I have a WIP map for the contest that I might finish up, but it includes some stuff from HL2 (although none from Portal 2). Would that still be allowed? About 50% of the stuff is custom, I just needed a lot of nature textures and skyboxes.

If this was a Portal map, I'd say it was fine. The custom content that's included needs to be your own, however, and there is no Half-Life or Half-Life 2 content in vanilla Portal 2. I think if it was bolstering your own custom content, it might be allowable, but I'm not the one to say in that particular case.

Normally, following the letter of the rules I would say no, but given that the content you're using is publically available and completely vanilla for anyone making a Portal 1 map, I'm inclined to let this one by.

Thank you! I'm just using material from the SDK Base, which can be obtained for free with TF2. I would mount the GCF, but Portal 2 won't let me do that anymore.

EDIT: Also, can custom particle effects use standard sprites? One of mine uses the portal_cleanser one.

FelixGriffin wrote:
Thank you! I'm just using material from the SDK Base, which can be obtained for free with TF2. I would mount the GCF, but Portal 2 won't let me do that anymore.

EDIT: Also, can custom particle effects use standard sprites? One of mine uses the portal_cleanser one.

Yep, that's perfectly fine.

FelixGriffin wrote:
Thank you! I'm just using material from the SDK Base, which can be obtained for free with TF2. I would mount the GCF, but Portal 2 won't let me do that anymore.

EDIT: Also, can custom particle effects use standard sprites? One of mine uses the portal_cleanser one.

GO ALL OUT! I wanna play a custom Portal 1 map with new content without being Portal 2 rips. I would not see why not, it is a brand new map, s long as you did not release it before.

You could have been smarter and kept your mouth shut.

Keep in mind that the contest tends to focus on user-created content as well. You can use HL2/etc content, but much of the judging is dedicated to what you've made with it in the map and the stuff you forged yourself.

I call dibs on a Minecraft-TP map

Sorry, but it's a P2 map.

I like the P1 version of the SDK better, but I couldn't get this map's "gimmick" to work without scripting, or recompiling the binaries.

I want to see that Minecraft one, Grox.

FelixGriffin wrote:
Sorry, but it's a P2 map.

That should still be okay, so long as you're using some custom content that you made somewhere (its the theme of the contest).

That is to say: using HL2 materials/sounds/models/etc in either game is permissable; you will be judged on the quality of the map in those parts, but they will not add to your custom content score.

A new question:

Can we use Brainstone's hardcoded elevator instances, so we don't have to depend on transitionlist.nut? Technically it's not custom content, but we are using something that sombody else made.

In a similar vein, can we use third-party tools like Omni's signmaker to create our own custom content?

FelixGriffin wrote:
A new question:

Can we use Brainstone's hardcoded elevator instances, so we don't have to depend on transitionlist.nut? Technically it's not custom content, but we are using something that sombody else made.

In a similar vein, can we use third-party tools like Omni's signmaker to create our own custom content?

Any custom content not following the guidelines established by the rules will not be considered in the score of the map.

That being said, I think a signmaker sign would be fine, though if that was your only custom content you might be in trouble.

No, not the only part, just a bit.

So the instances are allowed, then, if we give credit? Just not for a score, of course.

FelixGriffin wrote:
No, not the only part, just a bit.

So the instances are allowed, then, if we give credit? Just not for a score, of course.

Yep.

Another question:

How will this need to be submitted? For example, if we can only include BSP's, we can't use custom movies.

I think we might be allowed to use more than the BSP, at least for Portal maps since the workshop integration is recommended for Portal 2 maps. That's my thoughts.

Anything you can upload to the site. That's ZIP, RAR, 7z, BMZ or VPK (if P2 ever regains support for it). Inside that can be any requisite materials, movies, particles, etc. Be sure to include detailed installation instructions, though, so new users will have some idea how to install.

(If someone wanted to make an easy installation guide covering common map packaging methods, that'd be grand)

Great, thanks.