Here is the original thread: http://www.snarkpit.net/forums.php?forum=1&topic=7670

Competition outline:
[*] The goal is to expand, detail, texture, and light the provided start map
[*] Two weeks has been suggested as a time limit
[*] Judging will be based on both gameplay and aesthetics
[*] The winning entry will become the base for the next competition
[*] The competition will be repeated until the map is considered "done", then we'll start over with a new starting map.
The question remains whether the majority want a single-player map or a deathmatch map for the first round.

Since Fjorn will be without power for a while, I asked to run the competition in his absence and he agreed. I'd like to get it started soon, so if you have any other suggestions, comments or concerns now's the time to voice them.

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o

awhhh. I would enter but its for source, and my source sdk is 35% downloaded with dial-up. Damn.

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Aaron's Stuff

As a point of info, If it ends up being SP, when the map gets full, nothings stopping a level change to a new .bsp to continue, and can make an entire SP campaign

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Signature? What signature!?

Fjorn just changed my mind to SP.

I am fully willing to do this. I'm even willing to be the second person to take a go at it. (I graduate in two weeks.)
I would like to know if the person who's working on it is going to be working on it solely by himself, without posting it here for suggestions, or not. I would prefer to be in the dark about his work up until the release, since it will really show what the mapper did by himself.

Also, what are the criteria for one mapper over another?

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Also change the texture of the dock. Docks are rarely tile. -Facepunch
As I Lay Dying

Stadric, what do you mean by "second person?" Doesn't everyone build their version simultaneously? And the winning map goes to be the bases for the next "round" of the competition?

I think it would be ok for that person to post an editing question, but he shouldn't post any WIPs in the mapping forum. (Don?t want to give anything away!)

BTW, count me in! (i.e. for sp)

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

Doesn't everyone build their version simultaneously? And the winning map goes to be the bases for the next "round" of the competition?

Exactly right.

For single-player I think it would be good to have a 'theme' every few rounds, but still keep it fairly open-ended like "create a puzzle/vista/enemy encounter". Without that I think it could become hard to follow, or a battle could go on for ages, or it could get to be ages before there's another big fight. I think a degree of randomness will be a strong point for this, but keeping the gameplay balanced should have relatively high priority.

I think this could turn out to be a good chance for people to share their knowledge and experience. Above all, though, I think it's gonna be a lot of fun :wink:

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o

Baron von Snickers said:
For single-player I think it would be good to have a 'theme' every few rounds, but still keep it fairly open-ended like "create a puzzle/vista/enemy encounter". Without that I think it could become hard to follow, or a battle could go on for ages, or it could get to be ages before there's another big fight. I think a degree of randomness will be a strong point for this, but keeping the gameplay balanced should have relatively high priority.

I think there shouldn't be assignments, let the mapper decide for himself. If he builds a continuous battle upon a map version that already has a lot of fighting, there's little chances his map version will get chosen.

Also, judging on gameplay... i dunno. Chances are layout will be largely the starting map's layout, maybe with a few added corridors or ledges here and there. NPC placement could be an extra input, but still.. aesthetics will be the main difference between contestants

BlisTer said:
I think there shouldn't be assignments, let the mapper decide for himself. If he builds a continuous battle upon a map version that already has a lot of fighting, there's little chances his map version will get chosen.
Also, judging on gameplay... i dunno. Chances are layout will be largely the starting map's layout, maybe with a few added corridors or ledges here and there. NPC placement could be an extra input, but still.. aesthetics will be the main difference between contestants

Right, thats exactly what he said

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Signature? What signature!?

I'll take a crack at ether or but iv never tried creating a SP map. My scripting is knowledge is limited to placing nodes and a few start stop commands.

If we only chose one winer each time we could be losing a lot of great ideas. ("I love that broken wall", or "this scripting works grate but he can't texture for s**t") Mybe if some aspect is loved enough buy all of us, it could be prefabed and draped into the mat next version wear ever that particular mapper deems fit.

2 weeks sounds good but I'd also set a limit for "SP vs. MP voting thread" time. Like... 2 days?

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Why snark works.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Baron von Snickers</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Judging will be based on both gameplay and aesthetics</DIV></DIV>

A couple of questions here:

Will there be a judge (group of judges) or open forum vote? (I prefer open forum; that way people can discuss why they voted if they want to.)

When working with the starting map, what are we required to keep? For instance: could I whack off the second floor of a building so that I could fit an open pool/penthouse up top instead? Or am I required to leave that second floor as is? Or can we only ADD things and not TAKE AWAY stuff, (except for textures)?

By aesthetics, could you please specify? If I were to add custom .vcd's (scene files) with characters to my map, does that mean I have a better chance over someone who doesn't have them?

What is the rule as far as custom content goes? (i.e. custom textures but no custom models...)

These questions were mentioned in the original post, but never brought to light I believe.

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

There are pros and cons to both judges and an open vote, but I think a vote will suit this competition better.

If we only chose one winer each time we could be losing a lot of great ideas. ("I love that broken wall", or "this scripting works grate but he can't texture for s**t") Mybe if some aspect is loved enough buy all of us, it could be prefabed and draped into the mat next version wear ever that particular mapper deems fit.

That's one pro of having an open vote.

Chances are layout will be largely the starting map's layout, maybe with a few added corridors or ledges here and there. NPC placement could be an extra input, but still.. aesthetics will be the main difference between contestants

I was actually thinking the start map would only be a couple of rooms, and its up to the mapper to decide where to go from there. In that sense its more like a chain map than a map from base.

could I whack off the second floor of a building so that I could fit an open pool/penthouse up top instead?

Up to your discretion. I think deleting out other people's work should be handled with a lot of care, but not guarded against or forbidden. If that building is just a few rough blocks I think that'd be fine, but if it's intricately detailed, obviously taking lots of time, I would be cautious. Basically if you're nuking what quite possibly took someone else hours to make, have a damn good reason for doing so.
The focus should be on moving forward rather than redoing what's already done, in any case, but if you see something that you think you could improve, by all means do so.

What is the rule as far as custom content goes? (i.e. custom textures but no custom models...)

I don't see any problems with custom content, it would be a good idea to keep it to a particular directory though, say "hl2\materials\snarkpit_mfb" (or models\snarkpit_mfb, scenes, etc.)

As for stuff like VCDs and other custom content, I think it'd depend largely on the quality. If the scene is jerky, disjointed and unrealistic (or the texture/model is just plain ugly) it'd probably hurt your chances, but if it was fluid and natural and fit what was going on you can bet your ass it would better your chance of winning.

How does May 14th (monday) - 28th sound?

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o

Yay, something is actuality happening. :biggrin:

I've got an AP test on Monday and Tuesday, but I could get started Tuesday afternoon. Let's do it.

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Also change the texture of the dock. Docks are rarely tile. -Facepunch
As I Lay Dying

Well, shouldn't the start map have been released today (May 14th, Monday)? Or am I missing something?

BTW, as of when I posted this, we have a tie over SP vs. MP. What's the final verdict?

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

Sorry, I'll have it available tonight or tomorrow at the latest (probably tonight), procrastination is my perpetual nemesis. :razz: I decided to do most of the texturing and some details + rough lighting, since simple blocks covered in dev textures would create a lot more work for everyone else (read: it'd be really lazy)

It's going to be single-player for the first map, but I'll bet if someone wants to start a DM competition the mods won't object.

Again, sorry I don't have it ready, I'm cranking away at it and I'll either post a progress report or a download link tonight.

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o

Make a new topic when you release it, then you can compound all the details of the contest so that people don't have to fish for them in this thread.

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Also change the texture of the dock. Docks are rarely tile. -Facepunch
As I Lay Dying