artpass_sven

Sven

L1: Registered
Jul 16, 2010
6
1
ATTENTION
The following map, as well as the story that will soon be told, are in fact, true. This is not a "joke" map, nor is this a "lol he's trying to get a reward for doing a purposely bad map" map. I'm not going for "Least changed," or anything. It's more of a personal thing for me. If you are here to complain about anything, or object to my being here, please PM me instead of post here. Let's make the moderators' jobs easier.
ATTENTION​



Now that I have your attention, I may begin my story. When this contest was announced, I was very excited. I, who had very little mapping experience at the time, was finally presented with a chance to learn the in's-and-out's of a fully functional Valve-brand map, without it being overly complicated. This was good news for me. :)

I had decided to make an Egyptian-styled map early on, but after a short time, I changed it into a more Australian-themed one. I had that in mind for a long time, slowly making progress. Then, something entirely inconceivable (Princess Bride FTW) happened.

A virus had infected my computer, forcing me to reinstall most of my programs (once I FINALLY managed to get rid of the stupid thing), and in the process, I lost all of my ,VMF-files. Very annoyed, I RE-downloaded the basic artpass_valvebase map, and started over. Progress was very slow.

Eventually, with the contest deadline in sight (as well as my own birthday, sharing the due-date), I decided to go with my original concept of making an Egyptian-styled map (I made very little progress restoring my Australian one). I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. And here I am today.

So, now that the backstory is out of the way, on to the map, and why I feel that it should be judged instead of disqualified immediately.


Regarding the rules:
Here are the basic rules of the contest...
  1. The layout of the map must remain the same.
  2. The map must be optimized to the point where it can be released to the public (Fade distances, Hints, Areaportals etc.).
  3. Custom content is allowed, but you must have permission from the content creator, because, should you win, the files would need to be officially acquired by Valve. The original author of the content must have source files to prove that they made it. This means you need to ask the content creators, not just give credit!
  4. Mapping collaborations are not allowed in any form, as it presents a significant disadvantage for everyone who works alone. You are allowed to use an artist to create specific props/textures for your detailing, but the actual map detail must be done by you.
  5. You are not allowed to advertise anything in your map, so no using those TF2Maps.net posters, Novint ones, or ads for other any communities.
  6. Your map must be named in this fashion: artpass_yourusername.bsp and have a thread in the Contest Entries forum.

And here is my response and technical answer for them...

  • The layout is nearly identical to the original; all of the changes I made are purely cosmetic and in no way affect gameplay or flow.
  • Due to the lack of change, optimization was sparse. The basic map ran very well; all of my changes (for the most part) are contained in area-portaled off rooms.
  • There is no custom content here, thus, this rule does not apply to me.
  • There was no collaborations here (obviously, hehe), thus, this rule does not apply to me.
  • There are no advertisements here, thus, this rule does not apply to me.
  • My map is in the form "artpass_username" (ie. artpass_sven), and thus, I have followed the rules.

Now then, the obvious flaw: The map is not finished! :facepalm:
Through a loophole, however, it is perfectly clear that the rules do not say that the map must be finished, only the above rules apply. So, technically speaking, my map is just as worthy for Valve to judge as anyone else's.

To all the people who are most likely saying "yeah, but, why would you bother with this if you can't map, or can't even FINISH a map that was made for you?", let me just say this.

I tried.
I REALLY tried. Over the course of this competition, I've learned much about mapping, such as how areaportals work, how to use the clipping tool, why NOT to carve, WHEN to carve, and in general, how to make things interesting and fun.

I do not claim to be good at mapping; if anything, I claim the opposite. But, I am proud of my work, and one day plan on releasing the finished version of this map, as well as my other failed prototypes.


Thank you for your time, and best regards to all of you.

Sven
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PS. Valve, if you are reading this, I want you to know that I appreciate all of the hard work that you (as a company) put into everything you do. The SPUF users do not represent the entire community. :p
 

Tinker

aa
Oct 30, 2008
672
334
Hey, no-one's going to hate you for using the art pass as practice for yourself and possibly getting some feedback. Don't worry :p
 

Khuntza

L4: Comfortable Member
Dec 29, 2009
155
102
I'm with Tinker in that I'm all for encouraging people to practice and seek support and feedback.. I think its great that you have used this competition as a learning tool and that you are proud of your work.

That said, your loophole is not a loophole at all. As you posted rule two is 'The map must be optimized to the point where it can be released to the public'.. This rule implies that not only should your entry look pretty, but it should also be a complete ready to release map.. it should be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the existing valve and community maps already in the game.

With all due respect, many mappers have been pouring themselves into their maps since day one and may take some level of insult from someone trying to justify an entry that is 50% covered in the original dev textures and has un-built cubemaps..

In regards to your map, I would suggest that you read up on cubemaps, what they do and how to build them.. http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Cubemaps

In fact the valve wiki is an invaluable resource in general.. Also, spend some time checking out the sdk VMF files.. theres no better way to learn then to look at the official maps and how valve does things..
 

Sven

L1: Registered
Jul 16, 2010
6
1
With all due respect, many mappers have been pouring themselves into their maps since day one and may take some level of insult from someone trying to justify an entry that is 50% covered in the original dev textures and has un-built cubemaps..

Well, I know this entirely. I do not under any circumstances try to insult the more senior/experienced mappers here. I mean no offense at all! :O


Try to see it as more of a joke than a justification of submission.

I applaud the others' efforts in making this map look beautiful, and (without saying any names), I think that a lot of them were very unique and interesting. As I said before, I'm not experienced with this in the least, goodness knows. But, it is a talent that I intend to learn.

I will continue to get better, and thanks for the feedback.
 
Nov 14, 2009
1,257
378
I'm with Tinker in that I'm all for encouraging people to practice and seek support and feedback.. I think its great that you have used this competition as a learning tool and that you are proud of your work.

That said, your loophole is not a loophole at all. As you posted rule two is 'The map must be optimized to the point where it can be released to the public'.. This rule implies that not only should your entry look pretty, but it should also be a complete ready to release map.. it should be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the existing valve and community maps already in the game.

With all due respect, many mappers have been pouring themselves into their maps since day one and may take some level of insult from someone trying to justify an entry that is 50% covered in the original dev textures and has un-built cubemaps..

In regards to your map, I would suggest that you read up on cubemaps, what they do and how to build them.. http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Cubemaps

In fact the valve wiki is an invaluable resource in general.. Also, spend some time checking out the sdk VMF files.. theres no better way to learn then to look at the official maps and how valve does things..



I've spent plenty of time on my entry, and am not offended in the least
 

Khuntza

L4: Comfortable Member
Dec 29, 2009
155
102
I've spent plenty of time on my entry, and am not offended in the least

No, and neither am I.. maybe using 'insult' was a bad choice of words.

Someone giving it a go, learning and wanting to share what they have learned is a truely positive thing, I appreciate that.. but to then back that up with a 3 paragraph justification of why their work could then be considered to fit within the rules to be considered as a serious entry? I find that a little strange..


Try to see it as more of a joke than a justification of submission.

It appeared to me that you were specifically making the point that you didn't want it to be viewed as a joke.. I'm not trying to undermine your efforts in the least, that's why I tried to point you in the right direction with the link to the cubemap info and the suggestion of checking out the official VMFs.. Keep at it!