Welcome to the ManiaExchange Monthly Track Contest (MTC), October 2016.

In the MTC your task is to build a track on a given theme (see below). Later on, all of the entered tracks will be rated and a winner will be found.


• Theme of the Month: Ghost Town
  It's October which means time to bring out the spoopy skeletons
  
  
  • Night mood only
    
  • The track should have a slight uncomfortable factor, be it that it's a really dark track, or uncomfortable lighting, small passageways... Don't overdo it tho, we're in this for fun.
    
  
  
  
• Deadline
  All tracks should be submitted before the end of Sunday 23, October 2016 PDT.
  
  
• Prize
  Honour and the right to brag! (Jozii used to say that. I hope anyone still remembers him? )
  The top 3 winners will receive a showcase of a track of their choice (< 10 awards)
  
  
• General Rules
  
  
  • 64x64 basemap is allowed.
    
  • Track-/Laplength below 90 seconds
    
  • Custom objects allowed
    
  • Envimixing allowed
    
  • Blockmixing allowed
    
  • Custom Titlepacks forbidden
    
  • Considering this month isn't completely about the track I'm allowing PX tracks.
    
  • MTC should be present in the mapname. Example: Shuttleloop Highway«MTC
    
  • 1 map per author
  
  
• How to submit
  
  • To enter a track, simply upload it and post a link to your submission in the submission thread. [/s]
    
  • You can update your map within the deadline as many times as you want.
  
  
• Judging
  We'll use the well well well known public judging system:
  • Everyone is allowed to judge, even players who submitted a map (give your own map a 10)
    
  • Every map will be judged with marks from 1 (bad) to 10 (gud).
    
  • Note that you have to judge a stage entirely, you cannot judge only half of it.
    More details will appear after submission ends
    
  
  Good luck, and as always: If you have any questions, please ask

Some Tutorials

To make it clear, what I mean with a certain factor of uncomfortableness but without overdoing it I mean that I'm not expecting someone to make a story track remake of Amnesia.

This would be kind of a self-plug but it's also a good example of what I'm thinking of when I want a track for this MTC: "4 Dimensional Trauma by   FT»Osaka

It has several areas with red lighting, very narrow areas, a couple of tight corridors, highly calculated jumps and hard drumstep for background music, adding a small layer of fright without being too extra.

I won't participate in any MTC's anytime soon, but i really have to critisize one thing, that caught my eye lately:
Since when is it up to you to restrict the tracks that much?
You tell us "what you want", but tbh who cares? Give us a topic and we'll build something that comes to mind, which we think will fit. You can still give bad marks via the voting sheet afterwards...

For example i don't feel like your track fits very well to the theme (especially the music). And that's okay... that's exactly what the whole thing is about. Different opinions, styles, tastes and so on.
But if you restrict the maps with extra rules from the getgo to make all submissions more to your liking quite a lot of the diversity and fun could be lost... I mean honestly, who cares if someone's submitting a map that isn't scary (or whatnot) at all? He thought it would be fitting and you can tell him otherwise with your voting. In the end we're deciding together who's winning and losing.

I really like the MTC for what it is:
A monthly contest, with a somewhat vague guideline that you have to follow, with as many freedoms as possible (there may be certain themes, where you wanna restrict it heavily, but they're very rare)
Please don't change that.

I really really don't wanna start any big discussion again, but it's something that is really annoying to me...

I don't think this theme is restricting. Use night mood and make it spooky are proper limitations that should get people to be creative.

I wasn't talking about that, that's totally fine.
I was referring to the second post. Maybe it's only the way it is phrased but it sounds like you have to build it this certain way or otherwise it may get disqualified... (or hated on)
If i just misinterpretated it - my bad.

Personally, I think the theme this month is fairly free. What concerns me is the "don't overdo it" tagged on. I, personally, have a (likely terrible) idea sparked by this theme. I'm going to try to do it, but I won't be surprised if it's considered overdoing it. With this little restriction, it almost discourages builders from going all-out and trying whatever crazy idea they get. Honestly, I kind of hope that I get DQ'd for overdoing it, as that would mean I've done exactly what the theme wanted to a degree it did not expect.

What I like about ambiguous themes is that they let players get creative. No two tracks should feel the same, as how one person crafts their track may evoke a different feeling of uncomfortability than another might. In this sense, we shouldn't try to rigidly define anything; if it is uncertain whether a track fulfills the requirement of "uncomfortable," leave it in and allow the judges to decide if the track suits the theme with their votes. That's my two cents, anyways; I just don't want people to feel unjustifiably disqualified, as this is a competition meant for fun.

Regardless of how things turn out, I can't wait to see what people do with this! I think it's a nice theme.

oh boy awesome. I have plan

... says:
Night mood only
uncomfortable lighting, small passageways... Don't overdo it tho, we're in this for fun.

Oh my .... We won't see shit on Stadium.

stereogang says:

... says:
Night mood only
uncomfortable lighting, small passageways... Don't overdo it tho, we're in this for fun.

Oh my .... We won't see shit on Stadium.

Kind of is the whole point. You don't have to do everything tho.

Skellborn says:
Since when is it up to you to restrict the tracks that much? [...]
For example i don't feel like your track fits very well to the theme (especially the music). And that's okay... that's exactly what the whole thing is about. Different opinions, styles, tastes and so on.
But if you restrict the maps with extra rules from the getgo to make all submissions more to your liking quite a lot of the diversity and fun could be lost... I mean honestly, who cares if someone's submitting a map that isn't scary (or whatnot) at all? He thought it would be fitting and you can tell him otherwise with your voting. In the end we're deciding together who's winning and losing.

Ok, to your first part, technically since I took over. This my house now ( 'w')

On the second part, my track was just an example of stuff that could work. I don't expect everyone to choose that way to make the atmosphere. Shit, a valley mapper could just build an actual ghost town for all I care. Just make sure that it's night mood and that there's something in the track that might be uncomfortable/scary.

My example isn't the best either, mainly because it was a simple mapping project and not something for the contest. Had I done 4DT for this contest be certain that there would be much less signage and more red lights for example. I just wanted to highlight certain points that I knew I used on that track and how those can help, such as the small passageways, the very narrow jump and very close transitions at high speed, the zones with red lighting (Although it's true that the stock MP red light might be too bright. You're allowed to make your own one tho, if you know how to and give it a proper locator), the poorly lit zones...

Also Maelstrom is literally house of terror gone drumstep but that's not the point I'm trying to make.

And as always I'm willing to help. If you aren't too sure you can ask or lob me a PM for testing purposes.

Arkive says:
Personally, I think the theme this month is fairly free. What concerns me is the "don't overdo it" tagged on. I, personally, have a (likely terrible) idea sparked by this theme. I'm going to try to do it, but I won't be surprised if it's considered overdoing it. With this little restriction, it almost discourages builders from going all-out and trying whatever crazy idea they get. Honestly, I kind of hope that I get DQ'd for overdoing it, as that would mean I've done exactly what the theme wanted to a degree it did not expect.

Pls don't. It gets spoopy ( ;w;)

Seriously. This theme I decided on clashes directly with the entertainment I enjoy consuming. I played myself I know.

I don't think I'll DQ anyone for overdoing tho if that's your concern. It would fit the theme and rules after all.

I have such a great idea, but I doubt I have time to finish it pretty sad with such an interesting theme