Next Competition Created 13 years ago2011-03-19 14:52:58 UTC by Dimbeak

So... we begin now?

No. It hasn't been confirmed and no material pack has been provided yet. Be patient, the mods know the community wants another competition ASAP - they work on these things behind the scenes. You don't need to keep reminding them with threads like these.

We should do "map your dream home/estate".

I like that, haven't mapped for ages, I would totally learn some hl2 mapping for that.. I might actually do that anyways lol

zhlt.wad mapping! yay!

But seriously now, that idea rocks
Admins should make a wad we should use

But seriously now, that idea rocks

I think the idea diamonds actually.

Map from wad.
Totally forgot about that. I say we go for this one.

Map from wad. Soooooo overdue. Sounds fun!

Map from wad. Yipee!

Should be fun!

I think TWHL competitions are way to rare. We need competition after competition!

no, too common!

Well to me TWHL looks completely dead.

If it's interesting enough, I think I'd like to make a small map. SO MAKE IT INTERESTING.

Map a map within a map using only the provided .wad

There

I'm down, what a wonderful idea. Rim should make the wads he's a beast! Was. should probably stick to some what of a theme...

Seriously, why hasn't "map from a wad" happened yet? Wasn't it supposed to be the last compo until "map a dream" was opted over it?
Or am I horribly mistaken?

Edit: Must have been. I just found the other thread.
http://twhl.info/forums.php?thread=17350&page=1

hasn't happened yet because it takes time to put a texture pack together.

a couple months back i was chatting with the aussie mods about potential compo ideas. we discussed the idea of short restriction-based competitions. pretty much all of our compos are really open ended and people always aim too high and end up submitting half assed and unfinished entries (or don't submit at all).

the texture pack compo is a clever one. it would be difficult to make a huge mod with a limited amount of textures whilst still keeping things interesting. this encourages smaller, finishable and hopefully more polished entries.

other competition ideas i raised were based on the little competitions going on at mapcore. not long ago there was a 20-brush based compo which produced some really interesting results. more recently there was a competition where entries were limited to a 1024³ unit playable area.

these restriction based compos make creating an entry fairly easy and can be done in as little as a couple hours. i mean how long does it take to make 20 brushes?

but by far the best part about these restrictions is that they promote and reward creativity. isn't that the whole idea of mapping?

It hasn't been done yet because we have to think about Source. Any texture pack we make or use has to be made for Source first, so it doesn't look garbage in-game. That also means any normal maps and the like.

Unless anyone can recommend a good, free, and reasonably small texture pack for Source that we can shrink down into a wad, too?

EDIT: What Trapt said.

I'm really in favour of a smaller restricted compo or two while we organise the texture one.

just so you guys can get a feel of what kind of submissions these competitions produce, here are those compos from mapcore i mentioned:

1024³ challenge
20 brush challenge

to push creativity even further, some level of gameplay was made mandatory. so you can't just make an empty room or something without losing serious points during judging.

some really clever and inspiring submissions tbh.

Hey, how about a jumping challenge map? With some limitation perhaps, winner being the one with most creative jumping obstacles, smoothest game-play and best scenery.
When I say jumping challenge map, I mean like a map filled with all sorts of obstacles preventing the player at point A from reaching point B. Could be fun huh? and imaginative since there are all sorts of crazy traps and obstacles you can make! It's only limited by your imagination!

LOL! Skals be hoppin

A deathrun map would be pretty hard to make... Especialy with all those limitations and conditions.

Map from a Wad eh? What about source?

There's gonna be a texturepack for Source as well.

@Trapt: those look hot! Perhaps we can have a similar compo on TWHL as well?

i believe that was the idea.

Looks like another poll is in order, because the 1024 challenge looks fun as balls. Which we all know are fun.

Love the 20 brushes idea. Maybe we can run that as a mini, try it ourselves?

Stop stealing ideas.

Just get textures for source and than down scale them a bit for gold. Very simple... Gold can handle pretty big textures 256x256 are pretty nice.

20 brushes = 20 solids?

Agreed with rim... But i'd really rather the big compo happen.

Well for now we could hold the mini compo, just start a thread for it...

don't understand the point of mini compos, i'm fairly sure the process of addition of a proper compo is fairly easy once a brief is written up and a deadline given.

Map a "Time Travel" sequence, anyone?

If we have another idea or two for a mini-compo I'll throw a vote up. There are lots of restrictions I can think of, like sticking to a certain colour scheme, or certain shapes...?

I think the brush limit is the best idea, so far.

i also like the brush limit but maybe 20 is a bit too few for TWHL. the folks on mapcore are pretty serious level designers (most have proper jobs as developers), i'm thinking 25 or 30 would be better off.

any reason why these can't be proper competitions? surely all we need is someone to write out some rules. i don't know how the competition system works for TWHL but i honestly think there'll be a better turnout if it were a proper compo.

i don't think these perfectly good ideas should go to waste on a mini compo where winners aren't going to be properly recognised.

Recognition smecogsmition its all in good fun while we wait for an official one to come out.

Another idea is... ugh, ideas too big, uhh thinking...

still thinking...

Oh, this will be a proper competition. It's just smaller than most, so I'm calling it a mini-compo. It may be judged differently though, through poll or forum voting.

I like the idea of a small 1024-unit cube map, too. Possibly do a few with different focuses? Architecture, Ambience, Lighting, Entity Work, Gameplay, that kind of thing?

20 brushes = 20 solids?

Also, does that include sky-brushes?

I don't think I'll be entering this competition. A while back I read somewhere that you guys might need some additional judges for the upcoming competitions? If that position is still up I'd be happy to be one of the judges for the next one.

I'll think of an idea while i'm at school today.

Also, does that include sky-brushes?

doesn't include sky/tool or trigger brushes.

Alright, the 1024 and brush limit ideas seem pretty popular, so I've thrown a poll up. Keepin' it simple, the fewer ideas the quicker I can make it happen.

thrown up a poll implies you've already done so. And fewer ideas the quicker implies other wise. You still waiting on ideas?

ah ha! Got two "mini" ideas.

1. Map a swimming pool.

2. Map a graveyard.

Ehh, those are my ideas.

Can some one explain me what does 20 brushes map mean >_>

don't understand the point of mini compos, i'm fairly sure the process of addition of a proper compo is fairly easy once a brief is written up and a deadline given.

idk, i always felt the point of minicompos were to flex a very specific aspect of your mapping ability in a short amount of time, as opposed to devoting 2 months of your life to a full-scale compo. (i personally fail out of most regular compos because i don't have the time to devote to properly finish it)

waste on a mini compo where winners aren't going to be properly recognised.

True, but should formal recognition be your driving force to create something? idk, personally, if i create something decent, i don't really care if i recieve a formal award.

Zeeba: i like those two mini ideas, and YOU KNOW i love mini's based on brushwork, though i would love to see a minicompo based on custom texturing or anything other than brushwork for a change.

I would love to see a minicompo based on custom texturing

People have to know how to texture first.

I'm mostly sure that wouldn't pull in many entries.

Did my proposal get blanked or something? What do I have to do, send you a CV?

Your right captain but on either custon textures would help. Realistic water, tomb stone writing, grass, scrolling water/ rain, metal fence etc.

I love the simplicity of mini comp.s and they are so much more chalant.

Hey, what about the Map from Wad/Vtf compo? Add this one to the poll as well, geez. :/

Thought that was for the full competition not mini.