Hello everyone. Happy Thanksgiving. I have an extra limited edition copy of Natural Selection 2 and I've been meaning to put it to good use. I've decided to host a mapping competition with the game as a prize. I'm doing this not only for the love of goldsource, but also to help a dying mod. A bit of background info:

I began learning to use hammer about 1 1/2 - 2 years ago because I saw a lot of unrealized potential in ye old half-life mod, MasterSword: Continued. I dreamed of mapping the dwarven underworld and in that time I've completed three maps, with a fourth on the way, and I'm very satisfied with my efforts so far. However, four maps is simply not enough to create a convincing region of a fantasy continent, nor is one person enough to tackle a project like this alone. I'm hoping that this contest will be a partial solution to my dilemma.

The theme of this competition is "Dwarves and the Underworld". Beyond that, your imagination may run wild (although any accompanying stories must fit with the MS story). You may map anything ranging from simple, generic caves to mines to a dwarven town or ruins. Below is a list of potential ideas:

-Caves
-Underground River
-Abandoned mineshafts
-A minecart riding map
-Dwarven forts and villages
-Temples of Balance (The MasterSword god of Balance is said to have created the dwarves)
-'Broken' temples of Balance
-Ancient ruins
-Steampunk/technologically advanced ruins
-Flooded ruins
-Mountain Dwarf settlements/ruins (dwarves who live high above sea level, in the caves and cliffs of great peaks)

This list, of course, is not exhaustive and anything else you can imagine is fair game as well, provided it fits with the overall theme of the competition.

What can I win if I join this competition?

1)Everyone who enters a submission to this contest will A)have a chance for their map to appear as an official map in MasterSword and all participants will B)be given an exclusive crest which can be worn in game
2)The top three contestants will be given the opportunity to design their own personalized crests to be worn in game, or have one designed for them.
3)One limited edition copy of Natural Selection 2 will be given out to the contestant with the most useful and impressive entry.
4)Perhaps most importantly, you will be helping one of the oldest mods known to the half-life community, you will be helping me in my foolish endeavor and in the end we will all have a bigger and better game to play.

By entering into this competition you agree to allow your map to be used in MasterSword:Continued and you also agree not to use the map in any other mods. You also give permission for me or the MS dev team to edit or modify your map(s) if necessary. There is no limit to the number of entries that can be submitted and entries do not have to be 100% completed for consideration. Please do not use any content that is not in the public domain.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your participation. Happy mapping!