Yandros on 29/1/2019 at 16:07
There will be a
Thief 2: TMA 20th Anniversary Contest (henceforth
TMA20) which will run from 23 Mar 2019 until 23 Mar 2020, when the entries will be due, following the full year allotted for the T1 Anniversary Contest, which was so successful. This contest has been discussed previously in (
https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2411999) this thread if you care to read it.
In this poll, we are asking you to vote on whether you would prefer the TMA20 Contest to be limited to stock and stock-derived resources only as with the TDP20 Contest (which will include importing of T1G assets, and also will be expanded slightly over what was allowed for the TDP20 Contest as has been discussed in the previously mentioned thread), or to allow authors unlimited use of custom content. Those are the only two choices. All other ideas which were discussed are removed from consideration, in the interests of keeping the choice simple for you, and the administration of the contest easier for us.
The poll will run for 6 weeks, and the new contest will be announced soon thereafter, using the same general rules as the TDP20 Contest, plus whichever choice wins this poll.
<Username> on 29/1/2019 at 18:08
The TDP20 Contest with stock and stock-derived resources was such a success I just have to vote for having that in the TMA20 Contest again.
DirkBogan on 29/1/2019 at 21:18
If people want to create an FM without the restrictions of a contest intended to celebrate the limitations and legacy of the original game, they are free to do so any day of the year! Many of the most beloved and essential FMs are non-contest releases using custom resources. They are always welcome and appreciated, but they also make up the vast majority of FMs made. The whole premise of a contest is to nurture creativity within some limitation, and what better limitation to commemorate Thief 2 than designing missions with the resources available to LGS at the time?
Some may argue that, given that we have NewDark 1.26, DromEd Basic Toolkit 1.14 and Bullet releases etc., we have already broken this rule. I believe that these technical and quality-of-life innovations do not really infringe on the style and core gameplay of Thief 1/2, and those aspects are clearly what an Anniversary Contest is intended to celebrate! Being able to make larger missions using more of the stock resources than was possible in 2000 is a difference of degree, not of kind.
FMs like Keeper of Infinity, Raven Creek, Dracula/Bathory/Nosferatu, Breaking The Stone, Home Sweet Home and MANY more are celebrations of the talent and inventiveness of the community. Sticking to stock-resources is a celebration of the game we all fell in love with in the first place.
ticky on 29/1/2019 at 21:28
My pick is stock resources. With Thief 2 stock resources, several original skies and weather effects avaliable, you can tell a great story and if you use them cleverly, the mission will be unique. To put it simple - I presume that many of us would like to celebrate the game in its original, old-school shine, and making all custom resources avaliable would mean not a real contest, just a couple of entries within a certain deadline, and a weird race of who-can-get-better-external-sources for building a mission.
If everyone has the same instruments and resources, that's the real competition for me. Also, think about the T1/G contest. Missions like Enigmatic Treasure, The Scarlet Cascabel or Whistling of the Gears are so unique masterpieces that you can hardly believe they are from custom resources. But they are.
So, when in doubt, just imagine a nice new T2 fan mission with textures and AI skins modified within the allowed limitations, and nice new skies/weather/ambients. That means thousands of possible great combinations of atmospheres and settings. :)
downwinder on 29/1/2019 at 21:37
i voted :)
Bulgarian_Taffer on 29/1/2019 at 22:15
Voted. Thief needs to enter the 21st century.
Random_Taffer on 29/1/2019 at 23:24
Agreed, or else this contest will be ANOTHER failure of epic proportions.
Amorphous on 30/1/2019 at 01:54
Stock resources were fun last time. I don't see a reason to loosen the limitations now.
GORT on 30/1/2019 at 10:54
Voted. Creating a FM for the TDP20 Contest was fun. There might be a chance that I'll go for this one too.
Judith on 30/1/2019 at 14:13
Quote:
Voted. Thief needs to enter the 21st century.
I voted for no restrictions on assets, but that alone doesn't determine entering 21st century. I haven't finished
a single FM from the previous contest, since even those most accessible at first had difficulty spikes or other obscure design decisions. And I do play (and finish) other games on semi-regular basis, both new and old. IMO the problem isn't about asset restrictions, it's more about sitting in a design bubble, despite having resources like GDC lectures and other tutorials easily available on the net.
