. I tried to download one of your maps, but I didn't know what program to use to open it. How do I actually open the map so I can start playing it? Thanks...
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ByteBandit
Promising
Famous Hero
Soul Merchant
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posted July 23, 2005 08:23 AM |
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Quote:
Hey, I'm new to this community, but I've been playing Heroes for a long time - however I don't know a whole lot about computers. I tried to download one of your maps, but I didn't know what program to use to open it. How do I actually open the map so I can start playing it? Thanks...
All you should have to do, is select the map you want to download. You are given some options what to do. Select "Save." It will then ask you where you want the map to go. I select the Desktop. There, you can move your map this way: I have a "Shortcut to Maps" folder (You can make this yourself by looking in C/Program Files/3DO/Heroes3/Maps. Right click the maps folder and select Shortcut. It'll put a 'Shortcut to maps' folder on your desktop.) on my desktop. I click and drag my map to the "Shortcut to Maps" folder. Then, you can start the game up, and your map should be in the selection box.
If you want to look at the map, open the downloaded file with h3maped. This program is located in you Heroes folder also.
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vlaad
Admirable
Legendary Hero
ghost of the past
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posted July 23, 2005 09:06 AM |
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LOL
I think he is even more confused now! 
Download the map file and unpack it to your Heroes/maps folder. Start the game and it should be there! 
Now I have a question: have you never played custom (fan-made) maps before?!
Steve, back on topic...
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dan1756
Tavern Dweller
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posted July 23, 2005 05:44 PM |
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Thanks to both...
Thanks to both replies...between the both of you I was able to successfully download one of the maps and so I'm going to give it a try. And to answer Vlaad, unfortunately, I've never played a custom map - I've played lots of the maps that come with Heroes 3 and Heroes 3 Complete, but not a custom one. Once I spent almost 16 hours designing my own, but then had trouble getting it going, so I became pretty frustrated, and since I'm not saavy with computers, I kind of gave up...
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ByteBandit
Promising
Famous Hero
Soul Merchant
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posted July 23, 2005 06:23 PM |
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If you still have the map, send it my way, through the group sites. There's been talk in the group(s) of making a "Pass the Map" site where we take unfinished maps and turn them into finished maps.
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Vlaad
Admirable
Legendary Hero
ghost of the past
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posted July 24, 2005 05:16 PM |
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Edited By: Vlaad on 24 Jul 2005
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Top Ten WoG maps
Cool. You can read about some good H3 maps here, while this thread is dedicated to the best WoG maps. Back on topic, I'd add a few recommendations (no particular order, mind you).
I think that when we discuss top WoG maps, one should add scripting to standard qualities (difficulty, appearance, story, balance, originality, bugs etc).
The first scenario that comes to my mind is
Cave or Gerfrex by Fnord
, which was the first map that, aside from the campaigns, showed the full potential of ERM. This is what Qurqirish Dragon wrote in his old review about the scenario:
Quote:
Being (for the moment) a unique map, it is hard to rate it properly on my normal scales. What is a hard or easy map, when you consider the vast number of possibilities, for example? I felt that things were well-made, and the difficulty was correct, but I cannot tell how well things are utilized, having no frame of reference.. It was very enjoyable, but again, it is impossible to give a style rating, as that pertains to unique and distinctive features, and until there are more ERM map designers, this point is moot. Similarly, the placement score loses meaning, as what is a good or bad use of the features needs more maps to really decide. The one bug alters the obviously intended ramping...
This map earns (unratable) for utilization and 10 for rating. It gets 9 on appearance, 10 on story, 9 on flavor, and (unratable) on style. It gets 16 for balance, and (unratable) for placement, for an overall rating of (54 out of 60).
JCServant also noted:
Quote:
You start off with a lonely hero on what ends up becoming an epic quest. Given the map size, this map packs a big bang for the buck.
The map is full of events that tell the story of our heroine, and what happens on her journey. It makes great use of WoG's ability to have ERM events (Fancy words that mean 'maps ability to have events based on YOUR actions). Take one action, and your hero may get a special ability, such as the ability to upgrade your level 1 troops into a totally different level 5 troop. Or, if you take a different course, you may get a neat artifact. Take a wrong choice, and your army may get turned into troglodytes!!
Despite the plentiful use of these ERM events, they are well placed. Yet, at no time, does the map feel cluttered, or the story line feel overwhelming (I hate maps that have two pages of text every turn or 10 steps). The design of this map is very well done. It make good use of the space, and is very pleasing to the eye. Despite the small map rating, it almost feels more like a Medium map.
The grammar in the game is probably better then the grammar I use in this review! I did not note any mistakes. There may have been one error in the events. At the beginning, my hero gained a special ability (Upgrading certain types of troops). I thought this ability was only for my main hero. Later, when I got a secondary hero, I noted that he had the ability too. However, I could be wrong about this... sometimes I don't read everything I should! At any rate, this fact had no impact on the map or its playability.
[...]
In a nutshell:
The Good: Great story and use of ERM events. Really shows what HOMM 3.5 WoG can do. A must download for anyone with this expansion. Thank you Fnord and team!!
The Bad: I wish it were longer! I would really enjoy a larger map like this, though I am sure it would be a chore to make!
I'd also give the map 9/10, mostly due to the fact that I was not able to finish it because of bugs in the end (the scenario had several updates, so be sure to download the latest one!).
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However, my all-time favorite WoG map is probably
THUNK by Fnord and Corribus
, a remake of Duncan's H2 scenario. This is Fnord at his very best, and the only map I'd give 10/10. For the record, it will surely win the 2004 MapHaven contest once the judging is (finally) over.
It is part 2 of a 7 maps campaign (still in making), so if you want to follow the story, find its nice prequel called Last Hope and the latest sequel, Adjudication as well.
Fnord is also the author of Choices, a map where you can choose your creatures for each level and make a town of your dreams!
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One of the most interesting projects out there was
Painted the Misfit by ByteBandit and various authors
Again, here's what QD thought about the scenario:
Quote:
This map was about right for its rating, although I think some areas felt more thrown in rather than filled in. It earns 6/10 for utilization and 10/10 for rating, to earn **** on description. It gets 8/10 on appearance, with a special note of a small mini-map picture in one area. 6/10 on Story, 7/10 on Flavor, and 7/10 on style. As a special note, with this number of authors, it is amazing to have any real style some through. It earns ***1/2 on entertainment. It gets 14/20 for balance, due to the long end-game and 10/20 for placement, due to the overly large abundance of unbalancing items (several tomes, multiple Armageddons blades, as well as specialized artifacts, just to state a few) to earn *** on design, for an overall rating of ***1/2 (68 out of 100).
I'd just give it 8/10, but I found it amazing how a number of different mapmakers can make one single scenario, keeping the same level of quality throughout the story.
Perhaps Steve, who was the coordinator and scripter, could tell us more...?
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I think that the whole WoG community is missing A LOT if they don't keep an eye on non-English sites, especially Russian ones. To be fair, I'd recommend one great scenario called
A Dragon in My Heart by Kirinyale Goldfire
, mostly because there is an English version. There are a lot of unique locations you may want to check out yourself! The updated version is supposed to be more challenging, though; even if you are familiar with this great adventure, you might consider replaying it on higher difficulty.
Description: "This is a story of a human with a dragon living in his heart, a story of journey to a faraway land and of incredible adventures. The gameplay is built totally on scripts, and a vast number of hidden features are out there for you to find!
Since it appears to be a less-known map, I'll provide the download links. You could find it here.
What about Clash of Titans by Gromila, Life or Darkness by Leonid, or Shadow of the Stag by Cauri Blackthorne? Anyone played those?
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I was also told that the Chinese community produced some great works, so I wanted to include one. Sadly, I cannot recall the title of the best I have seen (Was it Chaser or ...?). Here's hoping we have some Chinese fans around!
All I can say is that I hope ByteBandit's Map Archive will offer a translation of some day.
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Needless to say, one great Bulgarian mapmaker deserved his rightful place on this Top Ten list. Among his numerous maps, I'd choose
Augment by Grigor Minchev
, because I simply love epic XL scenarios! In this particular one you get to upgrade level 7 Dragons into mighty Fire Dragons! Other maps by this author are also worth playing and easy to find on every download page, since they all begin with letter "A"!  I'd mention Grig's Abduction and A Dracolish Helmet, although I havent played them myself (they got excellent marks, though).
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I am not sure how to rate one particular scenario, though. It is Reunion by voyvoy/casi... I understand that this is not an original piece of work, but a remake of a standard H3 map? It's great nevertheless.
What about Okeaniya? Was it made specially for WoG or was it adapted? Before the Rings 2: The Black Towers...? Those look great!
Vanadia's Freedom was cool, although it was too easy, while the heavily scripted artifacts were not vital for the story. 
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The most original map I saw was
Waterworld by Skakik.
It's all wet.
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Finally, the map which is not finished (but still playable) is
Dulpendyr by Sagamosa
... with his Advanced Skills and Adventure Spells, this is a mod within a mod!
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I will not include my own maps here, of course (my Mum would scorn me badly ), but would like to share some information with those who might be interested:
The map I am proud most of is Gelu's Legacy, which was included in Behemoth Lair's Hall of Fame by Ururam Tururam. It is a story about Gelu who didn't die in the clash with Kilgor, but became a Dark Elf instead. There is a sequel called "Gelu's Legacy 2: The Rise of Nagash". One of my maps is available on the official WoG site - War of the Ring. If you want a piece of advice: do NOT play it! It is an old version of my War in Middle-earth.(See, Acid, this is why their site should be updated! ) However, the map I'm really satisfied is Clan Wars. It was M but a lot of unique (if simple ) ERM scripts.
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Any more suggestions ???
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Lord_Woock
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Daddy Cool with a $90 smile
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posted July 24, 2005 05:40 PM |
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You mean there's more than ten? 
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Yolk and God bless.
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My buddy's doing a webcomic and would certainly appreciate it if you checked it out!
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ByteBandit
Promising
Famous Hero
Soul Merchant
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posted July 24, 2005 08:43 PM |
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In reply to Vlaad.
I sort of have a top ten list, although I don't have a specific order either. First of all the map that comes to mind right away is:
1. Choices by Fnord. Reason? The scripting in it just blew me away. The options the map gives is nothing short of incredible.
2 - 4 Without a doubt has to go to Corribus and Fnord for their work on the campaign they are makng. I'm talking about, of course, Thunk, Adjudication and Last Hope. It's a massive undertaking to create this work of art. Just amazing!
5. I find myself playing a lot of Space8999 maps. What he's done is taken maps from Homm3 and done a little tweaking on them and they've turned out pretty good. His site has changed names. If you go to the Map Archive sites, you'll find the link to his new page. It's called nexus-purple. He's even started adding a few maps already. (NOTE) I've taken some of his older maps and tweaked them myself and I'll be adding those to the WoG Map Archive once I get all the ROE, AB and SOD maps up on the Archives. I've already gotten his permission to do this.
8 - ? I have a very distinct flavor for play any map made by Skakik. To me, these are the most beautiful maps for WoG I have ever seen. This is one reason I begged him to convert his maps with scripts I chose to inject. The two of us created some really good maps together (I thought). "The World is not Enough," "Boloto," and of course "Gelu vs Dracon." His maps show hand place terrain objects throughout the maps he made and they took my mind to another place.
Luckily, he sent some maps my way that have neve been released to the public, anywhere, and so of course those will go up in the WoG Archives.
And finally, lest we forget, Vlaads' maps are just improving all the time. His maps just keep getting better and better. Especially in the scripting department. If you have'nt played one of his maps yet, you don't know what your missing. This is the up and coming mapmaker. I think it would be interesting if he'd come up with a campaign. (???)
A note about Painted: The Misfit.
This map was both a pleasure and a pain to work on. It was fun to work on because of all the people that were involved with it. Here, you have just about every well known mapmaker that you've ever heard of all on one map. How cool is that? 14 mapmakers over the course of 2 years drawing their part on this map. Then it was shelved for reasons unknown. Fnord and I are in the same time zones, so we chatted and I told him my mapmaking prowess and he then sent me one of the copies of PTM. We both thought this would be good to convert to a WoG map. So, I was given the task of choosing the scripts and finishing up the map. All this was the fun part.
Now the pain: Correcting the spelling,the grammar, the endless testing, the scripts that did'nt work, the timing of everything to work well. The little thises and thats which aall ended up as a nightmare before release. But once it was released I felt good.
This was not my map by any means. I just finished it was all. The credit goes to everyone who worked on it and that's that.
It inspired me to become a better mapmaker. This is what I got out of the experience. I give tons of Kudos to Fnord. Without his guidance, PTM could've never been the map it turned out to be. He taught me discipline for creative mapmaking, and I needed it.
This experince has also given me and a lot of people on the Archive sites to create another group which will soley turn unfinished maps into finished ones. This will come about once ALL the Archive group sites are up. I have quite a few unfinished maps and they all have been sent to me for completion. So, we have a good stash to begin with.
Shameless Advertising here:
There are a few maps on the Archive sites done by well known map makers that have never, NEVER been released to anyone. SO, you may want to check them all out when you get the chance.
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greek_god_su...
Famous Hero
Bringer Of Light
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posted July 24, 2005 08:54 PM |
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Donīt know if itīs just me, but those Dragon in my heart-links didnīt work.
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After all, marriage and murder are not too different - one ends your life and the other is a crime
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Vlaad
Admirable
Legendary Hero
ghost of the past
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posted July 24, 2005 09:42 PM |
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Quote:
Donīt know if itīs just me, but those Dragon in my heart-links didnīt work.
Sorry about that; the author must have removed the url.
I have edited the link.
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greek_god_su...
Famous Hero
Bringer Of Light
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posted July 24, 2005 10:12 PM |
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Thanks!
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After all, marriage and murder are not too different - one ends your life and the other is a crime
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Corribus
Hero of Order
The Abyss Staring Back at You
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posted July 25, 2005 08:39 PM |
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Quote:
In reply to Vlaad.
2 - 4 Without a doubt has to go to Corribus and Fnord for their work on the campaign they are makng. I'm talking about, of course, Thunk, Adjudication and Last Hope. It's a massive undertaking to create this work of art. Just amazing!
I'm glad you've enjoyed them. But to quote BTO: You ain't seen nothin' yet! Just wait until maps 5-7.
Corribus
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vlaad
Admirable
Legendary Hero
ghost of the past
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posted July 26, 2005 02:35 PM |
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Edited By: vlaad on 26 Jul 2005
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Quote:
I find myself playing a lot of Space8999 maps. What he's done is taken maps from Homm3 and done a little tweaking on them and they've turned out pretty good.
I have to disagree with you here. Please keep in mind that it's nothing personal - I don't know Space8999 in the first place. I saw his submissions to Crypt of Maps two years ago and was very disappointed. I strongly disaprove of editing someone else's maps and then releasing them as your own work. Now, we all know there is no fame and fortune in mapmaking (LOL you should be happy if you get ANY feedback!). That's why I believe his intentions were good - his little tweaking probably enhanced old scenarios. There is the wogify option, but it is not always the best solution - some objects cannot be placed, others that are important for the main quest are changed etc. Frankly, I've done this myself - editing maps on my computer, in order to replay them with the settings I like. I remember making my own version of legendary Lord of War scenario with a lot of WoG features. HOWEVER, I would never upload those as mine.
Perhaps I am being too emotional here... but I cannot understand how some Borsuk from Ukraine can just edit my map and submit it under his name. I've contacted the administrator of the site, but he simply changed the name of the author from "Borsuk" to "unknown". It's still there, weeks of mapmaking, scripting and testing... with some extra little tweaking. No offense, guys, but keep it on your hard discs, for your own pleasure. And please don't tell me those were "official maps" - even those were not randomly generated but made by somebody.
Quote:
I have a very distinct flavor for play any map made by Skakik. To me, these are the most beautiful maps for WoG I have ever seen. This is one reason I begged him to convert his maps with scripts I chose to inject. The two of us created some really good maps together (I thought). "The World is not Enough," "Boloto," and of course "Gelu vs Dracon." His maps show hand place terrain objects throughout the maps he made and they took my mind to another place.
You put that well. I didn't forget Skakik - especially his beautiful swamp and desert landscapes. The truth is I love XL singleplayer maps, while Boloto and Gelu vs Dracon seemed to be more like multiplayer...? For example, I played as Gelu vs computer and the scenario was way too unbalanced - I am not much of a player, but the final battle was not challenging at all. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the same game with my friend, in 1 on 1 hotseat mode.
Maybe we have neglected other multiplayer masterpieces...?
Quote:
And finally, lest we forget, Vlaads' maps are just improving all the time. His maps just keep getting better and better. Especially in the scripting department. If you have'nt played one of his maps yet, you don't know what your missing. This is the up and coming mapmaker. I think it would be interesting if he'd come up with a campaign. (???)
Nah, I don't play or make campaigns (I enjoyed only those made by the team, but managed too finish few. I wish Mitzah completed his walkthroughs some fine day! )... I wanted to make a Lord of the Rings campaign, but the team promised us one, so...
These days I am into H4 editor. I'll take part in Celestial Heavens' contest (deadline is 1st August!). If there are more H4/WoG mapmakers here, I'd love to compare notes.
I'll probably return to H3 when 3.59 comes out. Although I might do a Forge vs Bastion scenario if all goes well...!
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ByteBandit
Promising
Famous Hero
Soul Merchant
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posted August 02, 2005 04:36 AM |
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A Quote from Vlaad:
'You put that well. I didn't forget Skakik - especially his beautiful swamp and desert landscapes. The truth is I love XL singleplayer maps, while Boloto and Gelu vs Dracon seemed to be more like multiplayer...? For example, I played as Gelu vs computer and the scenario was way too unbalanced - I am not much of a player, but the final battle was not challenging at all. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the same game with my friend, in 1 on 1 hotseat mode.'
Over on The WoG Map Archive, I've sent an Invitation to Skakik to join. Hopefully, we can bring him out of retirement so he can design more masterpieces.
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Cybernetic
Known Hero
Cypriot Legend
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posted August 03, 2005 03:53 PM |
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Hey remember this old site http://www.strategyplanet.com/homm/camelot/
If you want maps like my old one you helped me on, Australian Outback, go there. I hope Gangrail is ok...cos I haven't seen him in yonks....
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Alustor
Famous Hero
ooo da :)
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posted May 12, 2007 10:01 AM |
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how about a link to dl these maps?
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Yanzhangcan
Known Hero
*Dance*
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posted May 14, 2007 07:00 AM |
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I'd quite like top download "Choices" as I have only heard plaudits about it. Anyone got a link, because map haven is stabbing me. 
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Alustor
Famous Hero
ooo da :)
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posted May 14, 2007 08:06 AM |
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no link?
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Vlaad
Admirable
Legendary Hero
ghost of the past
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posted May 14, 2007 08:59 AM |
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