This is the Read category

A collection of text posts, including Poll Questions, Text Interviews with moddersand Phillip’s Blog. All posts are written to encourage friendly debate and discussion.

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Classic of the Month Stream – Uplinked – August 2022

Classic of the Month? Don’t mind if I do! I had fun streaming some HLDM last weekend, so I feel like streaming again this weekend.

I’ll play Uplinked by Ub-Oh, a solid map pack from about a year ago.

The stream will be this weekend on Saturday August 20th, about 12pm (noon) Eastern US Time (5pm in the UK, 6pm Central Europe).

As usual, the stream will be on the RunThinkShootLive Twitch Channel, and the recording will later be uploaded to the Classic of the Month playlist on the RTSL YouTube channel.

Check the Time & Date.Com website for your local time. See you there!

17th August 2022 2 Comments

Classic of the Month Stream – Deeper Down – May 2022

You voted and it was a total blowout. Jim Partridge’s Deeper Down is the next Classic of the Month!

The stream will be this weekend on Saturday May 21st, about 12pm (noon) Eastern US Time (5pm in the UK, 6pm Central Europe).

As usual, the stream will be on the RunThinkShootLive Twitch Channel, and the recording will later be uploaded to the Classic of the Month playlist on the RTSL YouTube channel.

Check the Time & Date.Com website for your local time. See you there!

15th May 2022 7 Comments

EscapeVille – Hammer Cup 2022 Challenge 3 Announcement (w/ Map Labs)

The third and final challenge in the Hammer Cup 2022 kicks off now with another brand new Ville theme!

EscapeVille was also a never-used idea back in the original Hammer Cup days. DiamondDogsVille was kind of along the same line but it’s definitely one of the lesser-known challenges from back in the day. I’m happy to have Map Labs bring back these unused themes for their challenges!

This challenge is a Test Tube, so it only runs for 10 days. Get mapping!

Bonus maps (which can’t win but are judged and scored) are accepted for 4 days after the normal due date. Note that bonus map entries are not eligible for The Hammer Cup prizes!

Theme Details

Simple: the player must escape something, using force, wits, stealth – anything!

Here’s the official announcement (click for full version):

EscapeVille Announcement

And if you’re not already there, join the Map Labs Discord for good discussion & a great mapping community.

Deadline

The deadline for submission is Monday 23rd May 2022. Bonus maps are accepted for another 4 days after that.

Submission Details

Submit maps using the Submission Form.

12th May 2022 8 Comments

Classic of the Month Stream – Bear Party: Adventure – April 2022

I asked, you voted! The Classic of the Month for April was resoundingly chosen to be Bear Party: Adventure (aka Bisounours Party: Adventure) by Klems, overall winner of the 2017 Hammer Cup!

The stream will be this weekend on Saturday April 16th, about 12pm (noon) Eastern US Time (5pm in the UK, 6pm Central Europe).

As usual, the stream will be on the RunThinkShootLive Twitch Channel, and the recording will later be uploaded to the Classic of the Month playlist on the RTSL YouTube channel.

Check the Time & Date.Com website for your local time. See you there!

14th April 2022 2 Comments

Classic of the Month Stream – Bootleg Squadrog – March 2022

Right, sorry for missing last month. Things have been too hectic here! But I’m back for March with a new Classic of the Month for you – Bootleg Squadrog by Brendon Chung.

The stream will be this weekend on Saturday March 26th, about 12pm (noon) Eastern US Time (4pm in the UK, 5pm Central Europe). Note that the US is on daylight time already so double check your local time!

As usual, the stream will be on the RunThinkShootLive Twitch Channel, and the recording will later be uploaded to the Classic of the Month playlist on the RTSL YouTube channel.

Check the Time & Date.Com website for your local time. See you there!

23rd March 2022 1 Comment

CrossoverVille 2 – Hammer Cup 2022 Challenge 2 Announcement (w/ Map Labs)

CrossoverVille 2 is the theme of the second challenge in the Hammer Cup 2022 – again in collaboration with Map Labs!

The original CrossoverVille asked mappers to combine Half-Life with another game. But CrossoverVille 2 is broader – combine Half-Life with any other piece of media. Movies, games, music, art, opera – it’s all on the table. I suppose things like billboards and podcasts are too, knock yourselves out. So this new challenge kind of serves as a sequel to MovieVille as well!

This challenge runs for a full 3 weeks, with entries due on Sunday, March 27th. Get mapping! (But at least you have a bit more time for this challenge!)

Bonus maps (which can’t win but are judged and scored) are accepted for 4 days after the normal due date. Note that bonus map entries are not eligible for The Hammer Cup prizes!

Theme Details

Mix Half-Life and another piece of media – movie, game, etc. The crossover is totally up to your interpretation – location, art style, gameplay – anything, really.

Here’s the official announcement (click for full version):

CrossoverVille 2 Announcement

And if you’re not already there, join the Map Labs Discord for good discussion & a great mapping community.

Deadline

The deadline for submission is Sunday 27th March 2022. Bonus maps are accepted for another 4 days after that.

Submission Details

Submit maps using the Submission Form.

5th March 2022 1 Comment

DeceptionVille – Hammer Cup 2022 Challenge 1 Announcement (w/ Map Labs)

The Hammer Cup 2022 kicks off now with another brand new Ville theme!

DeceptionVille was another never-used idea back in the original Hammer Cup days. I’m happy to start The Hammer Cup 2022 with this theme and partner with the Map Labs crew yet again, so let’s see what you mappers can do with it!

This challenge is a Test Tube, so it only runs for 10 days. Get mapping!

Bonus maps (which can’t win but are judged and scored) are accepted for 4 days after the normal due date. Note that bonus map entries are not eligible for The Hammer Cup prizes!

Theme Details

Simple: something in the map isn’t what it seems. Clever deceptions encouraged.

Here’s the official announcement (click for full version):

DeceptionVille Announcement

And if you’re not already there, join the Map Labs Discord for good discussion & a great mapping community.

Deadline

The deadline for submission is Sunday 20th February 2022. Bonus maps are accepted for another 4 days after that.

10th February 2022 12 Comments

The Hammer Cup 2022

The Hammer Cup is back! In mini form!

I’m pleased to announce The Hammer Cup 2022 in collaboration with Map Labs! Of course, RTSL and Map Labs have partnered on a couple of Ville challenges in the last few years – but this is the all-new (mini) Hammer Cup!

Overview

Three consecutive Map Labs challenges make up The Hammer Cup 2022 – one each in February, March, and April. Note that the first and third are Test Tubes (shorter challenges of 1-2 weeks). The themes and details for each challenge will be announced on the start date as usual – and dates are subject to change.

Start End
DeceptionVille (Test Tube) Friday 11th February Sunday 20th February
CrossoverVille 2 Sunday 6th March Sunday 27th March
EscapeVille (Test Tube) Friday 13th May Monday 23rd May
Winners & Prizes

Entrants will receive points for each challenge they enter – each of the challenges will be judged and scored as usual for all the Map Labs challenges. At the end of the event, the best 2 scores from each entrant will be totaled, and the 3 entrants with the top total scores will win the grand prizes listed below. Note that this means you don’t have to enter all 3 challenges, since only your best 2 will contribute toward the combined event score. Note that bonus map entries are not eligible for The Hammer Cup prizes!

5th February 2022 1 Comment