You read right, it's time for map battle number 1! I know alot of you have been waiting for this, so thanks for being patient. Also a thanks goes to everyone who contributed to the progression of this competition!

The theme is, as the title says, water. You must integrate water into your map; you cannot simply dump a puddle in the middle somewhere and say that it contributes to the map. This theme was selected by the judges, Flare, KGtheway2B, Klip1337, SwiftSpear, and myself.

The maps will be judged according to the following criteria, and awarded a score of 1-10 in each criterion; Aesthetics (Look and feel - includes sound), Creativity, Gameplay, and adherance to theme (thanks for that one, FictiousWill!). The map that has the highest overall score will win the ultimate prize of... the communities respect. A map-pack will be created at the end of each battle and put up for download.

Incomplete maps (missing textures, models, sounds, bugs, etc) will detract from your map's overall score.

Due to the nature of the theme, it is advised that you optimize your map as much as possible, refer to this page for help in this area.

The battle ends on the 22nd of January, at 12:00AM midnight, GMT, and judging will commence in the week after. The results will be posted after this. As the competition progresses, it may be necessary to extend the deadline, in which case it will be extended by 1 week.

!!RULES!!

• The basic rules are to follow a specific theme and create a map with the best gameplay, visuals, and style.

• Maps which were not worked on between the battle's Start and Finish deadlines are not allowed for submission and will be disqualified if entered.

• You must follow the given theme.

• The maps must be playable.

• Custom Content is allowed, this includes textures, models, sounds, etc.

• You may get somebody else to produce custom textures, models, sounds, etc. as long as you credit their work. This includes freely available texture / model / sound packs.

• 3 screenshots as well as your map in .bsp format are to be submitted and marked as 'final,' WiP (Work-in-Progress) screenshots / .bsp's are allowed to be submitted so long as they are marked as WiP only. Please upload images to a reliable image service, such as ImageShack and use the thumbnail feature to prevent stretched forums. WiP posts are encouraged.

• Photoshop / other image-editing programs are not allowed to be used to make the map look better in any way, however you may add your name, the map name, and borders, etc so long as it does not in any way make the map look more proffesional. This does not include the creation of custom textures, which is allowed.

Ok Gentlemen, start your Hammers!

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sf_skiff