Gauntlet: A Mapping Contest

[LouDog004]

Task: Linearly string together a series of challenges to create a very difficult map.

Deadline: March 20th. This may change based on rate of entries received.

Prizes: The authors of the top three maps, as judged by me, will be deemed "awesome sauce" and receive dedication maps.

Good Examples: 59-4, 69-4, 88-4, 189-4 (T-Minus Zero) from Anthology. Ignore the fact that all my examples are spirally. It is merely a shape conducive to this style of map and not a requirement.

Good Examples of Bad Examples: 59-2, 80-4, 83-3, 96-4. These maps are long and difficult. However, they also exhibit there-and-back design, non-linearity, and/or multiple paths, all of which are grounds for disqualification.

Entrants/Entries:
Brainstone/1
OneSevenNine/1
SkyPanda/1
3runner11
lord_day/1
z3phyr?

FAQ:
Do you need judges?
No, thank you. The judging front has been covered.
Are old maps allowed?
No, please create a new map for this contest.
How many maps can one submit?
Three.

[_red___xiii_]

Does might have to be that well designed? The first level I designed is almost entirely linear, brutally difficult and doesn't have any back to forth gameplay. However it is possible to beat it. Granted, I've designed it and have only been able to beat it once XD. So anyways it's kind of crudely designed but I'm wondering if it would work anyways. Thanks. One last note I designed it when the game came out on version 1.0 so IDK if it would still read correctly.

[Zephyr]

If your taking judges ill be one =)
If you arent, i think i MIGHT be a contestant.

[lord_day]

So the idea is to make the best linear challenging map? Also are old maps allowed? I'll probably enter this.

[LouDog004]

So the idea is to make the best linear challenging map? Also are old maps allowed? I'll probably enter this.

Yes to the first. No to the second.

If your taking judges ill be one =)
If you arent, i think i MIGHT be a contestant.

I've got judging covered. Thank you.

Does might have to be that well designed? The first level I designed is almost entirely linear, brutally difficult and doesn't have any back to forth gameplay. However it is possible to beat it. Granted, I've designed it and have only been able to beat it once XD. So anyways it's kind of crudely designed but I'm wondering if it would work anyways. Thanks. One last note I designed it when the game came out on version 1.0 so IDK if it would still read correctly.

High quality will positively affect how well you're judged, so it is beneficial. I would prefer new maps from entrants.

[Zephyr]

Okay i'm probably joining, dont count on it though.

[_red___xiii_]

Don't know if this is the place for it but I just tried to load my old map and all the parameters are there but it seems like everything has been shifted one or two squares vertically. I have heard of Nan or whatever it is but couldn't find it in the code. Anyone know what the problem might be?

[SkyPanda]

Sounds fun.
If we need to sign up, then sign me up.

[3runner11]

Ill join, this sounds like fun!

[SkyPanda]

If this is still going ahead, :/
how many submissions are we allowed?

[LouDog004]

If this is still going ahead, :/
how many submissions are we allowed?

3 max.

[lord_day]

[OneSevenNine]

I'll join in.


Edit:

[Brainstone]

Sounds fun. I join.

[SkyPanda]

Super lame map <___<

http://nmaps.net/161103

[LouDog004]

Well, it shouldn't take to long to get the judging done.

[_red___xiii_]

I'll split this into multiple sections if you guys request it. Really brutal, frustrating, ugly map. A sure winner!

..*cough*...

oh well.

http://nmaps.net/162465

[_red___xiii_]

Oh my... I didn't check post times till now... my baaad. So did this just get dropped or what?

[SkyPanda]

Seems loudog is taking over a week to tell us that lord_day has won :P

[LouDog004]

My bad guys, I had some unexpected family stuff come up. I'll try to get the full results out tonight.

[LouDog004]

The Grey Waters - brainstone - At a first glance at this map, it looks like the map maker is a little inexperienced, with the multiple rockets and possibly annoying chainguns, compounded by the aesthetic niggle of the stacked doors. However, I was caught off gaurd by the polish of The Grey Waters. The first room is actually quite fun and the unpredictable flight paths of three rockets make it difficult to be totally smooth in the following area. And again, the chainguns are actually quite well placed. With patience or aggression one can greatly affect the scope of the chainguns and the difficulty of the map. The rest of the object placement works well within this tileset, and I found every part of this map quite fun.

Unfortunately, this map doesn't really fall under the criteria set forth in the contest rules, and it isn't all that greatly difficult, so I can't judge it all that well. I had, however, never seen your maps on NUMA before, brainstone, and have now had the chance to play a lot of them, so I'm glad of that.

eyes in the undergrowth - SkyPanda - This map has a tremendous visual style that helps create some really fun gameplay. There is beautiful use of curved surfaces to create awkward movement, awkward jumps, and awkward dodging that is altogether pretty awesome. The difficulty is very much front loaded, with that first rocket being horrendously frustrating. Stringing together the right set of moves to avoid the rocket is very satisfying. The rest of the map has a lot of interesting movements that can be taken at pretty good speeds to lend a bit of a race feel.

The thing that stands out negatively to me are the thwumps. That area is a bit boring and didn't really present the same opportunity to flow and innovate while playing. All and all, I loved this map. It was pretty much just what I was looking for in the contest. Unfortunately, the next two maps were ridiculous, which works against you, SkyPanda.

Shambles - Onesevennine - This map is deceptive. I thought that 179 had missed the point a bit when I first played this seemingly wide open map which is in fact so very tight and narrow. It's deceptively hard, with just those two laser drones taking away your escapes and pinning you down at every turn. It's deceptively well laid out, the scattered gold and mines actually guiding you into very specific interesting movements.

I really can't say enough about the lasers in this map. Trying to get through this maze very quickly, manipulating the two laser drones to fire at specific advantageous moments, is incredibly fun and frustrating. They create a great rythym and flow, and the reach they have over the whole map is cool.

This map was the hardest out of those submitted, and it is one my favorites maps I've seen on NUMA. It was difficult to choose a winner for this contest, and I'd like for this map to be thought of as more a 1b than 2nd place.

20ShatteredPerspextive - lord_day - Holy moly, this one's a doozy. Each part of this map is like a little puzzle which you have to unlock to move on to the next. It's really very fun to figure out the unique way to do every little section. Getting that first door switch with the laser and the bounce blocks is one of the coolest things I've done in N, and the enemy/object placement keeps up through the rest of the map. Getting through the whole thing really makes you feel like a master at moving that little ninja around. The whole map is just full of cool jumps and dodges and moments. lord_day, this map is quite epic, and you should be proud of it.


This contest was a bit lame on the quantity side of things, but the quality of the four submissions was quite superb. Thanks for entering, and I'll try to crank out those ded maps a bit faster than I did the judging.

[lord_day]

Thanks, not only for the wonderful feedback on my map, but for this fun contest. Even if it was small. It spawned some good maps!

[SkyPanda]

Wow that's some really detailed judging. Congrats lord_day!

Great show loudog, its a shame the turn-out was kinda underwhelming. Maybe you could run this contest again in the future, its a neat concept