Map Contest Planning Thread

EDIT: PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS NOT A CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT, JUST A THREAD TO PLAN A POTENTIAL CONTEST!

Inspired by this thread by ibscotty:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/s ... p?t=568545

Lets use this thread to develop the concept.

Note: nothing written in stone, just ideas at this point.

Rules

* Map must be previously unreleased and completed to prefinal level.
* Mapper must submit .vmf and .bsp for technical and play review.
* Deadline 3 mths or so?
* Contest is open to all mappers. Any HL2DMU Official wanting to participate
must opt out of all judging responsibilities. Official may be permitted to judge if their map is no longer in contention.

Prizes

* $100.00 minimum, plus anything else we can raise prior to the deadline.
* 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, similar to DOD:S CAMP pack.
* Winning map will run on as many servers as we can get to support the contest.

Judges

* HL2DMU Officials for finalists (final 8 maybe?).
* HL2DMU Board Members for winner and runner up.

I'd like to judge.

I'm all over this. Sounds really good WT. Talk about a good way to get peeps over here to see what we're trying to accomplish

badinfluence wrote:I'd like to judge.

Keeping it to HL2DMU officials seems fairest to me, but let me think about it, maybe we can come up with some other way.

im pretty much done... whens the deadline?

We havent announced the competition yet!

Walking Target wrote: Note: nothing written in stone, just ideas at this point.

EDIT: Updated original post to make it clear to everyone, contest is not live yet.

I spread the word a bit to some forums. Just to get the idea out to some clans that don't even know HL2DM U exists. If it's a bad idea to start telling people about it, let me know so I won't say anything else till it starts.

well you don't have to tell them about the contest in it's final form tell them to stop by join up nd join in the discussion

IMO, I think its a great idea. Doesn't matter if there is money or not as a prize, If I were a mapper, I would participate.
Go for it !

This game needs another good map, that's original and well balanced with weapon placement, spawns, and is good for all players.

I wish I new more about mapping, I'm not that good at it and if I were to try this I'm sure it'd take me forever and it'd be a sucky map =/

But it's a good idea and I think more people should hear about this.

Heh, it's hard to make a good looking map but it's not too hard to make a good-playing one, at least in my opinion.

If you want, Scar, I could teach you the basics and such.

Sorry Scar, I was also doodling around with Starcraft Campaign. :X

Awesome idea, I think its a great way to get people involved more.
I'd like to help test run the maps.

yo koolaid i remember you, if you want i'd love your help testing mine, we ran a test light night and everything went oveer pretty well, tonight we'll test some of my fixes and 'm hope'n to make a little more progresss filling it.. we didnt have any weapons last night so it kind of sucked.

my xfire is: st00p


anyone else interested in testing a new game type + map hitme up.

So far the ideas are sounding great. You know damn well im participating in this!
However if I do create a map, I would also like to judge the other maps and opt myself out from voting for myself of course. The least I could do is beta test them for bugs and clipping. Anyways, 3 months sounds like a plentiful amount of time to graph out a map on paper, ensure the layout, and then begin building. We should also make an effort to let people know that the map should be based on balance and a damn good layout rather than just eye candy. 'Cause you know people are gonna be making these ridiculous looking levels with crappy layouts.
And if all goes well with this competition, we should do it every 3 months! It'll keep people involved and get our leagues some new maps to choose from!

Also: I believe there should be a set size in which to build the map in, or at least set some kind of rule as to how many players the map should be able to support.
I believe that if a map can support a 1v1, 2v2 and hold at least 12-16 players then its pretty worthy. But of course, most importantly, the map should have a good layout. Mappers should also aim for some sort of new gameplay style. Something different, not just lockdown w/ a different layout

lol some of the best maps are the ones w/o any textures at all

ninojman wrote:lol some of the best maps are the ones w/o any textures at all

Hax!

ninojman wrote:lol some of the best maps are the ones w/o any textures at all

pfft, map's over rated. Hence why I like _b6 so much more

oh and has anyone noticed the pillars on aim are off, well one of them that is...
dunno if you guys already knew this, or just choose to play the map the way it is?

Yeah, it's known that aim is a big mess in terms of brushwork.

Still best map out thurr!



Anyone 1v1 on aim?

Meh, I don't like aim_arena much anymore. It's too small even for 1v1s in my opinion, the RPG is too easy to get, and the main strategy in there is just to use the jump pads to get the RPG as quick as possible. Other good 1v1 maps have at least some sort of objectives in them. For example, one room may have the 200 charger while on the opposite side, there are orbs or an RPG, making it more even and less lop-sided if one guy dies and the other decides to camp one of these rooms. This also encourages people to go around the map rather than camp one power spot or just go there and snatch the weapon. Aim_arena, you can literally just stomp on your opponent numerous times until they get a lucky Magnum headshot or something.

Charles wrote:Meh, I don't like aim_arena much anymore. It's too small even for 1v1s in my opinion, the RPG is too easy to get, and the main strategy in there is just to use the jump pads to get the RPG as quick as possible. Other good 1v1 maps have at least some sort of objectives in them. For example, one room may have the 200 charger while on the opposite side, there are orbs or an RPG, making it more even and less lop-sided if one guy dies and the other decides to camp one of these rooms. This also encourages people to go around the map rather than camp one power spot or just go there and snatch the weapon. Aim_arena, you can literally just stomp on your opponent numerous times until they get a lucky Magnum headshot or something.

agreed.

ninjins wrote:

Charles wrote:Meh, I don't like aim_arena much anymore. It's too small even for 1v1s in my opinion, the RPG is too easy to get, and the main strategy in there is just to use the jump pads to get the RPG as quick as possible. Other good 1v1 maps have at least some sort of objectives in them. For example, one room may have the 200 charger while on the opposite side, there are orbs or an RPG, making it more even and less lop-sided if one guy dies and the other decides to camp one of these rooms. This also encourages people to go around the map rather than camp one power spot or just go there and snatch the weapon. Aim_arena, you can literally just stomp on your opponent numerous times until they get a lucky Magnum headshot or something.

agreed.

That's why when I 1v1 on aim, I ask for no rpg.

$100 ?!?!
I'm in.

lol, it hopefully will be more than that by the time the deadline arrives. That's just the initial amount we already have up front. Official rules should be announced soon.

Nice WT!

I replied you on Steam Forums, but here it is what I said there:

I wasn't talking about size limit, just to care about size... I mean, we could make a WONDERFUL map but the file size is about 200MB and well... that would hurt on the overall score.

I think a good map should be about 8~20MB.

Map must be previously unreleased and must remain so for the duration of competition.

Hello,

are we allowed to test out our maps with steam friends to test the gameplay and flow. I don't want to do that and then get disqualified because someone else saw my map.

One thing I would be concerned about is that say I do a test session with some friends in a closed server .. I would be worried if someone else just posed up my bsp and then i'd be screwed. Can we have a discussion about this?

MeekMeekle wrote:

Map must be previously unreleased and must remain so for the duration of competition.

Hello,

are we allowed to test out our maps with steam friends to test the gameplay and flow. I don't want to do that and then get disqualified because someone else saw my map.

One thing I would be concerned about is that say I do a test session with some friends in a closed server .. I would be worried if someone else just posed up my bsp and then i'd be screwed. Can we have a discussion about this?

Just test with people you trust, or test with the HL2DMU officials

You are welcome to test your map with anyone you choose. It's your decision whether to trust them not to rip you off. You cant be disqualified for seeking assistance with your map. The "must not have been released" rules refer to posting the map on forums or running it on a public server where anyone can download the map. If you do test it on a server with trusted parties, lock the server.

cool. thank you for the reply! I just wanted to make sure.

Alright. I am kind of confused by the theme for this map contest. the team strategy part. Do you want us to use info_player_combine and info_player_rebels or just use info_player_deathmatch ?

also, I remember seeing something about balanced teamplay. did you guys change the wording of the theme?. because when I think of balanced teamplay I think of symmetry.

Are the "smaller" maps used for cal good examples of what you guys are looking for?

Balanced teamplay for 2v2 / 4v4

need to watch weapon placement mostly

open areas for 357/xbow areas no more then 1/4 open to one area

RPgs in low or enclosed areas

spawns areas can be hard to pull off in hl2dm, some maps it kills the flow. Maps that did it well are dm_substorage spawning the rebels up top with the x-bow and 357 and the combine downstairs with the RPG/AR2. DM_7hour having each weapon on the two main areas and rebels/combine in each

i didnt like that idea of substorage when we had to play it back in sta. i personally thought it was a bit biased for combine, in a league matche (i think it was ninjins who said this "spam or be spammed") and in substorage combine had control of the spam because they had the rpg and ar2 and orbs all down stairs so that's why i thought it was unfair.

but in 7hour i like the mixed spawns, as most maps have as well, but 7hour has good weapon placement which makes it good.

MeekMeekle wrote:Alright. I am kind of confused by the theme for this map contest. the team strategy part. Do you want us to use info_player_combine and info_player_rebels or just use info_player_deathmatch ?

also, I remember seeing something about balanced teamplay. did you guys change the wording of the theme?. because when I think of balanced teamplay I think of symmetry.

Are the "smaller" maps used for cal good examples of what you guys are looking for?

You can use team spawns (info_player_combine and info_player_rebel) if you really want to, but it is not recommended.

Foremost, unless you make a perfectly symmetrical map (can be boring) there will always be opinions about which side is given the advantage. By using info_player_deathmatch and keeping spawns random, this is a non-issue. Most competitive maps that see a lot of play dont use team spawns (bio, lock, zeta, backbone, avalon_b1 etc.)

Balance does not refer to symmetry necessarily. Try not to limit yourself to that. Balanced means for example, not having a single point that once one team gets hold of it is impossible for the other team to take back. Even zeta, which has rpg, ar2 and supercharger inside has several ways you can come in to try to take it back. Forcing one team to assault an easily defendable choke is generally bad.

An extreme example of unbalanced would be a tower with a view of the entire map and little path leading up to it and inside is a supercharger, mag and rpg. Like nino said, it is also about laying out weapons in a thoughtful manner. We will do a weapon review with the winners though, so dont worry to much about how balanced they are in the prefinal version you submit.

badinfluence wrote:

ninjins wrote:

Charles wrote:Meh, I don't like aim_arena much anymore. It's too small even for 1v1s in my opinion, the RPG is too easy to get, and the main strategy in there is just to use the jump pads to get the RPG as quick as possible. Other good 1v1 maps have at least some sort of objectives in them. For example, one room may have the 200 charger while on the opposite side, there are orbs or an RPG, making it more even and less lop-sided if one guy dies and the other decides to camp one of these rooms. This also encourages people to go around the map rather than camp one power spot or just go there and snatch the weapon. Aim_arena, you can literally just stomp on your opponent numerous times until they get a lucky Magnum headshot or something.

agreed.

That's why when I 1v1 on aim, I ask for no rpg.

but orbs are kool right? hahaha

Yeah.

Im still considering my entry to the competition. Work is hard, ive got a month to do this map, but finally ive got a layout that im happy with.

Im not the prettiest of mappers, my profile is at sadistcouncil.co.uk/maps

What sort of standards are you after in terms of looks? Gameplay hopefully should be up to scratch

It doesn't have to look like a work of fine art. If you look at all the maps used in leagues, many are quite basic in terms of visuals. As long as it is well textured and every section of the map doesn't look the same, so you know where you are at all times, you should be fine. It can be a HL2/official map style theme, or it can be completely unique, as long as it plays well (avalon and spookface come to mind for unique themes).

Charles wrote:Meh, I don't like aim_arena much anymore. It's too small even for 1v1s in my opinion, the RPG is too easy to get, and the main strategy in there is just to use the jump pads to get the RPG as quick as possible. Other good 1v1 maps have at least some sort of objectives in them. For example, one room may have the 200 charger while on the opposite side, there are orbs or an RPG, making it more even and less lop-sided if one guy dies and the other decides to camp one of these rooms. This also encourages people to go around the map rather than camp one power spot or just go there and snatch the weapon. Aim_arena, you can literally just stomp on your opponent numerous times until they get a lucky Magnum headshot or something.

I totally agree with you, that map is full of spam, not much actual "aim" is required if you playing with a guy who solely depends on suit and smg nades.

The new reloaded version has got tight textures, but it would be nice if they took a few suits out, that rpg, and a few nades will be nice.

The current version is good for pubic servers, not so good for a 1v1, but it is fun to play.

snipeIT wrote:

Charles wrote:Meh, I don't like aim_arena much anymore. It's too small even for 1v1s in my opinion, the RPG is too easy to get, and the main strategy in there is just to use the jump pads to get the RPG as quick as possible. Other good 1v1 maps have at least some sort of objectives in them. For example, one room may have the 200 charger while on the opposite side, there are orbs or an RPG, making it more even and less lop-sided if one guy dies and the other decides to camp one of these rooms. This also encourages people to go around the map rather than camp one power spot or just go there and snatch the weapon. Aim_arena, you can literally just stomp on your opponent numerous times until they get a lucky Magnum headshot or something.

I totally agree with you, that map is full of spam, not much actual "aim" is required if you playing with a guy who solely depends on suit and smg nades.

The new reloaded version has got tight textures, but it would be nice if they took a few suits out, that rpg, and a few nades will be nice.

The current version is good for pubic servers, not so good for a 1v1, but it is fun to play.

This is generally where item control comes in, if you're losing to pure spam that means you're doing a terrible job at item control. Aim_Arena wasn't even built with 1on1s or anything in mind, but the rpg is there as a balancer to the mag camper. If you take out *anything* non-mag wise that just strengthens the magnum and then the map is pretty much "hey, lets test out whoever has the best aim, who cares about item control and strategy!" (although that's what it is close to, however the player who can manage his resources better will win)

Alright guys, I'm Pumped! I just did my 1st proper map test with a friend for my contest map and it's great. I think you guys will love it. The flow of the map is wonderful! I have another month to make it pretty and perfect the gameplay!

the countdown begins mwhaha!

I submit my contest map!!!!!!!!

to all the hl2dmU judges. please play the map a lot !

have fun !

Am I the only one that submitted a map for the contest?

No there were a few others. Not as many as we hoped though

i wanted to submit but hadnt put the time in to finish it

Hi guys,
Thought I'd check in for any news on the contest

From admin announcments section:

Just a quick update. All the maps are now in and have been distributed to the HL2DMU officials for phase 1.

Phase 1 will involve taking the maps submitted and working with the mappers to bring them up to competition standards.

Once phase 1 is complete and each mapper has a final map, phase 2 will be the board voting on the winning map.

Contestants, please be patient with us, we should be getting back to you with a list of suggested changes and fixes soon.

sorry mate. didn't cross my mind to check in there.
Thanks.

Can't wait to see all the great maps that come out. Valar I assume you put one in for the contest? If so, then I'll be even more eager to see them all!

yes i have and thanks bunch for your support !!

Definitely will be waiting to check it out. Good luck!