- Jul 30, 2021
- 909
- 626
Hi. I just like getting my ideas out here so here is my "Everything goes fantastically, amazingly, and ideally in 2026" post. Is it realistic? Probably not, but I don't really care about being insanely realistic with this one, just wanna try having fun.
This is in no way an official document.
JANUARY
January is the unsurprising "welcome back to TF2Maps!" month. That means new plans, new people, and new things to settle into. So imo you want to keep January a bit light in terms of major events going on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 1st - Announcing Staff Openings, Staff Promotions, and Staff Resignations (including summarizing any leaves that didn't really get an announcement from the actual, like, person who left the team)
January 10th - Preliminary schedule of the year goes out. ("What we want to accomplish this year...")
January 15th - Staff openings officially close.
January 25th - New Staff & Mods are announced.
FEBRUARY
February is the month where, imo, things start to pick up now that everyone has recovered from the Smissmas rush and has started getting into mapping again (I mean hey, just look at this year. Big names startin' to map like Crash & I dinne ken). To help get that ball rolling, I think having February be the month where a big, major contest starts would be a smart idea so this month kinda focuses on that.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 1st - New Major Contest is Announced and starts.
February 1st - 1-Week Microcontest with the same theme as the new major contest begins. (Kinda similar to how Rule of Threes got people interested in mapping with the concept)
February 15th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
February 16th - Registration for the TF2Maps Highlander Circuit opens. This would be an 8-week (+playoffs & finals) season of experimental highlander maps for both competitive players and mappers to get interested in each others' scenes. Focuses on developing map theory and strategy rather than delving super hard into combat prowess.
February 28th - Registration for the Highlander Circuit closes, and schedules are drafted.
MARCH
March gets the fun opportunity of being "a month." Things are happening, and this is when comp would get really getting into gear.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 1st - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
March 1st - Highlander Circuit begins, however this week is the "bye week" for teams to prepare and get acquainted to the maps.
March 8th - Highlander Circuit Week 1. (Example map: @theatreTECHIE's cp_nidal)
March 12th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Seacat08 or @Brokkhouse?)
March 15th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
March 15th - Highlander Circuit Week 2. (Example map: @Spleep's koth_proot)
March 22nd - Highlander Circuit Week 3. (Example map: @Erk's pl_resonance)
March 29th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
March 29th - Highlander Circuit Week 4. (Example map: @renton's koth_govan)
APRIL
April is kinda more of the same of March, just making sure things happen consistently and making sure players are enjoying themselves. This and March are ideally the kind of "relaxed period" for staff in TF2Maps, letting them take a break from the hectic February and especially for the new staff members to really adjust to their new environment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 1st - Yearly April Fools Gameday(s).
April 5th - Highlander Circuit BYE Week. (Gives teams a break between first and last four maps)
April 9th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Crash or @ics?)
April 12th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
April 12th - Highlander Circuit Week 5. (Example map: @Billo's pl_eruption)
April 19th - Highlander Circuit Week 6. (Example map: @Aspennly's koth_ivory)
April 26th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
April 26th - Highlander Circuit Week 7. (Example map: @scrly's pl_viper)
MAY
May is when things really start picking back up imo, with significant events coming to a close and some lesser-but-still-prevalent things are happening. Contest closing its doors at the end of the month, end of the comp season, some more cool stuff... that sort of gig.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 1st - Announcement and beginning of a 1-month TF2Maps Promotional Asset Drive. ("Wanna show your appreciation for TF2Maps' testing services? Here's some cool posters to place around your map!" or something)
May 3rd - Highlander Circuit Week 8. (Example map: @zythe_'s ctf_defector)
May 10th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
May 10th - Highlander Circuit BYE Week. (Letting teams prepare for Playoffs)
May 13th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Defcon or @Freyja?)
May 17th - Highlander Circuit Playoffs. (Teams pick maps in Pick/Ban System)
May 24th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
May 24th - Highlander Circuit Grand Finals & Conclusion of the season.
May 31st - Major Contest mapping period ends.
JUNE
June is the month when the summer rush is basically over, and now everyone is just waiting for the actual summer update to release. It's the end of a lot of things. So in June here, we're kinda just wrapping up and doing some smaller stuff.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 1st - Preliminary voting for major contest begins. (Tbh I think a simple "Put the seven maps you liked most and any feedback you have about them & the other entries here" thing similar to the early years in contests would be fine. Simple and easy to understand, and isn't incessantly annoying for people who feel more passively about maps)
June 1st - End of the asset drive & pack being released for FREE USE!!!
Gotta be free use.
June 6th - Contest Test Night.
June 7th - Contest Test Night.
June 10th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @zythe_ or @Sonoma?)
June 14th - Preliminary voting ends.
June 17th - Judge voting begins for major contest.
June 20th - Contest Test Night.
June 21st - Contest Test Night.
June 30th - All judging ends for Major Contest.
JULY
July is the true "month of reprieve," where not a lot is happening and staff gets a bit of a break to do what they want and just chill out before things heat up again in August, summer or not for them (lol)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 8th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Tiftid or @Zeus?)
July 15th - Announcing Staff Openings, Staff Promotions, and Staff Resignations (including summarizing any leaves that didn't really get an announcement from the actual, like, person who left the team)
July 20th - "What we've been cooking..." thread release.
July 31st - Staff Openings Close.
AUGUST
August is here, and it's ready to destroy the world! A new, official minor contest and the 72-hour jam are a smashing way to bust into the second half of the year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 1st - "Play it Again! 2026" minor contest is announced and begins. (To explain: this is a one month-long, yearly event that would allow newer members to experience old TF2Maps contest ideas.)
August 2nd - Announcement of the 2026 TF2Maps 72-hour Jam happens.
August 5th - New Staff & Mods are announced.
August 12th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Emil_Rusboi or @Auwi?)
August 17th - 2026 72hr Jam, Day 1.
August 18th - 2026 72hr Jam, Day 2.
August 19th - 2026 72hr Jam, Day 3.
August 20th - Conclusion of the 2026 72-hour Jam.
August 31st - Mapping portion of Play it Again! 2026 ends.
SEPTEMBER
September, september, september... back to school season, so that means chilling it out a slight bit. Lucky for TF2Maps, September is essentially the October for mappers since Halloween mapping is happening. I think it'd be good to let admins rest after, well, not only two different contests but also the insanity that is the 72-hour Jam.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 1st - Voting portion of Play it Again! 2026 begins.
September 3rd - Begin negotiations with Potato.tf and @Braindawg for a TF2Maps-sponsored MVM event. (ie: "We provide the maps, you provide us with feedback. Mutual benefits, woo!!!!!)
September 9th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Exile or @PigPig?)
September 15th - Voting for Play it Again! 2026 ends.
September 19th - Winners for Play it Again! 2026 are announced.
September 30th - The 2026 72-hour Jam Showcase is released.
OCTOBER
And now, after Halloween hell, comes the cold of another detailing contest to round out the year. This last stretch of the year, aside from the detail contest, should be kinda quiet to me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1st - 2026 Detailing Contest is announced and begins.
October 14th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Stiffy360 or @Rhamkin?)
NOVEMBER
Same thing with October, just keeping things chill and letting people rest from such an explosive year of mapping.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 11th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @LizardOfOz or @Aarmastah?)
November 30th - Detailing contest's mapping period ends.
DECEMBER
Finally wrapping up the entire year, with a bunch of cool little wrap-ups via featured maps, detail contest ending, map of the year, y'know the drill.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 2nd - Detailing Contest voting period begins.
December 9th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @MilkMaster72 or @Fillmore?)
December 10th - Featured Maps voting begins.
December 15th - Detailing Contest voting ends.
December 21st - Katsu's Mapping Collection 2026 Wrap-Up releases.
December 24th - Katsu's "Map of the Year 2026" releases.
December 31st - Featured Maps voting concludes, and the featured maps showcase is released on the 15th of January, 2027.
That was... a lot to write. And probably read. It's okay though; I'm very proud of my ideas here, and while if I'm honest probably none or at least most of this won't happen, I'm happy I at least put my thoughts out. I had a lot more ideas, like the Potato campaign being part of this year, or a sixes bout of comp, but I figured the community would feel fatigued if that much stuff was happening, not to mention staff. Cheers if ya made it all the way down here. I had quite a bit of fun with this.
Remember: This is just my ideas.
This is in no way an official document.
JANUARY
January is the unsurprising "welcome back to TF2Maps!" month. That means new plans, new people, and new things to settle into. So imo you want to keep January a bit light in terms of major events going on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 1st - Announcing Staff Openings, Staff Promotions, and Staff Resignations (including summarizing any leaves that didn't really get an announcement from the actual, like, person who left the team)
January 10th - Preliminary schedule of the year goes out. ("What we want to accomplish this year...")
January 15th - Staff openings officially close.
January 25th - New Staff & Mods are announced.
FEBRUARY
February is the month where, imo, things start to pick up now that everyone has recovered from the Smissmas rush and has started getting into mapping again (I mean hey, just look at this year. Big names startin' to map like Crash & I dinne ken). To help get that ball rolling, I think having February be the month where a big, major contest starts would be a smart idea so this month kinda focuses on that.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 1st - New Major Contest is Announced and starts.
February 1st - 1-Week Microcontest with the same theme as the new major contest begins. (Kinda similar to how Rule of Threes got people interested in mapping with the concept)
February 15th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
February 16th - Registration for the TF2Maps Highlander Circuit opens. This would be an 8-week (+playoffs & finals) season of experimental highlander maps for both competitive players and mappers to get interested in each others' scenes. Focuses on developing map theory and strategy rather than delving super hard into combat prowess.
February 28th - Registration for the Highlander Circuit closes, and schedules are drafted.
MARCH
March gets the fun opportunity of being "a month." Things are happening, and this is when comp would get really getting into gear.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 1st - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
March 1st - Highlander Circuit begins, however this week is the "bye week" for teams to prepare and get acquainted to the maps.
March 8th - Highlander Circuit Week 1. (Example map: @theatreTECHIE's cp_nidal)
March 12th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Seacat08 or @Brokkhouse?)
March 15th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
March 15th - Highlander Circuit Week 2. (Example map: @Spleep's koth_proot)
March 22nd - Highlander Circuit Week 3. (Example map: @Erk's pl_resonance)
March 29th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
March 29th - Highlander Circuit Week 4. (Example map: @renton's koth_govan)
APRIL
April is kinda more of the same of March, just making sure things happen consistently and making sure players are enjoying themselves. This and March are ideally the kind of "relaxed period" for staff in TF2Maps, letting them take a break from the hectic February and especially for the new staff members to really adjust to their new environment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 1st - Yearly April Fools Gameday(s).
April 5th - Highlander Circuit BYE Week. (Gives teams a break between first and last four maps)
April 9th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Crash or @ics?)
April 12th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
April 12th - Highlander Circuit Week 5. (Example map: @Billo's pl_eruption)
April 19th - Highlander Circuit Week 6. (Example map: @Aspennly's koth_ivory)
April 26th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
April 26th - Highlander Circuit Week 7. (Example map: @scrly's pl_viper)
MAY
May is when things really start picking back up imo, with significant events coming to a close and some lesser-but-still-prevalent things are happening. Contest closing its doors at the end of the month, end of the comp season, some more cool stuff... that sort of gig.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 1st - Announcement and beginning of a 1-month TF2Maps Promotional Asset Drive. ("Wanna show your appreciation for TF2Maps' testing services? Here's some cool posters to place around your map!" or something)
May 3rd - Highlander Circuit Week 8. (Example map: @zythe_'s ctf_defector)
May 10th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
May 10th - Highlander Circuit BYE Week. (Letting teams prepare for Playoffs)
May 13th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Defcon or @Freyja?)
May 17th - Highlander Circuit Playoffs. (Teams pick maps in Pick/Ban System)
May 24th - Bi-Weekly Contest Test Night.
May 24th - Highlander Circuit Grand Finals & Conclusion of the season.
May 31st - Major Contest mapping period ends.
JUNE
June is the month when the summer rush is basically over, and now everyone is just waiting for the actual summer update to release. It's the end of a lot of things. So in June here, we're kinda just wrapping up and doing some smaller stuff.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 1st - Preliminary voting for major contest begins. (Tbh I think a simple "Put the seven maps you liked most and any feedback you have about them & the other entries here" thing similar to the early years in contests would be fine. Simple and easy to understand, and isn't incessantly annoying for people who feel more passively about maps)
June 1st - End of the asset drive & pack being released for FREE USE!!!
Gotta be free use.June 6th - Contest Test Night.
June 7th - Contest Test Night.
June 10th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @zythe_ or @Sonoma?)
June 14th - Preliminary voting ends.
June 17th - Judge voting begins for major contest.
June 20th - Contest Test Night.
June 21st - Contest Test Night.
June 30th - All judging ends for Major Contest.
JULY
July is the true "month of reprieve," where not a lot is happening and staff gets a bit of a break to do what they want and just chill out before things heat up again in August, summer or not for them (lol)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 8th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Tiftid or @Zeus?)
July 15th - Announcing Staff Openings, Staff Promotions, and Staff Resignations (including summarizing any leaves that didn't really get an announcement from the actual, like, person who left the team)
July 20th - "What we've been cooking..." thread release.
July 31st - Staff Openings Close.
AUGUST
August is here, and it's ready to destroy the world! A new, official minor contest and the 72-hour jam are a smashing way to bust into the second half of the year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 1st - "Play it Again! 2026" minor contest is announced and begins. (To explain: this is a one month-long, yearly event that would allow newer members to experience old TF2Maps contest ideas.)
August 2nd - Announcement of the 2026 TF2Maps 72-hour Jam happens.
August 5th - New Staff & Mods are announced.
August 12th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Emil_Rusboi or @Auwi?)
August 17th - 2026 72hr Jam, Day 1.
August 18th - 2026 72hr Jam, Day 2.
August 19th - 2026 72hr Jam, Day 3.
August 20th - Conclusion of the 2026 72-hour Jam.
August 31st - Mapping portion of Play it Again! 2026 ends.
SEPTEMBER
September, september, september... back to school season, so that means chilling it out a slight bit. Lucky for TF2Maps, September is essentially the October for mappers since Halloween mapping is happening. I think it'd be good to let admins rest after, well, not only two different contests but also the insanity that is the 72-hour Jam.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 1st - Voting portion of Play it Again! 2026 begins.
September 3rd - Begin negotiations with Potato.tf and @Braindawg for a TF2Maps-sponsored MVM event. (ie: "We provide the maps, you provide us with feedback. Mutual benefits, woo!!!!!)
September 9th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Exile or @PigPig?)
September 15th - Voting for Play it Again! 2026 ends.
September 19th - Winners for Play it Again! 2026 are announced.
September 30th - The 2026 72-hour Jam Showcase is released.
OCTOBER
And now, after Halloween hell, comes the cold of another detailing contest to round out the year. This last stretch of the year, aside from the detail contest, should be kinda quiet to me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1st - 2026 Detailing Contest is announced and begins.
October 14th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @Stiffy360 or @Rhamkin?)
NOVEMBER
Same thing with October, just keeping things chill and letting people rest from such an explosive year of mapping.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 11th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @LizardOfOz or @Aarmastah?)
November 30th - Detailing contest's mapping period ends.
DECEMBER
Finally wrapping up the entire year, with a bunch of cool little wrap-ups via featured maps, detail contest ending, map of the year, y'know the drill.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 2nd - Detailing Contest voting period begins.
December 9th - Mapper Interview. (Maybe with @MilkMaster72 or @Fillmore?)
December 10th - Featured Maps voting begins.
December 15th - Detailing Contest voting ends.
December 21st - Katsu's Mapping Collection 2026 Wrap-Up releases.
December 24th - Katsu's "Map of the Year 2026" releases.
December 31st - Featured Maps voting concludes, and the featured maps showcase is released on the 15th of January, 2027.
That was... a lot to write. And probably read. It's okay though; I'm very proud of my ideas here, and while if I'm honest probably none or at least most of this won't happen, I'm happy I at least put my thoughts out. I had a lot more ideas, like the Potato campaign being part of this year, or a sixes bout of comp, but I figured the community would feel fatigued if that much stuff was happening, not to mention staff. Cheers if ya made it all the way down here. I had quite a bit of fun with this.
Remember: This is just my ideas.
