MAPCON - RULES/DISCUSSION

[Emral]

🌴 SUMMARY
Welcome to MAPCON (1), this year's contest all about map design. When it comes to SMBX episodes, there are 3 common ways of selecting levels: Hub levels, level select menus, and of course, world maps. This contest is all about that last one, and to participate, you will design a world map that follows a specific theme.

🍹THE THEME OF THE CONTEST IS: TROPICAL

🌅 THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS: WHEN AUGUST 4, 2024 ENDED AROUND THE WORLD

🦩 META RULES

• You may work in a team of up to 2 people
• You may only create 1 submission for this contest
• Your submission must be playable in SMBX2 Beta 5 Patch 2 using the "Test a saved file" menu option in the "Test" menu in the level editor (or F5 shortcut if your map is based in a lvlx file)
• You must only submit a world specifically designed for this contest. You may, however, re-use your submission for your own work after the contest concludes.
• Your uploaded submission zip must not exceed 6MB in size
• Please submit your world map in the submissions thread.

🏝️ WORLD MAP RULES

• You may use any world map framework you want. Vanilla, map3d, chocomap, smwmap, your own lua code, etc. The submission must be a world map, not a hub or other form of level select.
• There are no restrictions on custom graphics, music or lua. Just keep the file size limit in mind.
• The full map needs to be accessible for judging.
  • For vanilla-adjacent maps, this can be easily achieved on the judge's end using the "imtiredofallthiswalking" cheat. You are free to write lua code if you prefer the judges to use a custom system you came up with, though. You might want to do this if you're using a lot of lua and have set up permanent changes on the map upon reaching certain theresholds. If you do have a custom system, please specify how to test the map in a readme file.
  • If you are using smwmap.lua, assume judges will play the map using the "drop item" editor only command to unlock all adjacent paths.
• The walkable area of the map needs to fit into a 70x70 tile rectangle (2240x2240 pixels). You are free to create submaps within that rectangle using camera clamping technology such as camlock (or setting camera.x/camera.y in function onCameraUpdate). Keep in mind that having the world map border visible gives you more screens to work with, at the tradeoff of smaller screens. You may place tiles outside of this rectangle, just nothing the player can stand on.
• When building the map, imagine it being an entire episode. We encourage naming the levels, placing fortresses, warp pipes where appropriate, having secret paths and bonus levels. Or if you want to make something small and linear, making every area stand out. There is a bonus point for wowing the judge, and if a map manages to wow all judges, you will get a special medal.

🦜 JUDGING
Your submissions will be judged by our roster of 5 judges: Chipss, Luna, Sux, Ness-Wednesday and myself
Judging criteria:
Aesthetics (7/10)
+ The map’s palette, decoration, music and other visual elements contribute to a cohesive mood
+ The terrain is interesting in shape and has no perspective errors or tiling errors
+ The level names fit the world’s idea
Design (3/10)
+ Paths and levels, the order of worlds and any bonuses (such as Toad Houses and Switch Palaces), shortcuts, secret exits and split paths are well thought out and contribute to a logical sense of progression
+ It is not possible to get stuck and there are no inaccessible areas
Wow Factor (1 Bonus Point)
You can get a bonus point if your map wows the judge. If every judge gives you the bonus point, you get a special medal.

Judges will also hand out "Overall Favorite" and "This Episode Should Exist" medals, as well as the usual wildcard medals for random things they liked.

🌊 OTHER
That just about concludes it for the important part. If you have any questions, please post them below. You can use this subforum to share your maps with others for feedback. Since this is a very visuals-oriented contest, screenshots might work better than downloads. But when in doubt, both are always better than having just one of the two!
Remember: Deadline at the top of the post, submissions in the submissions thread.
Happy making!
Read on for useful links that might help you.

⭐ USEFUL LINKS

• Download: Template .wld file with a 70x70 tile area marked
• Forum Thread: smwmap.lua - World Map System
• Forum Thread: xmap.lua - World Map System
• Forum Thread: freeRoam.lua - World Map System
• Forum Thread: jukebox.lua - Custom Music on the vanilla overworld
• Forum Thread: extMap.lua - Config files (txt) for the vanilla overworld
• Forum Thread: The Overworld Tilekit - A workflow by rixitic that lets you edit maps in Tiled and then export them.
• Guide: How to set up a camera zone on the overworld
• SMBX2 Documentation pages for the overworld: World Tile Scenery Musicbox Level

[Emral]

La pinge

Spoiler: show

[deice]

You may place tiles outside of this rectangle, just nothing the player can stand on.

i'd like to confirm one thing related to this point. namely, are tiles placed outside of the 70x70 boundary for the purpose of being used in xtile events (e.g. a hill rising out of the ground) counted as additional tiles the player can "stand on"? i assume not because it effectively acts as a visual replacement for a set of tiles that the player was already able to stand on (and obviously i also assume that trying to use xtile swaps to be cheeky by swapping in additional tiles during a transition or something is not allowed) but i figured it's worth it to make sure

[Emral]

You may place tiles outside of this rectangle, just nothing the player can stand on.

i'd like to confirm one thing related to this point. namely, are tiles placed outside of the 70x70 boundary for the purpose of being used in xtile events (e.g. a hill rising out of the ground) counted as additional tiles the player can "stand on"? i assume not because it effectively acts as a visual replacement for a set of tiles that the player was already able to stand on (and obviously i also assume that trying to use xtile swaps to be cheeky by swapping in additional tiles during a transition or something is not allowed) but i figured it's worth it to make sure

That's a very good and niche question. You are allowed to use the external area to create such xtile events. By the rules, the area the player stands on is still inside that rectangle, even if the tiles originated outside of it. Similarly, if you want to do something like overpasses or conditionally visible underwater areas that physically exist underneath a sheet of ice (or any sort of fake vertical layering), that is also fair game.
I encourage all kinds of creativity in traversing the map, in that regard! The size limit is just to get you to be creative with how to traverse the map, and to put a focus on quality over quantity.

[Cloud Devil]

Should we stick in the 800 x 600 resolution or we can change the resolution?

[Emral]

Should we stick in the 800 x 600 resolution or we can change the resolution?

Whatever you like.

[TurtleDude]

I apologie for the simple question but may I participate in (or at least try) this contest? Is there a place I need to make an official signup or something? Sorry and thanks for your time.

[Emral]

I apologie for the simple question but may I participate in (or at least try) this contest? Is there a place I need to make an official signup or something? Sorry and thanks for your time.

You automatically participate when you submit your submission in the submissions thread. There is no signup procedure. Good luck, have fun!

[TurtleDude]

I apologie for the simple question but may I participate in (or at least try) this contest? Is there a place I need to make an official signup or something? Sorry and thanks for your time.

You automatically participate when you submit your submission in the submissions thread. There is no signup procedure. Good luck, have fun!

Actually I have another question if you don't mind. Are we allowed to make star hubs (as in level star hubs)?

[Emral]

I apologie for the simple question but may I participate in (or at least try) this contest? Is there a place I need to make an official signup or something? Sorry and thanks for your time.

You automatically participate when you submit your submission in the submissions thread. There is no signup procedure. Good luck, have fun!

Actually I have another question if you don't mind. Are we allowed to make star hubs (as in level star hubs)?

Sure. Just note: If you want to make a star hub-type level that connects different parts of the map together, I recommend making it simple to traverse and to not lock any of the doors behind actual stars. There is no judging on the aesthetics or design of such a level, so a corridor of doors will be as effective as a full-fledged decorated star hub. If you intend to use the map for your own project later, you can swap it out for a proper-looking star hub then.

[Emral]

A bit over a week left for submissions!

[Emral]

5 days left. Since there are no submissions yet, if you are working on this, let me know if you need an extension.

[deice]

chiming in to say that i probably do not need an extension myself but would not be opposed to one if the other participants requested it

[TurtleDude]

While I'm not sure I have the best reason (I was on vacation for a week and didn't work on it), I also wouldn't mind a slight extension as I am slightly worried about getting this done.

[Emral]

Okay! Deadline: Extended to when August 4th has ended around the world. That gives you all one more weekend to finalize things.

[Emral]

Dawn of the last day...! I'll collect the submissions in about 30 hours.

[Emral]

Deadline in 80 minutes!

Added in 1 hour 28 minutes 5 seconds:
And so the deadline has passed and most of the submissions are sent to the judges.
ProtoGoblin, please see my PM.

I will upload the submissions package once all submissions are gathered.

[Emral]

And here's the submission package!
Thanks to all the participants! I may be able to count you on one hand, but that just means that YOU reading this (who didn't participate) has no excuse not to play all of these and see the cool ideas.
Judging is underway now!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Tqh0mg ... sp=sharing

[WinterSweater]

So, is the judging still underway?

[Emral]

Just waiting on one judge. Shouldn't be long now.