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 two divisions, match 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.
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 either Match 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 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 contest. Match 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 - Nov/Dec" as the subject line, and contain the name of the stage, the name you want used to attribute the map, and the contest you are submitting the map to. 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.
The contest submissions period ends on January 1st, 2006 at 12:00 AM GMT. (December 31st, 2005 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 winner of each contest will have his or her map uploaded into the “Level of the Month” category of the Addons section. There may be additional prizes added before the submissions period is over.
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.
The holiday season has traditionally had the best turnout and best maps out of the whole year. Let's see that tradition continue on for 2005.
There are two divisions, match 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.
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 either Match 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 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 contest. Match 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 - Nov/Dec" as the subject line, and contain the name of the stage, the name you want used to attribute the map, and the contest you are submitting the map to. 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.
The contest submissions period ends on January 1st, 2006 at 12:00 AM GMT. (December 31st, 2005 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 winner of each contest will have his or her map uploaded into the “Level of the Month” category of the Addons section. There may be additional prizes added before the submissions period is over.
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.
The holiday season has traditionally had the best turnout and best maps out of the whole year. Let's see that tradition continue on for 2005.
*shot*
@ Spazzo.
