As northern hemisphere temperatures sink and many of us begin to bundle up, it's time for another iteration of the winter Jam! Join the creative frenzy as we support our friends of yesteryear by raising funds for Gamers Outreach!
The 72 Hour Jam starts on December 13 at 5:00pm UTC and ends on the 16th at 5:00pm UTC!
Need help with converting your own time zone? Use worldtimebuddy.com. Linked is the start time!
Need help with converting your own time zone? Use worldtimebuddy.com. Linked is the start time!
New to the Jam? Here's what we do: make things for or about Team Fortress 2 in less than 72 hours. This tradition allows you to make maps, models, videos, artwork, fanfiction, articles, games, mods, sculpture, interpretive dance — anything you can think of, as long as it's related to Team Fortress 2! Then post it on the site to show us what you’ve made, and we’ll give you an in-game medal so you can show the world just how much you do for the TF2 community.
For this year's 72 Hour Jam we are once again partnering with Gamers Outreach, a charity that empowers hospitalized children through video games. During hospitalization, children lose access to friends, school, and moments that define childhood. Gamers Outreach seeks to change that experience by ensuring hospitals have the equipment and software they need to provide kids with activities alongside medical care. Through the medium of gaming, children can explore, connect with others, and have fun. Gamers Outreach has several programs to enable children to play, such as their GO Karts — portable kiosks which are used to provide entertainment for patients in hospitals with limited access to activities outside of their room.
Donations will be open until December 31, 2024. Medals for donating at least $5 (in cash or TF2 items though scrap.tf) are available for donations prior to December 31, 2024. Participation medals are available for entries made and submitted between December 13 at 5:00pm UTC, until the end of the Jam on December 16 at 5:00pm UTC. Medals will be distributed in late January.
Stay in tune with us on social media throughout the event — Bluesky, Twitch, X (formerly Twitter) — and jam on!
Make sure you properly tag your entry and list collaborators!
To submit an entry...- Log into the site and head over to https://tf2maps.net/downloads/.
- Click the Add Download button in the upper right.
- Choose the correct category for your download. For example, paintings go in the Art: Images category, and KotH maps go in the King of the Hill category.
- Click the (No Prefix) button and select the 72hr Jam 2024 prefix next to the title of your submission (see image below).
- Add a title, your files, a description, and upload your submission!
To add preview images to your entry...
- Submit your entry with the process above.
- Then click the Manage Cover button on the newly created download page:
(NEW) To add collaborators to your entry...
- Submit your entry with the process above.
- Then click the three dots and Manage Download Team (see first image below).
- With the popup that appears, search for any contributors by their TF2Maps account name (see second image below).
- Save changes made.
- You may not work outside of the hours of December 13, 5:00pm UTC and December 16, 5:00pm UTC.
- You may plan in advance, but you may not start creating in advance!
- If you plan on completing your 72-hour window prior to the Jam, please read the FAQ below.
- Make something for or about Team Fortress 2. Collaborations are welcome!
- (NEW) If you worked with someone else, you must add their TF2Maps account to the download with the process listed above.
- You may use custom content by other people. Just make sure you credit them in your upload description!
- If you enter the Jam, you will get an in-game medal for your participation, unless:
- We discover that you started work on your entry before the Jam started.
- We discover that you stole your entry from somewhere else.
- We discover AI was used for your submission, regardless of the format.
- We decide that your entry is exceptionally low-effort.
- We try to be generous with this, so as long as you put at least an hour or two into your entry, you should be fine!
- We are not able to trace down your Steam account within three days of when we initially send out the medals. You should associate your Steam account with your TF2Maps.net account in the External Accounts menu.
- We will send a message to everyone who we are not able to track down.
- The cutoff for the donation medals are December 31, 2024.
Medals will be distributed in late January.
If you want to join other people participating, we have an always-active Discord and a Steam Chat. We primarily use the Steam Chat for testing announcements. You can also join our Steam Group to get notifications about tests.
Feel free to post and update your entry at any time during the event and make sure to drop in to other people's threads and share kind thoughts or constructive criticism. Share your work elsewhere in the digital world! We will be using #tf2jam to find other participants on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter), Tumblr, Instagram, MySpace, Mastodon, or any other platforms you can think of!
Again, feel free to check us out on Bluesky, Twitch, X (formerly Twitter)! Although we won't be streaming this year, we will be autohosting members of the community as they share their three-day journey to create something awesome.
Can I make a —
Let us stop you there: Yes, if it's related to Team Fortress 2! If it's lewd or NSFW, though, we would prefer you hosted it elsewhere and post a link, marked as NSFW, to it, rather than uploading it directly to here as this stops it being previewed on the front page.Can I enter on another day?
Yes — you can enter on whatever 72-hour period you wish, though we suggest you do so before the normal contest time. Simply post the dates/times you wish to enter in this thread, and we'll make a list. The new 72hr Jam 2024 prefix used for submissions will not be available outside of when the main Jam is running, so contact a staff member when you finish and we'll add it to your early entry!We can't promise to provide the same amount of support for people entering outside the normal time, but we'll do our best.
Can I collaborate with someone else?
Yes! Make sure to credit everybody involved when you make your upload properly though.Do I need to be a TF2Maps member to join?
Nope! Or, well, sort of. You’ll need to join the site to upload your entry, but this is open to everybody, even those who’ve never been here before.What can I do before the Jam starts?
What we don't want people doing is continuing half-finished or already-in-development projects. The Jam is a great time to flex your creative muscles and try something new.
What if I don’t want to abide by all these cruel and restrictive rules?
That’s cool. We’re not fussed. We’re glad you’re joining us! However, please let us know if you’re doing that — it's not fair to other people if some get to start earlier, say. You probably won't get the medal, though.Can I use AI for my submission?
No. We have no way of verifying resources used to train any AI models and want submissions to reflect effort and passion!How can I get feedback on my project?
What are these extra rules for testing maps?
- Don't use special characters or capital letters in your filename.
- While not a hard rule, we recommend adding "72" to your file name, so people know it was made for a Jam and can be prioritized in the testing queue. So, something like: "tc_14bit_72_a1" or "cp_freight_72_a2"
- Maps must be able to spawn at least 24 players (12 per team).
- Include some lighting — no fullbright maps will be played.
- If your map requires point_servercommands to be active, then contact an admin before running it. We reserve the right to refuse any map like this.
- We will be running a separate server for MVM maps. Speak to an admin to have your map tested on this.
When does the charity drive start and how long will it last?
It will start alongside the Jam and will be linked accordingly. Once running, you can then donate! We'll be monitoring the drive closely in the weeks after the Jam, so feel free to donate at that time as well.How do I share my Steam account information to receive a medal for donating?
When submitting your information on the Tiltify page, a popup will appear asking for your Steam profile link. Make sure the link you submit is accurate!
Can I get both medals?
Can I get the charity medal if I don't participate in the Jam?
Sure! We'd really love to have you on board for the Jam as well, though this isn't necessary when donating.What does the donor medal look like this year? | What will the participant medal look like? |
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If you have any questions, check out the FAQ in this thread, drop into the Discord, or send me — or any other member of the planning team — a message!The 72 Hour Jams are an exciting and encouraging time to create content for Team Fortress 2! These events have always been great for bringing people together and making awesome stuff. Even if you think you're not that artistic or creative, you'd be surprised at what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it! If you've been around for a while, always remember to help others and share what you know. As always: we're all in this together! Jam on!
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