Scriptorium Editorial for September 2013

[StealthFox]

Contents

• Introduction
• Top News
• Scriptorium Article Reviews
• Scriptorium News
• Recent Articles
• Closing Statements
• -bottom of page-

Introduction

Greetings all and welcome to the Scriptorium's Editorial for September 2013! We have a lot of exciting news this time around including the winners for the 2013 Summer Writing Competition! We also have reviews of all the medal winners, so be sure to check those out! Some general Scriptorium news as well as our most recently added articles is also included.

Top News

Summer 2013 Competition Winners

We really had some amazing entries this year! As usual our members have churned out work of an incredibly high caliber. Reading entries for the competition is always a pleasure as they never disappoint. A special thanks to all who entered! So, without further delay, here are the winners!

Overall Winners
1st: ROME, by Dubh the Dark
2nd: The Siege of Pyke, by Dance
3rd: Shogun 2 Single Player: Using Trickery to your advantage on the Campaign Map and Battlefield, by wealthmonger



Librarian's Choice
- Magic Lamp, by Chilly5



Category Reputation Winners
50 Rep to runner-ups and 25 to second runner-ups
Themed
Runner-Up: A Guide to the Chiefdom of Dunland for the Fourth Age: Total War, by CountMRVHS
Second Runner-Up: The Ultimate Guide to Roma Surrectum 2.6, by ImperialAquila

Long
Runner-Up: Total War: Of Gods and Men, by JustaKing
Second Runner-Up: Friends, Romans...Brothers, by Hader

Short
Runner-Up: The Philosopher's Mind, by Diamat
Second Runner-Up: An Athenian Dream, by Dance

Article Reviews

1st: Rome, by Dubh the Dark - Review by Sir Adrian

Much like last winter's winner, the theme of the winning piece is once again Rome. However this time around we don't get to witness the epic battles and glorious deeds of the Roman legions as they push through barbarian lands but, instead, the author turn our gaze towards the Eternal City itself and presents a small, succulent, if slightly anachronistic, slice of life in the capital of the republic. The poem is split into 4 parts each presenting a scene of life in the city: a divination in the temple, a border skirmish against the Gauls, the grain market and the forum, the fall of the senate to Marius' soldiers. The style of writing is very good, with each verse being short but alert, and observing each scene through a single individual's eyes makes you feel that you are witnessing only a tiny part of a much greater world. On the other hand the frequent change in rhyme, the lack of any from of transition from one part to another and the weak use of overarching elements give the impression that each scene exists in its own separate cosmos, completely isolated from the others, as opposed to all being threads in the same tapestry that is the city of Rome. Nonetheless Rome is an excellently written poem and a very good read, an opinion the community seems to completely agree with since they chose it as the grand winner. We happily award Dubh the Dark the Gold Medal and recommend it to all members of the site. -Sir Adrian

2nd: The Siege of Pyke, by Dance - Review by Sir Adrian

The Siege of Pyke is a portrayal of famous the battle that ended the Greyjoy rebellion once and for all. From the get go it is clear that the author has put much effort into staying as close to the source material as possible and describing the events in great amounts of detail, and it really shows. Many of the new characters feel as authentic as if GRRM himself wrote them, with only parts the dialogue and certain moments of inexplicable behavior shattering that illusion. However those moments are quite rare. On the downside the heavy focus on detail leads to the prolonged duels and battle scenes where the main characters down scores of generic enemies, and that can make the action hard to follow. This effect is worsened by the story's mammoth size and a lack of structure, which causes the action to abruptly shift back and forth between several locations. Overall Dance's Siege of Pyke is an entertaining, if slightly cumbersome, take on an under-described but important event in the ASoIaF universe, and well deserving of the Silver Medal. -Sir Adrian

3rd: Shogun 2 Single Player: Using Trickery To Your Advantage On The Campaign Map and Battlefield, by wealthmonger - Review by Sir Adrian

Last but most certainly not least we have Using Trickery To Your advantage, a guide that focuses primarily on discovering new ways to outmaneuver, troll, abuse, obfuscate and generally make a complete mockery of the poor old A.I, not that it does not deserve it. The guide is split into two categories, one focusing on the Campaign Map and the other on the Battlemap, and touches almost every single aspect of game-play, from diplomacy to naval engagements, campaign map maneuvers, sieges and the land battles themselves. The writing style is simple and to the point and each tip is presented in its own spoiler and comes with one or two screenshots which show exactly what the author means and what you have to do in a given situation, making the guide easy to reference and highly accessible and the tips both very easy to understand and easy apply in-game. Some of the tips are so gamey that they border cheating, and all of them could make Sun Tzu blush, but who doesn't like to play dirty every once in a while. Certainly not our community, who declared this guide to be the winner of the Themed Category and 2nd runner up overall. For this reason, and for fear of his shinobi stalking our keep, we award wealthmonger the bronze medal. -Sir Adrian

Librarian's Choice: Magic Lamp, by Chilly5 - Review by StealthFox

Magic Lamp tells the story of Abar, a sickly, malnourished, poor boy who finds what he believes may be a magic lamp. The story has a familiar beginning, but quickly departs from the usual narrative into a truly original tale that quickly captivates you and leaves you wanting more. After coming close to death, Abar begins a journey that will test his character and ultimately his sole. At the end of his journey he has a revelation about his past life as he comes to realize the truth of who he is as he ponders lessons he has learned from "the lamp." The ending is bittersweet. It is painful to read, but at the same time, there is a certain reassurance to how it all ends. Magic Lamp had me hooked from the moment I first started reading it. Chilly5 has crafted a true work of art here as Magic Lamp takes the reader on an emotional journey that is both hearth-wrenching and uplifting. Don't miss out on this one. Take some time to read it and you won't regret it! -StealthFox

-Back to Top-

Other News

We've taken on quite a few new staff lately, so currently there are no open positions. However, if you are interested you may still apply via PM to the chief librarian, StealthFox and your application will be considered first when a new position opens.

-Back to Top-

Recent Articles

Below is a list of all articles added to the Scriptorium catalogs since the time of our last editorial in April 2013.

Recently Added Articles

April 2013 [M2TW Guide] Vampiresbane's Art of Diplomacy [M2TW Modding] Single Model Units in Campaign How to use the Assembly kit May 2013 [Tutorial] IWTE - Custom settlements - Step by Step for creating. Most impportant things you must know. [Modding] Easy tips for mapping [Tutorial] How to mix skins and models [Modding] Unique Names (and avoiding labels) [Modding] How to create an emerging faction with Barons Alliance script [Tutorial] A Guide for Guilds [Modding] Family trees compendium of knowledge [Tutorial] On motion capture for the common man--especially for walking. [Guide] Introducing the Medievalopedia [Guide] Deus Lo Vult v6.1 Strategy Guide [Guide] FAUST Unit guide for M2:TW and Kingdoms How to add a new faction and modify existing ones [Modding] How to change the voice accent of a factions characters June 2013 [Modding] Creating and adding new 2d building art with GIMP (for beginners) [History] Athens during the Hellenistic age [modding] How to split a region (Shogun 2) [Modding] Learn-by-Example Modelling 01: Medieval Dagger July 2013 [Modding] W.A.L.I [Modding] Krn3ll Guide to add brand new buildings to RTW 1.5 [Modding] DBEditor 1.8 [Modding] Weapons in 3dsmax [Modding] Making Historical Battles [Modding] Porting M2TW models to RTW (Tool) Easy Launcher (updated 26/05) August 2013 [Computers] Computer parts explained September 2013 [Guide] Vampiresbane's Guide to Gathering Religious Relics [Modding] Rivals in Arcadia - Tegea and Mantineia in the Archaic and Classical Greek World

-Back to Top-

Closing Remarks

Thanks to all who entered the writing competition and congratulations to the winners! We'll have another writing competition this winter starting around January.

Also, we're always on the watch for new additions to our collections. If you have something you think is worthy of being saved here please PM any librarian.

Thanks for reading the editorial this month!

Valete!

The Scriptorium Team

Princess Luna - Writer & Librarian
Gen. Chris - Writer & Librarian
Mhaedros - Writer & Librarian
Harvester of Sorrow - Writer & Librarian
knight of meh - Writer & Librarian
Lord William - Writer & Librarian
Sir Adrian - Writer & Librarian
StealthFox - Chief Librarian & Editor

As you can see we have a fine array of news sources focusing on various aspects and individuals of the Total War Center. Check out our other publications and news sources!

-Back to Top-