I should stress that I don't yet plan to hold any of these contests, and none of them will award any prizes (just like the Speedmapping competitions). I may change my mind about this if feedback is good enough. Unless otherwise indicated, these contests allow the usage of pre-existing graphics and sounds, but no pre-existing code. Also, the selection of port does not matter in any of these contests - one could make a DEH mod, DEHSUPP, DDF, or even DECORATE.
GunSmith
Basis: Participants have a short amount of time (30 minutes to an hour) to create a weapon based on a given theme.
Detailed Explanation:
For purposes of clarity, I'll describe a mock contest. Let's say that a contest is held in #doomarmory, and the theme given to participants is "Remote Control." Approximately an hour later, the time limit expires, and the contestants upload their files for a judge to look over and score.
Contestant #1 submits remote satchel charges. They drop at the player's feet, and switch to a seperate Detonator weapon, that has two modes of fire - the first detonates it as a fragmentation blast that shoots a bunch of powerful hitscans in 32 different directions; while the second detonates it as an incendiary blast that attacks in a tall pillar of flame. Because the satchels are not thrown, and because of the necessity to switch to a different weapon to detonate the charges, the judge rates it a 7/10.
Contestant #2 submits a cannon with remote-detonated shells, using the resources from Duke 3D's RPG. Pressing Fire launches the shell, and releasing it detonates it. Alternate fire functions the same, except the shell is affected by gravity and does not explode on contact. For overused resources, a few points are taken off, but the concept propels it to a score of 6.5/10.
Contestant #3 somehow hacks together a Redeemer missile. The concept is sound, but the way it was done makes it difficult to use, and the resources are the rocket launcher from Shadow Warrior, which nets the weapon a 5/10.
GunSmith 24
Basis: Contestants make an entire weapon mod from scratch in 24 hours that replaces all of Doom's default weapons somehow (whether by actually modifying the weapon, or replacing the weapon pickups with other items). Contestants must follow a basic theme for their mod.
Scoring:
The standard Doom Armory scoring system is used, except for Overall, all the other scores are added together to make a total. So a mod that gets 7 for initial equipment, 5 for standard weapons, 6 for advanced weapons, 4 for sounds, and 8 for graphics would get 30 points - plus points for following/taking advantage of the theme, and one last category for discretion (bugs, balance issues, other things that don't fit in other categories). The maximum number of points is 70.
More Details:
We'll say that, the moment the contest starts, the host presents the theme "Wild Wild West." This means low-tech weapons, no plasma, no rocket launchers, no rockets period.
One contestant submits his mod - consisting of a revolver, a pair of revolvers, a derringer, a couple of old-west shotguns, bare fists, a knife, and some throwable dynamite. He does not replace the BFG or Plasma Gun at all, and neglects to add an ammo pickup for the Derringer. The Zombie replacement drops dynamite. This mod would get about 45/70 points - some Discretion points knocked off for not replacing the other weapons, and giving the player powerful weapons too easily; Theme points would recieve a 7/10 because while the mod followed the theme, it didn't do anything terribly original with it.
GunSmith Week
Basis: Similar to GunSmith 24, entrants have a week to create a full weapon mod. The catch here is that graphics must be original or edited. Unmodified graphics from any source result in disqualification.
Differences From GunSmith 24:
- There are two themes given at the start of the contest - one Elemental, and one Form.
- The Elemental theme dictates what type of attack the weapons must all be - Spread, Projectile, Single Shot, etc. The Elemental theme is purposefully vague - say the Spread theme is selected. You could have all manner of shotguns, plasma shotguns, or area-effect blasts (like Hexen's Disc of Repulsion). If the Single Shot theme is selected, weapons would either be slow to fire (like shotguns or pistols) or be semi-automatic.
- The Form theme dictates what the weapons would look like - Form can be Pistol, Rifle, Spirit (wherein all the weapons are cast from the player's hands as magic attacks), or Device (wherein the weapons don't look like weapons).
- The participant may select one or both themes - but they may not make a mod that doesn't follow either.
- For the purposes of this contest, it's not necessary to create a playable mod - merely creating the weapons and balancing them for gameplay is enough. Points are awarded based on the creativity, ingenuity, and overall usefulness of each weapon.
- Participants may form teams of up to three people, plus one alternate member that may be switched for any of the three team members in case one can't make it before the contest's launch.
