Final Results
Results of the SCT2 are finally in. Thanks to everyone who helped and participated in this years Second Chance Tournament. I always love seeing people rework their own maps or old classics into sth new and different and this year was no different.
3 out of the 4 submissions completely changed up the theme in their rework and one of the submissions decided to polish up an already clean map even further.
Before and after pictures of each map can be found here.
And since the old kz-climb forum now officially shut down and the previous sct results can no longer be viewed, I decided to make the same for the original SCT.
1. kz_cybersand by neon
While not an easy first pick since the 2nd submission was almost equally good, I decided to give the edge to the remake of kz_cyberspace since the map improved gameplay in all sections by removing the floating blocks. Cybersand is a beautiful remake with a creative use of a 3D Skybox where the player is put into the tiny sandpit in the middle. The lighting, the details and the creative use of props to make sense of floating blocks really makes this feel like a very complete product. The only things one could criticise are probably a general lack of more textures for the actual gameplay relevant blocks and maybe adding more variety with cracks or different shaped pillars. Also the addition of another bonus while not relevant to the rating, is still appreciated.
2. kz_gfy_limit_sct2 by pr3da
The old classic of kz_gfy_limit finally got a visual overhaul removing the horrible tree in the first room and significantly improving the lightning allowing for a much more enjoyable experience. Very creative rework placing the map into an industrial quarry with a 3D Skybox, opening up the previously very closed down space. The map now allows for exploration outside of the playable area with the space surrounding the original map being bigger than the map itself. Lots of effort to put the gameplay into a scenario that makes sense and tells a story by itself. Something that gives the map an unfinished feeling and breaks the immersiveness is the rather bland and open ending where the player reaches the end timer and suddenly is greeted with a big empty space.
3. kz_gus_sct2 by Crolfhym
While this map does not fundamentally differ from its original theme, it's still a nice rendition of an already clean design by polishing it up with more detail, better lighting and a brand new skybox. It might not look like much has been changed but sometimes less is more and a completely rework unnecessary if what you had to begin with wasnt that bad honestly. However it's hard to put this submission any higher than 3rd place when you compare it to the amount of effort put into the top 2 finishers.
4. kz_comboking7k by sinnes7k
As for this remake, unfortunately it was handed in too late and had to be rushed to be finish on time. Which is why we couldn't include it in the original ranking since it would be unfair to everyone else who did make their submissions on time. I still want to give it an honorable mention as clearly sinnes put some thought and effort into this reskin by picking a new theme inside of a castle and using a variety of textures and props to add to the previously flat textured and boring base map. Since he had problems and had to rush a couple things, it feels a bit lack luster by placing random things to fill out the empty space and the lighting problems cannot be ignored. I really hope that he continues to improve on the map even after the competition because the base work is there and I can see this turn into a beautiful remake of an old classic.
