TF2Maps.net 72hr Summer Mapping Contest, June 27th, 2014

xzzy

aa
Jan 30, 2010
815
531
That's my point, worrying about beginners is a non-issue because the contests to date have not done anything that would actually exclude them.

Now if the contest required using entities to make a completely new game type, then yes, it'd be a concern.
 

ZeSpice

L2: Junior Member
Mar 17, 2014
94
34
Without experience it was pretty difficult. (And its not just about the overall theme of the contest)
The map may not be as complete as i've wanted it to, making it did provide good enough experience on its own. It's a great intensive mapping learning course =D
Even if this contest is quite straining, but it does give you an invaluable lessons.
At least, I understand now how important it is to plan the map's layout beforehand.

P.S. Dev-textures are great, but not in a 72-hour contest! And next time I should know exactly what I want from my map...
 

Crash

func_nerd
aa
Mar 1, 2010
3,315
5,499
So I ended up rushing home after my long day at work yesterday and plopped myself down for 11 hours straight and pumped out koth_probed. I hope it plays well, because I didn't have any time to actually test it. And of course, being the glutton for punishment that I am, I decided to not only use a ton of circular brushwork and an overly complex gimmick that could introduce a ton of issues.

We'll see how it goes! :)

And yeah, I started building with the materials I wanted them to eventually be, definitely sped things up.
 

flamez

L1: Registered
Mar 18, 2014
17
9
Without experience it was pretty difficult. (And its not just about the overall theme of the contest)
The map may not be as complete as i've wanted it to, making it did provide good enough experience on its own. It's a great intensive mapping learning course =D
Even if this contest is quite straining, but it does give you an invaluable lessons.
At least, I understand now how important it is to plan the map's layout beforehand.

P.S. Dev-textures are great, but not in a 72-hour contest! And next time I should know exactly what I want from my map...

Planning my map out before hand saved me so much time. I was able to use graph paper and each square equaled 64 hammer units. Once I started I just refered back to it to find the layout of the map and didn't have to guess work anything regarding the layout. My only problem I had was assessing the scale, my one room felt too large to me (yay props to fill it up though).
 

NoodleCollie

Stoat fiend
aa
Jul 30, 2009
383
335
To be honest I found dev textures to be useful because they let me focus solely on gameplay and not on aesthetics. My method for the last three days was always to completely ignore aesthetics unless I absolutely had to, because I figured it'd be better to have something ugly that played well.
 

Berry

resident homo
aa
Dec 27, 2012
1,056
1,898
To be honest I found dev textures to be useful because they let me focus solely on gameplay and not on aesthetics. My method for the last three days was always to completely ignore aesthetics unless I absolutely had to, because I figured it'd be better to have something ugly that played well.

I'm gonna be honest and say people started enjoying my maps more when I used displacements properly on the floors, compiled in normal mode and added a tiny bit of colour.

In theory it wouldn't do anything, but it really seems to be a cheap way to get ahead.
 

Micnax

Back from the dead (again)
aa
Apr 25, 2009
2,109
1,585
I just want to say this contest brought some of the funniest shit I've ever experienced in TF2:

mtfink.jpg
 

ZeSpice

L2: Junior Member
Mar 17, 2014
94
34
And yeah, I started building with the materials I wanted them to eventually be, definitely sped things up.
For the 72hr contest is an excellent solution. But usually, i think, dev textures useful for testing yout map.
And it is easier to analyze it.

Planning my map out before hand saved me so much time. I was able to use graph paper and each square equaled 64 hammer units. Once I started I just refered back to it to find the layout of the map and didn't have to guess work anything regarding the layout. My only problem I had was assessing the scale, my one room felt too large to me (yay props to fill it up though).
Idea with graph paper is good. But I do not quite feel proportions of hammer's units., so that it unlikely to help me.
The first version of koth_spoil was also with a weird large buildings. You can feel like a hobbit on it. =D

To be honest I found dev textures to be useful because they let me focus solely on gameplay and not on aesthetics. My method for the last three days was always to completely ignore aesthetics unless I absolutely had to, because I figured it'd be better to have something ugly that played well.
Yes they are, but in the 72hr contest, retexturing takes a lot of time.
 

Crash

func_nerd
aa
Mar 1, 2010
3,315
5,499
For the 72hr contest is an excellent solution. But usually, i think, dev textures useful for testing yout map.
And it is easier to analyze it.

Oh god, yes. I hope my post wasn't interpreted as how I always do it. ALWAYS start with dev, unless you are trying to speed-map.
 

Idolon

they/them
aa
Feb 7, 2008
2,105
6,106
I actually found it kinda helpful to half-detail things in alpha, since it helps keep track of how I want to detail the final version. I went a little overboard with my entry this year, but I would argue that there's not much harm in doing some texture work in alpha, since keeping things on a purely gameplay-oriented design standpoint can get you into some really weird situations when you get to the detailing stage. In the end though, it's all personal preference, and you really only have yourself to blame when you end up deleting lots of work or getting into un-detailable situations. Map with care.
 

xzzy

aa
Jan 30, 2010
815
531
You're dammned if you do, dammned if you don't.

I've heard people on the tf2maps server complain that an alpha has detailed texturing on it, and then on the very next map someone else complained that a dev textured map wasn't properly textured under water.

Literally every single decision you can make on a map will offend someone, somewhere.
 

Idolon

they/them
aa
Feb 7, 2008
2,105
6,106
Literally every single decision you can make on a map will offend someone, somewhere.

we're becoming tumblr