Hot & Cold - Detailing Contest 2023 [VOTING]

[GuardianAngel]

why is my entry not here?

I found your download, but it looks like you didn't submit it to the submission thread, most likely why it isn't here unfortunately

 

[Blumberquack]

Gonna be honest here, this is my first time scoring (or even posting here come to think of it) and I'm not a mapper either, so take these scores with a grain of salt if you like. The notes don't go too deep, a lot of it is just what I've noticed and general vibes. Was fun getting to try all the maps out though, good job all of ya!

Mapper	Notes	Score​	Review
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	62	Spoiler Really like the environmental storytelling, though the keep out/do not enter posters bit was a little cheesy (the drop and discovery of the underground cavern is really cool though). Lighting overall is great. The ending seems like it was rushed a bit - the cathedral windows inside are pretty but don't really feel like they belong, those rooms could've been better off detailed and help give a little more context as to what might be behind the vault door. Also think some interactivity would go a long way (breaking wooden planks etc).
Anderpan	Cold	73	Spoiler Lighting's overblown in a few places, right now it's the main thing holding the map back. Outdoor areas look sweet! Lots of rooms indoors though having so many layers can make traversing it a little confusing.
August101	Cold	38	Spoiler The theme works but I think more could be done to stylise the outside (entrance, front rooms) and spice up the inside (past the metal door into the cold factory). Snowman head is a cool (and somewhat nightmarish) addition and the custom posters are nice but otherwise the outside zone is a bit generic and underdeveloped. The inside could really benefit from a few extra additions (few examples, a humming and slight whooshing noise near all the fans for extra ambience, different posters that are more industrial and cold, maybe tidying up and letting us access the conveyor room where the popsicles are made). Overall a good attempt!
CriticalFeesh	Cold	16	Spoiler Will say that it's cool you get to open the hatch from inside but unfortunately I couldn't see the rocket without noclip. Very barren - might be expected in a place like this but I'd imagine they'd have a vehicle around to traverse to and from the base, maybe a trail that goes past the snow walls showing how they might've got here, a few boxes of supplies, anything to make it a bit less barren outside and a bit more lived in. Remember, bases out in the world like this usually need supplies and room for people to live in for a few weeks if not months, so a few rooms for the mercenaries to sleep and eat (underground might be a cool idea for safety too) would really help build this place out more.
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	87	Spoiler Goddamn. Fair to say you nailed this one. Maybe a lil bit more freedom in the first barn (upstairs and to the right, expected to be able to walk out that window to explore the roof a lil), but that's a very minor suggestion. Only issue I noticed was the black tracks leading to the barn had noticeable seams connecting each texture (and those tracks could be a bit less jagged) but that's all.
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	55	Spoiler I'm not sure what I just witnessed but it was cool (and yeah I did get myself trapped out of the room the first time lol). Ambience is good but you could do with a better door closing/opening sound. Simple but nice use of the camera system. There's not much to explore here but what's here is pretty neat.
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	65	Spoiler Outside is really nicely done (especially lava), but I wish the inside of the base had a little more going on than it does right now. The end of the world room is pretty cool but I'm not sure why the roadpath leads to it - if that room was hidden better off at the side instead and we get a shot of the cavern path winding off it'd make more sense to me.
fiend	Cold	22	Spoiler Rooms feel a little big and barren, the bar and sofa rooms especially - the detailing you've added to them is fine but for their size I'd expect a little more. The way you've sculpted the inside of the cavern feels odd to me - from the outside in it's pure rock but you've then added a layer of ice? I don't think it works particularly well, though I do like the dock. Overall not a bad go, but it does need a bit of work.
Freyja	Hot & Cold	85	Spoiler No real complaints here, just a very well done map. Being able to change the lava flow and set off emergency alarms is a nice touch (though I believe it would be better if the room started off open and by hitting the button it closes all the windows and whatnot). Nice work!
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	72	Spoiler Rooms feel lively and the outside environment feels nice and rich, although I think the exhibition could be improved upon a bit. The custom textures you've used (signs, text etc) are perfectly readable but aren't quite up to par with the rest of the map - it doesn't feel very authentic, but I can respect the effort. Robots having human voices is a little odd too. Honestly with more shops opened up and a bit of extra polish I can see this being a nifty trade map!
KrazyZark	Cold	88	Spoiler A very simple but sweet intro! Also appreciate the lingering music in the background while you walk in the snow for the first time, seriously atmospheric stuff. The detailing here is super good, and getting to control the (relatively slow) elevator is cool though it did make me wonder if I could potentially 'progress the story' lol, sadly the blasting machines down there don't do anything. Nevertheless you've done a good job here!
Mattie	Hot & Cold	80	Spoiler Really interesting take on the theme, though I honestly don't see where the heat is. Cozy maybe, but hot? Nah. A damn nice looking map nonetheless. Will also say I've been to places like these in the UK (National Trust) and it's definitely close lol
Phe	Hot & Cold	67	Spoiler Aside from the skybox there's really nothing to symbolise the 'cold' part of hot and cold here. A nice view though, reminds me of the final shot of Meet the Pyro. Even has the fireaxe blocking the barn door too... maybe it's a little bit too close for my liking, but I'll let it slide. Think the roofs could be worked on - something about it being so dark and having them lil splotches of fire seems weird to me. Ambience is nice and unsettling though!
puxorb	Hot & Cold	86	Spoiler A really nice mix of the two, and an interesting trek. I honestly would've expected more snow for at least the upper half (a lot of visible walk paths that should have at least a lil snow on them?) but that aside you've done a great job here!
Ray is Sucky	Hot	66	Spoiler I honestly really like the style you went for here, although there's quite a lot of walking and waiting that could've been cut down a bit or made more interesting - smart move adding a teleporter but I feel like you could've done more with the lift scene. Also you've maybe overdone it a little with the red lighting? Just a tad though. Nonetheless you've done well!
Rhamkin	Hot	59	Spoiler I think I see what you're going for with the theme (a surprisingly refreshing theme too!) but I think you could've done more to maybe play it up a bit - make it feel like it's a very hot day outside yknow? The inside's quite nice but I think the outside needs a lot more detail because by comparison it's pretty blatant. The lighting feels a little flat and it's off in places too (upstairs foliage). I do love the idea of this map but I guess you could say it needed a little more time in the oven
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	53	Spoiler Not gonna lie, the secret base kinda surprised me. Think it looks a lot cleaner and more polished than the rest of the map! Will say that the cabin (and surprisingly the base) are pretty cosy, but I'm not sure about 'hot'. Generally the outside and the cabin feel a little unpolished, quite a few jagged cuts (snow textures outside as an example) and something about how brown the inside of the cabin is alongside the detailing makes it a little uninteresting. Some more time on them would've definitely helped here.
WinterWiz	Cold	57	Spoiler Right off the gate this one feels the most like a TF2 map to me, not even taking into account the fact that it's a (I assume) fully functioning KOTH map too! Problem here is this is a detailing contest and by doing this you've basically gimped yourself by having to restrict where the player can traverse - this hurts, because man I wish I could explore this place a bit more! The other issue is I think the lighting could be a bit better. Otherwise this map is quite nice! It's just a shame you held the map back like this.

 

[nesman]

why is my entry not here?

Did you follow the submission rules?

"Everything must be finished and submitted in the upload thread before the deadline! Upload thread will be made available two weeks prior to the deadline and you are allowed to submit at any time within that period, and update your entry as many times as necessary before the deadline. No extensions will be given."

I reminded you on your download to post in the thread but looks like you didn't.

 

[Katsu! :3]

MAP	THEME	SCORE	OBSERVATIONS
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	91	Spoiler: Observations mhhhhhh snow blindness right when I spawn. At least the skybox (sky_earlymorning_02) is actually treated with some level of respect in this map and isn't insanely red (very much appreciated). I think a tree stump would make this area feel less barren, right now there's just a blanket of snow which while cute feels like it's just missing "something(tm)". The sharpness of the shadows indoors is honestly really breathtaking, it feels right out of something from Source 2! I love the little sun glowy things (I don't think what they're called) between the windows and the shadows themselves, they're such a cute touch! Right onto the potted plants too, which is a good vibe. I find it a bit odd that there's a flashlight just so happened to be placed in a dramatic angle inside the vent. I feel like it could've been better executed with a flickering light in the hallway leading up to the vent. Going down into the ice cavern, this is by far one of the best visualizations of an ice cavern ever done in TF2 in my book. I do think the rock prop spam is a bit much, but I can forgive it pretty easily simply because of the VIEW inside here. I love how gargantuan the cavern feels.
Anderpan	Cold	76	Spoiler: Observations Oof, missing textures and error signs right off the bat... not very promising. In the indoors section, next to the train, there's some swiftwater staircase-eqsue pallets and crates that wouldn't really make sense to be there. I know it's to fill up space, but the space should still be reasonably filled in-universe. There's a few weird lighting bugs on the surface level where half of a prop will be absurdly dark for no reason. There's some prop fades in the top floor of the underground "Merc Park" base area that are overly aggressive. One of the crates that is seemingly meant to be traversable to get to vent around the lift here is not solid, meaning I can't get to one of the intended routes on the map. There's some really inconsistent clipping on the red stairwell, making traversal of said area kinda uneasy for me. (Not in a "Oh this is intentional" way) The yellow barrels and class standees are also nonsolid, which makes me wonder if the lack of clipping for any of this is even intentional...? In the datacenter floor (the one between the lowest floor and the top underground floor), there's not really any explainable reason for the grates having fallen down into said floor. They don't match up with both the ceiling of the roof above it nor the floor texture of the floor above it, and it is very out of place. The HDR settings (or possibly lack thereof, idk) are overly bright and make my eyes hurt when looking at some of the lights and reflections in this map. Overall, I think this is cute but needs some work. Docking points for the Missing Textures, Lighting Errors, Immersion Breakage, HDR Issues, and inconsistent-with-the-detail clipping. I think the setting itself is neat and I'd like to see it maybe be expanded upon in some future map, but the flaws in this are pretty apparent to me. Definitely not bad, far from it to be honest, but the ability to improve is pretty easy to see.
August101	Cold	19	Spoiler: Observations This map really feels underdetailed. Lots of the same texture around, same props. I think the parodies of the Blue Bunny Ice Cream bars are really cute. The concept of walking into a giant snowman's head is cool but I've seen it before, feels like a Lego Batman level trope. The icicles inside the Ice Cream Factory cast shadows in a really strange and probably unintended way, breaks immersion. There's just not a lot for me to say, some of the textures look really out of place (particularly the texture that Turbine uses for its outdoor rooves inside the factory) and they look wrong.
CriticalFeesh	Cold	10	Your cubemaps are broken fyi
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	96	Spoiler: Observations Cool scripted event! Don't like getting stuck on all the stuff in the ending house.
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	32	Spoiler: Observations Pretty underwhelming and makes my frames tank to 26 fps. Not cool! The rocket launch is an interesting concept but ultimately falls flat because you can barely see it. In general, I greatly dislike how low-visibility the map is, because while it's realistic it doesn't really sell me on the whole "Look at this beautiful map!" angle that a Detail map is meant to do.
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	43	Spoiler: Observations idk what the hell the space buildings are made of but they look really tacky.
fiend	Cold	13
Freyja	Hot & Cold	89
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	83	fyi, your map can crash certain linux users.
KrazyZark	Cold	100
Mattie	Hot & Cold	50	Spoiler: "ow" I don't think I can rate this one other than average because it physically hurts my eyes trying to look at the map, the colour palette is just so overbearingly blueish-purple and frankly I don't understand what is painful about it but I just know it is. I'm sorry.
Phe	Hot & Cold	80
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	85	Spoiler: Comments Thanks for reminding me of my fear of heights :/
Ray is Sucky	Hot	98
Rhamkin	Hot	70
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	45
WinterWiz	Cold	79	Spoiler: Observations Main thing I dislike is that the water is pitch black, which I think is pretty uncharacteristic for your environment.

 

[GuardianAngel]

MAP	THEME	SCORE	Feedback/Review
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	85	Spoiler The cold element of the maps is done nicely, from the outside, the concrete interior and the ice cave. The hot element was fun I really like the first room, it's simple, but sets the atmosphere well, it feels mysterious and abandoned. I love the lighting, it catches the eye and helps guide us through the level in an interesting way, the light shafts and dust motes look really nice. I enjoyed going through this one, the detailing is concise. The keep out signs were nice and made the drop down feel ominous, and having the pit being pitch black was unsettling The cave felt grand and the structure looked interesting. The mosaic windows felt out of place, though they looked pretty cool. Not sure if just my machine, but the outside is a bit too bright. I'm not a huge fan of the cracked concrete texture being used everywhere, but that's my personal preference. Overall i enjoyed your map
Anderpan	Cold	70	Spoiler I like how the cold element was done, the cold leeching into the building from the entrances, it look nice. There are so many things to look at, it does a good job a feeling like a secret base of sorts, with the terminals, flashing buttons and the nicely detailed rooms you can't access. I especially like the security looking room at the top of the level. The sky box next to the wooden exterior building is unfortunately lacking, being a grey void, which looks kinda odd, since the other side is a similar distance away from the walkable space, but isn't grey. Over all i enjoyed my time walking around your map .
August101	Cold	30	Spoiler The map idea is interesting, never thought much about were those popsicles might have come from. I like the snowman entrance, and the cryo chamber. I also like the color correction that was used when you enter the freezer. That being said, you map is lacking in detail most areas, and with the omission of any skybox, makes it feel unfinished. There are some strange shadows caused by the icicles props in places. There is some z-fighting on the overlapping vents near the freezer entrance that is quite noticeable. Another thing to note is a lot of the rooms feel like that don't have an identity, what i mean is, what is this room for? What function would it serve? An example being the starting room and the corridors that exist within the freezer, what purpose do they serve, why do they exist? Once you can answer that question, detailing the room becomes much easier. I'd suggest gathering reference images, or even checking out other maps or even games that have levels/maps that are similar to the one you're wanting to create, that way you have a good idea of what details you might want to add. Overall, was fun to walk around, but unfortunately lacking in most areas.
CriticalFeesh	Cold	10	Spoiler The cold element being space was a great idea. I also like that the ladder works too Unfortunately your map is quite bare, not much details anywhere. With some more time and effort, this one could be interesting. Some feedback on what is present: The brush doors could look much better, try adding some trim where the two pieces meet and maybe a different metal texture. Also having a lip when the door is fully open would make it look like a more convincing door. The silo doors do open, but there is a brush in the way that blocks us from seeing in The textures changing scale at the seam of the walkable space and skybox is very obvious and takes away from the map. Overall, a cool idea, that with more time and effort, could be great (a side note: the skybox terrain sorta reminds me of the terrain present in Kakariko Village from Ocarina of time but if it was white. Not feedback or a review, just something my brain could see )
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler You map does a great job at feeling cold. Every element comes together to sell the scene of a cold winter snow storm. The hot element was very creative, slowly building as you explore the map. The environment is detailed very well, nothing feels out of place. I like the branch caught in the stream, it's a small detail but goes a long way at making it feel like a real stream. The house details are excellent, whoever lives there disgustang though The dynamic elements is what pushes your map to the top, the story of the burning barn occurring as you walk through the map, the flowing water, the train, the broken bridge, it's all done well and makes your map feel like a real place. Only minor issue i had was navigating at some parts. At the beginning, not seeing the open window at first, and not thinking i could swim under the ice near the bridge. Overall, excellent effort, had a great time with this one
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	60	Spoiler I like the spawn area, being greeted with low visibility snow storm sets the atmosphere well and helps sell the idea of a remote rocket testing facility. The details present do the job, i mostly like the details on the rocket, and the test sequence. The blinding lights are cool and being able to see the rocket stream from the monitor is nice. I did have an issue with the soundscapes though, if you stand on the little building outside of the main chamber, the soundscape swaps to the interior one. I could fix it by going into the main chamber then back outside, thought i'd mention it. Overall, pretty good, interesting idea done fairly well
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	70	Spoiler The hot element was done pretty well, gives me Borderland vides looking out to the skybox. I like the lava and the orange smoke coming off it. The interior is nicely detailed. I like the underground area also Overall i enjoyed this one
fiend	Cold	50	Spoiler The Icy cavey base idea for the cold element is a cool idea, it's got a nice feel to it. I like the concrete textures that were used, its clean. And the lamp in the office room is cool looking. I also like that the rooms make sense, each room has a function The lack of skybox does take away from the map. The icy texture on the ceiling of the cave looks ok, having icicles or rocks would have gone a long way to break up the repeating texture. The connecting areas are abit bare, mostly open empty rooms. Overall cool idea, I liked it
Freyja	Hot & Cold	85	Spoiler The cold element was done pretty well, feels like a snowy mountain hide away. The reflection in the water looks great. The details in the building are nice and work well. I like that the well is an entrance to the underground, same with the the entrance behind the waterfall. The underground area is cool and nicely detailed, very hot looking Overall fairly decent, i enjoyed it
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	-
KrazyZark	Cold	90	Spoiler This one was pretty cool, the cold element was done excellently. The intro was very cinematic, set the vibe for the whole map pretty well. The snowy details are pretty good. The interiors are detailed well and are interesting, i like that the mirror works. I also like that the ladder works too The exterior details are nice too. The underground area is my favourite, when you turn the corner and see the UFO, it's framed in such a cool way, makes it look grand. I like eerie music that played briefly too. The sounds in this one are well done, adds to much to the atmosphere of the map. Only negative i have (though small) is the poles and wires that are near the entrance to the room with the pool table. the poles can be broken and leave the wires hanging in place. Overall this one was great, good job
Mattie	Hot & Cold	90	Spoiler The cold element is good. There is a lot to look at, clearly a ton of time and effort was put into your map. The interiors are all pretty interesting, with their own little details. The exterior looks nice, i like the train also. The skybox is great, just flying down and looking at that it self there is heaps to look at. The basement was cool too. Overall the map was pretty solid
Phe	Hot & Cold	80	Spoiler The hot element was done well, feels like i'm in meet the pyro when i was running around The burning buildings all look fantastic. The lights on the truck are a nice detail. The skybox looks pretty decent too. The sounds add alot to the level, they're pretty well done. Only negative is that it's quite small, would have been nice to have more stuff to look at, but what's here is pretty great Overall this was done well, cool map.
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	90	Spoiler The hot element is cool in this one. I like that the ladder works. This one just looks pretty cool, all the scaffolding and excavation equipment works well. I like that the lift works, give you time to take in the grand looking excavation site. The caves are really well done, they feel like real caves you might find. The interiors are well detailed and interesting, i like the tile floor and how some are loose and taken out. The chest having the Australium pyro weapons, for me makes the map even better. Before knowing what this place is, you'd assume some ancient civilization or something, but then you see the pyro weapons, changes it to feel like it's something Pyro uses to store his valuables. It Changes the perception of the map, in a good way. The sounds are great, the lighting too. Only negative is near the top, looking at the rock wall across, feels like maybe some windy snow or even fog effects should be there? To help sell how grand and large the structure is. Overall pretty cool map, great job
Ray is Sucky	Hot	95	Spoiler The hot element is excellent. There's a lot to see, alot of effort when into this and it shows I like the melted stair case, looks pretty cool. The bits of cave you get to see are really well done, they look real nice. The rocket room is cool, i like the trap door, it makes the room below it make waaay more sense the first time is saw it I like the little sizzling stake near the computer terminals. Overall this map was pretty awesome
Rhamkin	Hot	65	Spoiler The hot element, it doesn't feel particularly hot, but it looks nice. The details are done nicely, feels homely. I don't have too much else to say really, I like what's here, it looks nice, perhaps would have been nice if there was more too see. Overall nice looking map
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	50	Spoiler The cold element is nice in this one. I like that the ladder works. The spytech section is cool, the details are pretty nice. I like the outside area, the sound from the generator is a good details. The transition to skybox in the water doesn't look too great, and i'm not sure what was causing it, but looking at the cabin made my frames sad Overall nice looking map with some technical things that took away from it a bit.
WinterWiz	Cold	80	Spoiler The cold element is cool, looks like a nice snowy dock yard of sorts This actually a pretty decent mid point for a koth map. I like wind, the sounds, the cables blowing in the wind, it looks and sounds pretty good. The details around the place are good, nothing really feels out of place. Only negative is there is some strange shapes when looking into the water of the skybox, looks kinda like the floating bits of ice, but the underside? Overall cool looking map, i'd love to see this expanded into a full sized koth map

Everyone voted for now, thanks to all who've participated, and to all who've taken the time to vote. Took much more time and energy then expected, but had a good time looking through all the submissions

 

[XEnderFaceX]

Did you follow the submission rules?

"Everything must be finished and submitted in the upload thread before the deadline! Upload thread will be made available two weeks prior to the deadline and you are allowed to submit at any time within that period, and update your entry as many times as necessary before the deadline. No extensions will be given."

I reminded you on your download to post in the thread but looks like you didn't.

I just did what the Submission Format said

 

[Seacat08]

Feedback

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You can find the feedback here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K6UnaksjgkkLw8xuDxYnZAAi4YONhtdlMaVRerJweJk/edit?usp=sharing

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Scores

MAP	THEME	SCORE
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	56
Anderpan	Cold	71
August101	Cold	27
CriticalFeesh	Cold	18
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	86
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	59
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	61
fiend	Cold	43
Freyja	Hot & Cold	84
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	59
KrazyZark	Cold	96
Mattie	Hot & Cold	93
Phe	Hot & Cold	78
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	82
Ray is Sucky	Hot	97
Rhamkin	Hot	61
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	--
WinterWiz	Cold	84

 

[Barion]

MAP​	THEME​	SCORE​
a freakin' knight​	Hot & Cold​	98​
August101​	Cold​	72​
Anderpan​	Cold​	89​
CriticalFeesh​	Cold​	41​
Dasprucegoose​	Hot & Cold​	100​
DrSquishy​	Hot & Cold​	92​
Emil_Rusboi​	Hot​	96​
fiend​	Cold​	77​
Freyja​	Hot & Cold​	100​
GuardianAngel​	Hot & Cold​	93​
KrazyZark​	Cold​	100​
Mattie​	Hot & Cold​	93​
Phe​	Hot & Cold​	94​
Puxorb​	Hot & Cold​	100​
Ray is Sucky​	Hot​	97​
Rhamkin​	Hot​	90​
Seacat08​	Hot & Cold​	89​
WinterWiz​	Cold​	89​

 

[Lain]

MAP	THEME	SCORE	COMMENTS
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	65	Really great sense of space and scale, loved the use of lighting through windows, godrays, and the wind in the vault area. The micro-level detail could have used some work though, as the map felt quite prop-heavy without enough brushwork detail to back it up. This is an easy 75-80 with improved texturing and brushwork.
Anderpan	Cold	40	Neat concept, but the execution is rather sloppy. It looks professional enough, there's no huge glaring problems, but there's also lots of weird texture alignment issues, clashing shapes and undue propspam. The areas all feel really visually claustrophobic, making viewing them annoying and getting around even worse.
August101	Cold	15	Very boxy, lighting is flat, and it doesn't really do much with the Cold concept. Snowman was very weird, and the screen-tint upon entering the coolroom was unconvincing.
CriticalFeesh	Cold	5	N/A
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	75	The 'story' of the map is wonderful, and a really unique way to execute the dual themes here. The lighting could have been a little better, as it was typically very uniform fills without many hot-spots or dim areas in comparison to the overall scene. Build quality and brushwork is all impressive, and the effects outside really sell the chill.
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	50	I love the 'trapped in a blizzard' feeling, and the building + interactable mechanism was cool. The lighting in general didn't wow me, but it was serviceable, and I feel like this could have been pushed a lot further, but what is here is solid.
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	65	Really neat! The vista looking up to the lavafalls was fantastic, but the indoors areas felt a bit lacking. I loved the 'secret' area too, got a giggle out of me. Not sure if it's my config, but the reflections on the material used for the buildings looks off, but since I'm not sure if that's just me I wont factor it into the score.
fiend	Cold	25	Not terrible, but it feels like a blockout for what could be a much more interesting and fleshed-out entry.
Freyja	Hot & Cold	90	Incredible sense of place, I love the colour correction to add to that cool, dry air feeling. The way the hidden waterfall entrance to the 'hot' area is full of steaming liquid is a great touch, and the cozy feeling of the upstairs indoors areas enhances the dichotomy between Hot & Cold. The lower area feels quite utilitarian for better and for worse, and while it doesn't really sell that secret hidden base feel as much as I would have wanted, I cannot deny the beauty of the industrial furnace-looking area with the lava and all of those pipes.
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	75	In terms of raw visuals I think this is about a 55, it's fine. But as an experience? It's great. Lovely attention to details and cute setpieces.
KrazyZark	Cold	85	Fantastic, but there are a few caveats with the area before the big reveal. It's probably more realistic this way, but the outpost being set on a giant flat plane with super plain lighting didn't really sway me. I kinda forgot about it after the akira elevator and the UFO, but after coming back above-ground I was left wanting for a little better sense of place. Also it's just plain weird that there's zero fog outside.
Mattie	Hot & Cold	75	Neat! I loved specifically the secret area and the concert hall, but the overall style of the map didn't really feel tf2-y other than that. Nothing felt particularly hot either, other than the warm lighting sometimes.
Phe	Hot & Cold	100	I think this is a sleeper hit here. It's not gigantic, there's not a million places to be and see, but it perfectly executes on the feeling of all-caps HEAT while feeling quintessentially TF2 (It feels like the horror bits of Meet The Pyro in map form!). You have it listed as Hot & Cold, but I doubt that's accurate so I'm not going to factor the 'Cold' in.
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	90	The concept and execution in this gigantic excavated area is jaw-dropping. The slow transition from hot and cold as you descend, the titles on-screen, it's all really great. Some nitpicks: I do wish the below area had a bit more going on visually, like a spytech thing hidden behind the facade of this lava temple, or some more signs of the excavators. A lot of the area feels oppressively orange, rather than hot. And lastly, the above-areas lighting doesn't scream 'cold' as much as it sells 'a bit nippy, wear a sweater', and as such the contrast when looking up from the lava area to the top area isn't as drastic as it could have been.
Ray is Sucky	Hot	60	Starts quite weak, with a lot of really drab and unappealing-looking brushwork. The elevator wasn't helping things, trapping the player in a featureless box for what feels like eternity isn't a great idea, even for something like this. But then as it goes on, it gets much better. I think that big vista across the lake of lava is the turning point, the rooms get less boxy, the lighting improves and the concept opens up. I think the final area with the rocket could have been easily improved with some better lighting and added dimension to the area, but the desk-button was a neat touch.
Rhamkin	Hot	70	This has a great summery vibe. I'm not sure if it feels particularly hot, at least not in a generic sense, but this is a neat interpretation of that theming. The indoors areas are great, lots of cute details and it doesn't overstay its welcome like some other maps can feel, but the outdoors area feels lacking. I'm not sure if it was a technical or time limitation, but the outdoors areas look very weird and unfinished, and that's a shame.
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	40	Really weird visual glitches all over this map, but it's a fine concept. The spytech transition is executed decently well, but beyond some neat elements a lot of areas feel very plain and uninspired.
WinterWiz	Cold	65	It's decently well done, I like the asymmetric detailing and such, but overall it's just quite plain compared to the standouts here. Considering this is an art contest I'm not going to critique the implied gameplay of the map, which probably wouldn't be amazing, but alas.

 

[ZincWolfWarrior]

I don't know why this comment looks so wierd, it looked fine when I was making it. So sorry for being dumb, I guess. anyways, I hope my reviews/comments weren't to long or anything, I've never really done this before

Map

Theme

Score

Feedback/Comments

a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	80	Spoiler Really like some of the lighting details, such as when you first enter the building, the on-fire electrical room, and the cave hallway. I also really like the ominous hole surrounded by danger signs, that was a little spooky. And the Giant underground cave was really cool, +the lake. I also dig the look the the giant structure in the cave, such a contrast to everything else. Spoiler Overall, I think you did really well with the cold parts, but maybe could've done a little more with the hot parts. Maybe like adding a little more 'warm' aspects the underground structure would've been interesting.
Anderpan	Cold	65	Spoiler First thing I see are 2 ERRORs, and I found a few more throughout the map and some other small missing textures. not sure if thats a me thing or a map thing. The area past the fence is very noticeably cut off. The interior lab is nice, could tell it was probably a pain to design, I like how it's mixed with the more rough, barn aesthetic near the top. Overall, I think it mostly nails the cold parts outside, the Lab is pretty detailed. But I say I just feel very neutral towards it
August101	Cold	35	Spoiler So first off, the Snowman head is really creepy, nice. Many details in the first area feel unfinished, with the outdoor area not hiding the skybox very well, the shipping room having the convator belts come from nowhere. and generally feeling not very detailed. And I also didn't even know about the ice cave part until I turned on noclip to look around, so maybe that could've been made a little more obvious. But that whole area just feels off because of how many clashing ice textures it uses, and the whole area just sorta feels empty. I also don't really know what was up with the skele Spy, but that was kinda cool. Overall, it is 'cold' but feels cold without a purpose(?) If that makes any sense. I like the idea, but it definently could've used more time
Criticalfeesh	Cold	15	Spoiler First, the snow is really bright, contrasting with the fact it is night outside, so that was very noticable. The building seemed a little basic, but the doors and latter were cool. the giant silo door outside was cool but when it was opened it was just snow. I only figured out it was a rocket silo when I went under it using noclip. overall, I like the concept, but it is very, VERY unfinished
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler Only just loaded in, already like the atmosphere. The detail of the powerlines blowing in the wind is really nice. The lamp breaking once entering the barn was super creepy, like any sense of safety was just lost. The backwoods river/waterfall looks really nice. The stove in the house felt real cozy, compared to the outside it feels very comforting and- well, warm. The record playing More Gun was a nice touch. The barn being on fire now looks really cool, like the comforting heat is now more dangerous than it's surroundings. The sequence with the bridge breaking and going back to the now scorching barn is really cool. This map is just so atmospheric, and the windy storm going on outside makes the fire just feel that much more intense. The little story going on with the broken lamp lighting the barn on fire was so well executed in a small amount of time. Well done my man. (also, tell the people who own the house to flush their damn toilet)
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	60	Spoiler Already like the snow desert atmosphere. The automatic door opening after the rocket activation sequence at the building was cool. some missing textured on the barrels, but that may just be me. The interior of the building feels much much more of a steam/smoke fog than the snow fog, making it feel much warmer than the outside. being able to activate the rocket thruster was cool, with the intense lighting and shaking n stuff. It is very basic, with really only one thing going for it, but it does that one thing very well
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	75	Spoiler This is the first exclusively hot map, so this is a huge 180 from the previous entries. The skybox looks very intimidating, and the surroundings looks very dangerously hot. The sound design outside is very nice, diffidently giving off volcano vibes. The entrance to the lab is cool (I also found the one water fountain to be pretty funny). The underground entrance with the vault door is very ominous. The End is Nigh room is also very unnerving. Overall, it's a little small but nice. I feel like the lab could've been a little bigger, or had some more relation to the outside somehow.
fiend	Cold	40	Spoiler First, I like the outdoor area, the lack of barriers to the skybox is a little annoying, but the cave part looks cool. The dock area feels very atmospherical. the indoor cabin areas feels very square, and empty however. The interior fog is a nice touch, but I can't tell if its a cold fog or a warm fog. The upper office area is kinda cool, but the desk and shelf are entirely missing their textures, but that may just be a me thing. I like the idea it's going for, but it doesn't really accel at anything
Freyja	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler I load in, and it's already very pretty. The houses are very well detailed and comfy. I love the the secret lair behind the waterfall, and I love how you can also enter via the well. I like the idea of the springs being mann made, with the lava underneath boiling the water above, super cool. Love the maintenance room, all the pipes and steam are very industrial like. I also like how you can lower the gate in the giant laver river room, super cool. And the button opening the shutters was just the cherry ontop! this map is fantastic! The cold is super calm, and relaxing up top; while the hot is super industrial and secret underground. this map is so interactable and absolutly fantastic! (Also, I don't know who let carboard cutouts run the place, but their doing a great job.)

GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler I really like the metro in the beginning, and the custom Gray Mann poster is cool (Also, gotta appreciate the secret Spy). The upper area is really cozy, like the Mannrobics on the record. I really like the town here, it looks really friendly and oddly nostalgic? Maybe it's because I grew up near a ocean town. nevertheless, it's pretty! the small dock is relaxing, but I'm sad I can't go out onto the pier. The door's opening to the Exhibition Center is really clean, and it feels really cozy inside. I really appreciate the small robot statues, and the mini MvM tank in the play area. The whole underground display area is also really cool. I don't know why the robo scout is in the back behind the others with a large medkit, but I thought it was pretty funny. The murderous robo heavy was cool. The frozen Engie gnome at the fishery is a cool detail. I also love the metal store that's just a rotating piece of sheet metal, love it. the random sewer cover in the corner of the map with the toolbox is such a miniscule detail, but it's so nice. The Rick May statue feels both thematic for a town like this (also reminds me of where I grew up), and also a nice tribute. I also like the small item set grave behind it. The bar was cool, like the working jukebox, the arcade cabinet felt a little out of place with everything however (I also like the secret floorboard rum). I liked the small detail in the tools store with the small bagged knives. This map is no contest, my favorite map of the bunch the attention to detail in immaculate, and the atmosphere is just so cozy and nostalgic. My only major complaint is that I couldn't see more of it!
KrazyZark	Cold	95	Spoiler Ok, off to a great start with a full blown intro! that plus the music reminds me of the intro to a Left 4 Dead campaign. I really like the subtle (maybe not so subtle) alien stuff, reminds me of the Thing. Love the dog in the research building (again, the Thing vibes) that whole building itself is very nicely detailed, I love how the medical bay servers as a resupply room. The lift down into the cave is awesome. The half frozen UFO in the ice looks beautifully ominous, and I love the little stinger that plays. This cinematic feel of this map is diffidently one of it's strong suits, and the attention to detail is amazing. Great work!
Mattie	Hot & Cold	70	Spoiler I like how this one has a little lore dumb on the chalk board before spawning in, that's cool. The little Cafe and gift shop feel real cozy. The main outdoor area with the food truck feel really nice, like a nice winter day in the city. Love the little gags on the roof fund poster in the museum area. The library looks very warm and relaxing. Love how some of the tennis balls are stuck in the windowsill in the tennis court. Love the song list in the music hall. The secret underground lair was super atmospheric, and probably the best part of the map. overall, fairly solid. but I don't think it fits TF2 that well. good luck in your future endeavors!
Phe	Hot & Cold	75	Spoiler Right away, I really like the scorching mining town look, although some of the fire particles are at a slower framerate than others which is a little distracting. The map is also a little small, I wish there was more to see. Also, this is labled as Hot AND Cold, and this map is not cold in the slightest, which confused me. but when it comes to the hot, it nails it!
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	85	Spoiler I really like the arctic mining theme going here, and with the stinger and text one screen, it makes it feel like a Half-Life chapter. The giant pit leading down into the temple make it look like we've unearthed something we weren't supposed too, like we accidently dug up the underworld. The lift was pretty cool. The gong sounds echo throughout the pit, it sounds incredible. The severe shaking of the ground the further you go down make it feel like some ancient evil has been awoken, it feels epic. The treasure at the end is cool, but it felt like the rumbling was about to hit a climax, but it never came. Was sorta expecting something to happen. But yeah, overall super solid map!
Ray is Sucky	Hot	85	Spoiler I spawn in, and the first thing I see is a very menacing elevator, very well executed when I'm already nervous. The elevator was very long, but also intriguing. reminded me of the one from Portal Stories: Mel. The secret lair/industrial look is pulled off really well here, I like the logo callbacks to TFC (the lava pouring through a staircase is also pretty funny). The small room across the catwalk is fascinating to me for some reason (it looks like the office to a FNAF game, that's why). I really like how more intense the heat gets the further you go down, like your walking into the center of the earth (the single freezer room is also pretty funny). The giant lava room looks really cool, like it came straght out of a comic book (I also love the trap door on the floor, reminds me of Austin Powers.) And the secret room with all the wooden cutouts was really neat! overall, maybe a little basic compared to some others, but very solid!
Rhamkin	Hot	60	Spoiler The restaurant is very nice and the Tom Jones band poster is neat, but that's pretty much it. I didn't even realize how this was suppose to be hot until I realized the skybox was a desert, and even then it's only noticeable by the front door. The outdoors also look strange, like the lighting isn't very consistent on the buildings. I'm not sure to what extent it fits the theme, but the restaurant looks nice at least /SPOILER]

[TR]
[TD]Seacat08[/TD]

[TD]Hot & Cold[/TD]
[TD]75[/TD]
[TD]

Spoiler

Love the lakeside cabin look, although the lake is very noticeably split into three via the skybox, so that's weird. I like the functioning radio inside, the working sink, the generator, and the outside generator. those are all neat. The little underground lab is pretty cool, looks more cozy than you'd expect.

Overall, the map is pretty small, but has a bunch of cool interactable stuff, and it's overall pretty good

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]WinterWiz[/TD]

[TD]Cold[/TD]
[TD]70[/TD]
[TD]

Spoiler

Ok, so unlike every other map, this one is an actual playable map. It's a symmetrical King of the Hill map that's next to a large body of water. overall, the aesthetics are all there, it looks really nice. but when it comes to it's design as a Koth map, it's kinda questionable. the arena is fairly small, and the respawn rooms don't have any resupply cabinets. I honestly seems more like an Arena map with Koth logic. (also, random note, there's some weird glitches with the water, being able to see the skybox through it n such.)

overall, in looks it great. in layout, it's... well, questionable.

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/spoiler]

 

[Tumby]

MAP	THEME	SCORE	OPINION
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	50	Spoiler Overall interesting. Feels mostly empty, and the construction at the end seems nonsensical and unfinished. The spotlights at the windows look interesting from a distance, but look janky the closer you get. (And you made me walk close to them.) Sounds could have helped, especially in the electrical fire room.
Anderpan	Cold	50	Spoiler Not bad, but the gigantic, complex cluster of rooms feels random and unfocused. Only a relatively small portion of the map looks cold. I would have liked more outside stuff. Some textures and models are missing.
August101	Cold	10	Spoiler The idea is there, but the execution isn't. Almost every wall is empty and uses one or two textures at best. The lighting is not interesting at all. The blue color correction effect is an ok idea, but I don't think it works well. Simply giving everything a blue tint via lighting would have been much better. The icicles are all casting dynamic shadows onto the floor, which you should have disabled. Overall, it feels very undercooked.
CriticalFeesh	Cold	0	Spoiler There is almost nothing to talk about. The outside area could have been way more interesting, like having an aurora borealis in the sky, using fog or showing anything at all in the far distance. I figured out how to open the hatch of the rocket silo, but there is just a layer of snow underneath. Why would the snow be below the hatch? Lastly, the singular building in the map feels out of place. Just a concrete cube in the middle of nowhere. Don't you think a building in a snow swept location would have an actual roof? Also: Missing cubemaps.
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler This map was phenomenal to walk through. Forcing the player through a linear path can be difficult, but this map managed to tell an interesting story that directly involves your actions. The place feels lived in. I just don't have anything bad to say!
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	30	Spoiler This map feels very empty. The geometry feels gameplay-oriented despite being about a facility that people work in. Why is that forklift in that place? Does the building have anything else going on? The rocket test looked cool, but that's it.
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	35	Spoiler The lava and rock environment looks good, but the buildings don't. The lava also just moves way too fast and spread out. If you spent more time making a larger, more complex environment, I would have enjoyed the map way more. The metal buildings are strange, there is zero infrastructure and the inner layout is nonsense. (Where do people go when they are in the building? Do you just go in, drink water and sit in front of a weird thing all day? How do you get here in the first place?)
fiend	Cold	10	Spoiler I see what you wanted to make, but it just needs more work. I guarantee you, the map would have looked better if you made it smaller. It feels like you tried to use as much of the allowed space as you could, which caused you to create big empty rooms with like 3 objects in them. The texture choices are bland, and the ice/rock repeats way too often.
Freyja	Hot & Cold	75	Spoiler A nice idea, a nice execution. This map is also the only one that features a calendar that doesn't say JUNE on it. The underground facility is mostly just large and empty, though. In fact, the first thing I walked into was the boring Gravelpit corridor. idk I'm not feeling super impressed, but at the same time there is a fair amount of variety.
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	44	Spoiler This one feels a bit unpolished. The interiors for the most part don't have much interesting stuff going on. For the most part, "silly" models like cans of Bonk, the spy frog, banana peels, a frozen engineer, tiny MVM robot figurines, etc. fill the space. At one point, a door teleports you to the rooftop (but not the other way around), making it feel like you didn't plan the building well enough to have an actual staircase or elevator fit inside. The ice on the roads is practically invisible, not even reflecting lights, and it intersects with the snow displacements, creating an ugly outline-like effect. More serious stuff, like some of the back alleys are, would have been nice, even it means that fewer buildings/rooms are accessible.
KrazyZark	Cold	100	Spoiler A very well-made entry. Every room feels real, like actual people are living and working here. Everything one needs to live, from food, to bathrooms, to medical equipment, is accounted for. The fence that surrounds only half the place seems redundant, but it looks better I guess. (You can literally walk around it without noclipping.) The UFO scene looks really good. The transparent ice is just awesome. The sounds of ice cracking add to the atmosphere nicely. The elevator is slow as balls, but anything faster wouldn't be realistic. I appreciate that I can just jump off and walk.
Mattie	Hot & Cold	66	Spoiler A rather unexpected place to see in TF2. The map did a good job of not making me think about the size constraints of the contest. It didn't feel that hot or cold. Making the map take place in more recent times with fully realistic architecture kinda takes me out. I don't dislike it, but I have a hard time loving any of it.
Phe	Hot & Cold	75	Spoiler This is a well executed scene that reminds me of (and is probably meant to be) the burning town from Meet The Pyro. I don't have anything to directly nitpick, and can't think of anything to improve. The sounds are nice, the textures and effects are cool. The map is tiny, though, so it doesn't feel fair to give it more points than this.
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	95	Spoiler This is one of the more unique ideas. I enjoyed the entry into the map and the wonder of what lies ahead as you look over the edge. Even though the place is symmetrical from the outset, you never make me go through the same room twice, thus keeping the journey interesting. The small scale detail, like slabs of stone that are split in two, looks good. The lava genuinely looks viscous, as it should! I didn't find the finale terribly exciting, though. Still, overall, a very good entry.
Ray is Sucky	Hot	75	Spoiler This map did a good job of feeling hot. I feel like I should be burning to a crisp at almost every corner. Other than that, the facility feels pretty random. There is an overall progression from starting at the entrance and ending at the boss's office, but the corridors and rooms feel off and are often claustrophobic. The OC cutouts are too overabundant. The "secret" room at the end is just obvious and jarring.
Rhamkin	Hot	47	Spoiler This map didn't do a good job of feeling hot or cold at all. There are several random mistakes in the map, like a small nodraw hole in the ceiling, vines sticking out through a wall, and the buildings outside not being lit well at all. It's an ok scene, but I'm not feeling it.
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	50	Spoiler The dynamic elements of this map were mildly interesting, sometimes funny, but nothing too crazy. The frame rate on this map was awful. The spytech place looked alright, but kinda unfitting. Maybe it would have worked better if there was less going on in the cabin (as if it was abandoned or something) but there was a much richer spytech base instead?
WinterWiz	Cold	58	Spoiler Nothing surprising here. It feels like a regular KOTH map that received some extra detailing work. The abominable snowman lore is kinda interesting, but not impactful. Also: Missing cubemaps.

Bonus! This map was not properly submitted.

MAP	THEME	SCORE	OPINION
XEnderFaceX	Hot & Cold	25	Spoiler Sorry, but this is an underwhelming map. The lag is really bad; you are probably using the physics-snow which calculates collision of every single snowflake at every tick, causing the CPU to cry. The hot and cold is very mild, as the map takes place exclusively indoors. Many props have ugly dynamic shadows for no reason. The workshop area needs more machines and tools. The contraption with the molten Stuff inside is especially strange.

 

[Cariles]

MAP	THEME	SCORE	RUBRIK
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	61	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 60 | Aesthetic: 50 | Philosophy/World: 60 | Scope/Complexity: 70 | Creativity: +1
Anderpan	Cold	78	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 70 | Aesthetic: 70 | Philosophy/World: 80 | Scope/Complexity: 90 | Creativity: No Bonus
August101	Cold	58	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 60 | Aesthetic: 40 | Philosophy/World: 70 | Scope/Complexity: 60 | Creativity: No Bonus
Criticalfeesh	Cold	20	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 10 | Aesthetic: 20 | Philosophy/World: 30 | Scope/Complexity: 20 | Creativity: No Bonus
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	96	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 95 | Aesthetic: 90 | Philosophy/World: 90 | Scope/Complexity: 95 | Creativity: +3
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	66	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 70 | Aesthetic: 55 | Philosophy/World: 80 | Scope/Complexity: 55 | Creativity: +1
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	68	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 75 | Aesthetic: 55 | Philosophy/World: 80 | Scope/Complexity: 60 | Creativity: No Bonus
fiend	Cold	60	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 65 | Aesthetic: 50 | Philosophy/World: 75 | Scope/Complexity: 50 | Creativity: No Bonus
Freyja	Hot & Cold	92	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 90 | Aesthetic: 90 | Philosophy/World: 90 | Scope/Complexity: 90 | Creativity: +2
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	80	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 80 | Aesthetic: 65 | Philosophy/World: 90 | Scope/Complexity: 80 | Creativity: +1
KrazyZark	Cold	98	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 100 | Aesthetic: 95 | Philosophy/World: 95 | Scope/Complexity: 95 | Creativity: +2
Mattie	Hot & Cold	97	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 90 | Aesthetic: 100 | Philosophy/World: 95 | Scope/Complexity: 95 | Creativity: +2
Phe	Hot & Cold	90	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 90 | Aesthetic: 90 | Philosophy/World: 90 | Scope/Complexity: 85 | Creativity: +1
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	95	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 90 | Aesthetic: 95 | Philosophy/World: 95 | Scope/Complexity: 90 | Creativity: +2
Ray is Sucky	Hot	89	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 90 | Aesthetic: 65 | Philosophy/World: 90 | Scope/Complexity: 90 | Creativity: +1
Rhamkin	Hot	80	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 80 | Aesthetic: 85 | Philosophy/World: 85 | Scope/Complexity: 70 | Creativity: No Bonus
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	74	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 80 | Aesthetic: 70 | Philosophy/World: 80 | Scope/Complexity: 60 | Creativity: +1
WinterWiz	Cold	76	Spoiler Technical/User Experience: 70 | Aesthetic: 80 | Philosophy/World: 80 | Scope/Complexity: 75 | Creativity: No Bonus

 

[Suna]

The submission deadline has been extended by a week to compensate for the time the site was unavailable. The new deadline is August 20th

 

[Egan]

MAP	THEME	SCORE
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	70
Anderpan	Cold	70
August101	Cold	50
CriticalFeesh	Cold	20
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	100
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	70
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	80
fiend	Cold	55
Freyja	Hot & Cold	95
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	85
KrazyZark	Cold	100
Mattie	Hot & Cold	100
Phe	Hot & Cold	95
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	95
Ray is Sucky	Hot	75
Rhamkin	Hot	75
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	70
WinterWiz	Cold	75

Playlist of my reviews of the maps:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSV0BSbqoMfjVB_BW11mLOPjSSaQYPUm0

Spoiler

Note: The scores in the videos I made were on a scale of nearest-20%. examples: 3/5, 4/5, 5/5.
These scores in the table above are converted to a scale of 0 to 100, which gave more flexibility when comparing entries. I decided to compare the entries because that's what felt correct to me while judging this contest.

 

[dotmd]

MAP	THEME	SCORE	COMMENTS
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	45	Spoiler Fancy lighting effects, and I liked the little setpieces to exhibit this. interesting terrain in the underground bit but the roof of the cave is quite flat, maybe could have used fog to hide that better. I don't think the layout of the building makes much sense, the route you have to take to get between the rooms is crazy.
Anderpan	Cold	65	Spoiler Quite disorientating to explore and felt like I was looking at 5 different maps in one, very densely packed. there's a lot going on and looks generally pretty good
August101	Cold	25	Spoiler Cute idea, epic snowman :snowman: . A lot of the props felt out of place/random, and most of the rooms and general layout of the map didn't make much sense for it to be a believable factory. idk if you did, but maybe if you looked at more factory reference pictures to copy/draw ideas from that could improve future projects?
CriticalFeesh	Cold	10	Spoiler Not much here to comment on, would have liked to see the idea of a moonbase pushed further, if that's what the theme was? I wasn't sure
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler oops! everything felt so well planned and well framed throughout, very cinematic. did you storyboard this or something lol? Don't think I've seen such a good house interior before using the mann manor assets, the scale of the rooms and props often feel mismatched but this one nails it. great concept and great execution
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	40	Spoiler Liked the introduction, the lighting effect into the control room when the engine was firing was really well done, just like in oppenheimer wow, live video feed was neat too. It's a nice setpiece. The building itself was quite simple, I liked the idea of visibility being so poor you could only just about make out the building, but it's a very square silhouette. I think the shape of the building really needs to stand out if such heavy weather effects are blocking any finer details
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	60	Spoiler Good use of sound. eye feel like the oob building and the wall needed to be about double the size, it looks like it should be this big menacing facility, but the scale of it is so little. Terrain is cool, liked how it wasn't a direct convenient path through the volcano. Interior could maybe have used some more interesting angles/room shapes? The well-built entrance tunnel leading to a secret cramped ratden room feels slightly mismatched, but the room itself was very well done
fiend	Cold	15	Spoiler How you merged the buildings on the left side into the ice walls looks good, but the concrete buildings don't fit as well. interiors are fairly empty. I liked the concept
Freyja	Hot & Cold	95	Spoiler Very peaceful, buildings look great and nice layout with the buildings/terrain. even the text on the props was changed to japanese, have these always existed or were they edited just for this map? transition into the underground base was a bit abrupt and could have been hidden better (but then I heard other people didn't find it so maybe it was a good idea to keep it fairly obvious for gameplay sake lol). I was surprised how expansive it was down there and loved the interesting room shapes. the turbine lava tube thing was cool
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	30	Spoiler Good jokes and enjoyed going through the exhibition center. textures and lighting were a bit odd in places and some areas felt empty
KrazyZark	Cold	95	Spoiler Nice storytelling, the effect of the UFO half stuck in ice looks great with the lighting. every room is a believable space. pipe from UFO goes nowhere?
Mattie	Hot & Cold	90	Spoiler Authentically national trust (although entry prices should be tripled and they would definitely decorate those trees around christmas). lots to explore and lots of details. could have leaned into hot/cold theme further. best of luck with future projects <3
Phe	Hot & Cold	80	Spoiler Really good atmosphere, maybe some of the buildings could have been more damaged? the few sections of falling roofs and broken beams were well done (lol) but thought a few buildings looked too intact
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	95	Spoiler Cool narrative. I can't decide whether I like how you can see the end the entire time and you're circling down towards it, or if it feels like you've lost part of a big end reveal. Although you do still get a good reveal when you first see the pit. Scaffolding area up top was my favourite section
Ray is Sucky	Hot	80	Spoiler What a maze felt very hot, favourite part were the caves. very red, maybe could have done with more contrasting areas/colours?
Rhamkin	Hot	50	Spoiler Nice atmosphere and cute little details inside, I liked the fan of war pizza paddle. The oob buildings, while they are in the right style feel a little too low detail to be so close and the skybox ends abruptly
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	35	Spoiler Cute interior details, liked the curved spytech walls underground. Outside area fairly sparse with a few lighting issues and stretched displacement textures
WinterWiz	Cold	50	Spoiler Very believable tf2 space, being symmetrical made it a little less interesting to explore the second half of the map though

Going through these was fun, good job everyone (Went through them in reverse order if that's of any interest)

 

[Elizabeth]

MAP	THEME	SCORE
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	44
Anderpan	Cold	60
August101	Cold	28
CriticalFeesh	Cold	20
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	92
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	44
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	56
fiend	Cold	28
Freyja	Hot & Cold	100
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	72
KrazyZark	Cold	100
Mattie	Hot & Cold	100
Phe	Hot & Cold	96
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	96
Ray is Sucky	Hot	92
Rhamkin	Hot	56
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	64
WinterWiz	Cold	72

Score breakdown and generalish comments here

 

[SnickerPuffs]

Going to be filling this out as a play each map, just wanted to get my first few scores posted as soon as possible.

MAP	THEME	SCORE
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	55
Anderpan	Cold	65
August101	Cold	40
CriticalFeesh	Cold	25
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	100
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	65
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	70
fiend	Cold	45
Freyja	Hot & Cold	90
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	80
KrazyZark	Cold	100
Mattie	Hot & Cold	97
Phe	Hot & Cold	75
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	95
Ray is Sucky	Hot	90
Rhamkin	Hot	75
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	70
WinterWiz	Cold	65

 

[14bit]

MAP	THEME	SCORE	NOTES
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	60	Spoiler The godrays and lightshafts are cool, but a lot of it feels unintentionally poorly lit; you have to stumble around in the dark a lot to progress. The bit with the generator and the icicles in the cave is (I think) the prettiest bit, though walking out into the ice cave is pretty neat even if it's pretty empty. The flames make no noise. Average, with some cool moments
Anderpan	Cold	30	Spoiler Lots of missing textures and errors. Inconsistent texture and prop usage makes it feel like everything was just piled on, rather than planned out as a cohesive whole; it feels very noisy because of that. Some areas are a bit better, but there's still conflicting architectural styles and texture/theme-mismatching all over. There's a ton to explore, but it doesn't feel consistent. It doesn't feel like a place. Visually cluttered, nonsensical architecture, impressive scale
August101	Cold	45	Spoiler The brushwork vans are really cute! Everything turning blue in the freezer is neat. I'm sad I can't shoot the tower of bottles over. There's some kind of teleport near the door that can get you stuck in the door by teleporting you into it as it opens. I wish the fire made noise and hurt you. Also, the brushwork is a bit simple everywhere, and could use some trim to more naturally transition between textures and rooms. Over all pretty simple, pretty clean, some nice set pieces even if it's a bit rough around the edges Average, a bit underdetailed
CriticalFeesh	Cold	10	Spoiler Seems to be on the Moon? These buildings are very earth-like though, very artificial, like this is a set and not actually the moon. That doesn't seem intentional though. The 3D skybox doesn't blend in well. It's neat you can open the big doors, but there's nothing underneath but a white plane; noclipping inside reveals a rocket, but you can't see it while normally exploring so I'm confused. Underdetailed and empty
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler The sound design here is very good. I love the 3D skybox, you used the mini farm props well. The density of detail is really well done, with plenty of fun things to notice. Lots of clever asset usage to make a variety of locations that all feel connected. I'm particularly impressed by how you managed to make a good looking cluttered attic without it being overkill. The fire is spectacular, I've never seen a good burning building in TF2 before. I'm also impressed by how it's a little adventure to experience, though I'm not sure if I reached the ending. With the doors to the burning barn open it seems like it's trying to lead me somewhere else, but I can't find another path forwards to an ending. Feels like a MapLabs entry for HL2, but still TF2. Neat! Excellent detailing, cool scene changes
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	75	Spoiler A few missing textures, sadly. I missed the rocket exhaust the first time since I was exploring in the snow, reloaded to check missing textures and saw it. Neat use of visual tricks to pull it off in the control room! Not too much going on here, but what is here is nice. Competently made, not much to see
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	80	Spoiler I love the vibe of the outside, what with the giant lava flows roaring and the cool 3D skybox. The outside building textures are far too shiny, feels like the game QUBE. Though since that's also on an alien planet that might be fine? Feels out of place for TF2. The HAL9000 on the water cooler is funny. I like the architecture of the base itself, though I wish there was more of it to see! I almost totally missed the underground! I love the bunker, it's cute and well done. Unique theme done well
fiend	Cold	45	Spoiler The lighting here is nicely done, but the lack of a 3D skybox and missing textures doesn't do this many favors. The bar is really cute and well made! Overall, this doesn't quite feel like a place; it's like an artificial mountain was constructed around a base, rather than a base built into a mountain. Lots of space that serves no purpose, visually or logically as a base. A lot of the rooms are very empty, and there's a lot of repeating textures without variation to break things up. Average, a bit underdetailed
Freyja	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler Oh wow, this is spectacular. I think this is the best use of the Japan assets I've seen; it blends into TF2's style here seamlessly. The sense of place is incredible, and the details are wonderful. It really feels cold in the cold areas, and hot in the hot areas! I love that the radiators give off heat distortion. The color and lighting outside is very well done, the deep blues of the snow and shadows contrast very well with the sunlight and the wood of the buildings. And then, on top of the incredible architecture of the onsen, there's a whole classic spytech base under it that pulls off the style perfectly! The room with the pipes is particularly well done, great use of props in novel ways! And the gate control works and the lava rises, wow! And the shutters on the doors can be raised, which also hides the maps! I am genuinely blown away by this. Either section on it's own would have been enough for me, but together it's unbelievable. The well is a fun touch. Excellent, I have no meaningful criticism
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	80	Spoiler The ice is fun! I really don't like the use of TF2 fonts on world textures, it really takes me out of it. The whole "presentation center" angle is quite fun, but I'm iffy on some of the details. The egg chairs feel really out of place, and a lot of the jokes on the signs feel off from TF2's usual humor. The meet-and-greet is cute! The gift shop is adorable! The "Metal" shop is actually quite a good gag. Pretty good use of the London assets; the bar in particular is well done. I am impressed by the amount of stuff here. Impressive effort
KrazyZark	Cold	100	Spoiler Immediately softlocked and unable to move, probably because I clicked the wrong class and tried to switch while the cutscene was going. Other than that bug, I'm blown away by this. There's so much detail everywhere in the buildings, but it's not cluttered! There's even a working Akira lift, and you can call it back if you miss it. Very nice touch; I didn't want to jump down after it. Once you're underground, very nice use of the Invasion assets (probably the best I've seen!), and if I'm not mistaken there's some custom models just for this too. Impressive, I have no meaningful criticism
Mattie	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler The lighting outside it a bit too blue for me. I love this idea of a historic home/museum, and a lot of it is pulled off very well. I do wish I could actually read most of the signs though. I spent a long time not crossing the barriers like it was a real museum, and was pleasantly surprised to find those areas are not clipped off. The interiors are beautifully detailed, and remind me of real castles I've been to. Realizing there really was a puzzle after finding the first fuse was great, as was the hunt for the remaining ones. The letter, in combination with realizing there were seats for all the mercenaries, made me genuinely cry. It's a beautiful sendoff if this truly is the end of your time working on TF2; thank you for your incredible work over the years. I'm glad I got to experience it. Incredible, I have no meaningful criticism
Phe	Hot & Cold	85	Spoiler Is this a recreation of the place from Meet the Pyro? It feels like it! The fire effects are very well done, and there's some nice details (like medic's saw in the door that's been blocked!). The sound design is haunting, well done! I wish there was a little more to see, but what is here is very good. Excellent detailing, though not much to see
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	100	Spoiler Woah, a title card! And another later! Makes this feel like a Map Labs entry, very neat. I love how cold the upper bits feel, and the transition down to heat is done very well. You sadly can't call the elevator back from the top and I didn't want to jump, so I had to reload. That being said, the elevator is very well made. These are some of the best "mysterious ruins" I've seen done in TF2; there's so many little details everywhere! All the wooden beamwork and stonework is very nice. Sad that only the closer of the two gongs works when shot. The gag of what's in the box at the end is great. Stellar, I have no meaningful criticism
Ray is Sucky	Hot	90	Spoiler That was a very long elevator! I like the hyena. There's some neat ideas here, but something about the brushwork is off. For being right after a massive elevator, the staircases and hallways feel very narrow and ill-suited to the kinds of stuff you'd need a lift like that for. The bits with the sloped celings don't feel intentional or like they fit in with the rest of the archetecture. The caves and observation walkways are the best parts, though the melted staircases are really cool too. It shares an issue with a lot of the other entries in that it doesn't feel like a logically constructed place, rather a string of setpieces that were fit together by any means necessary. The result is a lot of tight hallways and it feeling very maze-like. I like the generator room. The one cold room is funny! The trapdoor at the desk is also quite good, and the teleport back is nice. The deeper into the base you get the better and more consistent the detailing gets, I guess it's mostly just the cramped hallways and repeating textures of the beginning that I take issue with. It also really bugs me how you can see the sky above the rocket after going down that entire elevator. We should be way deeper underground! I almost missed the final room, but I'm glad I caught it last second, it's fun. Ambitious scale, most of it works
Rhamkin	Hot	80	Spoiler Oh this is delightful! I hope bucketcat is enjoying their milkshake. While there's not much here, what is here is very nice. The scaling of the custom assets feels off, like they're too big, but I don't think that's something you had control over; couch cushions being higher than the seats of the chairs and stuff like that. A bit simple, but done well
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	55	Spoiler Something is wrong with the fog color here, it doesn't work with the skybox and lighting you've chosen. Everything fades to white before being cutoff for very dark colors, instead of helping things fade into the skybox. I like the cribbage board and the K'nex! The curved wood and glass is a bit strange; I don't think that's how log cabins work. There's a lot of neat little details in the bedrooms, but the brushwork and texturework in places like the kitchen really feel weak. You sadly can't call the elevator back from the top and I didn't want to jump, so I had to reload. All the curves in the base are really interesting, it feels very "early custom map" like Vector or something. The spytech stuff is pulled off much better than the cabin to my eyes, though it's still a bit visually noisy and maze-like for my tastes. Average, with some neat curved brushwork
WinterWiz	Cold	45	Spoiler It's neat that this is designed to look like a KotH map! While I like some of the individual areas, overall I think it might be a bit visually noisy and overdetailed. The boat, the crane, the helicopter, the team bases, all of it is fighting for your attention. Blu's side feels better to me, it's probably the fact that the textures are more similar and blend better; on red's side all the bricks vie for attention. Something seems up with the water, it's mostly completely black but sometimes in some places there's ghostly images of ice that move with the camera. Average, a bit overdetailed

 

[Comfy_]

MAP	THEME	SCORE AND FEEDBACK
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	75 Spoiler The beginning area is a bit meh with the trees but i love the lighting inside the building and the look of it and the ice cave is fantastic, I love bigger areas like this!! great setpieces
Anderpan	Cold	50 Spoiler Although it fits the tf2 artstyle it does feel very cluttered and a bit messy. There are many routes and rooms for me to go into which kinda becomes too much. I don't always feel like my eyes are being directed. Wouldve like less for me to explore or what i do explore to be more unique per area. would've likeed for things to feel more open and less cramped to walkthrough
August101	Cold	20 Spoiler There isn't much here that's detailed. Just some hallways with textures and lighting. I liked the theme of an icecream company. Very small, which can be nice. Would like to have more to look at.
CriticalFeesh	Cold	10 Spoiler It's too basic and doesn't have much in it. the main building is a good start. textures are inconsistend.
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	100 Spoiler amazing! really felt like you were taking me along a little journey and wish it was longer. Really enjoy how it ties together. Everything looks great!
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	35 Spoiler The begining area is too much of a wasteland[ and my framerate isnt the best here (pretty powerful pc) I like that there is some interactivity. Wish there was more to explore and that the outisde had more in it and more refined
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	65 Spoiler I like the theme and the beginning area is decent but the skybox could use something more. would've like more direction. Great presentation with the way the door opens. Building inside is a bit simple. Liked the other room a lot. Wish there was more to explore, I thought i was going to check out an entire facility
fiend	Cold	45 Spoiler The outside is a bit bland. I like the idea of what you're trying to do but geometry is too blocky and textures dont look as good as they could. Yeah add more boats, maybe one big one and that smaller one next to it. The map feels very empty but non offensive. Even when there is stuff in the room there isnt enough. Lighting is decent.
Freyja	Hot & Cold	95 Spoiler first impression is really good! Trees couldve looked a bit better but the theme and shapes are great and very enjoyable to walk around. Really love how much there is too explore but I would've liked more direction for me to follow. Great how it goes from cold to hot. Really like how lived in it feels and how areas come back to eachother. very good experience.
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	65 Spoiler I really like the starting area with the train and the signs make it feel more tf2. It is a bit blocky. Really great exhibition!! There's a lot of area to explore but the hot and cold theme kinda just comes down to snow. Wish I could open the doors as a player and areas be just a bit more lived in. Not the most
KrazyZark	Cold	100 Spoiler This map is amazing. I love how it starts with a little cutscene type thing. Everything feels like a real place. Feels like its from a different game. Wish there was mor ebut what i got was really good and high quality, keep it up!!
Mattie	Hot & Cold	95 Spoiler Feels like a real place and the outside entrance is a good idea. Although at this point of these maps the "just throw in snow haha winter"Is getting a bit stale but it is well done. Great lighting on the inside. Very entertaining and muich to look at. Wish the areas looped more around and some interactivity. Very cozy.
Phe	Hot & Cold	80 Spoiler Amazing first impression. The soundscape is really impactful and really adds to the mood. Wish there was more area to explore
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	100 Spoiler the start is a little small but the concept of the map is great and already enjoy the scale of the crater and temple. Nice to have interactivity.Love the sound design and the title that pops up. Very cool and fantastical vibe. Like indiana jones on steriods. Wish there was even more to explore (positively)!
Ray is Sucky	Hot	90 Spoiler thank you for making the interactive thingie have an outline!! okay the elivator takes a little toooo long. feels epic and moody. there's a lot to explore, wish the rooms where more unique from eachother. needs more evilness. Felt like just a facility for the most part.
Rhamkin	Hot	75 Spoiler Finally not snow or lava, very good!! Nice and cozy and summery vibe, wish i could go here irl. Skybox could use a little more touch. Really wish I could go into the town and look at more cute interiors. Overal good idea, keep working on it, would love to see more.
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	75 Spoiler The skybox could use more touch. The environment audio has some beeping computer sounds that dont make too much sense. The house is cute and well decorated. the outside area is just okay, could use more. Could use more shape in the cave cieling but looks nice. The facility defenitely looks like your strongside (some stuff is clipping a little tho), very nice lighting and stuff to look at.funny little interaction with the wooden planks, wish there was more. Lighting a little too bright however. keep it up!
WinterWiz	Cold	80 Spoiler this actually feels like a playable map, very cool! Nicely decorated with a lot nooks and cranies but can be a bit messy. Sounds could be better on the snow. Really like the big cargo area. A map id like to play.

 

[Paper Shadow]

There was a lot of really good entries and directions of how to create a detail map here, and I think if it wasn't for the sheer extent of the many angles I had to account for in scoring, many maps would be scoring higher. I'd even consider any map scoring over 80 would have been a likely winner in the last Detail Contest. To accomodate the varied approaches to what could be valued in a Detail Map I devised a 125-point system to score against, but then justified being stingy with points because there was extra at play. I'm willing to provide detailed feedback to anyone who requests it.

MAP	THEME	SCORE
a freakin' knight	Hot & Cold	51
Anderpan	Cold	50
August101	Cold	30
CriticalFeesh	Cold	8
Dasprucegoose	Hot & Cold	94
DrSquishy	Hot & Cold	30
Emil_Rusboi	Hot	49
fiend	Cold	15
Freyja	Hot & Cold	91
GuardianAngel	Hot & Cold	44
KrazyZark	Cold	98
Mattie	Hot & Cold	87
Phe	Hot & Cold	69
Puxorb	Hot & Cold	84
Ray is Sucky	Hot	71
Rhamkin	Hot	35
Seacat08	Hot & Cold	46
WinterWiz	Cold	42