Art Pass Contest on TF2maps.net

[ad_hominem]

Seeing as you folks are pretty much the exact target audience for this contest, I thought I'd share it with you. TF2maps.net are hosting a contest in which you can have your work included in the next TF2 update.

It's the ultimate accolade for a custom mapper; to have your work in an official TF2 map. Well, TF2Maps.net and Valve Software have teamed up to give ONE lucky mapper that opportunity. We've got our hands on an unfinished Valve map, and we need YOU to detail it! Think you're up to the challenge?

The winner, decided by the TF2 team at Valve, will have their map included in the next TF2 update! It's a 3 CP attack and defend map, similar to Gorge. You have total creative liberty with this, so we'd love to see what YOU can do!

Sounds like fun, and could be a nice break from some of the hassle-some aspects of early level development. To get more info and download the map, head on over to the competition page on TF2maps.net.

[Phott]

Holy shit, that's pretty awesome, I'm definitely giving it a go.

[source-maps]

next TF2 update! they ain't stopping baybe

[Chopium]

I really dislike the map as it is. It feels like Valve decided it was no good so they gave it out to the community to tinker with, which isn't a bad thing necessarily. I hope they aren't too strict when it comes to altering the geometry, because it will need some major revisions before it looks any good. I wish they would specify the layout rules better. I think that as long as it has the same flow, it's fine.I am really excited to see what people do with this though.

[source-maps]

I really dislike the map as it is. It feels like Valve decided it was no good so they gave it out to the community to tinker with, which isn't a bad thing necessarily. I hope they aren't too strict when it comes to altering the geometry, because it will need some major revisions before it looks any good. I wish they would specify the layout rules better. I think that as long as it has the same flow, it's fine.I am really excited to see what people do with this though.

oh imagine the amount of different versions of maps will get scattered across the internet, and every server has a different version of the ones that didn't win D:

[cpl. punishment]

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that all entries will become property of Valve, Inc. Not that that would keep people from releasing them to the public.

[Mr. Happy]

The map is a bit wonky in a couple places but it looks like that can be easily smoothed out, you must think outside the collision hull! Walls can become piles of junk, entire areas outside the bounds can be added, etc. This is an amazing opportunity. I've got a whole new environment type planned, and a hat to go with it.

I think minor layout modifications are inevitable, but should probably be limited to things like ledges, slight sightline changes, props sitting against walls, etc. Personnally I plan on radically destroying some of what they've built to the point that it's unrecognizable, but keeping the same collision hull around everything.

source-maps is right, but I doubt it'll be a problem, there's 123121524234 versions of 2fort that no one cares about.

Only thing is that they say it's going to be in the next update, but the contest doesn't end until september 25th...

That's two months!

[Phott]

Two months, that's awesome, people like me who are lazy can actually get something done.

[Jike]

Did they say the NEXT update? I think they will release the polycount update before that... Or theyll bash it into one HUGE community update, which means we'll HAVE to wait until then!!!

[Mr. Happy]

the vmf is....messy

[Armageddon]

Messy...

[Phott]

Yeah I was annoyed, at least they could have optimized what they had.

THIS IS NOT HOW I MAP

[YokaI]

Yeah I was annoyed, at least they could have optimized what they had.

THIS IS NOT HOW I MAP

This would have caused unnecessary clutter, making it tedious to work around many hints and skips or even worse, having to visgroup hide all of them just to add what we needed. Besides, optimization is another important aspect of mapping that valve wants to keep in consideration.

I've already begun working on some texture sets and concept ideas. I think the winners of this contest will be those who step outside the boundaries of the "art style" while making the map still feel at home with the classic team fortress vibe.

What does confuse me a bit is the choice of teams and the style of buildings they made accompanying them. The blu base has something next to it which would resemble a farm house, and that makes no sense.

[Phott]

I wasn't talking about skips and hints, I was talking about nodrawing faces that aren't visible.

[Meotwister]

I wasn't talking about skips and hints, I was talking about nodrawing faces that aren't visible.

I haven't taken a look at it yet but I bet they did that to use that tool in the editor where you can see through void facing nodraw faces.