And so the treasure level contest has begun. Here are the rules and guidelines to refresh yourself, and some new ones:

Rules:
1. Entry must be yours in some way.
2. Collabs are allowed. If the winner is a collab entry, the prize money will be shared.
3. Entries must be new. However, you can finish off an unfinished treasure level and enter it.
4. Custom gamemodes that utilise treasure but aren't truly treasure (like ground force and race) do not count.
5. It should support 1.23. Plus allows you to play most levels made in TSF JCS/with TSF tilesets, so all you need to worry about is simply not to use too many/TSF only animations, or the level being far too big. However, if your level supports non-plus 1.23, you must use 1.23 JCS or convert the level into 1.23.
6. It should be playable (not tedious/impossible to reach certain areas) by all characters. If you don't have TSF, I can test if it works with Lori for you.
7. One entry per person
8. The deadline is now November the 25th
9. Your entry should be submitted on J2O. You should say in the description somewhere that it is for the contest. Also, make a post here.

Guidelines:

1. Don't make the player rely on springs/copter pickups too much. While you are blinking, you cannot use springs or pick up objects, resulting in clustered, frustrating fights.
2. Don't go overboard on things that cause the player to slow down a lot (like poles and 1 tile open passages you have to slow down in). These can also result in frustrating fights.
3. AS is optional. If I get enough separate AS and non-AS entries, I may split up the winners into two different categories.
4. The level doesn't need to utilise JJ2+ features.
5. Character and weapon balance is fun, though not required.
7. Keep a balance between vertical and horizontal passages in the layout.
8. Have at least more than one ammo type to make the gameplay not too one-dimensional.
9. Being fun to move around in is a plus.

If I get at least 2 good entries, there will be a 2nd place prize! The first place winner will win £24, and second place will win £12.

I am also looking for judges. I am looking for those adequately skilled in playing, and understand some gameplay theory. Some experience in levelmaking is a plus, but playing in the main one. Judges cannot make their own level entries, for the reason being I feel that if judges had their own entries, they may try to put down others entries to win.

Note that even if I don't get any other judges, there will still be a winner, so don't worry.

alrighty then, imma get to work soon!

Imma firin' mah.. Eh, Imma firin' up my JCS!

PJ and I are in.

Also, I'm looking forward to the competition. Please don't disappoint me!

If my level gets finished in time I will be in too. Just for the nostalgy feeling it gives for me.

Just a reminder - it's coming up to the deadline quite soon! 2 weeks left!

Well, my pc (with JCS) had a crash, I was planning to make a level. But.., yeah.. Isn't going to work.. (Had a cool idea though ;( )
I could judge the maps if that's possible .

I was like "Wow, someone finally submitted an entry?" then...eh well.

If the HDD/SSD didn't get damaged, you should be able to work back on it once you replace the broken parts, even if the contest is over. I'd really like to see some new treasure levels.

I feel like people keep procastinating and stopped working on their entries. I'm a little doubtful I'll get any now. If I barely get any entries, I'll extend the deadline. But yeah, it really is 2 weeks left this time, my judgement last time was off by a week.

Procrastination is like my second name, you know. I'm horrible when it comes to time management.

But seriously though, my entry is about 60% done at this point. Once it's finished I'd have to playtest and tweak since I got so little experience making treasure levels, especially concerning gem balance. I still intend on finishing it before the initial deadline.

I didn't even start an entry.
First of all I didn't even know the contest started (But I was interested taking part in it)
Second of all, I don't have time this month. I have been very busy..
Third of all, no pc means no jcs.

I still hope to see some entries though!

It's possible I'll make an entry, but it's also possible that all missing Doctor Who episodes will be discovered under a car dust cover in a BBC parking lot.

I'm not done, but it doesn't mean I'm not doing anything

Well, I didn't say that I was going to enter in the poll but since I'm free next week... Who knows

Yay... I am so proud of myself, I made a gem-saving system. Because when you die in a bottom pit, you lose all your gems, so... as the gems do not respawn, I made a gem-saving system.


This image also shows the theme of my level.

Here's the code for everyone who has a bottom pit in the level and wants the gems saved:

array savedgems(3, 0);
bool access = true;

void onPlayer(jjPLAYER@ p) {
  switch(p.health) {
  case 0:
  if (access) {
   savedgems[0] = p.gems[GEM::RED];
   savedgems[1] = p.gems[GEM::GREEN];
   savedgems[2] = p.gems[GEM::BLUE];
   jjAlert("Red gems current: " + p.gems[GEM::RED]);
   jjAlert("|Red gems saved: " + savedgems[0]);
   jjAlert("Green gems current: " + p.gems[GEM::GREEN]);
   jjAlert("|Green gems saved: " + savedgems[1]);
   jjAlert("Blue gems current: " + p.gems[GEM::BLUE]);
   jjAlert("|Blue gems saved: " + savedgems[2]);
   access = false;
  }
  break;
  case 5:
   p.gems[GEM::RED] = savedgems[0];
   jjAlert("||Red gems loaded: " + p.gems[GEM::RED]);
   p.gems[GEM::GREEN] = savedgems[1];
   jjAlert("||Green gems loaded: " + p.gems[GEM::GREEN]);
   p.gems[GEM::BLUE] = savedgems[2];
   jjAlert("||Blue gems loaded: " + p.gems[GEM::BLUE]);
   if (!access) access = true;
   p.health = 4;
   break;
 }
}

The code does work!

Here's an entry: (Treasure Jail) Level Entry

Here's my entry: Vault of Ceramicus.

Originally Posted by Slaz

Here's my entry: Vault of Ceramicus.

Wow, you really impressed me Slaz, you got a nice level there. I will put the level on my server, it's a really cool level!

Due to lack of entries and hearing some more being close to finishing, I'm extending the deadline to 25th of November 2014.

Originally Posted by Slaz

Here's my entry: Vault of Ceramicus.

This is no way meant to be a full review, just things that bug me, or should be corrected (considering it's a requirement or a decision I seriously question):

Blocks requiring electro to shoot, does not actually work in vanilla JJ2 (it's a bug). It got fixed rather recently. So technically, this level is plus only but almost completely playable in vanilla JJ2.

The bottom "Vault" area is pretty tedious to get out of as Lori. I either have to TNT jump or golden jump, which the average player isn't going to know.

Why did you rename the music file and make it a J2B? Renamed music clones do nothing more than take space, and there's no reason to use j2b anymore (exception being alternate boss tracks for levels that support vanilla JJ2, in which case this is not).

Originally Posted by Treylina

Blocks requiring electro to shoot, does not actually work in vanilla JJ2 (it's a bug). It got fixed rather recently. So technically, this level is plus only but almost completely playable in vanilla JJ2.

Thanks for pointing this out! It's the first time I ever used Electro specific blocks in a level and assumed that it would work fine. It was my full intent to preserve vanilla compatibility with this level, so I swapped all Gun9 ammo and blocks with Gun8 instead. This gives Plus the option for some Fireball action as well (if that even works on the blocks xD).

Originally Posted by Treylina

The bottom "Vault" area is pretty tedious to get out of as Lori. I either have to TNT jump or golden jump, which the average player isn't going to know.

This was indeed an error on my behalf. One of the final actions I took while editing the level was adding the No Fly events in the bottom area, and thought it was nice to place them in the vault as well, enabling players to stomp the gem barrels instead of having to rely on TNT again. I fixed it lazy yet effective by heightening 2 pillars.

Originally Posted by Treylina

Why did you rename the music file and make it a J2B? Renamed music clones do nothing more than take space, and there's no reason to use j2b anymore (exception being alternate boss tracks for levels that support vanilla JJ2, in which case this is not).

Another lazy error on my behalf. I couldn't find the original music, so converted the JJ1 music file through modplug and mod2j2b. Turns out I forgot Pezrock and Ceramicus share the same music, and that it was included with the tileset as Pezrock.s3m all along xD. I swapped the music file with the original now!


EDIT: Just to clarify for ya all, I know this level may not fully abide guideline 2 concerning the amount of cramped space, but that's intentional. I thought it was fun to try a treasure level that's fun to play with small teams so made it quite easy to see and battle each other without running off too much. I'm sure some people love this, while others find it awful, and thus expect mixed reviews on this level.

Originally Posted by Slaz

Thanks for pointing this out! It's the first time I ever used Electro specific blocks in a level and assumed that it would work fine. It was my full intent to preserve vanilla compatibility with this level, so I swapped all Gun9 ammo and blocks with Gun8 instead. This gives Plus the option for some Fireball action as well (if that even works on the blocks xD).

Actually, gun8 destructable blocks don't work in vanilla either. This is from the patch notes;

"Fixed glitches that made ice, pepper spray, and electro-blaster unable to destroy destruct scenery with the Weapon parameter set to 3, 8, or 9 respectively. (Local fix.)"

And yes, gun8 blocks work for fireball too.

You also messed up another thing in your re-upload. You included the j2b instead of the j2t....so now it's missing the tileset and has the uneeded music file lol.

The level is also still using the j2b instead of pezrock.s3m.

Originally Posted by Treylina

Actually, gun8 destructable blocks don't work in vanilla either. This is from the patch notes;

"Fixed glitches that made ice, pepper spray, and electro-blaster unable to destroy destruct scenery with the Weapon parameter set to 3, 8, or 9 respectively. (Local fix.)"

Ah, I never knew vanilla JJ2 was such a bother. Well, my next levels will likely utilize Plus only features anyway. My intent here was to make a vanilla compatible level for what is a controversial and vanilla gamemode in the first place.

I fixed it by swapping Gun8 with Toaster. It's not really the ranged weapon you'd want to use in Treasure Hunt, but I placed Ice and Bouncer for that reason anyway. At least you can open those blocks now in non-plus without me having to swap the whole JJ2 arsenal on them before it works.

Originally Posted by Treylina

You also messed up another thing in your re-upload. You included the j2b instead of the j2t....so now it's missing the tileset and has the uneeded music file lol.

The level is also still using the j2b instead of pezrock.s3m.

Ouch, I'm such a bummer. It must've happened because I slept just 4 hours that night.

I hope the level/upload is now matching my intentions.

I'll release my level (Except for ideas, PJ did nothing) after I get a decent amount of players to play-test it.

Originally Posted by FireSworD

I'll release my level (Except for ideas, PJ did nothing) after I get a decent amount of players to play-test it.

I could help you test it.

Originally Posted by FireSworD

I'll release my level (Except for ideas, PJ did nothing) after I get a decent amount of players to play-test it.

I can playtest it. You have me on skype so it should be not too inconvenient.

My level is nearly finished. Need testers though!

Originally Posted by Laro24

My level is nearly finished. Need testers though!

I can help you test it.

I might extend the deadline for a few more days so Firesword's entry is finished, however this'll be the last time I ever extend it, and it won't be as long as the previous. If you left your entry until the last minute, you may still have a(nother) chance.

Done.

Originally Posted by FireSworD

Done.

Looks really good, dude. You're gonna win this thing

The submitting phase is (finally) over. Before reviewing, I'd like to thoroughly playtest the entries more, hopefully with more players. The server will be public, but plus is required.

It doesn't have to be me that's the host, though. My internet isn't that great.

I'm also still looking for judges.

I don't have the propensity to judge levels. I no longer have ideas about levelmaking, nor do I care. If I were to judge, I would judge only absentmindedly.

If you don't want to be a judge...you don't need to post?

Anyway, anyone is free to playtest, you don't need to be a judge to playtest (if you are a judge however, playtesting is a must).

I can help you judge.

Originally Posted by XxMoNsTeRXM

I can help you judge.

"Judges cannot make their own level entries" in my first post.

The other judge I have at the moment, is SE.

I was considering applying as a judge, but given your rude treatment of contestants and other posters, I'll pass.

Originally Posted by cooba

I was considering applying as a judge, but given your rude treatment of contestants and other posters, I'll pass.

Explain. I don't always know what's considered rude.

I know I get tongue-in-cheek about being "Evil" and all, however much of it comes from the way I'm percieved.

Originally Posted by Treylina

"Judges cannot make their own level entries" in my first post.

But considering you didn't even apply many of my level rules and guidelines, I'm not suprised you said that.

I don't think you have the experience to review levels anyway.

The other judge I have at the moment, is SE.

Oh... I didn't read that... I applied the level rules. The guidelines not really...

Originally Posted by XxMoNsTeRXM

Oh... I didn't read that... I applied the level rules

"6. It should be playable (not tedious/impossible to reach certain areas) by all characters." Which is a requirement.

Did you actually test the map with Jazz and Lori?

Originally Posted by Treylina

Explain. I don't always know what's considered rude.

I know I get tongue-in-cheek about being "Evil" and all, however much of it comes from the way I'm percieved.

Treylina, if you don't mean to be rude, you probably won't come across as rude. We shouldn't go off-topic to have a discussion about synthesis of different forms of evil across the world. But maybe you're trying to do too much right now, if you ask the way you're perceived. Responding immediately to every application to be a judge isn't necessary. I don't have any pre-formed standards on how to judge levels like this, nor have I looked closely at any entry so far. Furthermore, this is possibly the first Treasure level contest for JJ2. It's not all your responsibility to pay someone for winning a contest, either. Don't look at yourself as a source of funding for Jazz Jackrabbit, and don't worry too much about who will judge the levels. You encouraged people to make the levels, and people enjoyed making them. That's really enough. No one expects to be paid for playing JJ2 or for making levels, especially not by other players and level makers.

Originally Posted by KRSplatinum

-snip-

"Treylina, if you don't mean to be rude, you probably won't come across as rude."
I learnt the hard way that it's not true. It's how others percieve it. Each forum has it's own spectrum of etiquette. I'm not a very social person, so forums are a chance for me to learn an aspect of it. Whether someone makes a "rude" post isn't necessarily about how many posts they make.

I explain because I want others to understand. I don't like leaving others wondering.

I wouldn't expect you to be a judge. I simply think it makes more sense that if you don't feel up to something, you don't need to post about it.

I haven't been delaying the hosting because of lack of judges, I simply haven't been in the mood lately, due to tiredness or stress. My body clock is a mess right now. Also, can tell from experience that money is a motivator for contests. I did once have one without a money prize, and it didn't go so well.

Next time if you have lots to say, it would help to split it into paragraphs. It makes it hard(er) to read otherwise.