You can use this thread to discuss the contest in a general setting and ask questions about what is and isn't allowed. You shouldn't use it to post screenshots of your levels because as a judge and the host I want to be able to answer questions without seeing progress on levels until I actually start judging things. Have fun with your levels everyone!
This thread isn't where you submit your final level! Use the Submissions and Rules Thread for that!
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Going to try and preempt a question or two down here:
What happened to the "New Contest" that was listed in the Event Calendar?
To be completely honest, there was a new contest in planning, one that was supposed to happen quickly after LM3.0 launched that would focus on 3.0's features. But as we developed the rules, it became clear that we were essentially making a "VLDC-lite" contest, since it was also a vanilla contest using slightly different VLDC rules. So we decided to just go ahead and make it into a full VLDC and here we are now. I'll admit to messing with expectations on purpose a little bit. I wanted this to be a bit of a surprise to people!
It's not called the 11th Annual Vanilla Level Design Contest anymore?
Well, we skipped a year so I didn't feel like we should include "Annual" in the name anymore. It's mostly just semantics on my end.
Where is the VLDCX collab?
It's still being worked on but progress has been slow. We figured we shouldn't let it stop us from hosting another VLDC.
Why are the graphics rules more restrictive this year?
We removed the ability to do recolors and merge tiles because those two really go beyond the original intent of the contest and place a weird emphasis on aesthetics over design. So we wanted to try and move back towards a level design focus with the contest. Hopefully everyone will understand.
Can I change anything that's not part of the entry?
You can do whatever you want as long as your entry level follows the contest rules and is easily accessible, but none of it affects your score. The judges only care about your level.
This thread isn't where you submit your final level! Use the Submissions and Rules Thread for that!
-------------
Going to try and preempt a question or two down here:
What happened to the "New Contest" that was listed in the Event Calendar?
To be completely honest, there was a new contest in planning, one that was supposed to happen quickly after LM3.0 launched that would focus on 3.0's features. But as we developed the rules, it became clear that we were essentially making a "VLDC-lite" contest, since it was also a vanilla contest using slightly different VLDC rules. So we decided to just go ahead and make it into a full VLDC and here we are now. I'll admit to messing with expectations on purpose a little bit. I wanted this to be a bit of a surprise to people!
It's not called the 11th Annual Vanilla Level Design Contest anymore?
Well, we skipped a year so I didn't feel like we should include "Annual" in the name anymore. It's mostly just semantics on my end.
Where is the VLDCX collab?
It's still being worked on but progress has been slow. We figured we shouldn't let it stop us from hosting another VLDC.
Why are the graphics rules more restrictive this year?
We removed the ability to do recolors and merge tiles because those two really go beyond the original intent of the contest and place a weird emphasis on aesthetics over design. So we wanted to try and move back towards a level design focus with the contest. Hopefully everyone will understand.
Can I change anything that's not part of the entry?
You can do whatever you want as long as your entry level follows the contest rules and is easily accessible, but none of it affects your score. The judges only care about your level.