Numacon

NUMACON is a semi-regular contest held on NUMA that challenges players and mappers alike to create a map that follows a certain theme, i.e. a haunted house, or creating a map from an image. Maps entered in the monthly NUMACON are judged on theme, gameplay, and aesthetics. The use of Nreality is allowed in NUMACON unless the rules specifically prohibit it. The prizes include ad-free browsing, custom titles that are recycled somewhat often, and a sometimes userbar made from a section of their map that displayed their "victory over the masses." The winner who scores first also gets their map featured.

Example of userbar

Copycat (May 2010)[]

Copycat was the first NUMACON to be held, and it had players find an image and create a map that looked exactly like it. The winner list is as follows:

Muse* (June 2010)[]

Muse was the second NUMACON, and it required players to make a map based upon this review:

"This map is a trip. A journey if you will. It starts off unobtrusively enough, your ninja treading softly through lonely halls. However as you progress it becomes increasingly apparent how frail your ninja's hold on life is. Around every corner lurks a dead machine, every room a trap waits to be sprung. Soon there is no turning back. Only the familiar pale yellow glow urges you onward. As you ascend through the twisted ruins, you realize that this journey is far from over. The story is only beginning."

This NUMACON was even more warmly received than Copycat, with more than 100 maps entered. The winner list is as follows:

(*This link may not work if any more maps are submitted with the 'muse' tag.)

Ghosty (July 2010)[]

Ghosty was the third NUMACON and it required mappers to make a haunted house or a map with that theme. Although very straightforward, this proved difficult to many mappers as they wanted to make a map that was haunted, but without ghost drones, or as PALEMOON described it: "the OH NO A HIDDEN BLUE DRONE THAT POPPED OUT thing that is everywhere." Ghosty also had more than 100 entries and was enjoyed by most mappers. The winner list is as follows:

Note: Since both rocket_thumped and astheoceansblue were judges and they both entered Ghosty, their entries were judged by southpaw.

Headache (August 2010)[]

Due to the lack of survivals during the time of last year's Dronies, the fourth NUMACON required mappers to make a survival . Due to the unpopularity of survivals, this NUMACON had very few entries. The winner list is as follows:

Sensei (September 2010)[]

Sensei, as homage to tktktk who once made a map-pack of only gold, tiles, exit(s), and a ninja, required mappers to make maps with no enemies except mines. This proved a bit difficult for many mappers and the winners' maps were, sadly, unpopular. The winner list is as follows:

Note: The winners list was posted very late due to one of the judges getting sick.

Sky* (October 2010)[]

Sky simply required mappers to make a map with, as the name says, a sky or horizon with stars, clouds, and/or a sun. The maps were judged, oddly enough, by Skyline. The winner list is as follows:

(*This link may not work if any maps are submitted with the 'sky' tag.*)

Shootout (November 2010)[]

Shootout limited the enemies used, where the only accepted enemy (besides mines) were chainguns. This choice was made by chainguns being one of the judges favorite enemy type. Shootout was the most well accepted NUMACON contest with over 130 submissions into the contest. The winner list is as follows:

SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR WIN! (December 2010)[]

The December 2010 NUMACON got off to a late start, but it definetly will not be remembered for it. This NUMACON was the first that accepted N-arts and Don't Do Anything (DDA's) as a submission. Also the judging occured in three special categories: AWESOMENESS, MERRYNESS, and GAME-A-TUDE to celebrate the holidays. The theme for the month was Christmas/Holidays. Due possibly to the difference in this NUMACON versus those in the past, only 33 maps were submitted with the proper tag "merrychristmas," however these maps were well received in the general community. The winner list is as follows:

Redeye (February 2011)[]

Redeye, similar to that of Shootout, required all maps to have either lasers or mines as enemies, and nothing else. The winner list is as follows:

Fractal (April 2011)[]

Fractal had over 90 submissions, nearly 150% more than its predecessor two months prior. The theme of the month was symmetry, which caused some confusion that had to be cleared up. The maps did not have to end up being perfectly symmetrical, and were allowed "a little articstic liscense" in their creation. The winner list is as follows:

Drag On, Survivalist (July 2011)[]

Drag On, Survivalist was another month in which a survival based map (one with no exit) was required. Also, via a clever pun, the map had to have a dragon theme to it. Unfortunately, this month had the least number of submissions. The winner list is as follows:

Amaze Us (August 2011)[]

Oh the puns! That's right, basically all contestants had to create a map with maze-like elements, with a focused goal to catch the judges attention. The winner list is as follows (it might be out of order, can someone please verify?):

Teleporter Trouble. - NachoCheese
Wind Temple [maze - thereisaspoon]
Chasm - romaniac
Artifact - romaniac
Unknown - probably either http://www.nmaps.net/216185 or http://www.nmaps.net/216284

Sleepy (September 2011)[]

Due to an unexpected bout of tiredness, flag decided that sleepy maps were the soup du' jour. Aidiera and flag judged. Aidiera also posted his critiques on the forums. The winner list is as follows:

Jailbreak (September 2012)[]

Aidiera decided to give the CON a revival, and in the syle of "Muse" wrote a review off which to make a map:

"This place is like a prison. Has security tightened here or what? Guards patrol two abreast, three abreast; they're afraid that another escape will happen. And it will happen. I've made sure of it. You see, I've left you plenty of hiding places, carefully hidden in the whitewashed walls and prefabricated tiles. The guards won't find these passages as long as you stay hidden. If you manage to open all the doors you might even find a way to freedom. Best of luck, no. 30158."

This NUMACON was a sluggish one with less than 20 submissions. The judges were flagmyidol and Aidiera, and their commentary is on the forums.

HallowCON - SpookShow (October 2012)[]

Due to popular demand, a Halloween NUMACON was held. 1211 and Aidiera judged. The critiques are here.

Vanish (November 2012)[]

The last NUMACON of 2012 was a tile-less one. (Fake tiles were allowed.) The judges were flagmyidol and gloomp with help from Erik-Player.

Emulator (February 2013)[]

This was a great idea for a NUMACON. Emulator was a contest to try to copy the style of an author that you like. flag, gloomp, and RandomDigits were the judges.

basedgod (April 2013)[]

basedgod was a contest shat out of a pig's rectum and devoured like a birthday cake made of overzealousness. gloomp, flag, and Aidiera were the judges.

Perplex (September 2013)[]

After a few months' vacay time, the 'CON was back with Perplex. Puzzle maps, plain and simple. The judges were lfaber and TommyWiseau with help from Aidiera. (No critiques, sorry.)

HallowCON - Fright Night (October 2013)[]

The HallowCON, back by popular demand. Once again, eerie maps scored highly. Chrdrenkmann and Aidiera were the judges, and their critiques can be viewed here.

Wintercon (December 2013)[]

Aidiera decided to bring back the holiday-themed NUMACON from the days of yore. Aidiera, TommyWiseau and DaggaFork were judges, and you can see their critiques here.

Oblique (February 2014)[]

This NUMACON was centered around using slanted tiles. Aidiera ~~was horribly mangled in a freak shopping cart accident~~ kept procrastinating for several months but then he posted the results. NachoCheese helped judge and their critiques are here. (They both had different top five lists, so the winners of the contest were each of their top two maps.)

Fern - macrohenry

Oodles (August 2014)[]

Oodles was a NUMACON challenges you to use oneways in new and inventive ways. Aidiera and PALEMOON judged with Rose stepping in as a tie-breaker. Their critiques are here and the top are as follows:

Curious (October 2014)[]

Some people have certain expectations of how maps should be, but Aidiera decided to throw those expectations out the gosh darn window with Curious. Curious challenged mappers to rethink mapping and try different things. The judges were TommyWiseau, Losttortuga and Aidiera and your can read their critiques here.

Less (December 2014)[]

Less was a contest which pushed mappers to their limits. Just kidding, it was a contest trying to get mappers to be as minimalistic as they could be. This was one of the most participatory contests to date. DW40, mahi_mahi and Aidiera were the judges. You may read Aidiera's comments here.

Metamorph (February 2015)[]

Metamorph was the first retile NUMACon to date. Aidiera selected twenty maps from the original 500 in N and challenged mappers to make the best maps they could without editing the given objects. The judges were Onesevennine, cheez, and Aidiera. You can read the comments here:

Gaunt (April 2015)[]

Gaunt was a gauntlet-themed contest. The goal was to make a map that was difficult but still be replayable. All the entries were in a poll on the forum and the community voted for the best maps. You can also read Aidiera's comments here.

Swerve (June 2015)[]

Curvy tiles were the topic of the month for Swerve. The judges were Aidiera, blacklef, lifdoff, and Mohit_Ghune. Their comments can be found here.

Traverse (August 2015)[]

This NUMACon was based on Destiny's suggestion "innovating the way people move around the map." Mappers had to come up with creative and unique ways of having the player travel around the map. The judges are TBD and the results will be coming soon.