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The 100b Contest - Part the Third
Download (BSPs)

    I believe it was Aardappel who took a cue from a similar mapping contest held on a doom forum and opened up the first 100 brush contest. Grindspire started this third incarnation: "The rules are really simple: make a Quake SP map (yes, Quake 1) using at most 100 brushes and using any textures you wish." After lots of inexplicable wrangling over who was going to judge the maps that I don't even want to THINK about, xen has sent me the four maps he received and I'm going to judge them.

participation 4th place award:
100b3
by necros

    This map looks like a pile of horse shit. The author said it himself on QMap, which on one hand makes me not worry about repeating his words but on the other hand I'm even more infuriated that this garbage got released. What the hell was he thinking?
    And why did it take so long to compile if it ISN'T EVEN LIT? I actually ran a Light program on it to see if it was forgotten somehow and the entire map went fulldark. The screenshot is all you need to see: Shubby trapped in a too-small box, a gang of fiends, an entire floor plastered with 50% SCALED TEXTURES, etc. The map is kinda floating in a big box of red sky texture, hinting at a coagula/spacemap concept, but since there's no kill trigger at the bottom of the sky and you just walk around looking at boring fullbright walls until you die, I'm more inclined to believe that necros gave up when the map still wasn't finished and drew the box so it would compile. I can't comment on the gameplay because I quit well before completing it.
    I still haven't mentioned the worst aspect of this map - namely, the filesize. This is the largest map in the pack by a good 600KB and at 2.3MB it no longer deserves the designation of "contest entry" but a more accurate label such as "act of blatant sabotage."

3rd place:
Fired Ice
By Stargazer

    This map froze up Winquake on xen's computer but I couldn't reproduce the problem. Hopefully neither can you.
    Here we have a map in a minimal but appealing style, with worn field stone bricks, brown floors, wood details, etc. like e2m7 or anything with a similar style. True to that, there is also green slime put to good use a-la e4m2, especially in one semi-puzzle at the start. The lighting is bland but mostly natural and definitely sufficient. Combat is alright, reasonably challenging and escalating. The "cold tower" is a nice idea, as is the area just before the shambler cave. Ammo supply is a little high.
    What puzzles me about this map is the fact that it's surprisingly unpolished. Mistextured walls and misaligned brushes abound. Door textures are used inappropriately and the lifts are too-small platforms floating in the air rather than rising from the floor. With more coherent build quality, this map could have contended much more seriously with the next two.

2nd place:
S4wk
By RPG

    "RPG made a natural terrain map with 100 brushes?" This statement, complete with question mark, was the subject of much discussion on #terrafusion. He did. The map is 100% terrain except for a small and simple brick structure at the end. The idea is really cool and executed well, although (Ogre Mine flashbacks) all the areas look exactly the same. It's a water-filled canyon using a combination of two rock textures (rather ugly dark ones at that) and lots of sunlight.
    Monsters are found in large groups that seek to overwhelm the player with numbers and strategic positioning, and playing through the map is fun if you can ignore the annoying RPG-ese text messages. The ending is both challenging and hilarious, almost making up for the text. ;P

1st place:
Dismembered Crates
By distrans

    We have a winner. Distrans (who participated in the first two contests as Palldjon) has passed by the gimmicks of the previous maps and simply focused on creating a damn good Q1SP level. It uses an impressive number of tricks - large composite ogro/industrial textures, curves and angles, minimal brush detail on otherwise flat walls - to make the map as detailed as possible within the restrictions. Aside from the large multi-tiered starting room, there is also a small interim area and an impressively large and brush-heavy rock area.
    Fighting is as good as could be hoped for, on the frantic side. The number of enemies at the very beginning is considerable but shouldn't be a problem for anyone with cautious tactics or good evasive skills. The ending is slightly disappointing when the "armored guardian" guarded by all those monsters turns out to be a lame boss that you don't even need to fight before exiting, but even this doesn't ruin the experience.

Thanks and congratulations to everyone who participated!