Welcome to the official level design contest topic. Please read the following if you're interested in entering the contest or are just curious as to what the rules and regulations are.
There are four divisions, match, capture the flag, circuit and single player. Here are the important parts of each type, for those who would like the specifics:
Match stages are arenas for players to fight. 32 deathmatch starts are necessary to randomize the spawning, but if the stage loads and runs okay, it’s an acceptable entry for the match contest. You should also have a Player 1 Start to keep the level from crashing if loaded improperly.
Capture the Flag stages are arenas for two teams to battle it out. They must include a red team and blue team base with a flag, and should include 32 deathmatch and 16 red and blue team starts. There should also be a Player 1 Start to keep the level from crashing if loaded improperly. It is generally better to make the map symmetrical to be absolutely sure that it is fair for both teams.
Circuit stages are race tracks designed for Race mode. They should include a Circuit mode finish line and several Star Posts to ensure the stage runs properly. There should be a Player 1 Start at the starting point.
Single Player stages are designed to play in 1 player, and have to include a start and end, and obstacles in the way. Generally, it’s a good idea to give the map support for Cooperative and Race mode, but it’s not necessary.
The full rules of the contest are as follows:
1. All levels must work correctly in their selected mode. Support for other modes is suggested, but not required. Levels will be judged in Match, Capture the Flag, Circuit or Single Player, depending on the contest you’re entering.
2. The map may not have been publicly released before. In other words, if you have released the level on the Addons section or on the forums or IRC channel, you may not enter it. However, if it’s unreleased, that is just as good as being completely new, and is a legal entry.
3. The map has to be your own work. If you base it on another map, that's fine, but a straight port or slight modifications are against the rules.
For the match, circuit and capture the flag contest, there is another rule in place:
4. Custom textures, music, SOCs, and other lumps other than a header and the map itself are not allowed in the Match, Circuit and Capture the Flag contests. These levels are going to be combined into a single WAD file, so in the interest in getting the entries out on time, you have to be creative with what you have.
Submissions are to be sent to my e-mail at mystic@srb2.org.
Submissions need to have "Contest Submission - July/August" as the subject line, and contain the name of the stage, your nickname, and the contest you are submitting the map to in the e-mail body. For multiple maps in one e-mail, make sure to put the information for each map included. I prefer attachments, but links in the body of the e-mail are also alright. Note that maps that are considered unplayable will be rejected.
Do NOT use a free host to store your file. Rapidshare, Sendspace, and most every free host deletes files after a certain period of time. I do not compile the WAD until the submissions period is over, so if your file expires, it doesn't get included. Also, it's annoying having to wait several seconds to download your file, which adds up really fast if you have to download several files. Some hosts even have a maximum bandwidth usage, and if it won't let me download the file when I'm compiling the pack, you're out of luck. Use a personal host or attach it to the e-mail. If I can't get the file, you don't get into the contest. In the future, I will not accept files not given from a real host, so learn how to attach files.
The contest submissions period ends on September 1st, 2006 at 12:00 AM GMT. (August 30th, 2006 at 7:00 PM EST). Any submissions that are late will be possible to get in if you get them to me before the judging starts, but if you’re late, you’re taking a risk that you might have to wait for the next contest, so please get your file in on time.
Judging will consist of voting on the message board. Any member can vote, giving a number for each map from 0 to 10, zero being the most abysmal piece of crap ever, and ten being total perfection. You cannot vote on your own map. To encourage voting, if an entrant votes on everyone else’s map in the contest they are entered in, the lowest score on all of their entries will be dropped. (Example: If someone enters a single player map and votes on all the other single player maps, their lowest score is dropped.)
Judging will start the instant the files are uploaded, and continue until a week after they were uploaded. The exact time when voting will end will be shown when the files are uploaded. At that point, all votes will be averaged and the map with the highest average in each category will be declared the winner.
The section on the Addons section for showing contest winners is under revision, but the winners will get special treatment on the website.
All entries are welcome, from beginners to advanced level designers. Even if you don’t win, this is an excellent way to get feedback on your stage to help improve. Collaborations are allowed, and testing is encouraged strongly.
Edit: Added line about not using custom lumps in Circuit mode. Those are going to be compiled into the WAD pack as well.
There are four divisions, match, capture the flag, circuit and single player. Here are the important parts of each type, for those who would like the specifics:
Match stages are arenas for players to fight. 32 deathmatch starts are necessary to randomize the spawning, but if the stage loads and runs okay, it’s an acceptable entry for the match contest. You should also have a Player 1 Start to keep the level from crashing if loaded improperly.
Capture the Flag stages are arenas for two teams to battle it out. They must include a red team and blue team base with a flag, and should include 32 deathmatch and 16 red and blue team starts. There should also be a Player 1 Start to keep the level from crashing if loaded improperly. It is generally better to make the map symmetrical to be absolutely sure that it is fair for both teams.
Circuit stages are race tracks designed for Race mode. They should include a Circuit mode finish line and several Star Posts to ensure the stage runs properly. There should be a Player 1 Start at the starting point.
Single Player stages are designed to play in 1 player, and have to include a start and end, and obstacles in the way. Generally, it’s a good idea to give the map support for Cooperative and Race mode, but it’s not necessary.
The full rules of the contest are as follows:
1. All levels must work correctly in their selected mode. Support for other modes is suggested, but not required. Levels will be judged in Match, Capture the Flag, Circuit or Single Player, depending on the contest you’re entering.
2. The map may not have been publicly released before. In other words, if you have released the level on the Addons section or on the forums or IRC channel, you may not enter it. However, if it’s unreleased, that is just as good as being completely new, and is a legal entry.
3. The map has to be your own work. If you base it on another map, that's fine, but a straight port or slight modifications are against the rules.
For the match, circuit and capture the flag contest, there is another rule in place:
4. Custom textures, music, SOCs, and other lumps other than a header and the map itself are not allowed in the Match, Circuit and Capture the Flag contests. These levels are going to be combined into a single WAD file, so in the interest in getting the entries out on time, you have to be creative with what you have.
Submissions are to be sent to my e-mail at mystic@srb2.org.
Submissions need to have "Contest Submission - July/August" as the subject line, and contain the name of the stage, your nickname, and the contest you are submitting the map to in the e-mail body. For multiple maps in one e-mail, make sure to put the information for each map included. I prefer attachments, but links in the body of the e-mail are also alright. Note that maps that are considered unplayable will be rejected.
Do NOT use a free host to store your file. Rapidshare, Sendspace, and most every free host deletes files after a certain period of time. I do not compile the WAD until the submissions period is over, so if your file expires, it doesn't get included. Also, it's annoying having to wait several seconds to download your file, which adds up really fast if you have to download several files. Some hosts even have a maximum bandwidth usage, and if it won't let me download the file when I'm compiling the pack, you're out of luck. Use a personal host or attach it to the e-mail. If I can't get the file, you don't get into the contest. In the future, I will not accept files not given from a real host, so learn how to attach files.
The contest submissions period ends on September 1st, 2006 at 12:00 AM GMT. (August 30th, 2006 at 7:00 PM EST). Any submissions that are late will be possible to get in if you get them to me before the judging starts, but if you’re late, you’re taking a risk that you might have to wait for the next contest, so please get your file in on time.
Judging will consist of voting on the message board. Any member can vote, giving a number for each map from 0 to 10, zero being the most abysmal piece of crap ever, and ten being total perfection. You cannot vote on your own map. To encourage voting, if an entrant votes on everyone else’s map in the contest they are entered in, the lowest score on all of their entries will be dropped. (Example: If someone enters a single player map and votes on all the other single player maps, their lowest score is dropped.)
Judging will start the instant the files are uploaded, and continue until a week after they were uploaded. The exact time when voting will end will be shown when the files are uploaded. At that point, all votes will be averaged and the map with the highest average in each category will be declared the winner.
The section on the Addons section for showing contest winners is under revision, but the winners will get special treatment on the website.
All entries are welcome, from beginners to advanced level designers. Even if you don’t win, this is an excellent way to get feedback on your stage to help improve. Collaborations are allowed, and testing is encouraged strongly.
Edit: Added line about not using custom lumps in Circuit mode. Those are going to be compiled into the WAD pack as well.
