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Black Mamba

Member

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Registered: 2012-12-01

Posts: 4,241

Mamba's mapping competition

Just for fun, I thought I'd host a little modding competition on the forums. The winner(s) of the competition will see his map included in a custom map pack which will run on SiMPLE servers and other possible big servers out there.

Every contestant submits their maps in one (and only one) of the three following categories: general, infantry and tanks.
Each submitted maps, except for the infantry category, need to be done in the Conquest game mode exclusively.

Now let me break down each category.

1) The general map
Rules for your map to be judged:

- Conquest only
- You may create your map with either Battlecraft 1942 or Editor 42
- Original map name, do NOT copy an existing map's name
- Keep the file size of your map small. Maps are not to exceed 50 MB in size
- The theme of your map must be WWII related
- You might use you OWN models to make your map, and this will give you extra points. However, if the judge panel figures out that you have taken someone else's models to be used in your own map, your map will be automatically discarded (Note: this does NOT apply to CON files)
- AI support not necessary but a plus, an AI friendly map will give bonus points
- Make use of every type of vehicle in your map (APCs, jeeps, tanks, ships, and if you do not use ships you may use amphibious vehicles)
- Static objects, PCOs (Player Controllable Objects), tree meshes, weapons, artillery and soldier types from both XPacks (RTR + SW) may be used, objects from other mods may NOT be used
- Do not use an existing map as a template to build your map, that means using, for example, the ground textures on Berlin to slightly alter them in your map
- Control Point configuration is up to the mapper. Attrition  maps, such as Battle of Britain or Coral Sea (with no CPs) might also be done, but make sure you have sufficient knowledge of the ticket countdown system and the destroyable statics parameters before you embark on such a project
- Skyboxes from vanilla plus any XPack may be used, and you get extra points in you build them from scratch
- Map must be fully lightmapped, meaning objects with interiors must have lightmaps as well as terrain lightmaps for shadows
- The heightmap must be smooth and realistic as much as possible, no spiky terrain and huge mountains will be allowed. If you make a mountainous map, make it credible to the player
- The texture map will be one of the primary things the judges will focus their attention on. By all means, do not use the generic textures in BC42 to texture your heightmap. Be creative. Create texture layers. Impress us
- All static objects must be well placed, statics floating above the ground will give you penalties. Do not cram a high concentration of objects on your map, give your statics some ''air''
- Do not place too much static objects on your map as this will create lag
- The size of your map is up to you, however we recommend keeping it to medium or small as large texture require a lot of resources to generate surface maps and might crash more often in the process
- A custom loading image and menu icon for your map are required. Likewise, you need to edit the Init.con located in your map's Menu folder to give it a brief description
- No exterior help is permitted: only one mapper per map
- If you add any new PCOs, weapons, animations or complex static objects into your map they must be of playable quality meaning glitchy PCOs, faulty animations, missing HUD icons and other mistakes will give you penalties
- The map must be balanced. No faction may gain the upper hand because of superior military equipment, closer control points or other factors
- Any finishing touches to your map are highly recommended. These range from environmental sound effects to visuals (fire, smoke, clouds). These little touches will give you extra points and might make all the difference
- With your map you have to supply a README file including the description of your map (factions, location of the map, era, etc), the features of your map, and your signature (your in game nick + e-mail, which will serve as proof that the map is yours)

2) Infantry map
Rules for your map to be judged (in addition to the general map rules):

- The map, of course, must be infantry only meaning you must either: remove nades entirely or keep only 1 nade per kit
- FireArms from any XPacks might be used
- Proning must be removed
- It is highly recommended that you remove everything related to healing and ammo boxes. Infantry maps are supposed to see continuous action. Having soldiers heal and reload their ammo will only kill the momentum
- All game modes for this category might be made (except AI). The emphasis is put on game modes that require good communication and teamwork: Conquest, Objective and CTF
- As this is infantry only and mobility is somewhat reduced, don't create a Conquest map with 7 CPs. Two or three will suffice
- Small maps only. Medium maps might be made if the out of bounds texture confines the combat area to a small combat area
- Place your statics wisely. Do not make a map where all the soldiers just bump into each other at every corner. Give them sufficient fighting space
- You can make a closed map using a single mesh in which your soldiers will fight, if it is large enough (for example, an abandoned ship or a ship wreck)
- No vehicles, machine guns or artillery pieces might be used in your map
- No para spawns
- Try to limit the use of water in your maps, this is not a swimming contest. We want to see as much action as possible

3) Tank map
Rules for your map to be judged, in addition to the general map rules:

- Obviously, only tanks might be used in your map. The only permitted artillery piece will be the Pak40 and it's Allied equivalent
- Both sides should have an equal amount of light, medium and heavy tanks. Tanks from all XPacks might be used
- Your map should provide ample cover for your tanks. Don't just create an open map with no cover (such as El Alamein or even Aberdeen) where tanks just rush into each other
- Infantry combat when your tank is taken out IS allowed (infantry vs infantry and infantry vs tank). However remember that the emphasis is put on tank to tank combat, not infantry combat
- No para spawns (soldiers that spawn in the air, by parachute)
- Medium to big maps are recommended

All contestants wishing to participate in this tournament will have one full month to submit their maps to me (via PM). This is valid for the general and tank map categories. The infantry map category will have a time limit of 3 weeks only.

The winning maps as well as all the submitted maps will be posted on this topic in one month time.
All maps will then be available to the general public with the winning maps being part of the SiMPLE map pack.

For any questions regarding this tournament, please send me a PM.

Good luck to all!

Last edited by Black Mamba (2014-10-06 17:02:08)