Kopeke wrote:

Kizzycocoa wrote:
I vote we have a "best oddball" entry.>

What do you mean?

like, the super-craziest yet fun one.

like the "zuhhh" of HL2 maps. but for Portal 2. and likely less extreme

Kizzycocoa wrote:

Kopeke wrote:

Kizzycocoa wrote:
I vote we have a "best oddball" entry.>>

What do you mean?>
like, the super-craziest yet fun one.

like the "zuhhh" of HL2 maps. but for Portal 2. and likely less extreme

Ah ok! I think that should go with explosions since, usually explosions are causes by crazy things.

Kopeke wrote:

Kizzycocoa wrote:

Kopeke wrote:
What do you mean?>>
like, the super-craziest yet fun one.

like the "zuhhh" of HL2 maps. but for Portal 2. and likely less extreme>

Ah ok! I think that should go with explosions since, usually explosions are causes by crazy things.

I hardly think this should go in the same category as explosions

Kizzycocoa wrote:

I hardly think this should go in the same category as explosions

What the hell. Nvm I don't want this category.

Kopeke wrote:

Kizzycocoa wrote:

I hardly think this should go in the same category as explosions >

What the hell. Nvm I don't want this category.

are you totally sure?

Kizzycocoa wrote:

Kopeke wrote:

Kizzycocoa wrote:

I hardly think this should go in the same category as explosions >>

What the hell. Nvm I don't want this category.>
are you totally sure?

I like the abstract art style. I think we should leave that as one of the categories though, either "Best Art Style" or "Most Original Art Style"

p0rtalplayer wrote:
I like the abstract art style. I think we should leave that as one of the categories though, either "Best Art Style" or "Most Original Art Style"

You know, if we have "Best art style", we will all run to Colossal. There for, for future note, if the contest has a best art style score, I called Colossal 2 years ago. Then again, he is more into CS:GO stuff, so I dunno. Still call him tho.

I still like my "Custom Test Element" and "No Portalgun" ideas so far. If we just have this wacky freaking contest that makes no god-damn sense and its a free for all, judging would be a nightmare, and it will bw much like the TWP contest, only we allowed extreme use of custom content.

Here's my proposal to get this topic on-track a bit more:

• The mapping contest is heavily focused on originality.
• Prospective maps are assessed in the areas of Aesthetics (how pretty it is, how competent a game envrionement it is), Gameplay (how fun it is to play), Atmosphere (how engrossed you are in the world/map) and Originality (how positively original it is.) The originality must enhance the map.
• Maps are marked out of 30. You can gain a maximum of 5 marks for Aesthetics, Gameplay, Atmosphere, and 15 for Originality.

e.g. "First Map" by Jacob Jacbsson
Aesthetics: 2/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Atmosphere: 1/5
Originality: 6/15

Feel free to suggest any improvements

NotJomonay wrote:
If we make it portal free it may as well be a HL2 mapping contest where everyone is making the exact same environment.

Here's my proposal to get this topic on-track a bit more:

• The mapping contest is heavily focused on originality.
• Prospective maps are assessed in the areas of Aesthetics (how pretty it is, how competent a game envrionement it is), Gameplay (how fun it is to play), Atmosphere (how engrossed you are in the world/map) and Originality (how positively original it is.) The originality must enhance the map.
• Maps are marked out of 30. You can gain a maximum of 5 marks for Aesthetics, Gameplay, Atmosphere, and 15 for Originality.

e.g. "First Map" by Jacob Jacbsson
Aesthetics: 2/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Atmosphere: 1/5
Originality: 6/15

Feel free to suggest any improvements

By "Portalgun free" I think Reep meant more like the first chambers of the Portal games, where you have the autoportal frames that you manipulate through buttons and such. Other than that, your judging system looks good.

vanSulli wrote:
I think asthetics, like Reep said, provides an unfair advantage. If we judge it by original content, not by what the content is specifically, I think it could still work.

It's possible to have nice aesthetics without having loads of custom content

vanSulli wrote:
I think asthetics, like Reep said, provides an unfair advantage. If we judge it by original content, not by what the content is specifically, I think it could still work.

So, basically, "I think it's unfair to allow users to qualify for their brushwork and use of models. I think it will be fairer if we force them to make and import their own custom models, music and textures, all of which they may not know what to do."

How the hell can you consider that fairer?!

I mean, is it just me who sees this, or am I missing the point if that comment?

Kizzycocoa wrote:

I mean, is it just me who sees this, or am I missing the point if that comment?

p0rtalplayer wrote:

It's possible to have nice aesthetics without having loads of custom content

vanSulli wrote:
Actually, I like a custom-content approach. I thought reep liked it too; original testing elements would fall under that. Like he said, adding custom content is what many of us here do.

I like the "you get credit for custom content" part too, but as mentioned before, original testing elements are hard to create without being accused of copying (Ya know the smart people think alike thing).

[u:uuj67efk]First Official mAI Mapping Contest[/u:uuj67efk] (<- will be fancy header banner)

Hello employees, Cave Johnson here. You all have permission to take a temporary break from your work to listen to this important company-wide announcement. That is, I gave permission for a mandatory break. Stop what you're doing or you're fired. Anyway, the announcement. We are having our first official Mapping Contest to inaugurate the new site. And let me just say, my engineers have been hard at work getting this ready. So anyway, you might be thinking to yourself "that's great Cave, but how is this gonna work?" No worries, we've got it all worked out. Here are the rules:
[list:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] Entries must be custom maps for Portal or Portal 2[/:m:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] Workshop submissions are not allowed. Entries must be uploaded through the site. You can, however, add workshop info to your map file after it's uploaded, via the file edit page[/:m:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] You may work in groups of up to 3 people. That's 3 contributing mappers, not a mapper, an artist, and a musician. More on that later.[/:m:uuj67efk][/list:u:uuj67efk]

Now, those are the strict rules that'll get your ass disqualified if you break them. And you'll be fired. So follow 'em. Anyway, this isn't just any old mapping contest. We've got some special guidelines to make it more interesting. These will also be judging criteria. The map that best demonstrates each of the categories will be recognized after judging is over.
[list:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] Maps should make use of a creative or innovative mechanic. That can be a rarely-used combination of existing elements, or a new mechanic entirely. Your choice.[/:m:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] Maps should have an interesting visual aesthetic. [u:uuj67efk]Please note:[/u:uuj67efk] this does not mean you need custom textures or anything like that. Be creative with your brushwork, use models in unexpected places - anything which makes your map overall nicer to look at will count.[/:m:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] Maps should be difficult and engaging for new players and veterans alike. [/:m:uuj67efk][/list:u:uuj67efk]

Here's a few things to keep in mind about the categories:
[list:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] Keep in mind that not everyone is going to know how to use your mechanic. Ramp up the difficulty, don't plunge people right in.[/:m:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] Difficulty shouldn't come from unintuitive connections or lack of indicators, though. Turret mazes also probably aren't the best idea, but if you think you can make it work then go for it.[/:m:uuj67efk][/list:u:uuj67efk]

Right, now we've got that out of the way. At this point you're probably thinking to yourself "but Cave, what about the prizes?" Don't get too far ahead of yourself, there. The prizes will be as follows:
[list:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] A grand prize will be awarded to the map which best exhibits traits from each of the categories. The grand prize will consist of: One (1) Steam game, item, or other tradeable commodity of your choice with a price equal to or less than $30, a special badge on your forum profile (yet to be determined), and your map will be recognized as the first community spotlight (still working out where that's gonna go) as well as having the first mAI Seal of Approval on the map page.[/:m:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] Three minor prizes will be awarded to the winners from each of the three categories. The minor prizes will consist of: One (1) Steam game, item, or other tradeable commodity of your choice with a price equal to or less than $10, a badge (not special) on your forum profile (also yet to be determined), and your map will have the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th mAI Seals of Approval[/:m:uuj67efk]
[:uuj67efk] To each entrant will be given some sort of official recognition on your forum profile. This may manifest as an icon, access to custom title, or something else yet to be determined. Everyone's a winner (except the people who don't enter)[/:m:uuj67efk][/list:u:uuj67efk]

All right, any questions? That was a rhetorical question, as this is a pre-recorded message. All right, get back to work. And get started on those maps.

We still need to determine when the contest will take place and who will be judging. I have an idea for judging that goes like so: there's a special (founders-only/members-only) page where you cycle through all contest entries (except yours) and give a rating in each of the three categories. Not sure yet if that's a star rating or a thumb rating, but anyway, you also pick which category you thought the map did best in. This will provide an unspecified boost to that map's rating. Once a map has been judged by a specified number of people, it's taken out of the cycle. Thoughts or suggestions with that? I'll probably be keeping an eye on it to make sure no one blatantly cheats.

I mean yes, make me a judge please. I totally won't be biased on my map.

Kizzycocoa wrote:
I will be entering, so I cannot judge.

I mean yes, make me a judge please. I totally won't be biased on my map.

p0rtalplayer wrote:
where you cycle through all contest entries (except yours)

And anyway, not sure if I'll be going with it or not. It's just I have 2 problems with the usual system:

1) Judges cannot enter (could be solved by getting non-entrants but that would only make #2 worse)
2) Hand-picked judges aren't always reliable.

What I might end up doing is having myself and one or two other, reliable, nonentrants judge, but that'll also depend on whether I enter or not.

p0rtalplayer wrote:

rules n shit

Everything there is to my liking, but the article itself is a little bit WALL OF TEXT, some condensing would be muy bueno. I suppose with the judging systems you have to weigh up whether you think anyone is going to rate someone else's map with negative bias when they've entered their own map.

I would add the following.

• If Portal 2, please don't make your map HAVE to use the Sixense. If you have a Sixense, please make sure that others with Sixenses can't break your map.

• Don't include any files that modify or break anything without requiring a backup.

• If you wish to cross models, textures and sounds, (i.e More Portal 1 models in Portal 2, and vice versa) package them in the BSP with pakrat.

I can't wait for this contest!