You could just make a hub level and base access to all the contest levels around that. Even better if there was some coding that blocked off every level you had already played or something (maybe with a little finale at the end).

Maybe, but not when some maps work on one platform and some work on another.

Really, is there any compelling reason to integrate them instead of just letting each map stand alone as they were designed to?

The hub thing would be a really cool thing if possible.

As a single pack - yes, but I think that maps should be separated. I really like single maps or very short campaigns.

I quite like the "hub" idea. Maps are being built for two platforms, yes, but the Unreal maps would be easily portable to an UT release. I don't think we should rule anything out at this stage.

Players could play the maps singly or by starting in the hub - it wouldn't really matter, as long as all the maps linked back to the hub at the end.

It depends on what you mean by HUB.

Hub, as in...like a nice menu where you can select each map or a sort of brief map ala EXU's Quake-styled training/starting map (like a "USP Speedrun Contest Homeroom" map ).

Although, this discussion is premature.

I like the hub map idea, personally.

I forgot that. Then again, this will be after the contest is finished, so there will be plenty of time to work around any compatability issues.

For the hub, I was thinking along the lines of the Reissues mod for Half-Life (http://www.moddb.com/mods/reissues), which is based on similar concept of a bunch of unrelated levels, and you can choose any level from the hub in non-linear order and when you finish that level it gets closed off. Except HL is built around that so it's probably much easier to do than for Unreal. There was also the original Issues mod (http://www.moddb.com/mods/issues), that was actually more complex in that regard, as it had two hubs, with the second accessed later on in the mod and with a story loosely threaded around a few of the unrelated maps.

Yes I second that.

I was going to mention the HUB idea to you guys earlier, but it looks like I don't have to now. I also think it would be awesome to link each level to a HUB. I remember an SP pack for Quake (might also have been a contest) that did the same thing, and it was a lot of fun. It gives the player a sort of overall goal, rather than just launching a bunch of random .unr maps.

This HUB ain't gonna work with my mappack - because this is what it becomes - 'cos of simple reason.

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Don't look at me like that! It's a secret!!

CRAP. I completely forgot about this competition. I'll just do one map.

How can you enter a contest and then forget it?

I look forward to seeing what you come up with (in three and a half weeks!)

Whoops. There was always going to be someone.

that inspiration of yours better hit you fast Acousticks!