So, remember that Team Fortress 2 mapping contest I told you about a while back? Well, the results are in.

No, I didn't win. In fact, I didn't even technically get my entry finished. Even if you ignore the fact that a combination of slow compile time, even slower upload and, oh yeah, my usual shameless procrastination prevented the "final" build from getting uploaded under the deadline, it really wasn't a "finished" map by any decent standards at that point. There were a few points where, even if I'd been given a whole extra month, I probably would have still given up trying to make look pretty and rush-jobbed it.

It sure was a learning experience though. Nothing like having to make a presentable, finished map to force a guy to learn every technique in the book, including one fundamental practice that Valve uses in all their maps but many mappers still aren't aware of. (One of which accounted for the ridiculously slow compile, actually.)

And it seems there is a consolation prize: My map was mentioned on the page where they announced the winners and non-winners. The page that got linked on the official TF2 blog. As the guy who saw his blurry visage in the background of a shot on the local news said, "I'm famous!" :P