2008/9 Holiday Mapmaking Competitions
The 2nd round(s) of voting are now taking place:
Competition 1: The Central America Amateur Open
Competition 2: The Centerscape Invitational
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This holiday season the Foundry is hosting two simultaneous mapmaking competitions. Each competition will have a distinctly different focus, and each will be open to a different segment of the ConquerClub mapmaking community. The prize for winning either competition will be one year of premium membership, to be awarded by lack when the map becomes a fully playable CC map. Read on!
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Competition 1: The Central America Amateur Open
Given all of the thoughtful feedback we see here in the Foundry, we know that there are many talented artists out there who have yet to complete a map of their own for one reason or another. So this holiday season we wish to give thanks to these 'amateur' CC mapmakers by setting up a tournament that is open only to those CC members who have neither seen a map of theirs Quenched, nor who have one currently in the Forge awaiting Quenching. If that describes you, then this is your chance to get your name on a ConquerClub Map.
The subject of this competition will be the Central America map (see second post). The basic gameplay and territory layout have already been fleshed out by the Foundry, and oaktown has volunteered to see the map through the Gameplay stamp process and to deal with XML and army coordinates. Your task will be to lend your artistic talents and vision to this map.
Competition rules:
- It is the mapmaker's responsibility to understand and comply with all Foundry standards, including those regarding image size, use of copyright-free images, leaving required space for army counts, etc. See the How to Make a Map Handbook for specific expectations.
- Host your map file (one entry per contestant please) using Photobucket or some other file sharing program, and provide a link to Oaktown by 11:59pm GMT on December 10, 2008. In order to maintain anonymity during the competition, please do not post your own maps.
- A one-week voting period will be held to determine finalists.
- Finalists will then have an additional period of at least two weeks to make changes to their image before submitting a second link by a date to be determined... we don't want the voting to fall during the holidays so we'll give ample time before starting round two.
- Once a winner is chosen, the map will go through the standard Foundry process required to receive a Graphics stamp; we reserve the right to require gameplay/territory name changes should such concerns come up as a result of continued gameplay discussion on this map.
- No quenched/currently forged mapmakers may participate - amateurs only! (Note - the question has already been raised as to whether somebody is still an amateur if they have collaborated on a map... as this is a graphics competition, consider yourself an 'amateur' if you have never been the graphic artist on a quenched/forged map.)
What you CAN change about the map: everything else! Color choice, type, the legend and title, textures, map perspective - basically any and all graphic elements of this map. The look and feel of this map is entirely yours to create - give it some flavor!
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Competition 2: The Centerscape Invitational
Because we couldn't entirely exclude our talented crew of experienced mapmakers from all of the fun, the Foundry regulars have their own competition. Lack has given us the nod to go ahead and revamp the much-maligned Centerscape map, which replaced an old CC favorite which ran into some legal difficulties. The basic gameplay must remain the same your primary task will be to develop a new, copyright-proof theme and design for this map.
Competition rules:
- It is the mapmaker's responsibility to understand and comply with Foundry standards regarding image size, use of copyright-free images, leaving required space for army counts, etc. Maps not meeting Foundry standards and/or raising any copyright concerns may be withheld/removed from the competition.
- Host your map file (one entry per contestant please) using Photobucket or some other file sharing program, and a link must be provided to gimil by 11:59pm GMT on December 10, 2008. In order to maintain anonymity during the competition, please do not post your own maps.
- A one-week voting period will be held to determine finalists.
- Finalists will then have an additional period of at least two weeks to make changes to their image before submitting a second link by a date to be determined... we don't want the voting to fall during the holidays so we'll give ample time before starting round two.
- Once a winner is chosen, the map will go through the standard Foundry process required to receive a Graphics stamp. And while the XML is already in place the winning mapmaker will be responsible for updating the territory coordinates to fit the new image (the winner can farm this work out).
- This competition is open only to those mapmakers who have already quenched a map, or who have a map in the Forge currently awaiting a quenching.
Alright everybody - your first draft is due in three weeks, so get to work!
But I suppose I can give Central America a go.
Sorry oakster
