Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic
Scenario Designer's Hall

Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic
Scenario Designer's Hall

Are you looking for Age of Wonders II : The Wizard's Throne?

With the original version still being quite popular, you can find the archived scenario design notes for AoW2 here. If you have AoW:Shadow Magic, you may STILL want to visit the archives, for much of it still applies.

Section 1: Overview - Mapmaking and Important Reminders

• The Mapmaking Process In Summary
  A quick overview with some tips on how to build your scenario.
• Guide to Scenario Design Reviews or "What to Put In Your Scenario"
  Detailed information to help you help out the community by reviewing scenarios. This is also an excellent resource for finding out what a good scenario design should be like.
• The ReadMe.txt File
  Including a ReadMe file can be very helpful to those who download your scenario, and is an opportunity for you to tell the player more about the scenario.
• IMPORTANT Reminders In Scenario Design
  Very important: if you read anything on this site, be sure you include this!

Section 2: Mapmaking - How-to's, Examples, and References

• Mapmakers' Gallery
  Basic terrain examples, user-submitted screenshots, and demonstrations of terrain design techniques.
• Shadow Magic Editor Interface
  A User's Guide explaining the editor's features.
• Map Scenery Design Tips
  All sorts of examples with pictures for how to make your map really shine.
• Editing Wizards and Kingdoms and Things...
  Everything that can be edited excluding scripts: Wizards and heroes and cities and armies and quest stones and power nodes and mines and furnaces and windmills and water mills and inns and rogue shacks and teleporters and signs and gold and mana and magic catalysts and reflecting pools and watch towers and haste berry trees and criter's dens and circuses and druid circles and shipwrecks and marketplaces and dragon's peaks and dungeons and magic vaults amd magic relays and ancient ruins and campsites and dragon's lairs and chaos nodes and haunted crypts and rainbow's ends and poison clouds and fires....
• Story Elements in Scenario Design
  Help for writing a story for your scenario.

Section 3: Scripts - How to Make and Use Them

• Scripting Database
  A collection of easy and complex user-submitted scripts, ready for your use.
• Scripting Basics - User Guide
  How to use the scripting features of the editor.
• Scripting Manual
  All known details on how scripts work, including detailed information about specific events, triggers, and conditions.
• Quick Reference
  • Events List
  • Triggers List
  • Conditions List

Section 4: Interviews and Links

This section will feature articles in relation to anything that has to do with scenario design. From sharing about map making experiences to how to get ideas, etc.

• More Balanced Multiplayer Maps Needed For League Games
  An Interview with LeagueAOW Lead Admin, Der Waggs. Though LeagueAOW no longer exists, this interview is still useful to the scenario designer.
• Overcoming the Obstacles of Creativity
  An Interview with Queen Elquein where she touches on how to get over corrupted map files and mapmaking burnout.
• Part 1: Making Maps and Overcoming Obstacles
• Part 2: Elquein's standards and playtesting methods
• Useful Sites and Utilities for the Scenario Designer
  External resources for scenario design ideas.

Please send us your short suggestions and ideas for map making to this site. If you have a good idea, post it in the forum or send it in via email, OR BOTH! Let us know about any valuable tips you find in the forum so I can post it here for ease of finding it.

Have you found a mistake or spied some misinformation in the scenario design section? Do you know something that is noteworthy and should be mentioned? Send us an email.

Note that all these pages may be updated time and again to reflect new findings and to correct or add new information.

The suggestions in this section are by no means straight foward instructions that one is limited to but, hopefully, it will help spring new ideas for those who have just started dabbling in the editor. As it is said, let there be no limits to the human imagination.

Yes, we realize you have heard that before. We just want to make it very clear, that when it comes to creativity there is no straight road to how things should be done. Happy Mapmaking! - AoW Heaven Games Staff