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Space Wars Map Competition

Starting today and running until June 20, there will be an official map competition! You can create a map based on a certain topic and the top 3 map creators receive cash prizes which are sponsored by Daley from Youtube.
You can find all you need to know below.

Start: Now
End: June 20 2023, 18:00 UTC

[h3]Rules[/h3]
Breaking the rules will result in an exclusion from the ratings
  • Each participant can only submit one map
  • The map is created by yourself
  • (no collaborations in any way!)*
  • The map has to feature a player controlled unit
  • (static/spectate only maps are not allowed)*
  • Old maps are not allowed, you have to start creating the map after the competition started (the game keeps track of when a map was created, so you have to start with a new map)
  • The map has to be submitted before the competition is over, updates to the map are not allowed after the competition is completed
  • The scripting system, custom equipment/items/objects, custom units/prefabs can be used in any way

    • This includes public workshop items of other players and content that you created in the past
    • However, if you use content created by other players, you have to clearly state which parts of you map/content were not created by yourself


[h3]Theme: Space Wars[/h3]
Enter an intergalactic adventure and create a space wars battle/map! Craft epic spaceships, planetary conquests or daring missions across the stars. Unleash your creativity and bring to life the battles of a futuristic era. Will you defend a space station, ship or outpost against relentless enemies or explore uncharted alien planets with interesting characters and storylines? The choice is yours!

[h3]Reward[/h3]
Daley is providing a $100 prize pool, so thanks to him and make sure to check out his channels if you have some time!
The prize money will only be paid out via PayPal and is split between the top 3 creators:
  • 1st place: $60
  • 2nd place: $30
  • 3rd place: $10

In addition, the top 6-9 maps (depending on the quality of the entries) will be featured as a quickplay bundle which usually results in these workshop items getting a lot of subscriptions!

[h3]How to submit a map[/h3]
Submitting a map is very easy, but make sure your map doesnt break any of the rules or it will not be considered for the competition!
(Make sure you have the latest update installed)
1) Upload your map to the workshop
2) The is a banner on the right side in the main menu where you can select one of your workshop maps to submit it

[h3]Rating[/h3]
Each map will receive a score which depends on these categories: (modified based on Desert-Mammoth's original map competition)
  • Appearance (0-3)
    Appearance is how the map looks from an aesthetics point of view - that is to say, how easy it is on the eyes
  • Technical Design (0-5)
    Technical design covers how well a map is put together; that is to say, how well it runs, the efficiency of object and unit usage, and the complexity of the map in general.
  • Balance (0-2)
    How balanced is a map, when the theme is taken into account? Is it too easy or too hard? Is one team steam rolling the other when it shouldn't be? Is the player waltzing all over the competition without breaking a sweat? Or is the player dying the moment they leave the starting area?
  • Originality (0-3)
    Has it been done before? Has it been over done? Does it use original prefabs or does it borrow from the workshop? Is there something about the map that makes it stand out from the rest?
  • Units (0-3)
    Is your map using custom units? Are they a designer brand fit for the catwalk or are they as bland as shredded wheat? Are they balanced, and do they fit the map?
  • Gameplay (0-3)
    Is the map fun to play? Is there non-stop action, or is it scary/exciting/trilling
  • Thumbnail (0-1)
    Does the map have an appealing thumbnail?
  • Theme (0-3)
    How well is the theme represented in the map

Other relevant information about the rating:
  • If you use custom scripting, it can positively influence categories like balancing, gameplay or technical design, but it can also negatively impact the performance! That being said, there is no need to use scripting to score the maximum points in the technical design category
  • Custom equipment/items/objects are not required to score the maximum points in any of the categories, but it can help. In any case, using a variety of good looking custom units with vanilla equipment is sufficient

0.40.0.1 Bug fixing patch

  • Fixed some problems when replacing objects and their dependencies after deleting the floor they were placed on
  • Deleting a modular object will no longer cause unrelated objects to be replaced (in wrong positions)
  • Fixed that unknown custom items would not be added to the unit editor equipment list while editing units
  • Fixed a bug that prevented players from updating their own campaigns
  • Fixed a bug that caused the player animations to break in the editor after editing a custom unit
  • Fixed clipping issues for egyptian, medieval and future shirts
  • Adjusted the placement of static ship objects to allow them to be placed in shallow water
  • Fixed that animation saves could not be organized into folders
  • Fixed bolt action animation problems when trying to reload while pulling the bolt
  • Adjusted navigation of the framed stairs to prevent AI navigation problems
  • Fixed a bug that reopened the unit detail panel after the workshop download completed
  • Fixed graphical glitches for elephant ragdolls
  • Fixed incorrect behavior of the DynamicRefCast scripting node
  • Fixed that all objects could be rotated in the scripting view of the editor which lead to problems
  • Fixed errors when trying to save battles/prefabs/units/... outside of the default save directory
  • Fixed that the game allowed empty prefabs to be uploaded
  • The max hp of units is now adjusted correctly when the game randomizes it when loading a battle
  • Strategy mode fixes
    • Fixed that various objects (like scripting triggers) blocked cursor interactions
    • Fixed the direct attack instruction
    • Fixed missing health bars for spawned units and after leaving/entering the strategy mode

Technical Update 0.44

Update 0.43 already helped a lot by improving the stability and overall speed and memory efficiency of the game and this update concludes these technical changes by introducing a new save system and format!

[h3]Why a new save system was needed[/h3]
When the game started with small battles and a few custom units, the old system was working fine. However, many new features and complex things like custom sounds, custom models/items have been implemented which caused a lot of new information to be stored in the saves. Some battles or campaigns are sized 100MB or more, so performance and memory efficiency became a growing concern.
While loading these large files just took a lot of memory and time on some systems, others just couldn't handle them anymore! In addition, loading/saving a lot of saves caused memory fragmentations and reduced game performance, freezes and crashes!

[h3]The new save system[/h3]
The new save system uses the latest tech to solve all the problems of the old system!
You will surely notice the improvements while saving/loading, but I also prepared some example maps which show how the time (not including loading the battle in the editor) and file size changed from the old to the new version:



Map

Saving

Loading

File size



Fundamental Armament

12.50s > 2.33s

5.11s > 1.19s

10.1MB > 9.0MB


Desperation and Desolation

32.25s > 2.53s

7.84s > 0.98s

50.5MB > 20.6MB


Interloper

19.47s > 2.31s

6.12s > 0.99s

42.9MB > 18.4MB


Cyberpunk: Trauma Squad

15.14s > 4.15s

6.04s > 1.52s

97.8MB > 52.6MB


Rise of the General Pt 1

1.16s > 0.65s

1.56s > 0.40s

1.3MB > 1.5MB



This new system also requires almost no any additional RAM to store and load the saves (except the resulting battle/unit/.. data of course) and therefore doesnt cause any of the problems like performance degradation and crashes after longer sessions.
And thanks to the performance improvements it opens up new possibilities for future updates and features!

[h3]What happens to the old saves[/h3]
If you are wondering what happens to your old saves after this update, dont worry!
The game can still load the old format, so you can keep working on all your saved content. However, the next time you save, the new format will be used.

Local Content Auto Updater
When browsing your files in the in-game file browser, it recognizes files in the legacy format and offers the option to update them automatically. Before your items are updated, a backup will be created in the "__legacy" folder and you can stop and continue the update at any time. Although it usually takes just a few seconds depending on the amount of saves and save type.


Workshop Content Updater
To improve the speed when loading subscribed workshop units, prefabs and items in the main menu, all these workshop items have already been updated to the new format. So when you update the game, all your subscribed items should be up to date as well.
And all the existing workshop battles and campaigns will be updated soon, so that players can enjoy the faster loading times in the workshop too.

[h3]Next update(s)[/h3]
After these two big technical updates, the next updates will be focused on regular improvements and new features.
The new save format has been extensively tested, so I don't expect any problems, but if you notice anything please report it on steam or discord and it will be fixed asap!
There are also some open bugs which have to be fixed, so expect a bug fixing patch fairly soon.

CQB Speedrun Event

[h3]For the next 9 days we have a new in game event made by KgDaniel.[/h3]
Participate in this intense cqb map by pressing on it in the main menu.
By completing the map your time will be submitted to a leaderboard and you can play the map as often as you want! And remember that this competition is all about time, so try to be as quick as possible!

[h3]Rewards[/h3]
The winner receives $50 via Paypal or digital steam gift card. Thanks to
Daley from Youtube for sponsoring the reward!
In addition 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will each receive one steam key for AW3 to give away to their friends

[h3]Duration[/h3]
Start: Now
End: May 10 2023, 21:59 UTC

Thanks to KgDaniel for making this event possible and Daley for having the idea and sponsoring the reward!