Competition

A screenshot of a splitscreen Competition game.

Competition is a multiplayer gametype in SRB2 that is usually played on Single Player maps. Similarly to Sonic 2's split-screen mode, the players play through the stage and are then ranked in several categories, such as the time they took to complete the level, the number of collected rings, and the number of popped monitors. The players are awarded points according to their ranking in each category, and the player with the most points wins. Competition mode is enabled for a map by adding the keyword Competition to the TypeOfLevel parameter of its level header.

Gametype format

Each round starts with the players standing still and unable to move at the spawn point of the map. After a countdown of three seconds, the time starts running and the players can start moving. The game then progresses normally until the first player reaches the exit. Then, a countdown of 60 seconds will start. Once the countdown ends, all players that have not reached the exit yet will die and receive a Time Over. The length of the countdown can be changed with the console variable countdowntime.

Just like in Single Player, each player starts out with three lives. If all of these are lost, the player receives a Game Over and automatically places last. All monitors are replaced with Random Monitors by default. This behavior can be changed via the console variable competitionboxes. The default setting is Random. If it is set to Normal, all monitors contain their regular items. If it is set to Teleports, all monitors become Teleport Monitors. If it is set to None, all monitors are removed.

The intermission screen after a Competition game.

At the intermission screen, the players are ranked according to the following five categories:

• Score – The number of points that the player scored on the map (usually by killing enemies).
• Time – The time it took for the player to finish the stage. Players who received a Time Over will be placed last in this category.
• Ring – The number of rings the player held when finishing the map. For players who received a Time Over, this is 0.
• Total Ring – The number of rings the player collected in total. Lost rings still count towards this category, and spilled rings that are picked up again count a second time.
• Item Box – The number of popped monitors.

The points received per category depend on the total number of players: If there are n players, the first player in a category receives n-1 points, the second player receives n-2 points, and so forth until the last player, who receives no points. Players who are tied receive the same score, e.g. if three players are tied for second place, they all receive n-2 points. The points for each category are then added up and the player with the most points wins.