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A new map contest! Underdark 2026

HH Heming Hitrowski

Source (in Russian): https://www.serioussite.ru/forum/33-4007-1

Not a single ray of sunlight penetrates this bleak realm. Oppressive silence blankets the vaults of endless caverns that vanish into the darkness. The final resting place of the brave, or perhaps the foolish, who ended up here by pure chance. Seek no treasure here, cling to no hope. Your broken bones will serve as a warning to other adventurers. And if fortune turns against you, you will perish in the dark, losing your very soul. Woe to anyone who crosses your path.

Plunge into the deepest depths of the editor and brave all its dangers. Become the master of triggers, bake the shadows, and save the underworld from bugs! Find a way to amaze the player! Will it be the ancient cities of a forgotten people, or a lonely wizard’s tower? What trials await us? Bottomless abysses, underground rivers, falling stalactites, evil lurking in the dark, or something entirely unique? We will find out all of this in the new, sixteenth "Underdark" mapping contest.

Contest Theme and Terms:

  • Theme: The majority of the map's action must take place underground. Dungeons, mines, unseen caverns, subterranean kingdoms, journeys to the center of the Earth, exploring a mysterious island, searching for Atlantis, hell, bottomless chasms, and so on. The execution of the theme is limited only by your imagination.
  • Workflow: You should start exclusively with the main gameplay area; leave the entire introductory sequence for the last moment! If you run out of time, you can even make the intro using images. This is far better than spending two months creating a gorgeous intro only to end up with a gaping hole instead of the main game.
  • Genre & Characters: Any genre. Any characters.
  • Originality: Simply copying/porting separate segments from other games may negatively affect your score. Build your own creations.

Updated Contest Rules:

  • Open Format: The competition format changes from closed to open. If you wish, you are free to showcase your progress wherever you like, gather feedback, get advice, and even run open betas.
  • Packaging: The map must be packed into a .gro archive, launch correctly, and function on a fresh install of Serious Sam without the editor installed. Ensure that you do not use Cyrillic letters or spaces in file names; otherwise, the game will not be able to read assets from the archive.
  • Testing: Start packing and testing your work on a clean version of the game in advance—at least a few weeks before the deadline—to avoid unpleasant surprises on submission day. Use AutoGRO for packaging. Links to the program are available for Serious Sam: The Second Encounter and Serious Sam Fusion (2018 version and 2026 version).
  • No Steam Workshop: Steam Workshop submissions are not allowed; works must be completely standalone and independent of subscriptions. You must also be certain that the author has granted the appropriate permissions.
  • Asset Modification: Modifying original game assets (models, meshes, sounds, monster textures, NETRICSA texts, etc.) or assets from other authors' works is strictly prohibited! You may modify assets only if you resave everything you used into your own separate, new folder. It is also forbidden to submit your works as modifications (if you are building for Second Encounter Classic). This is a map contest.
  • SDK for Classic: For Serious Sam Classic, working with the SDK and using additional .dll files is permitted. Do not forget to include them in the archive when submitting your work.
  • Map Structure: One submission = one map. If a map turns out to be too large, it can - and even should - be split into several parts. If there is a section on the map where frequent player deaths are likely, it is highly recommended to make this area a separate map. Creating a map pack is also recommended for optimization purposes.
  • Game Mode: The map must be designed for single-player. If you want to make a DM / Co-op / Survival version, do so after completing the single-player portion.
  • Playability: The map must have a proper start and finish, and be free of game-breaking bugs. If the jury is forced to use cheats or restart the playthrough multiple times, it will definitely negatively impact your score.
  • Evaluation Version: Only the first submitted version of the work is subject to evaluation. You may update your work if you wish to improve it by the time the results are announced, but this updated version will not be reviewed and will not affect the final score.
  • Content Restrictions: Politics, nudity, swastikas, personal attacks, and other provocative perversions are excluded, even in hidden forms outside the playable area or inside the archive.
  • Rule Adjustments: The contest organizers reserve the right to use common sense and make any adjustments to the contest rules at any point in time up until its conclusion.

Maps are accepted for the following games:

  • Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter
  • Serious Sam Classics: Revolution
  • Serious Sam 2
  • Serious Sam Fusion
  • Serious Sam 4
  • Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem

Prizes:

1st place: 12,000 Rubles (~140 EUR) + a Steam game

2nd place: 6,000 Rubles (~70 EUR) + a Steam game

3rd place: 3,000 Rubles (~35 EUR) + a Steam game

4th place: 1,500 Rubles (~17 EUR) + a Steam game

5th place: 500 Rubles  (~5 EUR) + a Steam game

6th place: A Steam game

7th place: A Steam game

(Prizes are transferred to a Russian bank card or PayPal)

The prize games will be chosen one by one in turn: the 1st place winner chooses first, followed by the 2nd place winner, then the 3rd place winner, and so on.

List of prize games (Steam keys):

  • Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition;
  • Devil May Cry 5;
  • Ghostrunner 2;
  • Haste;
  • SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell;
  • Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem;
  • SUPERHOT;
  • The Talos Principle: Reawakened;
  • ULTRAKILL;
  • Vampire Survivors.

>>> You can sign up as a participant until June 21 inclusive <<< 

To do so, write on the serioussite.ru forum or send a PM to the organizer.

Map Submission:

>>> Maps must be submitted by August 30 inclusive <<<
To do so, send a PM to the organizer, or use any other available method (Discord, Steam).

Evaluation Criteria:

In all serioussite.ru contests, submissions are evaluated based on two criteria: adherence to the theme and overall quality (how well the work turned out and how fun/interesting it is to play through).

Contest Schedule:

Submissions must be provided by August 30 (inclusive), Moscow Time (MSK). From August 31 to September 13, the jury will conduct the evaluation. Whatever you submit is what will be judged, so think twice before submitting a month before the deadline.

>>>September 14: Announcement of results and conclusion of the contest <<<