The next Dungeon Defenders Map Contest is here!

It begins again.

Back in July, Daniel Diaz stunned our team and the community with his map contest entry, Palantir. This gorgeous map earned him $1,000 and something were sure he didnt expect -- a job offer. Now, hes working with us on our next game!

With the triumphs of the first contest still sweet on our tongues, were hosting another Dungeon Defenders Map Contest. You could win $1,000 or one of three additional cash prizes for your custom map!

The contest begins right now. The deadline for maps is October 31 at 11:59 p.m. EDT, which will be followed by a two-week voting period. Voting will end November 13 at 8 p.m. EDT. Winners will be reveal in the November 14 DunDef Digest.

Last time, we restricted entries to traditional campaign maps. This time, the skys the limit. Campaign maps, PvP arenas, challenge missions: If it meets the guidelines established in our rules, well add it to the contest.

The first-place winner will receive $1,000 with his/her map implemented into our Ranked mode. Second-place will receive $500, third-place will receive $250 and the fourth-place winner will receive $125. On top of that, all winners will be given access to the closed beta of an upcoming Trendy title! A few lucky honorable mentions will walk away with a closed beta invite as well. Put forth a valiant effort and ye shall be rewarded.

In order for your map to be eligible for the contest, you will need to tag it with the Map Contest tag when uploading your map to the Steam Workshop. We will update the DDDK this week to include the tag.

Check out the Official Wiki page or details on how to download custom maps for Dungeon Defenders, and head on over to the forums for tutorials on how to use our development kit!


Rules and Deadlines:

1. Anyone can submit a map, but cash prizes are only available to people 18 and older.

2. All maps must be made using the Dungeon Defenders Development Kit.

3. All entries must be uploaded to the Steam Workshop to be eligible for this contest.

4. All authors must use the Map Contest tag when uploading his or her map to be eligible for the contest.

5. The use of custom materials is allowed.

6. Given the amount of work required for a proper map, we have decided to allow collaborations. Multiple authors can pool their talents on a single submission and split any prizes that may be awarded; however, only one map per author is allowed.

7. Maps submitted to the previous Dungeon Defenders Map Contest are not eligible for this contest.

8. Maps submitted to the Steam Workshop before July 22 are ineligible for the map contest.

9. Maps submitted to the Workshop after July 22 and before the start of the contest will need to be resubmitted and tagged with the Map Contest tag.

10. Do your best to make the map actually work. You will not be disqualified if the map contains errors -- i.e. a particular monster spawn is broken, last wave doesnt end properly, etc.

11. Content cannot infringe upon copyrighted or trademarked material. Any entries violating this rule will be disqualified. This rule will be strictly enforced.

12. The map must be a playable map. For example, maps that are made for the sole purpose of boosting heroes or granting high-end gear will not qualify for the contest.

13. Entries must be submitted no later than October 31 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

14. Votes given to entries before October 31 will carry over into the two-week voting process, so keep that in mind when you put up an early version of your map.

15. Any attempts to game the Steam Workshop voting will result in disqualification, though we do encourage authors to promote their maps for voting.

16. Unless granted special privilege by the judging staff, you may not update your Steam Workshop map. Updating your map may result in disqualification.


Voting:

All public voting will take place on the Steam Workshop. Maps tagged Map Contest will be eligible for voting.

The final voting will be weighted 40 percent public voting and 60 percent judges voting. The judging panel will consist of 5-7 judges from the Trendy staff. The final results will be revealed in the November 14 DunDef Digest.


When voting for maps, keep these in mind:

1. Balance: Does the design of the map make sense? Are the pathways intuitive and easy to follow? Does the map provide obvious chokepoints while still allowing creativity in building Towers? Is the number of Monsters fair for a given difficulty? Are they too strong or weak? Is the DU allotment strict or generous?

2. Originality & Style: Is the overall design new and exciting? What did the author do to make the map unique? Did the author actually create something new or just copy/paste pieces of existing levels? What about replay value?

3. Detailing: Is the map intricate and beautiful? Is there a high level of polish to the map? Does the map fit the style of the Dungeon Defenders universe? Do the individual detailing choices make the map feel put together or discordant? What part of the Castle or Etheria landscape could this represent?

4. Optimization: Does the map have proper clipping & border restrictions? (Can you jump into a pit and not die?). Is the monster pathing appropriate, or do they regularly get stuck on the geometry? (Small factor: Did the mapmaker try to keep file size reasonable- lightmap optimizations, etc?)


We look forward to the fantastic creations from this contest! Good luck!

Sincerely,

Josh Isom
Community Manager
Trendy Entertainment

So is the upload limit for Steam Workshop being remedied or is this really going to be "who can do the best with 50MB" contest?

So is the upload limit for Steam Workshop being remedied or is this really going to be "who can do the best with 50MB" contest?

Well, there's been some optimization to the cooking phase which recognizes content that's already in the game and doesn't cook it, which reduces the size of the mod, probably dramatically...

But, that doesn't help people that want to use custom models and textures. It could definitely be an issue here - either you make a small map, or you don't use custom assets.


If my laptop gets fixed anytime soon, I'd be willing to collab with someone if they need custom scripts for this (turns out the laptop'll have to go into the workshop to be repaired, it's not a simple fix this time... when the motherboard fried, it took a bunch of other components down with it)

Though, if Alhanalem wants to polish up his Tower Wars map some more, I think that still qualifies to enter this, and I was already working with him on that. Hmm...

[QUOTE]So is the upload limit for Steam Workshop being remedied or is this really going to be "who can do the best with 50MB" contest? [/QUOTE]You don't need to make a huge file to make a creative, thoughtful piece of work.

As dingle noted however, some improvements have been made which effectively allow you to use more assets with out increasing the file size as much.

If you want to make something, I'd encourage you to go ahead and make it. If file size does become an issue, perhaps you can talk with Trendy about a resolution or accommodation.

You don't need to make a huge file to make a creative, thoughtful piece of work.

As dingle noted however, some improvements have been made which effectively allow you to use more assets with out increasing the file size as much.

If you want to make something, I'd encourage you to go ahead and make it. If file size does become an issue, perhaps you can talk with Trendy about a resolution or accommodation.

It's a perfectly legitimate question. Maybe someone has a big map in mind. I don't feel it to be fair if their upload for the contest is hindered because they decided to go a little bigger. I had to shave out almost every single static mesh from Kings valley to make it upload-able. 51mb's later and its now just one big map with some bumpy terrain and some boxes on the workshop...


I actually will not be participating in this contest. So best of luck to everyone else.

It's a perfectly legitimate question. Maybe someone has a big map in mind. I don't feel it to be fair if their upload for the contest is hindered because they decided to go a little bigger. I had to shave out almost every single static mesh from Kings valley to make it upload-able. 51mb's later and its now just one big map with some bumpy terrain and some boxes on the workshop...


I actually will not be participating in this contest. So best of luck to everyone else.

You seem kind of bitter about this. on a side note, did you try cooking the full map after the recent update to see if the files size went down? It's also not so much about the total number of static meshes you use (only one mesh needs to be loaded for several instances) as the number of different assets you use from different packages. However, as mentioned before, in the recent update, most map file sizes significantly decreased. I also point out that file size is not part of the rules. If you end up being unable to upload something yourself, TE can probably put it up on your behalf.

You do good work- you shouldn't let something like this get in the way. Everybody thought highly of your last effort, it would be sad not to see another :(

You seem kind of bitter about this. on a side note, did you try cooking the full map after the recent update to see if the files size went down? It's also not so much about the total number of static meshes you use (only one mesh needs to be loaded for several instances) as the number of different assets you use from different packages. However, as mentioned before, in the recent update, most map file sizes significantly decreased. I also point out that file size is not part of the rules. If you end up being unable to upload something yourself, TE can probably put it up on your behalf.

You do good work- you shouldn't let something like this get in the way. Everybody thought highly of your last effort, it would be sad not to see another :(

Nothing is ever as it seems, here on the internet especially. Vocal tone is entirely absent from the words and left up to a reader's own interpretation. Any historical text could have all been written with the utmost sarcasm and no one would have been the wiser.

More to the topic, I just don't have time to fully dedicate to a new project. This time of the year is more demanding of time than usual. Look forward to seeing what comes out from the contest though, and like I said, best of luck to everyone. I do hope the size limitation does not scare of any of the potential submissions from any all contestants.

wow another map contest, this is so great, i can't wait to see what maps makes it into ranks, the last one was so amazing!

since some map makers will be going back to school

why not extend the deadline to the end of year

if not why not up to thanksgiving or some later date

that gives more time

also, my vote is

1. Tower Wars by Alhanalem
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...s/?id=85414837

2. Rama Joy Map by evernewjoy
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...s/?id=88124058

3. Mumbos Mountain by AwesomeSauce231
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...s/?id=81629206

hi if anyone is interested in helping me get Emilie's Candy Land map in shape for the contest PM me, i would greatly appreciate it!

if you can't work on it directly any creative criticism, suggestions, ideas, feedback ect. are also welcomed.

the idea is make the map the best it can be given the limits of the concept and the technologies we are using.

i only ask because i have very limited to no skills in map making and udk and i would really like to do a great job and create an outstanding map that everyone can enjoy.

the map concept that Emilie did is so amazing, it can with a little work be a winner!

here is the map as it is currently released
http://forums.trendyent.com/showthread.php?76221-MAP-Candy-Land-%28WIP%29

and here is the background behind it which includes video of the original map that i started from
http://forums.trendyent.com/showthread.php?69401-calling-all-modders-help-me-bring-to-life-Candy-Land-map-for-DD

OBL: Just so you know, they're going to use the Workshop system for voting this time around. Soon we'll have the ability to add tags (categories) to our workshop items and at that point it will be possible to submit and to vote.

if i make a video and tell my friend to put his name for me because im not 18 but if my friend put his name that count or no

Updated Rule No. 1: Anyone can submit a map, but cash prizes are only available to people 18 and older.

why dont you team up with someone over 18 and share the prize

i mean 2 heads are better than one

just make sure you can trust them to pay you your half

of if you want to do the map all by yourself, get your father / mother, ect to submit it and then they can get the prize and cash it for you. that most likely would also be allowed.

why dont you team up with someone over 18 and share the prize

i mean 2 heads are better than one

just make sure you can trust them to pay you your half

of if you want to do the map all by yourself, get your father / mother, ect to submit it and then they can get the prize and cash it for you. that most likely would also be allowed.

that what i meant

Its awesome to see a new contest :)
good luck to everyone who enter, cant wait to see the maps :)

You should probably make a new thread in Modding tech support :)

(nvm, post I replied to was moved :) )

Ahhh thank you for the idea

:)

♥

Rama

Oh man, someone should make Sky o Love Assault Mission

yeah latest den def developer launcher faulting

in addition to that error i getting

http://forums.trendyent.com/showthread.php?76942-latest-den-def-developer-launcher-faulting

The error with the dev launcher is known, it doesn't need to be reported any more. You can still launch the editor, so I'd suggest you simply work on your maps in the meantime :)

Good luck to everyone entering :) Hope to see lots of awesomeness again!!!

Another contest eh?

We'll see. We will see...

Is there any possibility of price reduction for this contest? I would like to buy this game to participate.

Is there any possibility of price reduction for this contest? I would like to buy this game to participate.

It's already very cheap at only $15~ :)

There are also code drops that have been happening on a near weekly basis. Good luck!

It's already very cheap at only $15~ :)

There are also code drops that have been happening on a near weekly basis. Good luck!

I am not saying its expensive, just saying I can't afford it right now. :P

Code drop, where? Could you please redirect me?