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Sierra/Impressions | Tilted Mill

Contest 105: Confucius-A Life

Welcome to Contest 105: Confucius - A Life. You must have the latest patch in order to play this contest. The link to the patch is on our rules page. Use the links below to download the starting positions:

Confucius - A Life Easy
Confucius - A Life Hard
Confucius - A Life Easy - French
Confucius - A Life Hard - French
files are in zip format

After downloading, simply unzip the file and ions. When prompted, choose to extract the files to the directory in which Emperor.exe is located (by default C:\Sierra\EmperorROTMK\).

Competitors are reminded that the normal CBC General Rules apply to this contest.

Confucius-A Life is an epic 8-episode campaign for Emperor, it was inspired by an article on Heavengames by GillB, you can find it here:

http://emperor.heavengames.com/history/linkedarticles/confucius

My thanks to GillB and Jayhawk for kind permission to reproduce and paraphrase their article, you will see that I have used a bit of artistic license to fit the scenario to the life of Confucius.

In Confucius-A Life, each episode is a contest in it own right that will last for a month, at the end of which you can send in your entry, saved just before the end-of-episode screen comes up. There are no in-game time limits, each episode will go to the next when all of the completion criteria have been met, and you may restart each month at any point in your gameplay. Your entries will be judged independently each month.

There are two difficulty levels, easy and hard, please make sure that you start the campaign in the correct difficulty.

Story

Episode 6. A Life Re-affirmed
When he was 50, the King of Qin asked for his help in defending his country against a rebellion, but he refused and the new Duke of Lu made him a city magistrate. Under his guidance the city flourished and he was promoted ending up, at the age of 56, as Chief Minister of Lu. Confucianism was sweeping the country and a Tumulus was built in his place of birth as a mark of his esteem.

Completion Criteria: 100 in Impressive Compound
Build the Tumulus

Winning Criteria: Fastest time to complete Tumulus

Tie Breaker: For episode 6 the tiebreaker is the number of people in Impressive Compounds at the time of the completion date of the Tumulus, your entry should be saved in the month of completion with the completion criteria reached. If there is still a tie then the final score as shown in the victory screen will be used.

Confucius said, "Without steadfastness, the gentleman would not command respect and his learning would not be sound. Advocating loyalty and trustworthiness, he has no friend who is not his equal. He would not hesitate to correct his faults."

Rules

The first 4 episodes have a target winning criteria of the highest yearly profit, whilst establishing a new city. A lower profit threshold is set as a completion criteria, this is the lowest yearly profit that you need to attain to meet the Emperors high expectations (it is even higher for the experts playing at hard difficulty). It is important that you establish stable economic cities at this stage, you will be returning to them in later episodes.

The last 4 episodes are speed contests that require you to build monuments to Confucius in the fastest time, but remember that all completion criteria have to be completed when you send in your entry.

Episode 1. New Life
Confucius was born K'ung Fu-tzu in the village of Zongdue in 551 BC. His family was minor nobility and, as a child and young man, he earned the reputation of being fair, polite and intelligent.

Completion Criteria: Population 2000
1500 in Elegant Dwelling
Yearly profit 1500

Winning Criteria: Highest yearly profit.

Confucius said, "In the home, the young should behave with filial piety and out in the world, with brotherly love. They should be prudent and trustworthy. They should love all people and be close to the benevolent. Having so done, their remaining strength should be used to learn literature."
----------------------

Episode 2. School Life
Confucius went to the capital of Zhengzhou to study in 531 BC.

Completion Criteria: 1500 in Luxurious Apartment
Yearly profit 4000 (Hard 4500)

Winning Criteria: Highest yearly profit

Confucius said, "Clever talk and a pretentious manner are seldom compatible with the benevolent."
---------------------

Episode 3. Hard Life
In 521 BC Confucius returned to his country of Lu where he became a teacher.

Completion Criteria: 150 in Impressive Compound
Yearly profit 8000 (Hard 10,000)

Winning Criteria: Highest yearly profit

Confucius said,"When substance overshadows refinement, there is the coarse man. When refinement overshadows substance, there is the court historian. When substance equates with refinement, there is the gentleman."
--------------------

Episode 4. High Life
Lu was defeated in a war 516 BC when Confucius was in his mid thirties so he escaped to Qin, a neighbouring country. He was beginning to get a reputation for wisdom and the Duke of Lu often came to him for advice but was influenced by one of his ministers not to rely too much on him.

Completion Criteria: 150 in Impressive Compound
Yearly profit 7000 (Hard 8000)

Winning Criteria: Highest yearly profit

Confucius said, "All is lost! I have yet to meet the man who can see his own faults and censure himself!"
--------------------

Episode 5. Low Life
Some of the Qin nobles plotted against Confucius so he returned to Lu. Things were no better there so he bowed out of public life and concentrated on teaching and studying. His followers were increasing in number and his popularity resulted in the building of a Great Temple to mark his teaching.

Completion Criteria: Build a Great Temple

Winning Criteria: Fastest Time to complete Great Temple

Confucius said, "To gain knowledge quietly, to learn without losing interest, to instruct others relentlessly, indeed, what difficulty for me?"
------------------------------

Episode 6. A Life Re-affirmed
When he was 50, the King of Qin asked for his help in defending his country against a rebellion, but he refused and the new Duke of Lu made him a city magistrate. Under his guidance the city flourished and he was promoted ending up, at the age of 56, as Chief Minister of Lu. Confucianism was sweeping the country and a Tumulus was built in his place of birth as a mark of his esteem.

Completion Criteria: 100 in Impressive Compound
Build the Tumulus

Winning Criteria: Fastest time to complete TumulusFor episode 6 the tiebreaker is the number of people in Impressive Compounds at the time of the completion date of the Tumulus, your entry should be saved in the month of completion with the completion criteria reached. If there is still a tie then the final score as shown in the victory screen will be used.

Confucius said, "Without steadfastness, the gentleman would not command respect and his learning would not be sound. Advocating loyalty and trustworthiness, he has no friend who is not his equal. He would not hesitate to correct his faults."
----------------------

Episode 7. Alma Mata
Neighbouring countries were jealous of Lu's power and sent messengers with presents and dancers to distract the Duke. The Duke abandoned his duties to receive the messengers (and dancers) so, disgusted with what he considered dereliction of duty, Confucius resigned and left the country and returned to Zhengzhou where a Grand tumulus was built in his name.

Completion Criteria: 100 in Impressive Compound
Build Grand Tumulus

Winning Criteria: Fastest time to complete Grand Tumulus. For episode 7 the tiebreaker is the number of people in Impressive Compounds at the time of the completion date of the Grand Tumulus, your entry should be saved in the month of completion with the completion criteria reached. If there is still a tie then the final score as shown in the victory screen will be used.

Confucius said, "It is possible to speak of lofty subjects with men who are above the average. It is not possible to speak of lofty subjects with men who are below average.
--------------------------

Episode 8. An End to a Life
For the next five years he and some of his followers wandered the country looking hopefully for a government position. As he began to become established in each court, nobles would start plotting against him so he frequently had to escape. He finally returned to Lu when he was 67. He was welcomed back but not offered a job. Not to be outshone by Zongdue and Zhengzou, his followers built a Splendid Temple and a Grand Pagoda to spread his teachings and commemorate his life. He spent the rest of his life teaching and writing and died at the age of 73 in 479 BC.

Completion Criteria:
6 menagerie animal types
6 months of heroes
Build grand Pagoda
Build Splendid Temple

Winning Criteria: Fastest time to complete a Splendid Temple and a Grand Pagoda.
For episode 8 the tiebreaker is the number of months vsited by a god, your entry should be saved in the month of completion of the Grand Pagoda and Splendid Temple with the completion criteria reached. If there is still a tie then the final score as shown in the victory screen will be used.

Confucius said,

"At fifteen, I aspired to learning.
At thirty, I established my stand.
At forty, I had no delusions.
At fifty, I knew my destiny.
At sixty, I knew truth in all I heard.
At seventy, I could follow the wishes of my heart without doing wrong."

Designer's Notes

This is not a military contest, but you will be involved in some scuffles with your neighbours from time to time.

The contest will be judged each month and a league table generated. Points will be awarded for places in each episode, the winner in each difficulty will get 20 points, the runner-up 15 points, third place 12 points, fourth 10 points and then subtract one point for each place down to thirteenth, at which everyone gets a point for their entry.

For the first time there will be a French version of the campaign, my thanks to Otto10 for the translation. You will be able to find the instructions in French on Otto10s site at

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/Otto10/

If you send an entry using the French version, please use the upload page on ancient-maps.com in the usual way.

The ultimate winner in the easy difficulty category will be crowned Grand Duke of China.
The ultimate winner in the hard difficulty category will be crowned Grand Emperor of China.

Last, but not least, this has been an epic undertaking that has taken 3 years to complete, I could not have done it without my team of dedicated if masochistic testers, Juliaset, Islonian, Robroy and Slcha, who have put up with my pedantry and sadism without complaint (well nearly aye Gloria)

I hope you all enjoy playing it as much as we have in creating it.

 


This contest, Episode 6, will close at 11PM EST (US), on Sunday, April 15th 2007. Please note the date!!!!

This contest has ended.

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