If you didn't know back in May we held a huge map contest for our Mappers of Middle-earth. In this it has taken some time to nail down a direct winner. With getting my laptop stolen in the process it didn't help much. But now we have the winners and they are beyond glorious maps that have won.

So without any more delay I give you the winners of our MEV map contest.

1st Place: Puppeteer / Architect of Middle-Earth - Manor of the Eorl

2nd Place: klw - Gondolin the Hidden City

3rd Place: TheNotorius - Mirkwood's Kingdom

Make sure to view all the submitted maps which are posted here for you to be able to download.

Kungfuyu over at BFMETournaments.com has dug up some news on a Community based patch. EA Vision a person hired by EA to help keep the BFME community going has posted a few updates on a custom 2.02 patch for RoTWK. EA Vision changed his mind and instead of having us wait another week, he decided to spill the beans on what's been going on with the real "battle for middle-earth": the clash between EA and the community. Vision reveals that he and a team of modders had been in contact with EA and were mainly compiling and editing a changelist and working on the Unofficial 2.02 Patch for Rise of the Witch-king! Vision intends this unofficial patch to be supported in Clanwars.cc tournaments that also includes cash prizes generously provided by Vision and his team. Hopes for the unofficial patch to become official still remain. This patch will be ready for public download in a few weeks (or days, he contradicts himself twice). Visions says:

I'll be providing a download link soon enough (there are a few days before release) as well as a feedback thread, for those who wish to help out. The few few iterations will be community tested.

I know that we all would love for EA to create another official patch, and it's not impossible - it's just impractical at the moment for whatever reason. For that reason we went ahead and created a patch that would fix all the annoying bugs and balance issues while remaining as "patch-like" as possible, so that if EA were to adopt this as an official patch then it would be done in the most hassle-free and expedited manner possible.

Official or not this patch will offer the community something to do until EA can get off of its CnC3 support and come back to BFME.

Below is the latest list of community submitted entries to our databases.

B4ME2 Maps

Himring by arthuil (BFME2 Multiplayer) -- Himring is the stronghold of Maedhros in the northeast of Be...

Tyrsis by griffin646 (BFME2 Multiplayer) -- This is my first good map. It's based on the city tyrsis in ...

Witchking Mods

Ultimate Battle mod ROTWK by falcodarkzz (ROTWK Game Mods) -- Anyone who played this for bfme2 will get a good idea of wha...

Submit your own now!

It looks like some news has finally sprouted up about the much heated and anticipated movie "The Hobbit". As we all know feuds have been going on with New Line Cinemas and Peter Jackson, but today a new light has peered through the dark opening & we might just have a Peter Jackson flick.

Eager to move ahead with "The Hobbit," New Line has quietly been trying to mend fences with "Rings" filmmaker Peter Jackson, who has sued the company over his share of profits from the first "Rings" films. When asked if it was true that company insiders had been in talks with Jackson's reps, Shaye replied, "Yes, that's a fair statement. Notwithstanding our personal quarrels, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in 'The Hobbit.' "

Is this what we have been waiting for? Is Peter Jackson going to help produce "The Hobbit"? It looks like time will tell, but from what I can see New Line Cinemas in hurting and they need a great title like "The Hobbit" to make it back in the lime light.

If your getting tired of the same old maps from RoTWK, than MEV has a fix for you. I have just approved these 7 new Maps for your enjoyment. Make sure to rate them as you play them so our community Mappers will continue with their hard work.

Witchking Maps

Norway Rulesvs All Tower Wars by Herregud (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- This is the 3rd tower war I`ve made. Each player start with ...

The Invasion of The Shire by herregud (ROTWK Singleplayer) -- The Shire is under attack and you must defend it with your h...

Wars of Middle Earth by willhattingh (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- this map has all your favorite factions with there castles i...

Tuolomne Meadows by lotrloramrod (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- A small 1v1 map similar to The Fords of Isen II. There are 2...

War of The 4 Lands by {ip}Lascar (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- 5 lands 4 players, one island to get great power. Who will c...

Battle Royale by lotrloramrod (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- Welcome to Battle Royale. This is a large island map in whic...

Submit your own now!

From the sounds of it EA wants to patch the BFME series of games. Well I shouldn't say EA I should say the BFME series development team. But as of now the focus is on fixing and adjusting their current CnC3 title, (well that is an assumption). But I know the patches are coming just the when aspect? who knows... It is sad to say the least, but overall it looks as if we are stuck with what we got for awhile boys (which in all honesty isn't that bad).... so make use of it.

This week I want to focus on providing the community with a handful of new RoTWK maps. I will be pushing live about 7 new maps for everyone to be able to play courtesy of the community. I suspect few great maps in the mix, so make sure to download and rate them.

If you have any new RoTWK maps that haven't been published or are missing from our massive database please submit them so we can get the added.

Well I have still been on the hunt for more information about an upcoming patch spree for all 3 BFME titles. In this hunt I have hit road block after road block. But from the looks of it EA will be patching the games, the problem is we don't know when. Could this be EA's full dedication to the series? I know personally I was promised that EA would not drop the ball on our BFME series... while the first 6 or 7 months provided good support, the current support must have jumped off a cliff and hit some of those Witch-King spikes.

Along with rumors let�s tackle the biggest of them all. A handful of months ago EA made an announcement it repurchased some rights for the LOTR. Now we know 1 title that was in the works which was announced 7 months later to be on hold (The White Council) but that was way before this press announcement. So the question comes up.... what the heck is EA working on? They are being pretty tight lipped about it, but my hunch is they are working on The White Council but just not for all 3 platforms like they were. My guess is that EA seems to be focused on the console communities and will push something out for the Xbox 360 or the PS3 maybe even the Wii. Or they could be working on their first ever in house DX10 game? They did buy Crytek�s beautiful gaming engine, it just might be put to good use in a LOTR title. Sure I am just adding to speculations... but it�s better than nothing :)

Over the past weeks we have had a ton of community items added here at MEV. Included in that list are sweet Maps, cool Mods & a Utility to really get rid of those pre game videos. Make sure to check them out below.

B4ME2 Maps

Battle of the Ancients by P-Luke (BFME2 Multiplayer) -- There are four armies in this map: - Death: Has a spider he...

Balrog Unlimited by neohotmailcom (BFME2 Singleplayer) -- You are the Balrog now! You have to survive against the all ...

BFME Mods

Level Mod by DeadMan (BFME Game Mods) -- This mod will allow your units to get to rank 25. this wont...

Witchking Maps

Hogwarts School of Weaponary by willhattingh (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- this is a skirmish map of hogwarts it features -hogwarts -...

Dol Amroth by lotrloramrod (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- Dol Amroth is a fortress map defended by 2 people against ei...

War of the Ring by GayP (Contest) -- Its high detailed version of the war of the ring with Minas ...

Mordor Battle Arena by English-Geeza (PyramidMan (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- Battle your way to victory with units of your choice. There ...

Utilities

Intro Movie Killer by Mako (B4ME) -- A quick, easy-to-use utility that disables the intro movies ...

Submit your own now!

With many rumors milling around a person must ask themselves what do they want for the BFME series. So this weeks question is based on just that "What Do You Want More?" Make sure to vote on the right under the tall ad. As for last week, the results are:

What BFME Title Is Your Favorite?
BFME - 1.03 - 294
BFME 2 - 1.06 - 264
RoTWK - 2.01 - 400
Total Votes: 958

Over and over again since the release of Rise of the Witch-King we have gotten the same results. I think the players like all the magic involved and the adjustments. I personally like all the titles for unique reasons so I didn't vote in this poll.

While I have heard rumors here and there nothing has been solid across the table on this. We all know each of the 3 games needs small and large updates fixes for connection issues, and balancing... I don't even want to get into unit adjustments and other items. So as we sit here and the BFME series is aging we wait for something... cherp! cherp!

Hopefully very soon EA will give us something to talk about in the coming months. While I know it isn't BFME3, a patch will do...

The Vault Network is very excited to announce the launching of our latest site, Two Worlds Vault! Please take a moment and drop by to see what is going on with this highly anticipated game from TopWare Interactive. The game is set in an epic open-ended world for immersive gameplay that will appeal to a wide range of players. Two Worlds is also slated for both the PC & Xbox 360. Stop by and see what's going on...

Two Worlds Vault

Below is the latest list of community submitted entries to our databases.

Player Screenshots

Drake attacking builder army by SvN (BFME2: ROTWK) -- here you see a drake among some revolting orc slaves who hav...

Witchking Maps

Mordor's Vengence3 by aelvenwarrior (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- Can four crazy heroes stop the might of Mordor? Here the fa...

Misty Mountains Fortress by Puppeteer / Architect of Middle-Earth (ROTWK Map Pack) -- This is one of 3 versions, and it is the first. This is simp...

Hobbit Wave Defender by Patootoe (ROTWK Singleplayer) -- This is just a beta version of this map. Sorry about no imag...

Witchking Mods

Anor map.INI v8 by edited by will h (ROTWK Game Mods) -- Well hey all I am sick and tired of arnor not being in ROTWK...

Submit your own now!

Below is the latest list of community submitted entries to our databases.

B4ME2 Maps

Recipe Battlefield by P-Luke (BFME2 Multiplayer) -- A unique way of fighting your battles: choose the units you ...

Witchking Maps

The Great Balrog Duel V2 by eliec (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- The Great Balrog Duel V2, by eliec Players - 4 Objectives ...

Eragon World V2 by Will hattingh aka (hot pizza) (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- I have had feed back from 12 people and they all said it was...

Where The Shadows Lie by lotrloramrod (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- Where the shadows lie is a map I made upon getting tired of ...

Submit your own now!

For those of you who haven't played BFME2 in a long time or even since the last patch, BTToons has created a comic that will bring you back to one of the most annoying features in the game. Well at least I found it very annoying... Make sure to check it out here.

Community memeber Klw has taken the time to setup an movie scene within RoTWK, can you guess what part of the LoTR this image is from?

• Movie Shot!

  Click the image to leave your comments or guess what this image is from.

Make sure to check out our ROTWK Screenshot section for the latest in game images.

BFME maps are back & we want more. Thos of you who have the skill to make maps lets get some new BFME maps rolling in for the community..

BFME Maps

Minas Morgul by Matt & GothmogtheOrc (BFME Multiplayer) -- ** THIS IS NOT A STANDALONE MAP SO PLEASE READ ** Kings o...

Submit your own now!

It has been a long time since BFME1 has been in the news outside of Maps and Mod�s. But today I want to bring up a topic that has had its ups and downs to help pin point issues within our beloved BFME1. Over time Patch 1.03 has been beaten and put through the test of time and things have emerged from it that only the hardcore players have seen.

In this I want to create a list of those broken items or awkward items so I can send them over to EA with hopes they will give the game a 2nd look (I know! I know! I am being to hopeful...).

I have started a thread here which pretty much states what I am looking for, and I have also posted a list of items that were compiled at GR.org back in March that cover just about all the balance changes needed. Chime in and post your issues and do it as quick as possible because the ball rolling.

For those of you looking for some humor within Middle Earth we have found that BTToons which is apart of our community site BFME Tournaments has posted a comic yesterday about BFME 2's RoTWK. So strap up and join the WK army here.

More maps from our overly talented community have been submitted and posted. Make sure to check them out below

BFME Mods

One Mod to Rule Them All by lotrfreak(2) (BFME Game Mods) -- This is my first mod so take it easy on the criticism. Its...

Witchking Maps

Crysis by Killermud (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- This is a 4 player map it can be Free-for-all or it can be 2...

The beaches of Troy by herregud (ROTWK Multiplayer) -- This map is about the attack on the beach in the movie Troy....

Vaults of Erebus by Puppeteer (ROTWK Map Pack) -- "Vaults of Erebus" by Puppeteer Erebus. The land of Hades...

Submit your own now!