RPG track building contest

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:

• MIPmap-effect texture guide
• How to make mods for your tracks
• RPG track building - techniques, features & resources
• RPG for beginners: booster drifting
• How to improve your RPG track
• How to add an auto-downloadable mod to your track (also in French)

Mods:

• Overview of popular RPG mods
• TM-mod

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.

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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.