HL2DM contest winners

Some of you will no doubt have noticed that the contest winners have
been announced in the steam update news! They aren't released yet, but
you can see some screenshots for the time being. No pit members
unfortunately, but some cool looking stuff in there. Powerhouse in
particular is looking really hot :smile:

where'd you find pics?

On the steam update news :razz: I'm not talking about on their website, but
the news that sometimes pops up when you restart steam. It will no
doubt appear on their website soon enough as well though.

:sad: i didn't get pics on my update

Screenshots: http://www.steampowered.com/Steam/Marketing/Mar18.2005/

I was right, Europeans dominated, but the ultimate winner is American. I wonder whether there was some bias in judging. :smile:

I'm upset about the fact that a city map won, and all 3 look like they have similar themes. I was hoping they would go for something different.

Bad luck to all the SnarkPitters who missed out. I dare say maps like Hydro and Rebar missed out because of performance related issues. Or perhaps the winners were just better maps. Time will tell I suppose. We can't know for sure until we play it.

I think the honorable mention one looks nice because it provides a contrast to the broken down and destroyed factories that pollute Half-Life 2/DM/CS

Yeah, dm_avalon has an unique look, but it somehow appears awkward (the architecture).

Nothing innovative about the winner or the runner-up. I thought point_spotlight is overused in dm_powerhouse. Judging from the screenshots alone, dm_resistance potentially has the best gameplay.

But it's only fair to judge these maps after we've played them. I can't wait to get my hands on them.

And I am curious that whether any of these winners belong to any online mapping community. And I am surprised that I haven't heard anything about any of these maps earlier.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting satchmo</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Yeah, dm_avalon has an unique look, but it somehow appears awkward (the architecture).

</DIV></DIV>

hey wait a moment, i have seen this map someplace.. but dammit, i cannot remember where..

since i do not visit many sites, /me wonders, was it here?
its gonna bug me till i remember.

Avalon is made by 3d_mike of CS mapping fame, and dm_underpass was made
by Kamikaze from Mapcore and....I dunno where else. As for the other
two? Well Resistance was posted up either here or Mapcore, I forget.
Powerhouse is entirely new to me.

More screenshots for dm_underpass (http://www.lanmaniax.com/maps/html/hldm2_underpass.htm). Looks pretty awesome. And this map appears pretty huge.

I saw Underpass on MapCore back last year sometime.

Reno and I were discussing the overuse of spotlights in dm_powerhouse just before in IRC. We all think alike, it seems.

(12:44:26) (+Trapt) There are too many lighting effects in Powerhouse, IMO.
(12:44:44) (+Trapt) Dunno, it just doesn't look.... right. :/
(12:45:14) (+[ReNo]) i was about to say the same thing actually trapt, he has kinda whored the spotlight effect
(12:45:26) (+[ReNo]) looses is charm when its on EVERY light in the scene

We are not in a proper position to judge the maps up until we have played them properly.

VALVe gave us no mention about when they were to be released. I suppose that's how they like it, since they'll be under no pressure to release them on time.

they'll be under no pressure to release them on time.

At least we found out in March (instead of April).

Good point there. :razz:

I find much better when they give us a date. It kind of gives you a feeling of excitement as the date approaches. But as they did it completely randomly, it was a bit of a disappointment, how it happened.

After looking through the additional screenshots for dm_underpass, I think I agree with the Valve judges. This map does look pretty incredible, for it's size and realism, plus the variation in themes.

Whilst I do agree the map looks very nice, I find the indoor areas to be a bit boring in terms of texturing and lighting. The outdoor areas are lovely though, and are as realistic as you will get in the Source engine.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Orpheus</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting satchmo</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Yeah, dm_avalon has an unique look, but it somehow appears awkward (the architecture).

</DIV></DIV>

hey wait a moment, i have seen this map someplace.. but dammit, i cannot remember where..

since i do not visit many sites, /me wonders, was it here?
its gonna bug me till i remember.

</DIV></DIV>

well i'll be god damned, I SAW IT ON MY OWN PC. :eek:
i have it, and fragged in it

Don't you hate it when that happens?

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting French Toast</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Don't you hate it when that happens? </DIV></DIV>

yup :/

my biggest concern, they chose looks over playability.

as i said, i played avalon, it played like s**t. looked sweet, but played horrible. still i have only a beta so it could very well have been tweaked.
valve however, doesn't have the best track record IMO. at least, they do not chose maps i would chose. quite frankly, many prefer the same maps i do so i can imagine i am not alone in my thinking. :sad:

Avalon wasn't chosen :razz: It was an honourable mention :wink:

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Gwil</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Avalon wasn't chosen :razz: It was an honourable mention :wink:
</DIV></DIV>

the fact that its name was brought up at all doesn't bode well.
stop splitting hairs you old coot. :razz:

So, do we plan to put the winning map to the SnarkPit server rotation (once it's available, of course)?

Depends. According to some previous posts and stuff I've heard from other forums it doesn't sound like the winning maps warrant much playability. I could be wrong but I think that a thorough play of them is required.

I also think we should have only Pit-Made maps on the Snarkpit server.

Depends. According to some previous posts and stuff I've heard
from other forums it doesn't sound like the winning maps warrant much
playability. I could be wrong but I think that a thorough play of them
is required.

I also think we should have only Pit-Made maps on the Snarkpit server.

What he said :smile: Kind of.

We'll give them a look. Might swap out overwatch/lockdown for one/two of the maps, depending on how they play!

Also sort out a playtest for all the beta maps soon... I promise.

*me appoints French Toast as "official mouthpiece" for the server :razz: *

Powerhouse looks like my new favourite, I like the theme.

I am shocked in a negative way that they picked this map as their winner...but then they made Overwatch, and the bug-ridden Steamlabs. I posted my list of criticisms as to why I feel this way in this Steam thread....maybe you can secretly force yourself to go look at it...LOL!

dm_Resistance looks pretty nice, and there are a bunch more screenshots at this forum link:

I don't remember seeing a beta of Powerhouse. Avalon is kind of fun playing, but like Island17 it lags with more than 13 players.

the right map won. Congrats to scott.

Someone said that the winning map would have a train track in it some
where, might have been Reno, but to whoever it was. Congratulations.
You get a cookie from me :biggrin:

Powerhouse looks like a converted UT map to me, whilst they chose a pretty crappy picture for Resistance Underpass looks funky though!

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Mikee</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>I am shocked in a negative way that they picked this map as their winner...but then they made Overwatch, and the bug-ridden Steamlabs. I posted my list of criticisms as to why I feel this way in this Steam thread....maybe you can secretly force yourself to go look at it...LOL!
</DIV></DIV>

I was surprised too that underpass won. I've played most of the betas over the last few months and had got it down as another map that looked exceptional but just didn't play well or run well on servers.
Haven't played resistance or powerhouse though. Looking forward to trying them out.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting keved</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>

I was surprised too that underpass won. I've played most of the betas over the last few months and had got it down as another map that looked exceptional but just didn't play well or run well on servers.

</DIV></DIV>

you ever wonder, do they actually check the pings, and FPS or just do a LAN game to determine if it plays :sad:
still, mark my words. valve is not the best judges when it comes to "best user made maps"

Did Valve say what the judging criteria were? Because from a business perspective, who cares how it plays? As long as it looks pretty and sells more copies of the game.

:sad:

On another note, maybe Valve should hire a bunch of playtesters instead of mappers, and run a mapping comp every month. Then we'd actually have more to play on.

My thoughts exaclty keved. I've played a beta of it before and have
checked out many screen shots, and to be honest it wasn't that great.
The other two just look like UT maps. Gonna have to play 'em before
passing judgement though. It's gonna be interesting to see what the
community thinks. I'm actually wondering about the winners, as they all
seem to be big names who have had contact with valve through mods or
whatever, or have been given lots of attention in the community over
some of their previous releases. Do I sniff a whiff of bias.

One things for sure, I'm tasting bitter defeat right now :sad: .

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting DrFrag</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Did Valve say what the judging criteria were? Because from a business perspective, who cares how it plays? As long as it looks pretty and sells more copies of the game.

:sad:

</DIV></DIV>

think real hard on what you just said. wouldn't having a DM map that plays be a criteria? afterall its DM.

if not playing was part of the package, they could have dismissed the HLDM part. i have seen maps made with only one player start in them for loading purposes..
it seems a bit silly to have a contest and the winning entry be unfragable.

Those pics are pervertedly huge! I guess VALVe should read your tut, Orph. :sad:

As for the maps, they look good, but that doesn't necessarily mean they
play
well aswell. Like you said, it's DM, ffs! Save the aesthetics for SP,
where someone actually has time to care! As for the "honorably
mentioned" dm_avalon, it's no better
than island17 is, IMHO.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Andrei</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Those pics are pervertedly huge! I guess VALVe should read your tut, Orph. :sad:
</DIV></DIV>
hey, that reminds me, i forgot about my poll.. can someone please post the results?

Apparently the third place map "powerhouse" was made by the same guy
who won their old HLDM contest with "rapidcore". I've always been
pretty keen on rapidcore, so hopefully powerhouse manages similarly
good gameplay :smile:

? quoting Orph who seems to have paradoxically
? quoted DrFrag
Did Valve say what the judging criteria were? Because from a business perspective, who cares how it plays? As long as it looks pretty and sells more copies of the game.

:sad:

think real hard on what you just said. wouldn't having a DM map that plays be a criteria? afterall its DM.
if not playing was part of the package, they could have dismissed the HLDM part. i have seen maps made with only one player start in them for loading purposes..
it seems a bit silly to have a contest and the winning entry be unfragable.

Well you have to consider that Valve made Overwatch which is one of the most unplayable maps in terms of their not optimizing it, and filling it with so many physics objects that ended up ruining what little potential it had. The layout of it is great, but they obviously did not test it in a server with more than 10-12 players.

Then they put out the bug-ridden Steamlab, that again looks nice but has a number of glaring problems. So, they apparently lack the ability to recognize and make high quality DM maps....with the exception being Lockdown.

I'm thining it was Wolf that did rapidcore, and possibly the lost village maps for hl1. All good stuff, so I'm looking forward to this map more than the #1.

call me arrogant, but i will decide for myself if valve chose wisely. i am not about to take their word for it.

sometimes, i think i have more experience picking out winning maps than they do :/

in any case, i sure hope that they release the entries in a map pack. i am betting that places 5-100 have some whoppers in there.

who knows, number 5 may be what we all like best :smile:

in any case, i sure hope that they release the entries in a map pack.

Sounds like a good idea Orph, but would you be willing to wait anywhere from 6 months to 2 years for it? :biggrin:

cough http://ftp.wireplay.co.uk/pub/halflife2/maps/dm_underpass.zip cough :smile:

If you wanna have a quick look..

Winning maps look good. I'm going to have to wait until I play them some more before passing judgement.

does anyone have any functional links to these map?

[edit] the readme say ferret helped on dm_underpass.. is this our ferret?

After playing Overpass I can confidently say that Torque was a much
better map and would have been a more deserving winner. Dead ends,
cramped tunnels, few open areas, props blocking movement everywhere,
tiny doorways and a number of other things make Overpass something
thats okay, but needs a hell of a lot of work. I'd say valve were
impressed with the visuals and nothing more, particularly with doorways
you can't access but seem to lead into another area, as opposed to
boarded up doors. And thats about it. What a gip.

Underpass got posted on mapcore a while back and recieved quite a lot
of feedback, so I'm sure it would be the Ferret we know. Mapcore is
down for me at the moment so I can't get you a link, but the beta was
posted there and the download might still be functional.

EDIT: Agent, were you playing the right map? The winner is "underpass", not "overpass".

i was considering doing an unofficial critique of the map. i saw some things i would have changed, but all in all it looked solid enough.

but as i said, i want to see the other maps. i am betting my reputation that there were better maps. this "winner" looked nice, but i felt it was missing that little thing that separates truly great from very good.

anyone want to see some screens of this map?

Sorry, I meant underpass. I checked out the link that nooba posted.
It's a cool looking map, but just doesn't seem to be set out well
enough for a good DM map. Construction, etc is great, but layout is
lacking.