So then I take it 3 of us are up for a full blown playable map that showcases a vista of some sort? -or do we just want a map that someone can walk around in (doesn't have to be a single player story or anything, just a vista with a setting) -And it doesn't have to be a working multiplayer map either.

-Aaron, do you just want a vista scape? -meaning, within the realm of that idea, it doesn't have to be part of a sp story, or mp map, just something to look at?

-If that's the case, I'm interested.

@RedWood, by definition A vista is: "A distant view or prospect" -so by size limitations, we're talking about the max here. -Right? I mean, this would be a pretty big competition at least on time and scale-wise?

Riven said:
Well, sorry for crediting the wrong person RedWood I was simply looking through the posts of this particular thread.

It's cool,i was only kidding.

I'd like to see a full comp. Most people should have the time seeing how school is out for most people. But i would like to see a modest size limit.

Only two polls have I found that were actually broken. I think it had to do with the switch.

Well, sorry for crediting the wrong person RedWood I was simply looking through the posts of this particular thread.

RedWood said:
A comp should coincide with the grand reopening of the pit.

I totally agree. Did we want to make this a full-blown competition, or maybe a mini-competition of sorts, like we did a couple of times before? -Perhaps something technical. Or, purely aesthetic?

I'd love to have another mapping competition, that would be so awesome, but at the moment I'm crunching hard on my platform game multimedia assignment for school which is due in roughly 1.5 months, that is taking up all my free otherwise level design time.

If we go ahead with the "make a vista idea" than I already have a solid idea but I really hope we allow custom content because I can think of a few props or at least textures I'm going to have to make.

And the poll has indeed broken, maybe the poll expired and there is some bug that makes it display incorrectly after the expiry date. Why do we have to have a time limitation on a poll though, what if we don't want a time limitation?

"RedWood" said:
That was my idea!!

Huh?

Riven said:
bump

-eek, it looks like the poll is slightly broken!

-An another note, is there anyone interested in starting a competition soon? Yes, the compilation map is still in development, but I'm not going to let that stop me from sponsoring one! -Anyone want to offer some more ideas as to what they may be wanting for the Summer? -Or second any of the ideas posted already?

(I like aaron's Vistas idea )

That was my idea!!

A comp should coincide with the grand reopening of the pit.

bump

-eek, it looks like the poll is slightly broken!

-An another note, is there anyone interested in starting a competition soon? Yes, the compilation map is still in development, but I'm not going to let that stop me from sponsoring one! -Anyone want to offer some more ideas as to what they may be wanting for the Summer? -Or second any of the ideas posted already?

(I like aaron's Vistas idea )

yes, if you wait for the school year to end

then I can come play and see if I still know my way around the hammer

hehe Aaron i think you sound a wee bit paranoid there. Myself I am actually working on a map, I would like to post progress shots, but the contest it's for restricts that. I may still withdraw it from that endeavor as i appreciate the "omnipotence" of the pit members input. But nonetheless I find that,a) because I am so damn slow at the whole process and it burns so many hours and b) I'm getting sick of the game it's for I feel like putting the whole thing down for awhile.

So for me I think a competition would be a refreshing change, but my vote goes in the "time" category, say 6-8 weeks from now or something.

re: Switching over to the new site - just waiting on Lep for domain transfer, bit difficult to make communications as he like me (moreso, I imagine) is deep into postgrad work.

I'll hit him up on the weekend when I shall be free from historical/socialogical comparisons of gender study.

"Riven" said:
I imagine, once we move everything over and make the final switch we can begin to re-establish our members.

Yeah, while the speed of this website and the minor bugs is certainly not helping activity on this website, I don't think its the main factor here. I think the problem is the quite simply the lack of active members and lack of forum activity and discussion/release of new maps.

In fact, I think it would be quite safe to say that most of the activity on this place comes from new members or inactive members asking questions in the editing boards. And most of the maps that are released on this site as of late are from new members that are just spreading their mostly "stereotypical FPSBanana" work around, they don't even participate in the discussion of their maps or reply to their pm's. Discussion in the General Banter board and map discussion boards are at the lowest I have ever seen them! I really believe that general banter and map discussion activity as well as the release of good quality maps which frankly I haven't seen in quite a while are asbosoutly essential for a sustainable community. And I am not hesitant to say this at all as I know that these "new/inactive" members who are releasing their work (and asking editing questions) will never read this, apart from maybe Flynn who recently released his Corridors map which I would not place in the bad quality maps basket.

I just thought that a mapping competition would temporarily liven things up a little bit. I know I am still very much so an active designer in the Source engine but admittedly I don't show much of my work here because I don't really get much feedback. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm having ago at anybody, but I'm really not, I'm just expressing my concern about this community. I understand people "visit" and people are busy and such, but its a very unsettling thought to think that most of the activity here is sparked in the editing boards by people who are uninterested in being a part of the community and just want their mapping problems solved.

Anyway, it seems that we have some votes for people who are going to join if they have enough spare time so that's a good sign, seems there is potential for a competition :D. Anyway, my idea for the competition was to produce a map with a vista. There are pretty much no restrictions except that the judging on the winner would be done on how cool/detailed/creative etc etc the vista was and that designers should build their maps to highlight the vista only. Here are some ideas for possible vista maps to get those creative juices flowing:

• A barren desert landscape
• A vast combine interior space
• A futuristic city vista
• A combine-exhausted planet landscape
• A view from a space station
• A jungle vista featuring the weaving river

Anyways, that was my idea for this possible competition. Riven suggested that we take screenshots of our maps instead and we judge off them. My heart did drop a little bit as I always look forward to and get excited by adding a wide array of ambient sounds to add atmosphere and stuff but the screenshot idea certainly has many advantages and if you guys are happy to do that, I absolutely am too!

Juim: Hmm, well to be honest, not that its a bad idea, but I don't think many people would be interested in your first idea. As for your second idea, I can see that working.

But anyway, what do you guys think of the vista(screenshots?) idea and Juims two ideas? If you have any other suggestions or want express your feelings about a possible mapping comp or anything else related, please do so! And don't forget to vote in the poll even if your not interested in participating in the competition!