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nbohr1more

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Shall we begin yet another conversation about what kind of contest folks would like to enter?

 

By the time any decision has been settled upon, the newbie contest should be just about concluded.

 

Are folks interested in taking-up a new challenge either this spring or summer?

 

Please post bold text at the top of your reply such as:

 

Contest Concept: Manor Heist

 

Description:

 

A plain old fashioned Manor Heist mission competition. Entrants are encouraged to express creativity via

AI patrols and behaviors.

 

(Or let this thread collect dust until you are ready to discuss this topic again :laugh: )

Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

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I should probably give this idea away for a few months.. All the famous big names are working on the crucible of omens, newbies had their own contest and the rest is mostly finishing unfinished projects.. Good theme, but not now, that is my opinion.

He was sneeking silently in the night, moonlight was his enemy.

(Im not a native speaker, sorry for all miscleanous caused by my english..)

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Contest Concept: What Lies Beneath

 

Bridgeport is an ancient city - and one with a Pagan past before the light of the Builder shone here... Ancient texts sheltered in jealously guarded libraries speak of a cataclysm that buried a decadent precursor city long ago. You have found a way into a long abandoned tunnel that may yield the treasures of this lost city - if you can survive the journey!

 

Entrants are encouraged to make challenging environments that encourage the player to feel he must explore and carefully pick his way through a hostile world.

 

It's either that or a Flood Quarter mission in my brain as a "most wanted"! =-D

"No proposition Euclid wrote,

No formulae the text-books know,

Will turn the bullet from your coat,

Or ward the tulwar's downward blow

Strike hard who cares—shoot straight who can—

The odds are on the cheaper man."

 

From 'Arithmetic on the Frontier' by Rudyard Kipling

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I should probably give this idea away for a few months.. All the famous big names are working on the crucible of omens, newbies had their own contest and the rest is mostly finishing unfinished projects.. Good theme, but not now, that is my opinion.

Don't take the campaign into account when planning contests. First, the timeframe of its completion is not yet determined, but it is definitely more than one contest cycle. The community can do a contest without us. Second, Bikerdude has found a way to participate anyway, so... again, Crucible should be disregarded.

 

Nonetheless, I would wait with an announcement until at least the newbie contest has concluded, and its missions been rated. People also have their own projects, which would be cool to see completed.

Come the time of peril, did the ground gape, and did the dead rest unquiet 'gainst us. Our bands of iron and hammers of stone prevailed not, and some did doubt the Builder's plan. But the seals held strong, and the few did triumph, and the doubters were lain into the foundations of the new sanctum. -- Collected letters of the Smith-in-Exile, Civitas Approved

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Sure...

 

Concluding the contest discussion and posting the winning concept must wait.

 

I just know that this discussion takes a long time (unless there is an overwhelming number of prominent members pushing for a specific contest type...) and likely several rounds of voting.

Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

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Contest Concept: What Lies Beneath

 

That's a nice idea for a mission (though I'd stay away from the precursor stuff) but the problem with using it for a contest is that the settings of each mission are in direct competition--you can't have five or six different lost cities underneath Bridgeport. Setting-defining missions should also (ideally) be well thought-out and researched in advance, which isn't always practical in a contest setting.

 

My vote would be for something more generic: "map must have an underground setting", or something very specific that can be approached in a number of different ways: "mission must include sophisticated alarm system".

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When I wonder, what does a Dark Mod need in order to be more Dark Moddy, I tend to think that maybe more material about the Inventors Guild, The Builders or one of the other Guilds to build up a bit of 'character' / identity around those. Or maybe even a protagonist even.

 

So perhaps a contest theme based around one of the guilds?

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That's a nice idea for a mission (though I'd stay away from the precursor stuff) but the problem with using it for a contest is that the settings of each mission are in direct competition--you can't have five or six different lost cities underneath Bridgeport. Setting-defining missions should also (ideally) be well thought-out and researched in advance, which isn't always practical in a contest setting.

 

My vote would be for something more generic: "map must have an underground setting", or something very specific that can be approached in a number of different ways: "mission must include sophisticated alarm system".

 

Ah - good point. I guess what I was trying to do was tear myself away from begging for a large tomb mission. =-P I'll try rewording it as a "Right Beneath Your Feet" idea maybe.

 

It's hard for me to put into words but - for me Thief was always about the terror of the unknown and the feeling that you had to survive by your wits. The Lost City, The Haunted Cathedral (NOT return, just the original wandering about the Lost Quarter) - I know I'm in the minority here on that count but I love Thief as an adventure game as much as a stealth game - so I my agenda was to nudge a contest towards exotic environments - not necessarily undead or mystical enemies at all - but something unexpected.

"No proposition Euclid wrote,

No formulae the text-books know,

Will turn the bullet from your coat,

Or ward the tulwar's downward blow

Strike hard who cares—shoot straight who can—

The odds are on the cheaper man."

 

From 'Arithmetic on the Frontier' by Rudyard Kipling

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We could keep the idea of a world-defining contest but open it up to all the settings, not just one.

Read the universe wiki, pick a district in Bridgeport or faction setting (like an Inventor's workshop or Builder church) and make a mission set in it that says something about the world. That would be interesting & it'd contribute to the mod.

 

Personally I also like the idea of different visions for the same places, so some people may have different visions of the Plague Ward or Flood Ward, sort of like how comic characters can be reinvented but have the same basic traits. Or it just makes you imagine that Bridgeport & its world is such a massive place it can contain all these different settings.

  • Like 1

What do you see when you turn out the light? I can't tell you but I know that it's mine.

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mmm... faction contest sounds good. Other than technical innovation like the vert contest, I think some cultural innovation and development is certainly welcome to the mod. Apart from having a general TDM world background, usually the culture surrounding the best FM's tend to leak their way into other FM's, so this would be a great way to expound upon the TDM world

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That's a nice idea for a mission (though I'd stay away from the precursor stuff) but the problem with using it for a contest is that the settings of each mission are in direct competition--you can't have five or six different lost cities underneath Bridgeport. Setting-defining missions should also (ideally) be well thought-out and researched in advance, which isn't always practical in a contest setting.

 

My vote would be for something more generic: "map must have an underground setting", or something very specific that can be approached in a number of different ways: "mission must include sophisticated alarm system".

good point Springhell,I reccomend to stay away from the precursor stuff too

Proceed with caution!

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This Factions or Wards concept keeps gaining traction.

 

Maybe there won't be protracted rounds of voting for this one after all. ^_^

 

I certainly like the concept.

 

(Don't let that stop anyone from posting their wild dream contest ideas though...)

Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

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  • 5 months later...

Now that the Beginner's contest has been concluded. I am wondering if there is any interest in resuming this

discussion. If a general contest concept can be agreed upon in short order I can create a Moddb announcement

page for both the rules of the contest and the winner from the Beginner Contest in one article (thus deflecting

the problem of having to explain the low participation number of "2"...).

 

Of course, along with such an announcement I will be seeking sponsorship as best as possible.

 

Shall we aim for October, November or December?

 

Who can participate and when?

Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

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^_^ ... where's your Halloween Contest Winner label anyway Mortem :laugh:

 

 

Yes, the prevailing winds seem to be steering towards a "Faction Contest".

 

Does anyone have any strong inclination for or against that or have an alternative to offer?

 

Please submit your concept as per the top post.

 

Thanks.

Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

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^_^ ... where's your Halloween Contest Winner label anyway Mortem :laugh:

I don't wannit. It's not as prestegious as my current label, anyways ;) .

 

 

Ahh, contest polls. This is so much easier to plan in other communities--where the devs are mysterious cloaked puppetmasters with booming voices declaring "Tremble, peons! There shall be a contest! And this is what it shall entail!"

yay seuss crease touss dome in ouss nose tair

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I had a dream last night about walking down a street, roping up to a window, walking through said apartment, dropping down into a garden avoiding the patrolling guard and then entering another apartment/manor.... and then woke up...

 

I wonder if I could turn that into a neat little map...

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I don't know why but when I read the title of this topic, I thought it will be a conversations contest. Well, its something that we could set up. A contest which will get us sucked in by interesting conversations and so on?

 

Exactly! At first I thought someone was going to suggest a contest where FMAs try to make use of conversations. :)

 

That said, the faction idea sounds good to me.

--- War does not decide who is right, war decides who is left.

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That sounds good.

 

Anything that helps portray a characteristic organization or group in the TDM universe should be help

achieve the intended goal of universe building.

Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

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tbh a faction contest doesn't sound very exciting to me. I feel like it's something anyone could make without having contest guidelines. I like contests to have a theme that inspires mappers to create maps in ways they wouldn't normally approach them. Eg vertical contest encouraged mappers to to think of level design in a unique way (The Swing), Halloween contest encouraged mappers to think about not just a horror FM but thinking outside the box (Blackbog Hollow), Seasonal contest encouraged mappers to consider appearance and even how the season could effect the story (Winter Harvest).

 

I just feel like faction FMs are something people will create without a contest. Although I did try to think of FMs to prove my point and I was suprised by the lack of Faction themed FMs. Especially the Lack of Builder FMs. The closest I could think of was St. Lucia and perhaps St. Albans Cathedral. I guess a Faction Contest would also be a great way of fleshing out the TDM universe. I still can't help but think faction FMs will naturally occur over time without a contest to inspire them. I know that Pranqster has a Pagan village in the works and hopefully my 2nd FM will be finished in a few weeks. Half of it takes place in a City Watch compound so I guess that technally is a faction FM.

 

Some contest ideas of my own -

 

Thieves Highway

 

Description: Lots of jumpinjg from roof to roof. Climbing through windows and jumping out the other end of a building. Simular to the Life of the Party OM. What the hell? Why not impose a no touching the ground limit?

 

Forgotten Lands

 

Description: Simular to Glyphseekers idea but why limit it to the Lost City type FMs? I love the Boneheard and the city section of Return to the Cathedral. Damn LGS for omitting these type of OMs from T2.

"I believe that what doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger"

 

The Joker

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The thieves highway idea is almost literally a description of Sotha's latest mission. ;) As for factions, I would suggest that right now TDM lacks character in that area. There's very little in the way of solid storytelling for the mod, there's the background in the wikis but they are very generic, deliberately so (as we are probably invited to take inspiration from the Thief canon, rather than to reinvent them). I am of course aware the idea is for people to come up with their own interpretations for the world provided, but I think the lack of emphasis on the factions and their inner works maybe comes from the fact that by now we all know who and what they are (coming from Thief), and there isnt in the mod a substancial difference that allows for people to come up with original views for them (for example, say a pacifist religious order in contrast with the hammers, or a fleshed out, classical fantasy mage order). I guess there's a lot of potential for people to get together and create interesting stories in TDM's social world; the way I see it, the contest could well be about the creativity and richness of the story, more than the map itself (heresy, I know).

Edited by RPGista
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