Competition 16 Created 18 years ago2005-07-05 02:28:08 UTC by Trapt

CLICK HERE TO VISIT SOURCE COMPETITION SITE WITH ALL INFORMATION.

So here it is - the first Source competition! Let?s get this going.

First off, people must realise that this really is official as it is going to get. After discussing the idea of a Source competition with RabidMonkey777, we came to the conclusion that Atom would not have the time to code a Source competition and that we would need to create it ourselves.

The first (hopefully of many) of these Source competitions is Deathmatch from Floor Plan. Read up on the rules - they are fairly simple, and you should try to abide by them as best you can. Hopefully we will get some interesting results: Everyone has unique mapping techniques, and it will be great to see how each mapper has added their own style to the floor plan. Due to the enormity of the task at hand, the deadline is over 2 months away.

Post any questions or queries in this thread, or email me. You can also catch me on IRC most of the time. Also, let's try and keep this thread spam-free. Ok?

Now come on people, you've been asking for a Source contest, so join in! Let's try and make this first compo a major success!

Excellent! I sense some heated competition between the Source mappers!

/me applauds

I'll be enforcing this thread. Keep it clean.

I can't map for source
Good luck anyway.

One Probelem call me stupid or something but where is the actual floor plan?

http://trapt.hlgaming.com/dmfromfloorplan.htm

In the about section:

This Deathmatch from Floor Plan competition is simple. Download this .vmf (you might need to right click and save as) which contains the floor plan, and make a deathmatch map out of it.

Download the vmf...

Heres a direct link: http://trapt.hlgaming.com/layout.vmf (you might need to right click and save as)

yay! I'm in
I was going to quit mapping but this is an excellent reason for not doing so!!

Ok, I already have my first question:
When you talk about not adding new accesible areas, it means that we can still add inaccesible areas to the floorplan including normal brushwork and skybox stuff, right?

I'm not quite sure what you are asking there, Kasperg. You can add anything that you like, just as long as the player cannot access it. Inaccessible areas are a great way to add detail, whilst still not changing the layout. So yes, you can create areas which cannot be accessed, and you can add 3d skyboxes and stuff. Just don't add areas which can be accessed, and it should be fine.

If you have any other questions or queries, feel free to ask.

Argh damn, I wish this compo started 2 weeks later as I have other projects to do sadly, ahh what do I care, if Kasperg is in it why even bother....

Kasperg you were gonna quit MAPPING
Not the great Kasperg Holy sh*t whyyyyyyy!

Dude, you have over 2 months to do it... 2 weeks shouldn't do much.. Just start in 2 weeks or whatever.

Me so stupid! Kasperg dont leave your a legend!

Nah, you're not stupid. Maybe I should make it more obvious where to get the floor plan from.

Also, if you have made a change to the layout which you are not sure is allowed, screenshot it, and either post it here, email me, talk to me on IRC or whatever.

Hmm for once im actually gonna do something xD. 2months be along time .. Good good . Nice little layout , should be fun

Seems like all our strong Source mappers are entering. Fuck.

xD

I can't map for source, But I'll enter...

ill twy

Well, I'll try --- however my hopes are non-existant seeing as Kasperg will be entering.....

I approve :).

I won't have time to enter myself, as I will be working a lot over the summer, but good luck to you all. I'll lend a hand behind the scenes if you want, but I imagine you'll be fine.

lol, I have never made a DM map before, so this should be interesting

I have a question, If I want to make multiple floor brushes for a room, without extending the boundry, can I delete the origional brush, but fill the exact same space?

Yep.

Alright, thanks man.

I tryed for like 30 minutes and couldnt get a single idea. I was trying as hard as I could to not use custom things, but I just cant think of what to do for the layout.

I will almost certainly be entering, My XSI trial finishes today! It will be my first deathmatch map but I'm sure I'l figure it out. All this means though, is that my Modeling tutorial will be delayed even more. Anyways goodluck my homies!

I knew this would happen, is HL1 Compos now non-existent!?

HL1 compos are still very much existant! We're just waiting for Atom to post it. I'll be entering it, that's for sure.

Well, what we need is for moderators to have Atoms powers, or at least, even 1 moderator. So we can keep them consistant.

Wake up ? I've been talking about applying to atom for such powers. I don't know if Andy'd want them to, since I don't think he knows PHP. Anyway. We'll have to see.

I'd be glad to know Seventh had atoms powers...

I have a question about the compo again, probably a noob question.

It says you need an RPG trap. WTF is that?

It means that the rocket launcher weapon must not be readily available for players to use, but instead it should be hidden or hard to get.
Remember the egon/gluon gun in the HLDM map "snarkpit" . It was surrounded by toxic waste and you had to jump through some rotating machinery.

R.P.G. = Rocket propelled grenade.

I know what a RPG is

Thanks. When I heard the word trap, I didn't know if you wanted me to make it impossible to get... like you go for it, and a trap kills you. I understand now.

I have an idea...Perhaps a physics object that swings into you

I have yet to look at the layout...Can it be outdoors as well or does it have to be indoors?

It can be whatever. You'll have to see Trapt's example map.

You could make the map be a totally open arena but with fence walls blocking your path according to the layout... but that would be crap and the judges probably wouldnt like it. Remember you have freedom to use vertical gameplay to make the map bigger.

I'd like to add one more thing, since Habboi's question is actually an interesting one: outdoors or indoors?

There are exceptions, but maps that can be strictely sorted into one of these two categories tend to be worse than maps that combine both.
In deathmatch, the goal is for players to have fun: Now that means that everyone needs to enjoy the map. From our shotgun-lovin friends, fans the RPG, the snark protectors, the tau-cannon devils, crossbow snipers, crowbar killers... etc
If you build your map with most of the weapons (both in hldm and hl2dm) in mind, you will see that different type of areas are good for some weapons and bad for others: indoor hallways are good for close combat shotgun action, dark spots are ideal to place your deadly slam charges, open areas are a great place to test your RPG or crossbow skills, etc.

My point is: find the balance between indoor and outdoor, and consider that entity placement is almost half of what will make your map be what it is. A good combination of these things will prevent your map from getting old too soon.
Remember, some people can feel claustrophobia in games, others are not so good at long-range-aiming, but everyone needs a happy fragging time!!

sorry for the long post... it might also give you guys a hint on why I dont usually rate AIM type maps and such

Example map will be released today. I'm not sure whether I should release it in its current state, or to fix some very minor bugs and add a bit of detail. To be honest, the map isn't really detailed, but it isn't ugly or whatever. Remember, I made it in a day!

Check out the screenies here.

Ok, so I've whored out the most generic theme possible. Now, I'm begging people to not do anything remotely similar to mine.

Also, we now know that the layout works well, which was evident during the playtest with Rabid and Doodle last night.

I thought that you couldnt have accessible parts outside of the layout, I can see the road is following it but what part is the field in the original layout?

I'm not sure what you're saying. I think what you're saying is that I added this when I shouldn't have?

Here's a picture to help you understand why it was allowed:

(sorry about the bad picture quality, MS Paint sucks.

The 'field' is just a big lump of displacement, and has been clipped, meaning its just the same as it would be if I had a wall there. It just helped give the map a bit more of an 'open' feel, whilst keeping the same layout. Do you understand?

So, dont oyu limit us a bit to much? Dont you get a horrible gameplay then?

Gameplay is good because the layout has good connectivity and flows well... I've got no idea what you're on about to be honest.

Since we can widen paths etc the maps looks really cramped to me, i think you should be able to widen the paths.

Mmm... some paths are indeed narrow, but you could compensate that by having a wider visible area. That is, widen the paths but restrain game flow to the given layout.
I think what Trapt has just showed us in the screenshots is a good example. It doesnt feel cramped and it respects the layout.

yeh I like the layout I just thought that the field in green was accessible.

Yeah, but you always get this invisible barrier. Il find something for that i geuss.

Really obvious Player Clips are tacky and annoying!

Heh I was just thinking...If Kasperg is entering then it will be one hell of a challenge to beat him! It may require going to 'real' places recording sounds and making custom textures!

After dm_twhldedication is done I will certainly enter and you can bet that i'll kick ass! Bring it ON!

Why? it's no longer a secret that my mapping hours are counted... take advantage of my lack of inspiration

About going to real places... The vast majority of my HLDM maps take place in non real places, and I dont think it makes them better or worse!
As Satchmo once mentioned, "...the most important aspects of a DM map--gameplay and performance. Without those attributes, even the best-looking map can be torturous to play, thereby defeating the purpose of the map. "

Make your map fun and good looking, as original as possible. If we were talking about that Real World Compo, research and taking pics would be the thing to do, but this is deathmatch!! Our research should be focused on deathmatch maps that work. Not so much in what concerns layout (since this time it's imposed) but on other things such as architecture, vertical gameplay etc