Get ready to clock back in for Microcontests Season 2! Once more, I'll be running monthy microcontests focused on strange rules, wacky restrictions, and pushing the limits of TF2 speed mapping. Be warned! These things aren't for the faint of heart. You'll be expected to be able to make an entirely functional map in under a day. Most of the time what you make will suck, but that's half of the fun! What's new for Season 2? Last year, most microcontests had a standard 1 hour planning block, 3 hour time limit, and an extra hour to compile followed by testing during the same day. This regularly confused people, and made it difficult for people to participate across time zones and around work and school. This time, we're shaking things up. Here's the new format for Season 2: All microcontests will have one hour of planning, followed by 23 hours of mapping and compiling. That means that from the moment the theme is announced, you have 24 hours to plan, make, compile, and submit your map. Due to this longer time frame, late entries will not be accepted. You may not submit your entry for testing before the official microcontest testing period, or you will not receive feedback. Testing will begin one hour after the deadline, with feedback arriving later the same day as the testing. Winning, Losing, and the Punchcard Despite the name, microcontests aren't traditional contests. It's you against the clock and the rule set, and you can count yourself as a winner if you finish something—anything!—before time is up. That being said, this season I'm introducing a fun new way to track your progress and push yourself if you feel like going for it: The Punchcard. Grab this image, customize your card, and clock in at the start of each microcontest! You can collect up to four punches for each micocontest: Participation Punch: Enter the microcontest Completion Punch: Finish your entry for the microcontest Speedmapper Punch: Complete the geometry of your entry in under 4 hours Bonus Punch: Complete the microcontest's optional bonus challenge The punch card is purely decorative, and you don't need to fill one out to participate. It's just a fun way to track your progress throughout the season. Bonus objectives are new; they're optional rules and restrictions that you can try for to gain an extra punch. They'll be unique for each microcontest. Keep in mind that it might not always be possible to complete both the speedmapper punch and the bonus punch at the same time! Where do I sign up? This season, you no longer need to sign up. Just drop a link to your finished submission in each microcontest's thread before time is up! If you want to stay informed about upcoming microcontests, you can watch this thread, take a peek at the #microcontests-2021 channel in the Discord, or join the Microcontestant role in the Discord server by heading to the #bot channel and typing ?rank Microcontestant When's the next one? Here's a handy chart of this season's microcontests with dates and difficulties. This will be updated as things are announced! # NAME DIFFICULTY DATE 11 Rule of Threes (micro) 3/5 February 13 12 Hit the Limits 2/5 March 6 13 Mode Shifter 1/5 April 17 14 Trains 3/5 May 22 15 Robot Destruction 5/5 June 19 16 Exclusion Zone 2/5 July 24 17 18 19 20 If you've got questions leave them below or head over to the #microcontests-2021 channel on the Discord. Good luck everyone!
The first microcontest of Season 2 begins on February 13th at 10:00 AM EST (15:00 UTC), and has a difficulty of 3/5. It begins at the same time as the next Major and Minor contests, meaning all three will start at once.
I hope with my little experience I'll be able to keep up; may not get that speedmapper punch but I best get all of the rest! -and boy howdy this seems like it's gonna be a wild time for the first microcontest with the minor and major ones being announced along with them
Microcontest 12 begins on March 6th at 10:00 AM EST (15:00 UTC), and has a difficulty of 2/5. You will be provided a starting .vmf for this microcontest.
Microcontest 13 begins on April 17th at 10:00 AM EDT (14:00 UTC), and has a difficulty of 1/5*. Sorry about the slightly late warning for this one! I'm in my last few weeks of university and have been very busy. * this one's a bit odd and will vary slightly per person
Microcontest 14 begins on May 22nd at 10:00 AM EDT (14:00 UTC), and has a difficulty of 3/5. Brush up on working with Source's I/O system if you're out of practice; while this one is nowhere near as technically complex as MC5 or MC6, you will be required to do some entity work.
Microcontest 15 begins on June 19th at 10:00 AM EDT (14:00 UTC), and has a difficulty of 5/5. This is likely the most technically demanding microcontest we've ever run, and you will be required to do lots of work with entities and systems you might not be familiar with. A template will be provided, but you'll have to do plenty on your own as well. You've been warned.
I will completely ignore that warning, and make a mess that I will keep to myself for this challenge. (Can't wait!)
Microcontest 16 begins on July 24th at 10:00 AM EDT (14:00 UTC), and has a difficulty of 2/5. This microcontest will include a starter .vmf, but has extremely low technical requirements.
