This competition has ended. Results are on page 6!

You might have heard of Paragon League, currently the biggest cup organizer in ShootMania. During the past year almost 10 000 euros have been given out in the Paragon League SM cups, and now the organisation is looking to start a new era in TrackMania...
The Paragon League Chase Cups!

The new gamemode by Nadeo, Chase, introduces a new dimension and true teamplay to TrackMania. Teams of three must communicate and concentrate as the last player through a checkpoint must be the first to pass the next checkpoint.

As Chase features player-to-player interaction, the same map pool will suffice for a long time compared to other modes, but this also means the maps have to be very good. Therefore we're hosting this competition here on Mania Exchange, to find nine perfect Chase maps.


Prizes

For the nine best maps

• A personalized gold tag
  
• A front page showcase on MX for a map of your choice*
  
• 10 000 Planets
  

Map Requirements

• Environment: Stadium (Stadium Titlepack)
  
• Maptype: Multilap (5 laps)
  
• Length: Approx. 40-50 sec for the first lap (total length for 5 laps within 2:30-4:00)
  
• Mapstyle: Any
  
• No random/lucky spots (It should be possible to drive the map consistently)
  
• CPs roughly every 7-10 sec (Although exceptions are sometimes welcome)
  
• Respawnable CPs
  
• Lightweight in scenery (The scenery should not cause lags. So don't build very heavy scenery)
  
• NEW: No MediaTracker (MT), however, camera changes in loops/wallrides are allowed
  
• No glitchy textures, ugly mixing, etc.
  
• [PLChase] in front of the map name both in game and MX
  

Submit your map

• Max. 2 maps per author
  
• Each map must only known by you (and a potential beta tester)
  
• Upload your map to this mapgroup (The maps will be hidden and unreleased)
  

Deadline

The end of September 21, 2015 CEST


Judging

Every map has to compete in two categories:

• Layout (10p)
  The way in which the parts/blocks of the track are arranged - Does the track feel natural?
  
  A full score in this category will include at least:
  
  • No bugs
    
  • No unfitting turns (too tight/too wide)
    
  • No jumps that can't be done consistently (also with lower speed)
    
  • No spots that require insane precision
    
  • A good flow and a suitable speed on every lap
    
  • Diversity
    
  • Visual aspects
    
  • Fun!
    
  
  The track should be fun to play. It should give the impression of being well thought out instead of randomly generated. Repetitive parts should be avoided. The driver should feel a natural flow playing the map to make finishing the map feel rewarding. Diversity in driving surface and scenery usually helps enhancing the driving experience.
  
  
  
• Competitiveness (10p)
  Easy to finish but hard to master - How challenging is the map? Is the map good for record hunting?
  
  A full score in this category will include at least:
  
  • No repetitive parts (chain jumps, long straight parts, repeating curves)
    
  • Not a too forgiving, not a too punishing design
    
  • Challenging, but not insanely difficult parts
    
  • Good huntability
    
  • Technical diversity (different types of slides, fast and slower sections, tight parts with low variety for the optimal line, wider parts with more variety for the driving line, to mention a few possibilities)
    
  
  A competitive cup map shouldn't be too simple, but not too hard either. There shouldn't be spots that destroy a run completely if you crash, but on the other hand the track shouldn't be too forgiving either (no boosters straight after CPs to regain speed etc). There should be some trickier spots that require focus and communication - possibly even strategies. A lot of transitions/chain jumps or long straights reduce the score in this category.
  Overall the track needs to be good for hunting.
  

The maps will be judged by two individual judges at first. After that, a smaller selection of maps will be selected and judged by two teams for a more realistic and extensive testing.

Our judging teams will be Team Acer and Awsomniac!


Good luck and have fun! If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments. You can also send a private message to either   Ville or   haenry.


ManiaExchange

Strategy Tips for Chase Maps

• Vary the gaps between CPs
  e.g. Add a smaller cp gap of roughly 4 seconds. Thus teams don't fall into a consistent rhythm of passing/overtaking each other, but have to adapt to different cp gaps. Be careful with the alteration though, as it might work against the flow of the track.
  
• Add possibilities to take different routes
  e.g. Crossings or re-uses allow players to take a shorter/faster route to the next cp. They maybe even let players pass the cp in another direction.
  
• Build wide open sections
  These allow for longer driving lines on the outside of curves, so that players can be overtaken without having to lose speed. They are also useful situations to use the rear view mirror to get an overview of your team mates positions.
  
• Build tight sections
  This way players cannot use the ways stated above to overtake each other, but actually have to slow down.
  
• Build a decisive point
  This can be a jump or a road where you fall off more easily and a crash can be more fatal. On the other hand this part could also offer a small advantage, if the players take a higher risk.
  Usually a map should not have more than one decisive point, if even. But be careful, because such a decisive point can also easily ruin the flow/fun of a map.
  

1 question, can we use the 64x64 map?

Edit : A second question; are duomaps allowed?
Re-edit : A third question; are embeddable blocks allowed?

I'm sad there is no proper active server in chase on Stadium.
This is great you're pushing it with this kind of project.

Good job

Thanks DDE

Dr. Hugs, the 64x64 basemap is not allowed.
The Duo map is allowed, but it obviously counts as one full map for both authors.
Embedded Objects are also allowed, but you should make sure that they look good

DDE says:
I'm sad there is no proper active server in chase on Stadium.
This is great you're pushing it with this kind of project.

Good job

There's a Paragon server in Matchmaking - together we can make it popular! We also recently set a limit of 1000 LP to join the matchmaking because a lot of people who hadn't played a single game of TM yet joined and didn't understand the rules at all - this limit should make Chase more fun for everyone

---

One more thing about duo maps. If such a map gets to the top 9, the prize planets will be split between the authors. Both of the authors will get a golden ingame tag.

Thanks for the enlightment Ville ! It should look fine since i just use 1 embedded to avoid a bug

Sounds great

Intro/replay cams? Yes? No? Doesn't matter?

Edit:

Ville says:

• Add possibilities to take different routes
  e.g. Crossings or re-uses allow players to take a shorter/faster route to the next cp. They maybe even let players pass the cp in another direction.
  

How important or optional is this? Adding significant alternate routes or re-uses to a track can be a pretty big thing. Will an otherwise good track get downrated if these are missing?

The mode is still fairly new and the competitive maps for it probably differ from the usual competitive maps. We don't exactly know yet how the perfect maps should look like for Chase.
We held many discussions and exchanged thoughts about possibilities for good Chase maps and came up with all the ideas mentioned in the Strategy Tipps section. They are not essential for a good map, but ideas you can play around with, if you want to. Some might turn out really well, while others might be annoying. We still have to find out. Many re-uses and alternative routes could also be more confusing than helpful. I encourage you to play around with these ideas and if you like one, include it, but if not, then don't. We could also call them experimental.
All in all we will in no way downgrade a map if it has no re-use or not used any other of these ideas, if it is otherwise good.


Regarding the MT. We should have mentioned to not include MT at all in your maps
Without MT there will be no distraction through GPS text during the race and intros will only become annoying after the tenth time in a cup. Outros can be annoying while spectating. So overall it's easiest to not include MT at all.
I added an additional requirement for it. I'm glad that you asked