Spring Map Design Contest

[SoScared]

Donated $50 so I'm picking the name NoobMapMaker

[noobmapmaker]

Thats great SoScared!

Personally I would be great with you keeping that money in RAGL and me solliciting on the public forum for funds. If that fails then you step in?

[SoScared]

Absolutely not. As I see it, strengthening the official map pool is equal, if not more (it is), important for the growth of the game than the competitive scene. Last contest had more than 7 new maps integrated into the last release's official map pool and adds pressure to future map makers on spending time creating the best maps they can make.

[SoScared]

full 1080p


I skipped the "Season/version 2" for design sake

[Moz]

I'll donate €25 (and keep something to donate to the RA:GL season 3 price pool!). We need to keep these maps and competitions going . (Where and how to donate?)

I really liked going through the jury reports last round and also the popular vote results; there are certainly a lot of maps that ranked high then and are still going strong in games now.

But... there were a lot of maps, and that makes it hard to vote. At some point you almost want to go just by thumbnail instead of opening it in OpenRA and having a good look at them and/or playtest them with a game. On SoScared's Monday Stream, we also tried to showcase the maps, but, since there were so many maps, we kind of covered only half of them, and then we even got some "complaints"/hints that we were already using an older version.

What do you guys think of adding a "freeze period", i.e. first there is a large period where people can submit and revise maps and then there is a short (2 weeks) period where people can have a look at the results, test the maps, showcase them on streams, etc. II have the impression that it will improve the quality of the votes. This also removes the need to have a revision limit, I'd say.

That is what I have to contribute to the discussion so far. I think you guys have it pinned down quite well, also given that it is the second round. So thanks in advance for this competition, it's really nice to have a competition of a different sort!
(Maybe a modding competition to show the power of the OpenRA engine could be nice in the future too?)

[noobmapmaker]

Woah, that's really generous of you both! And with that I cap the prizemoney as more money won't add more incentive + there's always another thing in OpenRA that could use support. Moz I'll send you a PM.

As for the popular vote: people will get a triple vote. Anyone who has been a member on sleipnir for long enough (~dec 2016) may choose 3 maps and they each get 1 point. This so that people got a bit more choice.

I like the Freeze period idea. Also I'll post more clearly when maps have been revised. Will we be ready before season 3 of RAGL if we add 2 weeks of Freeze from March 1st to March 15th + voting from 16 - 31st of March?? That would be nice.

[noobmapmaker]

As for the prizes: $45 for winner, $20 for runner up, $10 3rd + $20 for random category winner, sounds good to me.

[Sleipnir]

You can find our proper TD mod logo at: https://github.com/OpenRA/ArtSrc/blob/m ... c/logo.svg or https://github.com/OpenRA/OpenRA/blob/b ... c/logo.png

Also take note of OpenRAWeb#331, you may want to move the RA logo down with the other mods.

[noobmapmaker]

OK, then just a couple things are left to be done (and it might not even be a problem if we haven't totally fixed this before Januari 1st - but preferably we should.

1) Who will be the other two judges? I have asked Anjew, FiveAces and SoScared for the last two spots. But they must have the time and motivation. Let me know if you want to be a judge!

2) The logo's need a little fix

Furthermore:

I have adopted the Freeze Period in the rules, but I would also like to keep the 1 revision rule. Last year a couple maps have been revised many times resulting in alot of work for me and confusion about the right version.

[noobmapmaker]

Welcome to the second Map Design Contest!

This will be a contest to create awesome maps! Anyone is allowed to make maps and a jury + popular vote will choose the best maps and those get awarded real dollars: $45 for the nr1, $20 for the runner up, $10 for 3rd price and $20 will be for one of the category winners, randomly drawn during the SoScared stream. Also 7 maps from the previous contest made it to the official map pool! If you want your map to become an official map, then this may be your best bet (but no guarantees!).

Maprules
- Maps only for the Red Alert, C&C, Dune2000 and Tiberian Sun mods.
- The map can have any amount of players (even or uneven).
- Making changes to the .yaml and adding .lua files is allowed, but the creator has to explain exactly what the changes do to facilitate judging the map.
- Maps that are obviously very low effortmaps (full of visual glitches, random placed stuff, pointless maps, etc) will not be entered in the competition.
- Old maps from resourcecenter are not allowed, only new maps that work in the latest official release (v. 20161019).
- To prevent bias the players will enter their maps anonymously. When you create your map fill in "Anonymous" for the name.
- Extra screenshots of specific parts of the map are allowed, but not mandatory
- You may assign your map to one relevant category. It will be auto-assigned to the mod-category.
- You are allowed to make one revision to your map during the entryphase of the contest. The only exception to this rule are maps that are assigned to the Single Player (Mission) and Modded Multiplayer Map categories since those will have to be tested by the public. However, these extra revisions have to be substantial and related to debugging the map. I will not allow exceptions to this rule so please doublecheck your map before you enter it.
- You may enter multiple maps to increase your chance of winning.
- Send your map (.oramap file), the mapname, a relevant category, a link to the screenshot + (optional) explanation about the .lua/.yaml modifications to me and I will upload it to the resourcecenter and post it in the designated entriesthread.

The Jury and the Popular Vote
- A jury consisting of SoScared, Anjew and Kyrylo will judge all the maps and list them in their personal favorite order. Last year this scoresheet has been used to judge the maps. Judges however are free to alter scores to their own taste.
- After the Freeze Period a topic will be posted where users can publicly vote on maps (= the popular vote). Creaters are allowed to give one point to one of their own maps, the other two points have to be given to maps of other creaters. Only Sleipniraccounts that are created before 1st of December 2016 are allowed to participate in the popular vote.
- The last map will get 1 point, second to last 2 points, etc.
- All scores from the 3 jury members + popular vote will be summed up and the maps with the highest scores win the contest.
- Jurymembers may not enter maps

Contest dates & times Information (all GMT)
Entryphase: 1st of January - 28th of February 23:59:59. Untill that date you can enter your maps and revisions.
Freeze Period: 1st of March - 15th of March. Those two weeks can be used by everyone to play the maps.
Voting phase: 16th of March - March 30th. People can vote on their favourite maps and judges get time to judge.
Results: 31st of March the winners will be presented.

Monetary rules
- $45 for the nr1, $20 for nr2, $10 for nr 3 and $20 will be for one of the category winners. The category winner ($20) will be randomly drawn during a SoScared stream from the pool of category winners that have not ended 1st, 2nd or 3rd.
- Categorywinners will be selected in the order that the categories are listed below, starting with Dune2000 and ending with the FFA category. The jury will also pick the most beautifull map. If this happens to also be a categorywinner then it will just be an honorary title, otherwise it's a categorywinner that joins the lottery.
- Prizes will be paid using PayPal. If we are unable to transfer it because the winner doesn't have PayPal or never responds (or refuses), the money will be used for future OpenRA contests/tournaments.

Categories
The creators of the maps may assign their map to a single category, and the map automatically joins their mod-category. In the overall ranking the maps that ended highest in their category will be entered in the lottery for the $20 during SoScared's livestream. Maps that allready won a 1st, 2nd of 3rd prize do not enter the lottery. Instead the next highest ended map in the category will enter the random draw.

Modcategories
- Dune2000
- CnC
- Red Alert (RA)
- Tiberian Sun

Mapcategories
- 1v1
- 2v2
- Big maps (3v3 and bigger)
- Single player (mission)
- Modded Multiplayer map
- FFA map (Free For All)
- Jury pick by deliberation: The most beautifull map

Map Entry Format sum-up
- Send me a PM (see button below this post or use this link)
- Attach the .oramap file
- State the name of the map
- Assign the map to one map category
- Upload the screenshot to www.imgur.com and send me the link
- If the .yaml is changed or a .lua file is added, state exactly what the changes do
- Make sure to replace your name with "Anonymous" when naming the map! (otherwise your name shows in the resourcecenter)

Extra information
To ensure anonymity NoobMapMaker will handle all the maps. This means that I will upload your map(s) to the resourcecenter, post them in the topic for the entries, check the validity of the popular votes, etc. I will not judge maps nor will I enter maps and I will not spill any information about the creaters to judges. All maps will be deleted from the resourcecenter after the competition so the original creators can attach their own name to the map. If a situation arises that is not governed by the rules then I will be the one with the final say and try to come up with a solution within the spirit of the competition.

Some ideas that a mapcreator can keep in mind when creating a map:
- It is advised (but not mandatory) that your map is equal for all players/teams. It can be symmetrical or asymmetrical, but players/teams should have (somewhat) equal chances.
- a map that looks nice: a variety in natural shapes of cliffs, water, placement of towns, trees, debris, etc
- the shape of the map does not feel like it is constructed specifically for the map, rather it happens to be some area in the world where a battle is fought
- symmetrical, but doesnt feel symmetrical because the symmetry is complex. Asymmetry that is balanced is an even higher achievement, but hard to actually achieve.
- the map allows many different viable strategies: expand, tech, sneak attacks, swarm attacks, naval
- the map does not force the players to go for a strategy (e.g.: you must build an engineer to capture all the oilderricks or else you're behind)
- a modification that really adds to the game. One that works intuitively and is fun. It can be a heavy modification or subtle. Incorporate it nicely: image for a new unit, add some introductionary text when the map starts so everyone knows what is up.
- a big plus is when a map is original (not an old map in a new jacket)
- balance chokepoints vs open routes.
- Need inspiration? See last years' entries.
- .... or ignore all this and do something completely different!

The prizes are presented to you by SoScared ($50), Moz ($25) and NoobMapMaker ($20)

Have fun!!

[SoScared]

I'll gladly volunteer for one of the judge positions.

I'll adjust the banner when I'm back from the holidays.

[anjew]

Im also willing to help out if need be. But if someone new wants to judge they can have a chop

[noobmapmaker]

That's great, we need a TD expert amongst the judges. SoScared, Anjew and Kyrylo will be the judges.

I've also clarified a couple things in the write up. I think we're ready to go!

[Murto the Ray]

Will the same criteria be used to judge? If so it may be a good idea to link it in the write up

[noobmapmaker]

Corrected and clarified some stuff. Also deleted some unnescessary text and combined similar pieces of text. Will put it on the main forum somewhere in the next couple days, unless someone spots something terribly wrong