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Level Design Mapping Contest - what do you think the judges want in terms of...

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driftwood

Grizzled Veteran
Jun 9, 2009
672
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Gold Coast, Qld, Australia
#1
DEFAULT or CUSTOM content??? i.e. textures, meshes, and sounds???





With Wave1 deadline just a couple of weeks away, some people out there are surely working hard... We have a list of what the judges will be after, and I quote:
  • Gameplay and Fun
  • Performance
  • Graphics
  • AI Pathing
  • Complexity
  • Technical stability
  • Polish
  • Creativity
  • And proper use of KF features, including trader locations, specimen and item spawns
Other than a non-specific mention of "graphics" and "polish", there's nothing to indicate whether mappers who put the extra work in to create their own content will have an advantage as you might expect? Then again, all amateurs like myself rejoice as the default content may be good enough for us.

I'm sure every mapper planning on entering the contest thinks, "hmmm am I going to be penalised for copying this car over from west london?", "hmm my custom texture doesn't look all that hot, but will they just appreciate that I did it myself?"

This thread would ideally be a poll so maybe a mod can fix that for me, otherwise, please give your opinions! Tripwire staff feedback ESPECIALLY welcome!

So, what do you think the judges will prefer out of the following options, which if any of these swing their vote, or do you have another idea?

1) Use default content so long as it fits in with the scene and looks good/polished

2) Use custom content so long as it fits in with the feel of the game and looks good/polished

3) Use default content for the most part with a few custom things popping up where the default content had nothing that would suit

4) Sub-standard custom content is still better then copying the default content

5) The winning map will not only score well in all the listed criteria, but will also demonstrate talent in custom content created by the contestent. However, this isn't mentioned on the website because Tripwire wants amateurs to join in the fun as well and not give up immediately because they know they can't compete

6) Default/Custom makes NO difference, so long as whatever is used fits the mood of the game and looks good/polished

Personally I think it might be (6), that's just the impression I get from reading the contest info page, even though there's nothing really specific there. My interpretation.
 
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#2
I think they want a map that plays great with good performance and plenty of chanllenge for players.

But at the same time all the content to match the theme and not feel out of place. Default content is more than acceptable but custom content which looks good and fits in the theme is a bonus.

Since i'm new to this. 1 Week since i started playing with the editor. yay i'm a noob. I'm using all the default stuff, everything from textures to meshes.

I'm sure that theres a few professionals entering this contest making their own content and doing a super slick job of it. So i doubt i'd have much of a chance of actually winning.

My main goal is to make a map that plays great and will be added to the game through a patch (or at least thats what i'd like)
 
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#3
I'm not sure you should try and second guess the judging process. It seems counter-productive to putting out a good idea. I believe (because I kind of have to) that a well executed map using only default content stands just as much of a shot as a decently executed map with custom content.

All other things being equal...a map with custom content probably stands a better chance. But custom content takes time away from most of the other criteria listed on your quality checklist. You have to ask at what point custom content balances out against the necessities of a good map. Is one flag in one room a worthy investment of six hours, when you have a whole map you could be tweaking?

So while I would like custom content in my map, it's one less thing (or many things) to worry about while trying to get everything else right. People may be good at making models or designing textures...but that doesn't mean they've got the most creative design, the most polish or the most interest. So that levels the playing field a bit.
 
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#5
Well, look at the original maps, the trippies released what they thought was good. The modeling is mediocre imo, but the engine can only handle such a tri count.. anyways gameplay gameplay gameplay. When you add that tree to your map, ask yourself, will this contribute to the gameplay? lol. Maybe I'm just obsessive but Ive gone through a 10 minute debate with myself on the location of every object in my WIP.

And you should defo enter the contest. What do you have to lose, besides a good handful of hours..?

poll: If I was one of the judges I'd have to go with #6. This does not mean you can go chunk 20 cars mildlessly into your map, however. Dont abuse the default models and make it look like your are incapable. If the judges were looking for customcustomcustom then this would be an art contest.
 
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#6
I also would go with #6.

My own map uses 100% custom content as far as textures and StaticMeshes go, except for the trader's room which is copied from BioticsLab so players can feel right at home, so to speak, and the Horizine logo I stole from the Office because, well, it's the Horizine logo.
That's all nice and dandy but in the end the player (and it's the player that this contest is held for! This isn't to get mappers some money. This is meant to stimulate the production of maps so players - the main bulk of TWI's customers - have something to play!) doesn't care where models or textures come from as long as the map feels cohesive. So using custom-content for the sake of using custom-content is a waste of time in regards to the contest.

If they implement your map as an official map after they took it over and helped polish it up to TWI standards it shouldn't be the one map that isn't as good as the others (and players are discriminating as heck! Remember all the threads about how KF's graphics are bad?) for whatever reason.

If you used custom-content that is subpar - it's still subpar.
If you built the level using only your toes and because of that it turned out subpar - it's still subpar.

I can't know how TWI's judges are going to handle this, but #6 is what I would do if I were in charge.

EDIT: I just wanted to add that of the people posting in here only very few even have a remote chance of winning either wave! The rest of us are just in for the ride and I for one am merely hoping to leech off some popularity for the map because it will have been part of the contest. In the end, you are mapping for the game, the players, fellow mappers and yourself and if the map receives any recognition in the contest that's a bonus that is gladly taken - whether it is a prize or the honor of scoring a place not too near the bottom of the list.
 
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#7
I think custom content shouldn't be required but I can definitely see how it would help you achieve better marks in these categories;

  • Gameplay and Fun
  • Graphics
  • Complexity
  • Polish
  • Creativity
Custom content can really help a map shine but it can also hurt it if not done properly. TW should look at the maps and see if the custom content used improves their score in any of the above categories.
 
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#8
Murphy said:
EDIT: I just wanted to add that of the people posting in here only very few even have a remote chance of winning either wave! The rest of us are just in for the ride and I for one am merely hoping to leech off some popularity for the map because it will have been part of the contest. In the end, you are mapping for the game, the players, fellow mappers and yourself and if the map receives any recognition in the contest that's a bonus that is gladly taken - whether it is a prize or the honor of scoring a place not too near the bottom of the list.
Click to expand...

Surely the ultimate accolade is to get their map up onto the DSAS FF server - we only take the best of the best. Even the prize money can't buy you that.
 
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