RPG track building contest

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Note: results are now out here: http://trackmaniarpg.blogspot.com/2010/01/rpg-track-building-contest-results.html

23rd December, RPG will celebrate its 1 year anniversary. Kryw posted his wonderful temple "Sobékite" on this date in 2008, which kinda started it all. So on this occasion, we're holding an RPG track building contest, where this date will be the deadline.

The prizes are:
  1. A brand new TMUF account
  2. 15 000 coppers
  3. 10 000 coppers

Everything is sponsored by HawkGer \o/. Everybody should buy him a beer, a cup of coffee or a kinder egg next time you see him!

How it works:
This is an RPG track building contest, so we only accept tracks which qualifies as RPG's. The "definition" of an RPG track can be read under our "RPG introduction" page. RPG's are very diverse, so be creative.

The theme for the competition is "alternative routes". This can be pretty challenging for you as a builder. An alternative route is where the driver can either drive one fast route, or one easier, but longer route. We require a minimum of 5 alternative routes, but other than this you are free to do whatever you want. To clear things up: no, you don't need 5 alternative routes which goes from from start to finish. You need to have at least 5 CP's or tricks where two or more ways lead to the same CP/place again. Still unclear? Ask!

However, we do require that you are using THIS FILE as the base of your track. Download the file, and put it in your Trackmania folder, and build from this file. We have hid some building blocks outside the stadium, which you must not remove. The reason why we have done this is so everybody will have to start from scratch - nobody can use already started projects. And don't even think about cheating - we will check every map if the trees are still there AND if they are listed as the first object in ChallengeEdit. Tracks not built with this track base will be disqualified from the competition.

You can submit as many tracks as you like. You can also build duo tracks, but you only get one prize.

The deadline is 23rd December. This is the last day you can submit your tracks for the competition.

Here's an example of an alternative route at its very basics.


Rules
  • You have to have an auto-downloadable mod (look below for more about mods)
  • You need a minimum of 5 alternative routes
  • The track has to be minimum 5 minutes long
  • You have to use our track base
  • Submit the track before 24th December
  • All CP's must be respawnable (you can still have rings of course)
  • Do not lock your track with a password
  • No blockmixing of CP's into eachother. Many servers will ban you if you drive through two CP's at the time, so don't do this! It might look very beautiful, but it will lead to this
  • Don't submit beta's or unfinished tracks!


Judging system:
Me (Tecfan) and HawkGer will be judges. We will play all tracks and individually rate them based on these criteria:
  • Originality
  • Atmosphere
  • Implementation of the theme
  • The route and tricks


Track building resources:
Guides:

Mods:


Building tips
This is a list of what we value and what we hate to see in RPG's:
  • Don't over-do the MT!
  • MT can be wonderful for creating a good atmosphere. Enai Sianon's tracks are an example of that. But remember, forcing the player to drive with stupid cameras or making them sick by ever-changing colors is not a positive thing!

  • Mods
  • For an interesting atmosphere, use a mod that has not been used so much yet! You can even make your own. Have a look at our RPG mod overview. Also, follow this guide very closely. If you have made your own mod, you can just send me a message, and I will host the mod for you.

  • Story
  • A good story also shows that you can be creative, but we won't put much weight on this aspect. The important thing is that your track feels adventurous, even though there is no real "adventure" to go with.

  • Avoid ring rooms
  • Ever played Camateraz? For me and Hawk, that last room, with 1CP and 7-8 different rings which can not be taken in one "movement", is an instant turn-off. Ring rooms really ruin the flow of the track, so please avoid this. Of course, you can still use rings, just not make a room full of rings.

  • Atmosphere - you need one
  • This whole thing with atmospheres might confuse some. Basically, a track's atmosphere is the feeling you get when driving it. Try driving Cargo 714 or The day after, then you'll know what an atmosphere is. To create a good atmosphere, you need a mod and you need nicely built scenery.

  • Go cut-hunting!
  • Self-explanatory. A track's route can be ruined by cuts, so be sure to check for cuts when you make your map, and triple-check before validating it!

  • Repetition
  • Variate your tricks! Don't use the same building blocks all the time. For example, three wallride balancing parts in one track is just overkill.

  • Avoid bugs
  • With "avoid bugs" I mean two things: refrain from using Trackmania bugs as a part of your tricks, because most people don't know about them and will be stuck. The other thing, which is even more important, is the wall-balancing-2-CP-block bug. This is an extremely bothersome bug, which totally kills the flow of a track. Here's three screenshots of different versions of this bug: 1) Wallborder to CP block bug, 2) Wallborder to StadiumFabric bug (this is the block which makes a blue pattern on the ground), 3) Wallborder to wall border bug and 4) Wallborder to border block. Of course, this is only bad if the route goes on this. You can of course still decorate with wall borders on CP blocks, as long as we don't have to drive on them.

  • Music and sounds
  • ... are not taken much consideration, but! Great use of sounds and music can really make the atmosphere a lot better.

  • Avoid confusion
  • There should never be any confusion as for which CP you are going to take next. Make sure it is only possible to take one CP at a time, or at least make it very obvious which CP is correct to take first. But please, make it challenging to find the CP's, I didn't say that you have to make your track easy :).

  • Avoid multilap starts
  • Multi-lap start blocks is something I personally dislike, because when driving online, there will be no autoreplay saved.

  • Beta test
  • As a builder, you already know where to go and where not to go. We as players have no idea. Therefore it is very important for you to test your track with other people, so you can see where people have trouble finding the path, or take wrong CP's etc. You can win a free, online beta test if you win one of the RPG round races. Keep an eye on the blog so you know when the next race is.




Submitting your track:
Upload your RPG to TMX. Remember to include [RPG] somewhere in the TMX name. Please also link back to this article in your track description. Then post the TMX ID or the EXTERNAL link to your track in the comment section of this blog post.

Oh, here's how to add a mod to an already existing track (since you have to use our track base, this is the guide you have to follow)

and the track base once again: http://tecfan.nitrolinken.net/tm/blog/tcontest1/RPG%20contest%20base.Challenge.Gbx

Anything unclear? Just ask.

72 comments:

Voyager006 said...

One thing:

You said you couldn't post the track as beta or unfinished, but still you say it's very important to test the track with other people :P


Wow, very complex contest :P But i'm quite sure i won't start on any big project now, sry :P

Tecfan said...

is that a problem? you can't submit your track to this competition if it's a beta track, but you can beta test it before you submit.. lol

Voyager006 said...

Nah, just wondered.

And why MUST we use the base ? I can't see any blocks or hexed trees in here ? :S Is it just to be sure no "existing" tracks in our folders can be modified and uploaded ?

Tecfan said...

true dat. search some more, or open ChallengeEdit and you will see the blocks. When we check the submitted tracks, we will always check if these blocks appears at the top of CE.

Voyager006 said...

Ah, can see them now :D

Damn, now i'm absolutely sure i won't participate - too much stress and work to make a decent map :P

error1.3 said...

lol, this almost got me back into TM, but after a quick thing, omg so much work in this, I really don't have the nervs to do that, and omfg me and Y tryed to do track contest so.. you THA ENEMY! ftw

Anonymous said...

Very nice idea of a contest.
I would take part, but i am working at the moment at another rpg-track with a different theme. And when I finished that, I need a rest of track building :)
I hope many good tracks will be built for that event.
Will they be downloadable at TMX?

Cheers,
-|MfG|-Big Al

Wouter said...

I cant open the Contest Base track with challenge editor. It says hawk_ger is not listed on the online profiles list.

Anonymous said...

I think You will be able to load it in CE when You loaded the map in TM-editor and just save it.
-|MfG|-Big Al

Tecfan said...

Wouter: did it work?

Anonymous said...

Why can't I build coast rpg? ...

Tecfan said...

because a very large amount of the active RPG players only have TMNF. (like me)

Anonymous said...

i already started building :D

| kopStoot | :)

ipsi said...

yeah there is another prob. how is this 5min. on AT or for u and hawk to finish ??

Tecfan said...

just make it long ;) afaik there are extremely few, good RPG's with WR under 5 minutes.

ipsi said...

yeah I will try to do one but not surtent if i will be able to build an good RPG in 1 month

Subjaz said...

The link to the track base is broken :(

Tecfan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

hmm i dont see any block on the map we have to download for this contest???

Tecfan said...

Read again. The blocks are hidden (so they won't bother you while playing) inside the stadium.

HawkGer said...

Do not use the link Tecfan posted three comments above...he linked to the wrong file. Use this temporarily: http://www.vinummusik.de/Trackmania/RPG%20Anniversary%20Mapping%20Contest%20-%20BASE.Challenge.Gbx

Kryw said...

:]

Enai Siaion said...

What does the 2-cp-etc bug do?

Tecfan said...

try it in the editor.. you saw the pics?

you will just crash and fall down in the end.

Wouter said...

I saved the file so now i can look at it with challengeedit

Anonymous said...

Hehe, nice contest guys, but at the time I'm busy with school :S Sorry
~~~
Thanks >Brutal''

svbg869 said...

ill see if i can cook something up for you guys
i actually had an idea similar to this for an RPG track, just a little different :P

svbg869 said...

and i just thought of a Question, regarding the Wallborder to CP bug, is this only a problem when you have to go from the Wallborder onto the CP, is ok if its the other way around?

Tecfan said...

not a problem the other way around

MuR Kiyo said...

Hi Tecfan : )

I was wondering somthing about that mapping contest.

I'm currently working on my first rpg which i'll submit within the month i hope. But as i am only a beginner in mapping, i need help from my teammates who are better than me in block mixing for exemple...

So my question is, are we allowed to be helped by someone ? :)

Already have the mode, the story and completely build the first 2 mins of the track ^^ (building is veeeery much harder than racing o_o)

Bye o/

Tecfan said...

yeah you can build with others, just remember that there is only one prize per map...

also, remember that you have to start from scratch with our track base

svbg869 said...

just to be sure, we can beta an uncompleted version of the track on TMX correct?

Tecfan said...

of course, just don't send in the link here before it's finished

Anonymous said...

Might not win you the track building contest, but maybe the heart of novice RPG drivers:

Please, put in enough CPs !

OLD*Marty said...

i cant edit the track with ChallengeEdit, there is error : "Challenge creator(hawk_ger) not corresponding with created profiles..". he?

marty said...

ahh, i have to save it, then it works ok .. :)

ipsi a.k.a Y said...

tec i have another question what iff u put finish and checkpoint in the same place will that effect the online gaming on some servers or will it be ok ?

Tecfan said...

Don't do it

Y said...

ok but i thought that that would work because checkpoint line and finish line isnt in the same place, and because the speed in TM is as high as u get. so i think that because that diferenc off finish line and checkpoint line wont be problem for servers,well i wont do that but will build the track to test that:D

ipsi said...

well we tested my idean and it works :D

Syr_Skwirrel said...

Two questions. First, what if you get second prize and you have a tmnf account? Second, do fullspeed options count as alternate routes? What I mean is an area that you can go through easily with fullspeed from previous cp, but can also respawn and go elsewhere if you mess up. I wasn't sure if those counted or not.

Tecfan said...

I would count that as an alternative route.

if you don't have tmu you have to be happy with the honor ;).

won't give number 3 more coppers if you can't take them

Anonymous said...

okay, here's my map
http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2085617#auto

hogleg

Tecfan said...

thanks. it would be nice if you could link back to this page from the TMX description

Anonymous said...

linked it back here. If someone could check the mod link I would appreciate it. I put it there but already had someone say it wasn't loading.

hog-o

Lambda said...

You can check if the track contains a link to mod very simple: open track with notepad or even better with notepad++ and if you see in track header this line (example): url="http://www.tmmod.info/mods/867/mod/RDV_Drak-Car.zip" the link to mod is included.

Lambda (...someone say it wasn't loading...)

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone..here's my map o.o
http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=auto%23auto

Tecfan said...

1) Who are you?
2) That's not a working link

Anonymous said...

Ups, sorry, I am DarkPowa and the correct link to my track is this: http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2094684#auto
(This post is a correction of my other post from December 7, 2009, 11:29 PM)

Anonymous said...

hehe Arcadia and some oher cool maps are arleady dode :)
Will be hard for me get a good placxe ^^

[-Igntul :)-]

-|MfG|-Forster said...

Nice Idea !
(=

sebik1992 said...

http://united.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2377722#auto
My contest track :P

Tecfan said...

Post it on the TMNF TMX

sebik1992 said...

Okay, here it is on TMX-NF :)
[url]http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2132778[/url]
Enjoy :P

AtoM said...

How to win without Mt ...

svbg869 said...

http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2051213#auto

Hear you go, my submission

Jurek said...

Hi all,here is my track:
http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2142994#auto

Enai Siaion said...

So, here is Arcadia.

http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2079330#auto

Stromek said...

http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2146376#auto

The Graveyard

Anonymous said...

...and here my map...
http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=auto%23auto

LG white

Anonymous said...

sorry wrong link..
use http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2146431#auto

white

svbg869 said...

i think it would be kick ass to have a server just for these tracks
we have enough now :P

Anonymous said...

I finally finish my map :P
[url]http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2146178#auto[/url]
;) Igntul

AtoM said...

Here my map; GoldenEye

http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2149676#auto

Good luck has all =)

Anonymous said...

right now i over used my download and now my computer is really slow so is it okay
if you can make the dead line longer pass December would be grateful---- good luck to all makers, and when will we know who won? cheers to all, and right now i'm only like half way into the map because i only knew yesterday.

fish said...

Here my entry for this first anniversary..
happy b-day..

http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2152985#auto

Anonymous said...

http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2151892#auto

thats my link for the contest :D

grtz KopSt0ot <3

Syr Skwirrel said...

Here's my track for the contest(finally): http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2159040#auto
Try to Avoid Fail!

Anonymous said...

Finally done:
http://tmnforever.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx?action=trackshow&id=2159314#auto

Ofc Robot :]

Anonymous said...

When will be results released? I know you need some time to rate all tracks, but I want to know when it would be done :P

Tecfan said...

We have tested about 30% of the tracks now.. Hoping to test many tracks today, but I guess that we won't be finished today either. I would say that we can get the results out before 2010 :)

Anonymous said...

31 December 2009 and we still don't have nothing... :P You'd better to hurry up :)

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