Mapping Contest?
A few players have brought up the idea of a mapping contest. What does everyone think of a mapping contest?
Current policies decided on:
Current policies decided on:
- No map mods. This means no custom weapons or vehicles or anything like that in a map. Forcefields and vehicle/max turret mods are allowed.
- The maps must be serverside.
- One submission per person. If multiple missions are submitted, the last mission submitted will be judged.
- Your map must be original except for the serverside elements. This means you cannot re-make a dynamix map, etc
- The map must be compatible and made for classic or base. This may change next map contest.
- The map must be CTF-gametype.
Comments
Alviss rules.
I nominate you to be a judge. And no that's not sarcasm, I really do think we need someone with differing opinions on the judging panel so it will be balanced.
I nominate you to be a judge. And no that's not sarcasm, I really do think we need someone with differing opinions on the judging panel so it will be balanced.
[/quote]
lol his opinions aren't different. but with TribesNext, a lot of people who never competed now have the capability to speak on the forums without needing to know of any other websites out there that may host ladders for competitions and who choose what maps are appropriate for competition. Kryand's opinions are no different than any other person out there who was into competing in CTF on the TWL when the game was still kicking.
While he'd surely consider me a newb, I'm not new to gaming by any means and am perfectly qualified to judge "fun".
Plus, maps being serverside means rehashing of the same old terrain files, thus making "competitive, balanced down to the pixel" maps a pain in the ass and will likely yield less submissions overall, thus killing the contest.
This contest is for fun, so let's have fun with it.
Since TN is now the "official" source for Tribes 2, any TN patches released in the future could plug in additional maps. With some mapping contests, we could possibly get some new and interesting maps into the game. At the very worst, the site could feature a pack with the better maps thrown together into it.
A motion has been made, I second that motion.
This is an excellent Idea. Tribes 2 could use some excellent new turf.
seriously
Categories:
8-16 players
16-32
32-64
Then break it down from there as to what gametype in each category, since for example a vehicle capture the flag map would be no good in the eight to sixteen category.
But the community needs to decide by what criteria to judge each map.
Appearance: Did the designer make the map attractive? Does it look too sparse? If it uses custom shapes and textures, how attractive/appropriate are they?
Uniqueness: Did the designer put an effort into their map to make it stand out in some way? How well is this implemented? Many maps feel like they're the same thing, rehashed again and again. Interesting map features really make a map stand out among the crowd, but they have to be implemented well. Of course, sometimes the unique features are also what breaks a map.
Anything else?
Edit:
Also, I think individual contests for the different gameplay modes might be best. CTF is the most common mode, sure, but it's nice to see someone remembering that there are other game types out there. Heck, I think an occasional single player/coop map context would be really awesome, and it might help encourage mappers to come up with new ideas.
First map pack should be called, "Now with 37% less Kryand!"
Despite his bias, he might be appropriate as a judge. It would be interesting to see the differing opinions. And if he's judging, the name of the map pack would even be fitting!
Honestly though, variety is a good thing. If Kryand doesn't make a map, I'll toss up my vote for him as a judge. Although, if he has experience in mapping, I'd love to see him do that instead. Especially if it's client side.
I've never, however, seen a map that was five kilometers squared, with every single base available in the game somewhere on it.
Keeping it server side obviously has it's benefits. But client side map contests will encourage more terrains and imagination.