I'm feeming for a contest a bit, and feeling not-enough time for that competitive 5-point one...so I decided to go through and make a poll based on the contest ideas in the contest idea thread (ran out of poll options, but I think these are all teh ideas from october to feb.1
I think there should be a "gameplay area" challenge which could be either the control point area ones or the intel room.
TF2's entities aren't very good for custom gameplay modes compared to the QWTF and TFC "goal system", so I think that idea would be a bit sloppy. How about a standard Valve gametype with a twist? Multi-flag CTF, non-linear CP, that kind of thing.
I think that is encompassed in "custom gamemode". Multiflag CTF on non-linear CP already exist though (2fort, gravelpit?).
I like the Arena contest idea. Lots of Arena maps already exist, would be fairly easy compared to other map types, and some could use that motivation to finish their WIPs
I think you should wait for the scout update (it's only 2 days). We will then know the specifics about dual payload, annd that rumored "very different game mode" because that's what I would like the next contest to be about
That's probably enough time for me actually, especially since you are more concerned with gameplay than appearance.... I simply went through the suggestion thread from top to bottom - but I didn't make it to the bottom. There's a limit of 30 poll options, so this only went as far as I could - which was thread start to Feb. 1ish. If double payload is in the thread and I missed it, I'm sorry, but I think if it's even in the suggestion thread it's after feb 1. Maybe this poll could just be used to pull forward some of our better ideas from the end of last year. If it's in the suggestion thread and I missed it, sorry. I think it's after Feb 1 though. New suggestions should probably not go in this thread, or it will get as long and messy as the one I pulled the ideas from. It's not like this is official or anything, I'm not an admin or moderator here. Just a member with a lot of time on his hands. Personally, I'm burned out on (playing) payload maps, and I didn't even participate in the last contest. I'll also say that I think 2 payload contests in a row wouldn't be the best idea.
Custom game type is looking pretty strong, so far. That would make an interesting competition, in my opinion. I'm supporting the Alpha/Dev texture map idea
Lots of options. Can't even remember exactly which one I voted for without looking Anyway, I'd say once this has been tallied up we should maybe take the top 5 and vote on them, by mappers who might map for the contest. The reason being is that while alot of people might want new gamemodes it's possible that alot of those votes aren't even from people who would seriously try the contest out. Custom gamemodes aren't easy to think up, easy to implement... I know a few people around here could rig something up, but that's almost like having a modelling contest. It's probably best keeping to TF2 standards to a degree so that EVERYONE can make a map. Dealing with entities for cap points and whatnot can be a struggle for some, hell, I just copy paste that stuff as much as I can. On top of the difficulties of making it then you have to test, everyones gotta learn x amount of gamemodes. If you don't know how to play it's not as fun. So if a map doesn't get enough gameplay for you to even learn the new mode... Then you gotta judge them. Base it soley on how much fun you think it is? If so we should use one base map so all gamemodes get tested on even ground. Because you can't judge gamemode on how the level looks. To have a successful contest it probably needs to be something all mappers AND players already understand and have it based more on the overall map design and playability rather than a subjective 'how much fun is it' type of vote.
No offense, but I think custom gametype contest is a very bad idea. It is very hard to get custom gametypes to work right, and even when you do, it is even harder to get all of the players to understand it. Also, keep in mind dual payload might not be the only new game mode in the scout update. I am leaning more towards the very different gamemode.
