Welcome to the second mapping challenge as part of The Hammer Cup 2016.

Theme Details

Dictionary.com defines Liberate as

to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage. to free (a nation or area) from control by a foreign or oppressive government. to free (a group or individual) from social or economic constraints or discrimination, especially arising from traditional role expectations or bias. to disengage; set free from combination, as a gas. Slang. to steal or take over illegally: The soldiers liberated a consignment of cigarettes

That’s exactly what we want you to do! Build a map that allows the player to liberate something of your choosing. The “something” can be a person or people, an item, or anything else you can think of!

Pick any of the definitions above. We particularly like the fourth regarding the “COMBINation”.

Maybe the City 17 rebels are trapped and need your help. Maybe Alyx has been captured. Again.

Maybe you’re a car thief. Maybe you impulsively hoard garden gnomes. Maybe Barney has borrowed your crowbar one too many times.

The options are wide open, as long as you can liberate it!

As always, ask as many questions as you want, either via the comments here or privately if you prefer.

The map will be judged on how well it fits the theme AND the elements listed below.

Deadline

The deadline for submitting maps is:

Monday 7th March 2016 11pm GMT

That’s 19 days, with 3 full weekends.

General Advice

DO NOT GET TOO AMBITIOUS. If you can’t build it in 2 weekends then think smaller.

Something is bound to delay your progress. Leave time for testing, bug fixing and polishing!

Testing

I highly recommend The Beta Testers Collective.

Of course, you can get anybody you want to test your maps, but the BTC are very good at it and provide excellent feedback.

General Rules

Maximum two maps 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 LiberationVille.

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.

The map MUST have a proper name.

The map MUST have a proper filename: MapName_thc16c2.bsp

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

Prizes

Steam games will be awarded to the Winner and Runner Up.

Points for The Hammer Cup

Points will be awarded for The Hammer Cup. The details below are subject to change if all three judges agree.

See the official points total (Google Docs: Spreadsheet)

Places: 36 points for first, 24 for second, 12 for third and 12 points for each entry. For example, second place would receive a minimum of 36 points; 12 for entering and another 24 for placing second.

Bonus: 0,3,6 or 9 from each judge, then divided by three in the following categories:

Design (layout, foreshadowing, secret areas, concept etc)

Visuals (lighting, textures, etc)

Sound (ambient sounds, voice acting, special effects etc)

Gameplay (flow, exploration, 3 dimensions etc)

Misc (g-man sightings, humour, seriousness, scares etc)

Check The Hammer Cup 2016 for full details of the event, including the prizes etc.