[Discussion] "Who's gonna finish it?" project idea

[Tormentor667]

The idea behind the project
Years ago Newdoom.com held a "Map in a week" contest. People had one week to build a complete map from scratch. To ensure that every contestant actually started when the contest began, Newdoom.com provided a base map with a few rooms which had to be part of the final map. Now, what about doing a whole project with several small maps that are based on the same layout but all of them looking totally different as every single map is finished by a different author?

The rules
I will provide a main layout of the map, only with simple sectors connected to each other, no texturing, no route, no objects, just the plain skeleton. This skeleton will also be pretty small and compact, so you don't have to work on the map for weeks or months to get it finished. People with little time keep it small, people with more time can add additionall stuff. But overall, the rules look as follows:

• People may change heights of the sectors
• People may change the shape of the linedefs but the general boundaries and shape of a sector must be retained
• People may place things
• People may add additional rooms and areas
• People may choose a unique route, add doors, traps, etc. as long as the general shape and boundary of a sector retains
• People may add custom textures (TX_ markers)
• People may add custom actors (dummy targets, decoration) except monsters, items, weapons
• People may add custom sounds (ambience, action sounds)
• People may use ACS
• People may add music to their map (only MOD or MIDI, no other digital audio)

...I think that should be all for now.

The time
I thought also about setting a certain time and deadline for this project, to keep it short and to get also some kind of challenge between all the competitors. Something like 3 weeks or 1 month seems to be reasonable, as I said, the basic map boundaries that are used as base are small, people with more time on their hands can develop a lot of crazy shit, people with less time have still a good chance as long as they don't start building additional areas. The main goal of this project is to get a wide variety of maps in the style of Scythe (short, hard, fast-paced), with the certain twist that all maps kinda resemble each other in a special way.

So, now?
This is not a definite project yet, but it could turn into one. This only depends on the feedback and ideas other people have. I have also thought about turning this into a real contest and even delivering prices to the first 3 winners, but that's also still open. Depends on sponsors, depends on how much money I am interested in investing So keep your thoughts coming, looking forward to this.

By the way, essel got it in a nutshell:

I'm pretty sure the point is for each person to make something creative and interesting out of the layout, not for Torm to ask a bunch of people to detail the same map 10 times in slightly different ways..

Cheers,
Torm

[hugoroy]

Sound like a good Idea

[wildweasel]

This isn't really a project and I'm really tempted to just merge it into the Project Ideas thread where it ought to go. Instead, though, I'll toss it to the General forum.

[CaptainToenail]

I'm interested, sounds like a novel project, but between uni, 40k and a crapload of cool games coming out in the following months, don't think I'll have time.

By the way has anyone considered another ZDoom chain-map project? There was the ZDoom train but that was a disaster and derailed quickly (pardon the pun )

[Zippy]

You know, I'm not much for mapping and don't do it often, but this kind of thing might actually be a good enough excuse just to do some again. It certainly solves, at the least, the problem of working up enough energy to get past the starting inertia.

[Phobus]

By the way has anyone considered another ZDoom chain-map project? There was the ZDoom train but that was a disaster and derailed quickly (pardon the pun )

That and the failure of ZDCMP#2 have give nme the solid belief that this community can't work together that closely.

[FDARI]

I wonder why, but I am interested. Why would I not be? Because I am such a terrible, terrible mapper. Well, useless, at least. Unless that happens not to be true, which I would not know. I have a slow pet project that looks quaintly charming, but that points out my other weakness: I am dreadfully, dreadfully slow.

Still... It feels a little like a textbook exercise. Something that could be found at the end of a particularly instructive chapter on designing for gameplay. I would probably give it a try. A month would be a minimum for me to make something that is more than a retexturing with an elevated platform.

[alysiumX]

Sound interesting, I've been looking for an excuse to map something, this could be the ticket

[Nightfall]

Mmmm.. interesting. I'll be up for this.

[Amuscaria]

That and the failure of ZDCMP#2 have give nme the solid belief that this community can't work together that closely.

I'm guessing the clash of the giant egos got in the way?

[Phobus]

ZTrain was definitely all down to egos - I still have no idea what the issue was with following the rules, but my own ego wasn't going to compromise on that front

ZDCMP#2 was just too big to finish, from what I remember. Like, one guy could have gone through and tided up all the ends and tried to make a map of it, but the community definitely couldn't have produced anything worthwhile trying to finish it the way we were getting on. Shame about all the wasted work, but that's about 3-4 years in the past now at least.

[Enjay]

But, if we were to be "glass half full" people instead, there have been projects that show the community can work together as well.

Ztrain, however, did indeed dissolve into an ugly mess and it did so very quickly (before much in the way of significant work was done on it as I recall) and without any really good reason either. The argument got bigger than the project and people got themselves into entrenched positions as they marched steadily and unbendingly, but with eyes fully open, towards the inevitable folding of the project, thereby ensuring that everyone lost out. A pretty silly and embarrassing episode in the community's history.

Anyway, that's in the past and let's hope it stays that way - other than hoping that we learned lessons from it. This project is an interesting idea and I hope it works out. It has been a while since there was a good community effort and this might well be the one to do it. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to work on it but I wish those who do good luck with it.

[Project Shadowcat]

I don't even know what the hell even happened with the Train map. I did my share of the map, but soon as I saw arguing I pulled out and ran.

[Amuscaria]

I've never heard of this "Ztrain". Sorry for the offtopic.

[Tapwave]

I've never heard of this "Ztrain". Sorry for the offtopic.

From what i learnt during my lurking, it was a project where a bunch of mappers decided to work on a giant train map, and every mapper made a single or more traincar(s).