Sorry I haven't gotten to this sooner (i.e. April like I originally planned


For those who are not familiar with these contests, I essentially ask anyone who wants to participate to send me their adventures before a certain end date (i.e. the Submission Phase). Usually I'm pretty lenient (and probably a bit lazy) so I'll probably extend the due date by a week or two if it looks like other folks will be working on their entries. After the submission phase has concluded, we will enter the Voting Phase, where everyone votes on their favorite adventure through a different form of voting - at least until I run out of different methods to try out.

Everyone is welcome to participate as both an adventure submitter AND as a voter! You're also welcome to play through these adventures at your own leisure. If you wish to submit an adventure to the contest, please read the section on the submission phase. If you'd like to vote, please read the section on the voting phase when I create it at the end of the submission phase

One last thing before you continue to play the adventures or chose to participate (as a submitter or voter) in the contest: You will need OpenWA. The whole theme of the contest is centered around creating new adventures for the modded additions to Wonderland! (And lets be honest it's increasingly difficult to find an adventure that doesn't utilize OpenWA in some way.) You will need to have at least Version 1.7.1 (the latest at the time of this announcement), although I will likely update this if an important update comes out and an adventure requires it in some way.
If this contest turns out well, I very well may have a couple of other modded-objects-themed contest ideas in mind.

With that all out of the way:
Submission Phase
Every contest I restrict the player in some way. Sometimes by a lot, sometimes not so much. In order to submit your adventure to the contest, you must meet the following requirements:
1) You must submit the entry before [strike]July 31st[/strike] the end of September 30th (Eastern Time). Keep in mind that I'm lenient and will probably have to update this date; just assume that whatever the latest listed date is is the final date

2) You must DM me (on forum or on discord) your adventure, although as long as I'm CLEARLY notified that your submission is for this contest, anything will work fine. Note that I do prefer you keep your submissions private as a surprise for other players, but if you're itching and can't wait to share it, go right ahead and do so - as long as I'm also given your adventure and all relevant materials through the means listed above.

3) This is the MAIN CONTENTS of the adventure. Your adventure MUST meet the criteria of the theme of "Mechanized Firestorm", which is centered around using some of OpenWA's new modded objects. This means your adventure MUST have at least TWO distinct MODDED Mechanical or Fire-Related objects from the following lists:
- a) Modded Mechanical Objects include: Mechanical Turtles and/or Tile-Tied Mecha-Chompers (both of these are tied to a tile type like zipbots are - don't count as two "distinct objects"), Killer MooBots, Minotaurs (their related objects won't count as distinct objects), Waterlogged Gates (gates that become water when down), ID Count Gates. and Logic Gates
- b) Modded Fire Objects include: Lava Turtles (or fire turtles, whatever they're called), Pow Barrel Magic, Green Scouges, and Retro Kaboom!s.
Note: I lowered this from Three so folks can really explore existing objects if they wished.
All objects must be different (i.e. two kaboom!s don't count as two distinct objects), but may appear from either or both lists. You could have an adventure that's all fire-based (lava turtles and kaboom!s), all mechanical based (including just minotaurs and their related objects), or a mix from both (i.e. a killer moobot and pow barrel magic).
You may (and are encouraged) to use more than two listed objects if you wished. You may (and are optionally encouraged) to use non-modded mechanical or fire objects in addition to the objects listed. You ALSO may use any other objects you want - as long as two distinct mechanical and/or fire-related modded objects are utilized! Vanilla objects that are modified using WOPS don't count (although are also optionally encouraged).
You may also use other modded features and try to justify them as "mechanical" or "fire-related" but you do run the risk of disqualification if it's not obvious - this is just in case I forgot to add something, or if you mod a new element in (which, you can do, although note it might cause logistical issues with the contest

Lastly, you also may create background mechanisms if you'd like - those are always fun lol. If they're a core element of your adventure, and/or are really cool, then I can certainly let the distinct mechanism replacement UP TO ONE object in the list (so you only need to use one other modded feature). I don't personally recommend it - especially if you want to meet the Time requirements (both requirement 1 and 4), and in part because this contest is focused on modded features. That said, you're more than welcome to lol - creativity > some rigid rules after all

And finally, 4) Your adventure must not be too big and preferably not impossible to solve/execute. I cannot stress this enough. If you scope creep your adventure, or make it too difficult for yourself, it will become way too cumbersome for you to finish lol. Not to mention it may be hard for voters to get through before voting phase ends - at the very least it'll likely be voted less favorably. I have resolved this a few ways in the past, but this time I am just giving a strong recommendation to limit yourself. Maybe only put a maximum of 5 hours into it, or only make it so big (like, 1 .wlv, or only small levels). Note that this rule will not be strictly enforced lol - it's more of a guideline than a rule. But I do recommend keeping it in mind.
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With all that said, there are just a couple other things of note:
1) You may collaborate on a submission. As long as it's clear who contributed to the final product, multiple makers are allowed in a single submission.
2) You also may submit multiple entries lol. I'd advise against it, so you can focus on making one good entry over a bunch of "mid" ones, but if you have multiple ideas you're really itching to play with (or just really want to hedge your bets), you're free to do so.

3) I hope the name "Mechanized Firestorm" gives players some ideas for adventure aesthetic. You can do whatever you want with your theme lol - but I might personally give you bonus points in my vote if you have a topic-related aesthetic.

4) You may also technically submit hubs lol (I wouldn't do that personally but you do you lol)
5) Custom objects/textures/music/etc. are all allowed as well.
6) You're also welcome to do as much narrative as you want - from nothing to it being the main focus of your adventure.
7) I strongly encourage you to use the modded elements as they were intended. I.e. don't just use a killer moobot like a normal moobot, or get married to a green scouge and call it a day. But I'll leave it to the voters to decide if it "counts". Especially if it's creative and/or really funny.
That should be everything for now! Submission phase begins as soon as this post is up and viewable! Have fun Wonderlanding, and let me know if you have any questions!

P.S. Anyone may post in this thread about the topic lol. (You're more than welcome to ask me questions here if it's convenient for you ;p)