Stronghold Heaven

Spotlight on Design 10 - Horse Races

A lot of different games, contests and sports have been recreated within Stronghold maps, such as jousts and archery contests, and we might take a look at more of them in a future Spotlight on Design. This week, however, we will focus on one particular type of sport - horse racing! Two designers have taken creative approaches, and have come up with something quite unique. Now, off to the races!

Six players get to compete in Lord Spike's multiplayer map, The Kentucky Derby, which has a full-blown horse race. This screenshot gives an overview of the racetrack, with the stands on either side. The starting gates can be seen at the top, on the right. In the center is the finish line, complete with flags.

In these next screenshots the map is flattened to reveal the horses in the starting gate on the left, with backup racehorses waiting on the right.

This screenshot is a close-up of part of the stands on one side. If you look closely, you can see how the top row of the stairs has turned sideways. This is possibly caused by a bug (as stairs have been known to turn at right angles just where you don't want them to). The result is quite nice, however, when set against the top of the gatehouse doors that are just peeking through.

Xetas has made a steeplechase in Medieval Sports Day, which begins as soon as the game is started. Two riders compete as their horses traverse the field, jumping hurdles, dodging rocks, and slogging through water. The course has been carefully constructed with rocks on either side of the lane, to ensure that the horses keep to the track.

These closeups show the horses at different stages of the chase - jumping a low hurdle before landing in a water hazard, and just leaving a marshy hazard for a rocky terrain.

~Kester*