Faraway Lands | Official Map Contest 2022
⚠️ Update: Entries are now closed, and the results will be revealed soon. Stay tuned!
Across the endless tomes secured within Grunewald Library, tales and rumours of faraway lands fill the pages…
Chronicles of small-scale hamlets, landscapes and monuments tell stories of the magnificent architects that built them.
Now it’s your turn to write the next chapter!
🗺️ Theme: Small Maps - You must build a map suitable for 4-8 players!
Aside from the player capacity, there is no visual theme - get creative and build something unique!
🥇 Main Prizes | Official Implementation:
We will be implementing multiple winning maps into our Official servers, which will be added to our voting pool when a server contains under 8 players. We have no particular number of winners in mind. Winning maps will also be available in custom matches.
All winning maps will receive baked lighting, and will be played for thousands of rounds to come!
Each contributor in a winning map will also receive:
- 1x Witch It Steam Key (Giftable)!
- 10x Crystallized Moonlight!
- Your name added to the description of a Creative Mode structure!
- Grand Architect Discord Role!
Bonus: All Discord entrants will receive the "Architect" role after posting their map entry. Entrants who have participated in previous map contests may receive "Architect (x2)" or "Architect (x3)". We’ll grant these roles towards the end of the contest.
🖼️ [NEW] Presentation Prize:
This time, there are no community voting prizes. We are now offering a “Presentation Prize”, which is an additional reward granted to the three entries with the best presented workshop pages. To win this award, spend time making your workshop page visually appealing! You can add high quality screenshots, banners, a video (if you’d like), or anything else to make it stand out from the other entries. Feel free to add some lore or a backstory to your map too, but this won’t count towards the presentation prize!
Each contributor towards a map which wins the presentation prize will receive:
- 10 Crystallized Moonlight!
- Your name added to the description of a Creative Mode structure!
✔️ Participate in just 5 steps:
1. Create a custom Witch It map following our theme, rules and advice!
2. Upload your map to the Steam workshop!
3. Upload at least ONE screenshot onto your workshop page!
4. Add the hashtag #mapcontest2022 in the description - this helps us organise entries, as well as lets us know we can use your map on our servers!
5. Finally, post your entry in #map-entries on discord.gg/witchit or underneath this contest announcement on Steam!
📚 Are you still unsure what to do? View our detailed participation guide here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2203730812
⚠️ [Important!] Rules:
> You must build on an empty map containing no structures (interior, town day, island day, town night, ice day, graveyard night, magical forest, desert day, desert sunset, or jungle day)!
> If you wish to build in a default map containing pre-made structures, such as Grave Gulch or Port Plunder, you must build out-of-bounds!
> You can submit as many maps as you want (however, quality is always better than quantity)!
> You can either make your map solo, or collaborate with up to 3 other creators - please mark them as a contributor to your workshop item!
> You cannot enter using other creator's maps that you are not an original contributor on (we will check for stolen work)!
> You must design an entirely original map - it cannot be based on an existing map from another game!
> You cannot edit your existing maps to be smaller - please make an entirely new map!
> Offensive/NSFW content is strictly prohibited!
> All users can enter, including Grand Architects (previous winners) and staff members!
⚠️ [Update] Switches: Switches are allowed in maps.
⚠️ [Update] Water: If you're building in out-of-bounds water, the physics of the water do not work properly and therefore will be unbalanced for gameplay. For this reason, please avoid using out-of-bounds water in the playable areas of your maps.
🔨 Breaking these rules may result in disqualification from the contest!
📖 Advice for Creating Entries for Faraway Lands:
Below is some advice for creating maps suitable for our Official servers. Please read each section carefully!
📕 Size Matters
Your map must support 4-8 player lobbies! If your map is too small, Hunters will find it too easy to locate and eliminate Witches. If it’s too big, then Witches will have too many hiding options. Our hope is that you’ll create a map balanced somewhere in the middle. Be clever with how you tackle your map size - for example, start with a map segment, test it out, then expand. Or if you’re trying to fit more content in a narrow radius, consider extending your map vertically.
📙 Test Your Map
One benefit from building smaller maps is that you don’t need as many players to do a suitable test. Round up a few of your friends (or even other entrants) and test each others maps thoroughly! A great looking map may be unapprovable if the gameplay mechanics are inconsistent or broken. Some things to watch out for include stairs that don't work, ladders that cannot be climbed, doorways that are too small etc. Hunters should have a spawn area that they cannot leave until the hiding period is over.
📒 Optimise Your Maps
Ensure your map is smooth to run by optimising your structure and prop use - rather than using small wall segments, can you scale a single wall up to create the same effect? Have you removed objects in areas that aren't visible to the player during gameplay? Are there too many props?
Our recommendations:
- Stay below 500 props
- Use any amount of structures
- Do not stack lights or jump pads
- Frozen props shouldn't glitch when touched
📗 Broken Hiding Spots
Combining structures together can sometimes lead to small gaps in which props can fit into. This is most often seen with world boundaries, rocks, and ice structures - but can easily be avoided by vigorously checking intersections of structures. One small gap in a structure leading to a impossible-to-reach area for Hunters will result in a broken map. Please be mindful to ensure your maps have no broken hiding spots on them by testing during and after the creation of your map.
📘 Gamemode Compatibility
Your map must be compatible with Hide & Seek, Mobification and Hunt a Hag. Please consider using a variety of props and gameplay options for both teams, and take into account the skills each team may use.
⌛ Deadline
We are closing this contest on Monday, 5th December, 2022 (12:00am UTC)
Once the contest ends, we will review your entries and decide on the winners, which will be revealed shortly after.
We hope you enjoy creating your maps! #mapcontest2022
Across the endless tomes secured within Grunewald Library, tales and rumours of faraway lands fill the pages…
Chronicles of small-scale hamlets, landscapes and monuments tell stories of the magnificent architects that built them.
Now it’s your turn to write the next chapter!
🗺️ Theme: Small Maps - You must build a map suitable for 4-8 players!
Aside from the player capacity, there is no visual theme - get creative and build something unique!
🥇 Main Prizes | Official Implementation:
We will be implementing multiple winning maps into our Official servers, which will be added to our voting pool when a server contains under 8 players. We have no particular number of winners in mind. Winning maps will also be available in custom matches.
All winning maps will receive baked lighting, and will be played for thousands of rounds to come!
Each contributor in a winning map will also receive:
- 1x Witch It Steam Key (Giftable)!
- 10x Crystallized Moonlight!
- Your name added to the description of a Creative Mode structure!
- Grand Architect Discord Role!
Bonus: All Discord entrants will receive the "Architect" role after posting their map entry. Entrants who have participated in previous map contests may receive "Architect (x2)" or "Architect (x3)". We’ll grant these roles towards the end of the contest.
🖼️ [NEW] Presentation Prize:
This time, there are no community voting prizes. We are now offering a “Presentation Prize”, which is an additional reward granted to the three entries with the best presented workshop pages. To win this award, spend time making your workshop page visually appealing! You can add high quality screenshots, banners, a video (if you’d like), or anything else to make it stand out from the other entries. Feel free to add some lore or a backstory to your map too, but this won’t count towards the presentation prize!
Each contributor towards a map which wins the presentation prize will receive:
- 10 Crystallized Moonlight!
- Your name added to the description of a Creative Mode structure!
✔️ Participate in just 5 steps:
1. Create a custom Witch It map following our theme, rules and advice!
2. Upload your map to the Steam workshop!
3. Upload at least ONE screenshot onto your workshop page!
4. Add the hashtag #mapcontest2022 in the description - this helps us organise entries, as well as lets us know we can use your map on our servers!
5. Finally, post your entry in #map-entries on discord.gg/witchit or underneath this contest announcement on Steam!
📚 Are you still unsure what to do? View our detailed participation guide here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2203730812
⚠️ [Important!] Rules:
> You must build on an empty map containing no structures (interior, town day, island day, town night, ice day, graveyard night, magical forest, desert day, desert sunset, or jungle day)!
> If you wish to build in a default map containing pre-made structures, such as Grave Gulch or Port Plunder, you must build out-of-bounds!
> You can submit as many maps as you want (however, quality is always better than quantity)!
> You can either make your map solo, or collaborate with up to 3 other creators - please mark them as a contributor to your workshop item!
> You cannot enter using other creator's maps that you are not an original contributor on (we will check for stolen work)!
> You must design an entirely original map - it cannot be based on an existing map from another game!
> You cannot edit your existing maps to be smaller - please make an entirely new map!
> Offensive/NSFW content is strictly prohibited!
> All users can enter, including Grand Architects (previous winners) and staff members!
⚠️ [Update] Switches: Switches are allowed in maps.
⚠️ [Update] Water: If you're building in out-of-bounds water, the physics of the water do not work properly and therefore will be unbalanced for gameplay. For this reason, please avoid using out-of-bounds water in the playable areas of your maps.
🔨 Breaking these rules may result in disqualification from the contest!
📖 Advice for Creating Entries for Faraway Lands:
Below is some advice for creating maps suitable for our Official servers. Please read each section carefully!
📕 Size Matters
Your map must support 4-8 player lobbies! If your map is too small, Hunters will find it too easy to locate and eliminate Witches. If it’s too big, then Witches will have too many hiding options. Our hope is that you’ll create a map balanced somewhere in the middle. Be clever with how you tackle your map size - for example, start with a map segment, test it out, then expand. Or if you’re trying to fit more content in a narrow radius, consider extending your map vertically.
📙 Test Your Map
One benefit from building smaller maps is that you don’t need as many players to do a suitable test. Round up a few of your friends (or even other entrants) and test each others maps thoroughly! A great looking map may be unapprovable if the gameplay mechanics are inconsistent or broken. Some things to watch out for include stairs that don't work, ladders that cannot be climbed, doorways that are too small etc. Hunters should have a spawn area that they cannot leave until the hiding period is over.
📒 Optimise Your Maps
Ensure your map is smooth to run by optimising your structure and prop use - rather than using small wall segments, can you scale a single wall up to create the same effect? Have you removed objects in areas that aren't visible to the player during gameplay? Are there too many props?
Our recommendations:
- Stay below 500 props
- Use any amount of structures
- Do not stack lights or jump pads
- Frozen props shouldn't glitch when touched
📗 Broken Hiding Spots
Combining structures together can sometimes lead to small gaps in which props can fit into. This is most often seen with world boundaries, rocks, and ice structures - but can easily be avoided by vigorously checking intersections of structures. One small gap in a structure leading to a impossible-to-reach area for Hunters will result in a broken map. Please be mindful to ensure your maps have no broken hiding spots on them by testing during and after the creation of your map.
📘 Gamemode Compatibility
Your map must be compatible with Hide & Seek, Mobification and Hunt a Hag. Please consider using a variety of props and gameplay options for both teams, and take into account the skills each team may use.
⌛ Deadline
We are closing this contest on Monday, 5th December, 2022 (12:00am UTC)
Once the contest ends, we will review your entries and decide on the winners, which will be revealed shortly after.
We hope you enjoy creating your maps! #mapcontest2022