Once again, the winners, the prizes, and the downright funny.
As a reminder,
July's Theme was
Christmas.
Let's get that judging criteria out there again:
QUOTE
Theme (10) - Obviously this one is important. If the map isn't even remotely related to the theme, it won't score very well. A map scoring 0 on this won't be graded further, regardless of how well it fits. Something that looks premade and just custom fit with a few text messages won't score very well.
Fun (25) - Important for me as I'm playing the map. Am I running around having a good time, or watching a unit talk to itself in a movie? Are there huge bugs that prevent play of the maps? If I ever go to this map again, is it going to be to play it with friends or to delete the scm/scx? This is usually the deciding factor in contest entries.
Aesthetics and Professionalism (15) - Did you use one type of terrain tile? Are there mispellings distracting me at every turn with some poorly made triggers? Got a bunch of unit unplacable errors? Hopefully you can create something that looks and feels decent. I'm not asking for extensive extended terrain or hundreds of sprites, a map that seems well-made and bug-free scores very well. On the subject of professionalism, please PLAYTEST your maps before submission. Nothing looks dumber than a map that obviously hasn't been tested.
SNAKE_Christmas.scx by
DevileskTHEME: 10/10
Playing snake for presents, good enough for me. Just watch out for the Grinch.

FUN: 18/25
A pretty fun game. Hard to control at first, but if you can figure it out this is a great map.
PROFESSIONALISM: 15/15
It all works perfectly and looks good. A banned user winning a contest. The irony.
TOTAL:
43/50 -
First Place! 800 mineralshttp://www.staredit.net/index.php?download=5783present_warz_.scx by
HeeguTHEME: 10/10
Wars over presents, good enough for me.
FUN: 10/25
Plenty of action, but the arena is just too big. This combined with my hyper trigger broken masser that worked every five minutes made for a boring experience. But hey, I was losing so I just banned the other player and everything was good (really shouldn't have a banner for something like this).
PROFESSIONALISM: 12/15
Hyper trigger bug or something? My masser worked about once every five minutes. Can you not process my SCV if it isn't holding something? I do like to move it in certain directions without losing it to a trigger. Aside from the that, the map is very well made and pleasing to the eye.
TOTAL:
32/50 -
Second Place! 400 mineralshttp://www.staredit.net/index.php?download=5784Grinch___Children.scx by
-bilal92-THEME: 10/10
Steal Christmas, cool.
FUN: 10/25
How much fun can Cat and Mice be?
PROFESSIONALISM: 8/15
The map was decently made, aside from a few broken heroes. Also, make the hero location bigger. Nobody likes their chooser being created on the beacon for a one chooser cost unit.
TOTAL:
28/50 -
Third Place! 200 mineralshttp://www.staredit.net/index.php?download=5660Merry_Christmas.scx by Noober // Oo.Xero.oO
THEME: 10/10
Virtual Christmas Card. Works for me.
FUN: 7/25
It makes me feel warm inside, but not entertained.

PROFESSIONALISM: 5/15
The TERRAIN must've been hard. Oh wait, they have programs that do that now. You had the dedication to do all those text displays though.

TOTAL:
22/50Elf_Division.scx by Demon
THEME: 10/10
Fighting elves, that's Christmassy enough for me.
FUN: 8/25
I get elves, rescue other elves, and get raped by Reindeer. Not a whole lot of fun. Why was I considered dead when I still owned "Elder Elves"?
PROFESSIONALISM: 4/15
"Welcome to the briefing that no one will read". I would've read it if it scrolled faster. I checked out the map to see if there were more than 10 triggers (there were) and I noticed there would be an obvious bug when Santa spawned, because each player would make one. The "Elder Elves" are a bit unbalanced. Also, I would've liked to see some in game text... not "Here's elves go kill crap" in the briefing.
TOTAL:
22/50Rudolph__s_Quest.scx by Richan
THEME: 10/10
Help Santa get to town for Christmas, good enough.
FUN: 5/25
I was the Spirit of Christmas. I sat around minimap pinging my team where to go. When they touched a magic crystal, I got an Archon to tell them what direction to go. But I can talk and ping, so what good exactly is that? Once I minimap pinged out a path I could have gone to sleep.
PROFESSIONALISM: 5/15
All players "Required"? Worked fine without them for me. Just kill off the units for other players who aren't there and its fine... or better phrased, stop taking the lazy way out.
WTF was up with the giant miscolored text display at the beginning. Nearly impossible to read all that before it scrolls up or players talk it off screen. I had no idea what was going on after that. Fortunately I didn't have much to do.
TOTAL:
20/50
I'll be honest, this contest sucked. People had summer vacations, got lazy, and as usual the theme may have been "bad" (for some it always is, so eventually I stop listening

). I wish more people entered, because this was definitely one to sneak away with a victory from a lower quality map. Take note... second place scored 32 points. For those who won, good job, but don't expect it to be that easy next time.

There were only six maps, and a lot of them weren't very impressive. They are all attached to this post. I'll get up links to the individual top placers and distribute minerals (I regret upping the prizes). Anyway, I still have hope that more of you will come through in August. Until then...