Since this is long, I am starting with the crazy prize info:
First Prize: Any one item you can link me to that is sold on steam, up to
$60, plus a reserve slot on #10 (if you want it).
Second Prize: Any one item you can link me to that is sold on steam, up to $15, plus a reserve slot on #10 (if you want it).
Third Prize: One shirt. (Courtesy of Octo. Thank you Octo! He apparently has L and XL available) Plus a reserve slot on #10 (if you want it).
Fourth Prize: Another shirt. (Yay Octo!) And yes, a reserve slot on #10 (if you want it).
When I say "any one item" I mean "ANY one item", even if it is a collection of other items, for the record. Can go to you or any steam account/email address you want to arrange for me to send it to.
All accepted entries will receive credit and inclusion in the map.
Now that I have put the "bait" on the table, on to the contest!
I want to have another map for rotation on my server. You can only play cyberpunk for so long before it starts to get old. Especially the music.
Problem is, I don't have the time or patience to make a full zany map. Oh, I have some things I want to do for the map, and some of them are wild, but that won't make a suitably large map.
Thus, I came up with an idea. I will make my parts of the map, the spawn areas, and a series of hallways. I can handle music (and areas to control it) and various special features. I just need other people to fill the map.
And thus, the patchwork mapping contest was conceived.
Unlike most contests, you may have to sign up in advance for this one. Before I get into that, take a look at this general layout:
In that layout, red and blue are spawn areas. The greenish color will be hallways. The numbered boxes are the "slots". The spawn areas will be on one floor only, but if I need to I will add additional floors. The white box in the middle? That is mine to fill. ALL MINE!
Each "slot" is 1024x1024x512 (x by y by z) hammer units. If you are going to create a room to fit in a single slot with a single door you do not need to register in advance. If you want to use any more than that you need to register in advance and reserve them. I am putting a limit of 8 slots per person, which would be an entire 1/4 of a floor, or 1/8 of two floors.
You also need to reserve in advance if you want to ensure your slot is going to be oriented in a specific manner, if you want to ensure your slot is (or is not) in one of the corners, or you wish to connect your slot to someone else's (you will need to work this out with them and provide me with instructions on what to do for the connection).
The rules:
1. You must not exceed the size of your reserved slot(s), unless granted an exception, but must not waste (leave empty) a slot you reserved either
2. Unless your slot does not touch the hallways (8, 11, 22, 25) you must include at least one door to the hallway, unless granted an exception
3. If your slot does not touch the hallways (8, 11, 22, 25) you and a person who reserved a slot touching the hallways must connect your slots, unless granted an exception
4. You must not exceed 25 networked entities per reserved slot (prop_static, func_detail are not networked, for the record, and if you reserve the max of 8 slots in advance you get up to 200 entities)
5. You must prefix all named entities with an identifier, such as wz_. You may reserve said identifiers seperate from your slot(s).
6. You must NOT include anything in your submission that may conflict with another submission. This includes whole-map sounds, single-use features (skybox, monitor cameras, point_servercommand, etc), or anything that will poke OUT of your submission into a neighboring one (or the hallway, exception for your door, buttons to trigger your door, and reasonable signs for around your door if desired)
7. Water must not be visible from any door due to engine limitations with multiple water planes. You may have water, just not visible from a door to the hallway or someone else's slot.
8. No point_clientcommand entities are allowed
9. Aside from illegal and/or immensely offensive content, anything goes for what is in your submissions, even blatant advertising for clans (or sub-clans, etc). Tributes to things/people, etc.
10. Locations (and instructions on getting to if needed) of acceptable submissions will be provided once the map is assembled, and winners will be picked by community vote. Take note that if you want your slot to be hidden and thus not described as to how to get there your submission will not be considered for prizes.
Exceptions for rules 2 and 3 will be granted when you have multiple reserved slots not physically connected and teleporters will move you to a slot without hallway doors (but one of the slots so connected MUST have a hallway door). Working with someone else to link up via teleporters in that manner will also count. Automatic exception is granted for each additional physically connected reserved slot a person claims, with no need to ask for them.
Exceptions for rule 1 work as follows:
Reservations can be for a specific floor and slot number set, with the exception of the "top" and "bottom" floors. These two designations allow for exceptions to the slot areas. In essence, you can go up or down up to 4096 units (depending on if you are on the top or bottom) and can extend out over/under the hallway area (assume it is 512 units high, like a slot) up to 4096 units. In effect, your slot becomes a small wedge poking into the rest of the map, should you desire it. The corner slots (1, 6, 27, 32) can extend horizontally in two directions, all other outside slots can only extend in one direction.
Technical details:
Doors to the hallway should start closed and be triggered (not touch open, that gets buggy). The hallway wall will be 4 units thick, your door needs to be prepared for that. The hallway floor and ceiling will be 4 units thick as well. You have 508 out of the 512 units of height in which to place your door as a result.
The hallways will be nobuild zones, and if you do not include a func_nobuild in your doorway (said func_nobuild will NOT count against your 25 entities, for the record) I will provide one.
Use the following form (post in this thread) to reserve slots/entity prefixes. Slots are to be specified with one of the active floors (listed below) and a slot number. Justification is needed for Top/Bottom slots and for exceptions. Your slots do not need to remain on a single floor, and if you need another floor to be added to the list let me know (but tell me why!). If you want a top or bottom slot, use "Top" or "Bottom" for the floor before specifying the slot number(s) and that will be noted in the reservation (your slot(s) will be moved to the new top/bottom if floors are added).
Name:
Desired Slots:
Entity Prefix:
Requested Exceptions:
Justification:
Those you plan on having doors to (to ensure that if I move them, I keep you with them):
PM me a link, email me, IM me, whatever to get me your submission. Submissions should include:
1. The VMF file
2. Any textures/models/sounds/etc needed, with credits for them
3. Instructions, if any, for linking with someone else's room (I will try to line up doors and/or link placed teleporter entities if needed)
4. How YOU want to be credited
5. Whether or not you want one (or both) special features applied to your submission
Submissions may include the following special feature requests, which will not count against your entity limit:
Altered gravity - If you wish for your slot(s) to have a higher or lower gravity than the normal gravity on the server, let me know and I will set it up.
Peace zone - If you wish for your slot(s) to be peaceful (relatively) I can arrange for any player entering them to be granted effective godmode for the duration of their stay.
Because mapping can be somewhat involved, I will stop accepting submissions after Sunday, September 13th. That should also give me time to make the various pieces of hallway and such I will need, the spawnrooms, etc. How long it takes me to assemble the resulting map will vary on the number of submissions and the amount of work that needs to be done to render the map playable after I assemble them. #10 will be set to the map 24/7 for the voting period of one week after the map is considered ready (or ready enough for voting, anyway).
Currently Reserved Prefixes:
wz_ - CmptrWz
Currently Reserved slots:
Floor 1 (Currently also: Bottom):
None
Floor 2 (Currently also: Top):
None
Floors will be added to the bottom, then the top. So the first added floor, if needed, will be a basement (which will become the new bottom), followed by a third floor (which will become the new top). Just so you know. Reasonable limits will be imposed.
Post any other questions you may have here, or PM them to me.
And, for the record, having posted this, I need some sleep. This entire post is thus subject to revisions from myself and/or octo and/or anyone else who comes up with something I agree with in the coming days.
