External competition Info

Just thought I'd point my fellow snarkpitters towards this external map competition.

I would be shocked if we couldn't grab the first 3 slots.

http://www.hl2dm-university.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=270

-----------copied from HL2DMU website---------------

<SPAN class=postbody>HL2DMU is proud to present a community initiated map contest for HL2DM...

<SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">NOTE: Please check these forums regularly for updates on the contest. Although first prize if fixed and we will do our best to leave things as is, rules and consolation prizes are subject to change at any time.</SPAN>

RULES

1. Map must be an original work and completed to prefinal level. Map must be previously unreleased and must remain so for the duration of competition. Mapmaker must agree to allow HL2DMU to release their map as part of the winning trio mappack before promoting it publicly.

2. Mapper must submit .vmf, .bsp, and final compile log for review. Email a link to siteadmin@hl2dm-university.com. Please do not email the files, just provide a URL (filefront etc). You should receive a confirmation email. If you do not, please post on the forums and arrange an alternative method of submission. You are also welcome to submit as much information about the design of your map as you see fit if you think it will help the judges understand the motivation behind your design and the gameplay it was designed to encourage.

3. Deadline for map submission is October 11th 2007. Maps received after this date will not be considered.

4. HL2DMU Officials will vote on the final 8 maps and winners.

6. Any HL2DMU Official wanting to participate must opt out of all judging responsibilities.

7. Map must be made specifically for standard HL2DM by Valve. It must not be made for a mod based on HL2DM, nor should it be a capture the flag, nokill, or co-op style map (or any other non-standard deathmatch style of play). While team spawns are permitted, they are not recommended.

8. Map must run on windows and linux servers. If you do not have a linux server to test on, submit your map anyway and HL2DMU will try to assist you with any bugs that cause linux crashes during the testing and judging stage.

9. Map must be fully packed. The only other files that may be included with the .vmt and .bsp are a readme.txt and a .res file that points to it.

10. LDR lightmaps are required. Maps that are fullbright or have HDR lightmaps only will not be considered.

PRIZES

1. $150.00 US for first place. Winner will be required to provide information necessary to receive the funds (name and address for cashiers check, or a paypal account). Consolation prizes may be announced prior to the deadline, but are not confirmed at this time.

2. The top 3 mappers will have the opportunity to work with HL2DMU Officials to tweak and finetune their maps on a technical and gameplay level through extensive testing and bug checking. Upon completion to final level, all three maps will be included in a special community map pack.

3. Winning map will run in the cycle on as many public servers as we can get to support the contest.

GUIDELINES

1. The theme for this contest is competitive team strategy.

2. HL2DMU Offials will review and discuss the following aspects of the map:

a. Technical soundness, including FPS performance and reasonable file size given the nature of the map.
b. Gameplay, layout, connectivity, control points and flow.
c. Visual appeal.
d. Balance.
e. Overall appeal and fun factor.

3. Try to make every area of your map count, such as connecting you to another area of the map, being a good area to hold, or storing a useful pickup. An example of something that "doesnt count": a deadend at the back of your map with pistol ammo in it.

4. Map size will also factor into the voting. The map should be big enough to support teamplay for 2v2, 3v3, or 4v4 competition, but not so big that the players have to run around for a while just looking for each other.

GLHF :biggrin: </SPAN>

Wow. I'd like to try that...even if there were no prizes.

I was Pm'ed by "TorQueMoD" today about an upcoming competition for their mod, where they're offering $500 for the first prize winner.

I dunno why he wouldn't post a thread about it, but here is the site for the mod, and here is the page for the rules of the competition. It's not due until September 12th.

He's also posted before about the mod over a year ago, so I found the thread here.

Should I put this in its own thread? Perhaps you could just rename this thread for general community competitions, or something.

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Blog: www.playingarchitecture.net
LinkedIn: Eric Lancon
Twitter:@Riven202

Not a bad thread idea this :smile: Thanks for the heads up guys, I'm quite intrigued in that HL2DM one in particular...

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

/\ O no!

So no custom content is allowed? I reckon you could just BSPzip it up.

It's teamplay, but team spawns aren't recommended? :razz: They mean more like "specialized spawn areas" right?

/\ O no!

Yea, crap! :biggrin:

But honestly - nice idea, Finger!

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Why snark works.

I don't get the theme, cause every deathmatch map can be used for 'competitive team strategy'. So what the hell do they want?

I would disagree. I think it takes a certain type of flow to make
a deathmatch map good for teamplay. I haven't played through HL2
all that much, so I'd rather refer to HL1 levels. In HL1, Boot
Camp is this awesomely circular map that allows you and your team to
band together and support each other as you run around the map.
In a different vein, Crossfire allows for a neat king-of-the-hill
structure with regards to a team controlling the base. Both allow
for strong elements of teamplay.

Bounce on the other hand, is made for lone wolves. The map is
circular, but the routes are so far apart that it would be hard for
respawned players to join up with their team. Many areas such as
the sniper ledge and the sewer tunnel seem best suited to
individuals. In fact, the jumping mechanism itself is
non-conducive to teams roving the map together. Bounce can be fun
to play as straight DM, but isn't nearly as enjoyable in Team DM
(although, as you said, TDM skills can be applied to it).

I could come up with much better examples for UT or UT2K3/4, because I've played that more extensively, but you get the point.

hmm, well I never considered Bounce to be a good map period as it has zero flow and heavily favors campers. Obviously Crossfire came to mind, but on their website they have a list of hl2dm maps that are supposedly good for tdm and I didn't see any that had a Crossfire airstrike or a Rustmill base in 'em.

It just seems that any dm map with great flow and decent enough size can be effectively used for tdm, which is why my question arose. Boot Camp is a tremendous map, but it's not like it was specifically designed for tdm. Perhaps the issue is my internal dm mapping do's and don'ts dovetail so well with tdm requirements that I can't see the forest from the trees.

UT99 examples would be cool, cause I know those maps too, and it would give me an excuse to go reinstall it :razz:

I never thought Deck_17 flowed well as a TDM map--okay at best but not
a great one, and it rocks socks like a fox in standard DM.
Pressure with its gimmicky prizes is fun enough by yourself but kind of
loses something as a TDM, although again, it's not bad.
Morpheus, though, is TONS better as a TDM. Just the flow between
moving between the towers lends almost this "capture the base" feel to
it, even though it isn't really a base capture map. This is my
opinion, and you can think otherwise about these particular levels, but
that's how I see it.

I think the key is stay away from huge arenas and gimmicks, keep to
fast flow and movement. Cluster your pick-ups a little bit
so that as a team runs through an area, everyone can grab something...
whether one guy gets a weapon, another grabs ammo and a third grabs
health... but don't overdo it or you'll have campers (the bases in
Crossfire work because the only health chargers in the base are
exposed). If you're already doing this in your level design (which is likely), then there's probably little to worry about.

So no custom content is allowed? I reckon you could just BSPzip it up.

It's teamplay, but team spawns aren't recommended? :razz: They mean more like "specialized spawn areas" right?

Fully packed probably means: all custom content zipped into the .bsp file. But yeah, the teamplay statements sound self-contradicting, or vague at best.

Meh. It tempts me to pick up mapping again, even if only for a short while. I'm just too busy creating games these days... oh well, we'll see. :smile:

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