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Winter Lunar Magic Creativity Contest - Rules and Discussion (PUBLIC VOTING IS UP!)

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The contest is over - check the entries out here and vote!



Welcome to the third ever Lunar Magic Creativity Contest! I'm going to be your host this time around. If you have no idea what the concept of a LM Creativity Contest is about or you don't remember, have a look at the two previous incarnations:

1 2

For a brief explanation, your task here is to build a non-playable scene/picture/piece of art in Lunar Magic's level editor utilizing blocks and sprites. It may sound a bit lame and limited, but with some effort and a lot of creativity, you can make something really cool! Just have a peek at some of the entries in the previous contests and you'll see what I'm talking about. As a quick example, this is one of the top ranking entries from last year.

However, since we are in the spirit of snow and cold days*, we want to see entries that reflect on that. So your challenge is to craft up something that is somehow related to winter!

* Not applicable to all hemispheres



Rules and Guidelines
1. All the usage of layer 1, background/in-level layer 2, layer 3 and sprites will be what's going to be judged in your entry. Basically everything that shows up in Lunar Magic when the level is opened, sans Mario's starting positions. You're not absolutely forced to use all of these, though; make use only of layer 1 if you'd like, for instance!
2. Make your entry in level 105.
3. You're free to use any level mode. That does include translucency and such, as well as vertical levels.
4. You have screens 00 to 04 (5 screens) to make your entry. Don't feel forced to use all the space, though, and don't worry about the edges of your submission not ending on the edge of a particular screen; it will not count as "cutoff".
5. You are limited to SMW's original graphics. You can use as many ExGFX files as you want for tileset mixing purposes, as long as nothing is drawn. 4BPP-to-2BPP conversion is allowed for layer 3.
6. ExAnimation for all layers and sprites is allowed.
7. Submit your entry as an IPS/BPS file as well as a screenshot. If your entry uses animations, LICEcap is recommended, but if you're having trouble with it, don't be afraid to hit me up!

Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have a limitation of how much map16 I can use?
Nope! Go nuts.

Is it okay if Lunar Magic gives me a warning because I'm using too many sprites?
It's alright, since your entry is not meant to be played. Use as many sprites as you need.

Can I merge or recolor tiles like in the VLDC?
Nope. All you can do 8x8-wise is to put various tiles together using ExGFX, but don't edit them in any way. You have a lot of layers and palette rows, they should suffice.


Submit your entries to me via PM. Do not reveal it to anyone, as there is going to be community voting and we want it to stay anonymous!

The deadline is December 31st, 23:59:59 UTC



Judging Criteria
Creativity (20 points): how unique is your entry? Did you really grasp the "creativity" part in the contest's title?
Crafting (20 points): is your entry polished, or does it just look cluttered and messy?
Theme Adherency (10 points): how nicely and creatively does your entry convey winter? Is it just a lot of ice blocks, or is there something else to it?

That sums up to a total of 50 points you can get.



Community Voting
The community will be able to vote for their favorite entry after the contest is over. A screenshot of every entry will be posted, so everyone will be able to see all of them equally and more easily. This voting will be held via PM and each user will have the right to root for one entry.



Prizes
The top 3 winners based on judge scores and the winner of the community vote will be awarded with badges, and all other entrants will get a participation badge as well as a little holiday gift! Please note that the judges hold the right to disqualify spammy, effortless entries made with the sole purpose of winning a badge.



With all that said, I hope you guys have fun! Feel free to discuss and post your questions here.
Sounds interesting.
Not sure of what I would do, but I might try it.
Хуй войне!

桐生会FOREVER #ThankYouCoco / Rest in peace, Near, thank you for everything
Sounds fun ! This will probably be the first contest I will enter after all this time.
Also, even though I think the answer is obvious, here's a small question: can we mix 8x8 tiles using the Map16 editor, or do we have to use only what's provided with the two original Map16 pages ? It's not written in the rules so I want to be sure.
Originally posted by Mathos
can we mix 8x8 tiles using the Map16 editor, or do we have to use only what's provided with the two original Map16 pages ?

You're free to edit map16 as much as you like, as well as to mix different 8x8 tiles in an ExGFX file. The only restriction is really just drawing new stuff or editing the graphics.
It's easily the best thing I've done
So why the empty numb?
I'm entering too! But I have a question: Can I recolor tiles, like in the VLDCs?



Originally posted by Luansilva12
Can I recolor tiles, like in the VLDCs?

Please don't recolor (or overlap) tiles ala VLDC. Working freely with 7 palette rows should be sufficient.
It's easily the best thing I've done
So why the empty numb?
To which file hosting site should I submit my .ips and the screenshot?



Originally posted by Luansilva12
To which file hosting site should I submit my .ips and the screenshot?


Dropbox or the SMWC File bin (These are optional)

Also, the level can be Vertical?
Originally posted by Big Brawler
Also, the level can be Vertical?

Originally posted by Contest's rules
3. You're free to use any level mode. That does include translucency and such, as well as vertical levels.




This one seems interesting, I'll give it a shot. Good luck to everyone else!

EDIT: Eh, can't think of anything, never mind.
Originally posted by Koopster
Please don't recolor (or overlap) tiles ala VLDC. Working freely with 7 palette rows should be sufficient.

So, wait; does this mean it's OK to use a custom palette or are we restricted to the vanilla palettes?
Doin' a thing
Oh, you're allowed to change the palette! I was refering to using the color remapping function to change the colors a tile uses (which is disallowed).
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
It's easily the best thing I've done
So why the empty numb?
Originally posted by Koopster
Oh, you're allowed to change the palette! I was refering to using the color remapping function to change the colors a tile uses (which is disallowed).
Sorry for the misunderstanding.


well rip my hour of work then
Once again my laptop not working prevents me from doing what I want to do

Good luck to whoever's entering thiugh
Are we allowed to flip existing 8x8 tiles and rearrange them into new ExGFX files?


 
Originally posted by IanBoy141
well rip my hour of work then

Wait a second, have you used recoloring? Your entry certainly looks like it could be done without it, maybe with some changes. I haven't opened the IPS yet to check, but feel free to resubmit if it breaks the rules. Sorry for the hassle.

Originally posted by WhiteYoshiEgg
Are we allowed to flip existing 8x8 tiles and rearrange them into new ExGFX files?

Since flipping is possible with map16, I'd prefer if you did it there. And yes, you can rearrange tiles using ExGFX.

Think I'm gonna answer a few of those questions in the OP so people aren't in risk of breaking the rules.
It's easily the best thing I've done
So why the empty numb?
Alright, one more thing: how about sprite Map16 to change a sprite's appearance? (Note that that's saved to an external file, so you'd have to carry that around.)


 
Originally posted by WhiteYoshiEgg
Alright, one more thing: how about sprite Map16 to change a sprite's appearance? (Note that that's saved to an external file, so you'd have to carry that around.)

That sounds like too much of a stretch, so nope.
It's easily the best thing I've done
So why the empty numb?
Originally posted by Big Brawler
Originally posted by Luansilva12
To which file hosting site should I submit my .ips and the screenshot?


Dropbox or the SMWC File bin

what? no dont submit it to your smwc file bin that ruins the anonymity aspect of this.
put it in koopster's dropbox
ask me if i give a f*ck...
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