Official Level Design Contests of 2012
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The following changes took effect during this year:
- From the January/February contest onwards, the Circuit division was discontinued.
- From the November/December contest onwards, the voting system was changed. Instead of scoring each map on an absolute 0–10 scale, voters now rank the maps of a division in order of preference. This was done to fix several problems with the old voting system, most notably that outlying votes would heavily skew the average score of a map.
January/February
- Host: Mystic
- Then-current SRB2 version: v2.0.6
This contest was the first one to be held after the Circuit division was discontinued. It was generally viewed as a disappointment due to a lack of entries and a sub-par Match division which consisted mainly of rush jobs. Only the Single Player division was considered to be of high quality, with both maps scoring above 8. All maps with an average above 5 (including all winning entries) were made by developers Blade, CoatRack and sphere, which resulted in no golden user titles being handed out for this contest.
With only two maps, the Single Player division became a competition between brothers Blade and CoatRack, both of whom submitted the second acts of zones intended for their in-progress level packs. The first acts of these zones had already been released to the OLDC in 2010 and had both won their division to high acclaim. CoatRack had already started and scrapped several versions of Eggmansion Zone Act 2, but this was the first one to be finished and publicly released. As part of the general trickery theme of the level, it included a modified section from Solstice Pass Zone Act 1, the first level of his level pack Chaos Domain. Blade submitted the second act of Sapphire Coast Zone, the first zone of his level pack Lost Worlds. As with the first act, it featured the Spring Shell as an enemy, which would be added to SRB2 itself in v2.1. A earlier version of the map had been submitted to the January/February 2009 OLDC; it had received the lowest score of any of Blade's Single Player submissions.
The Single Player division became a close race, with both maps receiving very positive reviews. Eggmansion Zone Act 2 had been leading for most of the contest's duration due to a high number of perfect scores received at the beginning of the contest, but more critical votes in the latter half brought its average below that of SCZ2, which eventually won by a margin of 0.08. Another Single Player map, Viridity Woodland Zone Act 1 by Metal Fighter, was initially included in the contest pack by accident but later withdrawn by the author's request.
Single Player division
- Sapphire Coast Zone Act 2 by Blade – 8.24
- Eggmansion Zone Act 2 by CoatRack – 8.16
Match division
- MAPM0 – Pacman Zone Zone[sic] by EternallyAries Red X – 3.64
- MAPM1 – Oiler Outpost Zone by Katmint – 2.22
- MAPM2 – Generic Field Zone by csmgiw – 2.91
- MAPM3 – Techno Rush Zone by CoatRack – 5.89
Capture the Flag division
- MAPF0 – Jungle Ruins Zone by Kuba11 – 4.78
- MAPF1 – Rush Flower CTF Zone by sphere/CoatRack – 6.86
Links
March/April
- Host: Mystic
- Then-current SRB2 version: v2.0.6
This contest had the lowest number of entries since February 2004, and was the only contest for v2.0 with no Single Player entries. Only two of the five maps scored above average. Mystic announced at the start of the voting period that due to an ongoing overabundance of rush job entries and low-scoring maps, the OLDC would be suspended until v2.1's release unless the May/June contest improved the quantity and quality of the submissions.
Single Player division
No maps were submitted for this category.
Match division
- MAPM0 – Hexagon Heat Zone by Simsmagic – 3.80
- MAPM1 – City Match Zone by Root – 1.00
Capture the Flag division
- MAPF0 – Adjective Noun Zone by Scizor300 – 6.22
- MAPF1 – Icy Falls Zone by Kitoko – 4.63
- MAPF2 – The Sacred Cradle by EternallyAries Red X – 6.89
Links
May/June
- Host: Mystic
- Then-current SRB2 version: v2.0.6
Because this contest was considered a significant improvement over the last few contests, the plans to suspend the OLDC until v2.1's release were temporarily dropped. The Single Player division, which featured several maps that made extensive use of custom resources, was particularly well-received. However, several maps, most notably Chemical Facility Zone Act 2 and Lightless Labyrinth Zone, were controversial and received highly divergent votes. Lightless Labyrinth Zone was an experimental map that took place in total darkness, with only torches and other light sources acting as visual cues. Opinions on the map contrasted highly, although a section that made use of horizontally moving platforms (at the time a rarely used feature due to technical limitations) was universally praised. The boss, which was based on Doom's Cyberdemon enemy, nows appears as SRB2's final boss in Black Core Zone Act 3.
Similarly to the January/February contest, brothers CoatRack and Blade both submitted second acts of maps that had previously won their divisions to high acclaim. This time, however, their levels were met with lukewarm reviews. Frozen Hillside Zone Act 2 was seen as a solid map that added very little to the concepts introduced in the first act, while Chemical Facility Zone Act 2 was criticized for unbalanced difficulty and cheap enemy placement.
Azure Temple Zone, one of SRB2's bonus levels, debuted in this contest as a preview for v2.1. While it was expected by the authors to be controversial due to featuring extremely difficult underwater platforming, it received surprisingly few negative votes and won the division with a very high score and a substantial lead. It was acclaimed for its challenging but fair platforming and particularly its usage of enemies as integral parts of the level design. Sonic's Schoolhouse was a recreation of the educational computer game of the same name. Given the author's background as the creator of the joke level pack SRB2SBAHJ, many voters were confused as to whether or not the map was meant to be taken seriously.
The multiplayer divisions were again very small, but with the exception of Green Match Zone, the entries were of solid quality. The only two entries in the CTF division tied, resulting in the first winning tie since March/April 2007.
Single Player division
- Industrial Valley Zone Act 1 by Zipper – 4.58
- Azure Temple Zone by Mystic/Prime 2.0 – 8.50
- Sonic's Schoolhouse by Boinciel – 5.27
- Frozen Hillside Zone Act 2 by Blade – 7.02
- Chemical Facility Zone Act 2 by CoatRack – 6.78
- Lightless Labyrinth Zone by Shadow Hog – 6.12
Match division
- MAPM0 – Green Match Zone by Root – 1.31
- MAPM1 – Marble Zone by CoatRack – 8.27
Capture the Flag division
- MAPF0 – Glades of Serenity by Scizor300 – 6.55
- MAPF1 – Fungus Forest by fickleheart – 6.55
Links
November/December
- Host: Prime 2.0
- Then-current SRB2 version: v2.0.6
Due to a lack of entries, the July/August and September/October contests were canceled, and this contest was extended into January 2013. When voting finally started in February, it was met with little attention from the community. Subsequently, Mystic placed the OLDC on hiatus until the release of v2.1, making this the last OLDC for v2.0. It was the first contest that utilized the new voting system.
The Single Player division was generally considered to be a disappointment. The first three maps were met with mixed to mildly positive reception, while the remaining maps were generally disliked. Eggslimer Battle Zone in particular was met with confusion, since it was merely a fight against a slightly modified Egg Slimer in a basic arena. Neo Canyon Zone and Mad Gadget Zone were both submitted to the contest in an unfinished state, but nevertheless managed to secure the first two places.
In the Match division, the first three maps were in very close competition throughout the voting. Generic Canyon Zone eventually managed to win by a margin of five votes. Mount Revolvius Zone was an attempt to make a non-symmetric CTF map, but the result was considered to be very unbalanced and was largely panned.
Single Player division
- Neo Canyon Zone by Chrome – 102
- Mad Gadget Zone by Simsmagic/Kyasarin – 94
- Gleaming Caverns Zone by 742mph – 71
- Fire Castle Zone by Profesor Oak – 39
- Eggslimer Battle Zone by Boinciel/Prime 2.0 – 20
- Thawing Icecap Zone by Scooby Doo – 19
Match division
- MAPM2 – Generic Canyon Zone by Sryder13 – 42
- MAPM5 – Volcano Valley Zone by CoatRack – 37
- MAPM3 – Match Meadow Zone by Chrome – 36
- MAPM4 – Refrigerator Zone by Zipper – 13
- MAPM1 – Angel Lava Zone by Ariel/Eva – 2
Capture the Flag division
- MAPF1 – Mine Maze Zone by sphere/CoatRack – 20
- MAPF3 – Final Destination Zone by Scizor300/Kyasarin – 12
- MAPF2 – Mount Revolvius Zone by Eblo – 4
Links
| Official Level Design Contests and Collabs | [view] | |
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2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2014 • 2015 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 • 2024 | ||