So, what are we all working on?

[iron]

Maybe Magma should host an old-style mapmaking contest like the Mill did back in the day. Something to get some activity & interest happening again.

Then again, maybe we're 8 years too late for that

[Jon God]

Maybe Magma should host an old-style mapmaking contest like the Mill did back in the day. Something to get some activity & interest happening again.

Then again, maybe we're 8 years too late for that

I was thinking the same thing. I would love to see the things people come up with.

[A-Red]

Maybe Magma should host an old-style mapmaking contest like the Mill did back in the day. Something to get some activity & interest happening again.

Then again, maybe we're 8 years too late for that

We had The Power of Ten, like 3 years ago. That was the last one I know of. It would be a lot of fun to participate in another one.

[Zeph]

I'd definately participate

[iron]

Ok ... so ...

Assuming we actually did this, a couple of things would need to be worked out:-

1. Is it a solo or multi mapmaking comp? I'd prefer solo myself...
2. Timeframe (pretty generous one if its a solo/coop comp)
3. Judging guidelines. I was thinking a score out of 10 for gameplay, 10 for storyline (if solo), 10 for the quality of eye candy, 10 for finishing touches/professionalism. Any suggestions on that? Only 10 for eye candy means that a spectacular looking TC with poor scripting & weak storyline won't score that well overall - its the complete package we're after.
4. Who would be the judges? Preferably a group of skilled players who don't mind dabbling in coops etc.
5. How are the winners awarded? Any prizes etc?

Of course, this is all just me thinking out loud. I haven't discussed it with anyone in Magma, apart from my posting on this thread

[Fury IX]

Count me in of course.

I think it will be much better if the maps are put into ONE plugin, with community beta testing and compilation at the end of say 2 months.

Maybe some of the judging can be done through mnet scoring, how many times a map gets played

I think the rules should include:
1) You can not use existing material that you have made (except tagsets) that have not been officially released.
2) Must be around 50mb or smaller (depending on # of people registered), not including tagsets
3) Can be multi, or campaign up to 3 lvls

[Baron LeDant]

Well I'd love to see more multiplayer maps...

[Deqlyn]

I'd have 2 submissions if it were coop.

If it were a campaign I'd have one. Iron what would be the MINIMUM maps needed for a solo campaign? Also I have my story line

[carlinho]

can I submit something I already been working on? or it has to be something started from scratch once the contest starts?

[Fury IX]

Well, it would depend on how the scoring goes, but I think it would be pretty unfair to be able to use old material you have worked on for years but not released. I think there are a lot of new mapmakers who would get motivated by a contest, but we need to level the playing field a little. Then again, it could be a contest of what team can release the biggest campaign by the end of the contest...

Units might be a different story, as they would take alot of effort if the time is limited.

Unless its glaringly obvious that theres no way in hell you could have done all the work in say 2 months, it doesnt really matter very much.

I would say the smallest a campaign could be is 2 levels?

[iron]

To be honest I'd personally prefer solo campaigns be the focus, with a generous timeframe. Perhaps even July 4th next year.

Two months is barely enough to do a solo justice at all, unless its already half finished, and in that regard there's no way to tell if someone's already worked on stuff beforehand so it'd be counter-productive to try & prevent it. Obviously the submissions would need to be new.

Yes its possible that a submission could be based on carlinho's greek plugin, or Point's AoM ... but what would that matter? We all want to see these creations finished & made available, and perhaps a contest is just the incentive needed to get them over the line. Besides, quality of units is just one part of the equation, and doesn't necessarily mean a TC of that type will win if the gameplay, storyline & other aspects are lacking.

Also I don't think there should be a limit on how many (or how few) levels there are - its the quality of execution, storyline, graphics etc that matter, not quantity for its own sake. By the same token I don't think a max plugin size should be enforced either, as we're no longer in the age of 28k modems

It does look like there's solid interest. I shall try and rouse some Magma folk from their coffins & see if we can't actually make this a reality.

[Baak]

I agree with iron that getting the old stuff finished is a great thing.

Why not have categories?

* Solo - Completely New
* Multi - Completely New
* Solo - Based on previous work
* Multi - Based on previous work

I have a multi Dorfball map I'd love to finish.

I think a long time frame is good too. What about a bi-annual contest? The next one would end Dec 31 2010. Then Jun 30 2011, etc.

[iron]

Well, first of all we need to find out whether Magma has the resources to host and judge this. By resources I mean active members who are able to setup webpages etc for it, plus organise the experienced co-op players to do the judging.

At the moment I'm far from sure that it'll happen, as during my extended absence from Myth most of the Magma mapmaking/co-op playing crew have disappeared.

[Jon God]

If I decide not to enter, I would be willing to help judge if it's needed.

[vinylrake]

if there is a lack of resources available @magma, i'd be happy to donate webspace, public / private(judge) forums, file uploads, or whatever would help in the website related arena.