Map Libs: A silly community project!

May 24, 2018
102
102
You've played mad libs, right? Or maybe you've seen Star Wars Uncut. In this variant, we've designed a very simple map skeleton. It's just doorways and objectives. It's then sliced up and the sections are all put up for the community to claim. Each person fills in their section (with some rules to make sure
the doorways line up with the rest of the map) and they're stitched back together into a "finished" map!

Claiming a section:
-Download this zip file. It contains the necessary files to get started.
-The vmf in the zip is the map skeleton. Use the image below to figure out which room is which.
-Note that some sections are split vertically, with one stacked on top of the other. For example, 28 is split into 28a and 28b.
-Read the section construction rules completely before making a claim.
-Go to the form here and claim a section. You can claim up to three sections. If you want to claim more, please ask first.
-The current deadline is April 20th, but an extension is not out of the question if necessary.
-Join our discord server if you want to discuss the project!
-If you end up not being able to complete your section, message me ASAP so someone else can build it!

hn9aXSA.png


Section construction rules: READ THIS BEFORE MAKING A CLAIM!
-Your section is bound by the middle of the walls around it! Most of the walls are 16hu (hammer units) thick, so your build should extend into the walls by exactly 8hu.
-Certain sections have their own rules for things that must stay the same. (For example, sections with control points must not move the point.) Read the readme file inside the zip you downloaded for details on each section.
-The surface color of the walls of your section denote rules for how it must be constructed. Orange means it's a doorway and must be open to the adjacent section. Grey means there must be a wall covering up that part of the surface. You cannot allow players to go through it or shoot bullets through it. White means it's your choice whether there is a wall there. Whetever color wall your section is, the adjecent sections will have the same color there.
-You must be able to enter and exit through any doorway at all times as any class. (Doors at high ground must have a way to get up to them within in the section.)
-If a doorway has a red surface on one side, that means players do not have to be able to enter from that direction. (It could be a drop-down ledge or one-way door.) You don't have to make it one-way if you don't want to. If it has a blue surface, read the readme file.
-Do not move your build from its original xyz location in the vmf. We are using instances to paste your work in. If you move it, it will not end up in the right place in the build.
-To prove you actually re-read these rules, please send me a private message in the Discord.
-You can use expensive water, but keep in mind that we might have to change it to cheap water if other builds don't coincide.
-Finally, your area must be sealed off on all sides! You should not be able to see a nodraw or see under a displacement from any side! Including grey and white walls. Remember, other people's builds' floors might not line up with yours. If you have a displacement, for example, it should look like on the right, not on the left. Pretend your build is floating in the air with nothing around it. If, from any angle, you can see something you shouldn't be able to see in a normal map, fix it. Look at the attached images for an example.

-If you want to break any of the above rules, just ask me in the discord. If I let people break these rules at will, the map could be unplayable.

Things to keep in mind while designing:
-Feel free to use dynamic elements like moving platforms or teleporters.
-Areas should be fully detailed. The theme does not need to be consistent with the rest of the map.
-If your area is small, don't feel like you need to pack it full of content. This can result in the area feeling cramped. You can just do some light detailing and call it a day.
-Don't feel obligated to use the entire space allotted. Most of these sections are far bigger than their gameplay spaces should be. The extra area is mostly there if you want to do out-of-bounds detailing. The gameplay spaces should mostly be between the doors. (Side note: The maximum height and depth you can build is limited by the height of the walls in the provided vmf. Once again, this should not be a harsh restriction!)
-Orange doors only tell you the minimum size for your door. Feel completely free to make them bigger and extend into the white parts of the wall. And feel free to make other parts of your white walls open too. Just know that the adjacent section might not have their wall be open there.
-The world settings are identical to dustbowl's. You can find them in the provided vmf file at 0,0,0.
-We might do some minor post-processing on the map to fix any weird issues that may arise from combining people's builds.
-Remember that making these areas FUN is as important as making them unique.

Submitting:
-Name your vmf with the format "ml_section[#].vmf", where [#] is the number of your section. For example, ml_section28b.vmf would be a valid file name. Once again, we're using instances here, so make sure you get the filename right.
-Submit a download link to your section in the #submissions channel in the discord along with which section it is.
-If you have any custom content, you must post a download to it along with your submission. I need to have the content to be able to compile the map.

Thanks for reading. I can't wait to see everybody's builds!
 

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Last edited:

Aapelikaeki

L3: Member
Feb 24, 2018
148
135
I'm participating in this!
Seems genuinely fun and something to work on while Frostwire is getting judged.
 

That's the plan

L4: Comfortable Member
Jul 8, 2018
183
38
Cool contest, look forward to seeing what happens with it. One quick question though, where do we submit the room once were finished with it? Also, can we claim multiple rooms?
 
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Idolon

they/them
aa
Feb 7, 2008
2,105
6,106
In the future, I would recommend building sections to fit a larger grid. My section is thankfully a nice round number in its dimensions (384 units wide, or 128 * 3) but it is 24 units shifted off from where it would actually be convenient to build.

upload_2019-3-17_21-30-22.png

(128 grid size)

Since each section is meant to cut halfway through each wall, I would plot each section on a larger grid and then place the walls centered along those. Too late to fix it now, but it would make lives a lot easier.
 

SnickerPuffs

(*single chuckle*)
aa
Apr 10, 2014
1,315
1,857
Is this project still going on? The sign up sheet has expired.
 

Aapelikaeki

L3: Member
Feb 24, 2018
148
135
The sections were finished about 4 months ago but we had to fix the sections to comply with engine limits which took some time.
Currently Zungry is still struggling with some weird problems (like the map leaking even with cordon on).

Well just have to wait for this thing to work and when that happens there's probably gonna be a gameday for this map.