Hello and welcome to the third 50-Hour Mapping Challenge – Epistle3Ville.

Below are the details.

PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY.

As always, if you have any questions, you can either post a comment or if you require a private reply, send Phillip an email: runthinkshootlive@gmail.com

Theme Details

For this 50-hour challenge, we would like you to create a map that has been inspired by Marc Laidlaw’s recent Epistle 3 blog post, subsequent fan art based on that piece of writing or any other Episode 3 or Half-Life 3 fan art or concept art. If you use any art as direct inspiration, please link to it in your entry’s readme.txt file.

You only have 50 hours, so what we’re looking for is JUST A TINY SLICE of what you think Episode 3 could have included. Maybe there’s a setpiece that you’d love to see in-game, or a specific combat situation you imagined while reading Epistle 3. Did you see some fan art and say “wouldn’t it be cool if…”? This is your chance!

The main point is that what you make must be inspired by the Ep3/HL3 theme AND be recognisable as such. You can’t just say something inspired you but it’s not obvious how it connects to Episode 3.

This theme is perhaps open to interpretation more than other themes, so if you have ANY questions, doubts etc, do not hesitate to ask for clarification.

Deadline

The deadline for submitting maps is:

Sunday 10th September 2017 at 11:59pm Central European Summer Time

Check your timezone!

General Advice

DO NOT GET TOO AMBITIOUS. Something is bound to delay your progress. Leave time for testing, bug fixing and polishing!

Testing

50 hours doesn’t give you much time but it’s always good to test if you can, especially early in the dev phase.

Prize

A random Steam game will be given to the winner.

Judging Criteria

I am pleased to announce that for this challenge that DolmotheDouglas, Niker and Phillip are the judges.

They will select the winner that uses the theme in a creative way and is fun to play.

Optional Assets

Some of the Epistle 3 story takes place in the (Ant)arctic. With that in mind, we have prepared some extra assets (textures, models, etc.) in the Arctic theme if you would like to use them.

The download contains a winter texture pack and the Arctic Combine soldier pack. The textures are named with the wi_ prefix to indicate they’re winter themed – they do not override existing textures.

The Arctic Combine soldiers are a replacement for the Nova Prospekt soldiers. Thus if you want to use Arctic Combine, simply set the entity to be a Nova Prospekt soldier and voila!

These are converted from existing texture and model packs, full credits are given in the download. Please note you are NOT obligated to use the winter textures – we just wanted to give mappers an easy way to make Arctic-style maps if desired.

Asset pack here:

Download the OPTIONAL assets pack [21.70MB]

I can’t thank WALLe_PL and Niker enough for all their hard work. Thanks also go to Don, The Renegadist and DjReplica as well.

Chat about your idea and progress. The judges may visit but DO NOT use it as a way to ask questions about the theme – use this post or this email: runthinkshootlive@gmail.com

General Rules

Maximum one map per mapper per entry.

The map must be original and not have been released publicly before.

The map must run in system with only Ep2 installed

By entering the competition you grant PlanetPhillip.Com and RunThinkShootLive.Com the right to release the map as part of the RTSL-50-Hour MC: Epistle3Ville Mod.

Maps must not appear on ANY other website before the release and for one month after the release of the mod.

No assets from retail games other than HL2, HL2: Ep1 or HL2: Ep2 are allowed.

Other assets are allowed with written permission from their original authors, which MUST be included in the entry.

Phillip’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into about it.

ALL filenames MUST be in LOWERCASE – that means NO CAPITAL LETTERS.

The map MUST have a proper name.

The map MUST have a proper filename: MapName_50hmc-c3.bsp

All entries must be sent to: runthinkshootlive@gmail.com no later than the deadline.

no later than the deadline. If you do not receive a confirmation email without 24 hours of sending an entry, contact Phillip IMMEDIATELY.

Submission Email Format.

SUBJECT: RTSL-50HMC–C3-MAPNAME (Not filename)

BODY:

1. RTSL-50HMC-C-3-MAPNAME (Not filename)

2. The name you want used for credit. For example Phillip Marlowe AKA PlanetPhillip

3. Link to compressed file (or attach it to the email)

4. Notes you want included in the readme.txt, including links to images or sources that inspired you.

NOTE: I encourage all users to include a proper readme-mapname.txt file but it is not compulsory.

DO NOT CALL YOUR FILENAME EPISTLE3VILLE.ZIP OR SIMILAR. USE YOUR ENTRY’S NAME!

Submitting a chapter image with your entry.

For this challenge, I will allow entrants to submit their own chapter image.

All I need is the image – you do not need to create the VTF, I will do that.

It’s not compulsory but it will be appreciated.

This can be done up to 3 days after the deadline.

RULES:

1. Image should be 16:9 ratio.

2. JPG or PNG is best.

3. Weapons and HUD MUST be removed.

4. Neither too bright nor too dark.

5. The FOV can be changed. I use between 75 and 90.

6. Visual effects can be added but be sensible.

7. No text must be added.

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

1. The chapter images are small. Some images look great full screen but look meh when small.

2. Don’t spoil the map for the player. I find something near the beginning is better, but not always.

3. Don’t spend hours trying to get it perfect. Often people use it for reference only.

4. But, if you can find the right angle and lighting, a good chapter image can get players excited. Do not neglect the promotion of your work.

5. Funky, weird or strange generally don’t work. Keep it simple.

6. If you used an image to inspire you, feel free to use that to create your chapter image.

Final Thoughts

If you have ANY questions, please don’t hesitate to ask, either here in the comments or by email if you prefer a private answer.