X-D Mapping Contest Announcement [400 EUR Prize Pool]
Hello everyone!
Today is a big day for the active mappers in our community, because kreedz.com is announcing yet ANOTHER mapping contest! A month has passed since the results of the slide map competition were published, and we're already ready to present the next major mapping event. This time, we're challenging mappers to try something new: X-D maps!
"X-D" stands for maps with a difficulty higher than Hard-Extreme. Over the last 5 years, these maps have become an integral part of Kreedz, constantly trending on servers with hundreds of players try-harding them on a daily basis. Completing a death map is an impressive benchmark - a way to prove your skill and bring it to new heights in the process. It's also about socializing: asking for help, receiving it, and making new friends. That's what we love about Kreedz!
With that in mind, we at kreedz.com believe it's time to REALLY make X-D maps and mappers shine, which is exactly the opportunity we're offering with this contest! Note that this time, the prize pool is even bigger than the previous contest's - 400 EUR! (We are willing to increase the prize pool if anyone donates to it, possibly rewarding 4th and 5th places as well!). The distribution is as follows:
1st place: 60%
2nd place: 30%
3rd place: 10%
For this contest, all standard kreedz.com map submission rules apply. As for the X-D part:
• Map's difficulty should be Extreme or above and must be kept the same throughout (e.g. you can't insert death bhop stage at the end of extreme-death climb map)
• Your map must be at least 75% climb or more
• Design requirements can be slightly lower than usual; map's theme can be anything, as long as it looks good and was built with a reasonable display of effort
• Map's length should be 2 minutes or more in a perfect run (you can simulate a perfect run by hooking from block to block slowly as if you're one-shotting them)
• Avoid cancerous jumps; read the "X-D Gameplay Guidelines" below for more information
• Map submission deadline is 16th January, 2026
Introduction to the Guidelines
When making an X-D map, it's important to understand the difference between so-called "cancer" jumps and genuinely difficult jumps. Jumps that are overly random are considered "cancer". The less skill a jump involves, the more cancerous it is. For example, a strafejump that forces the player to squeeze through a 33-38 unit gap is random and therefore cancerous. You should avoid making such jumps in your map, with rare exceptions that will be reviewed individually.
X-D Gameplay Guidelines
(These should be considered strong suggestions rather than strict requirements.)
• Avoid: Tight 33-38 unit gaps
• Avoid: Low-ceiling jump-spam duckbhops
• Avoid: Any duckbhops that involve more than 2 jumps in a row
• Avoid: Headbangers that require a very low jump-off to jump out (if the ceiling is 80 units or less above the ground)
• Avoid: Forced LJ/HJ blocks (as they often make weapon runs impossible)
• Avoid: Long steepslides (impossible with weapons, unless you can jumpbug on the teleport trigger, in which case it is allowed). This also applies to duckslides
• Avoid: WJ/DCJ blocks longer than 262 units (large distances are hard but unoriginal; try creating blocks that involve strafe jumps or turns for a more interesting challenge)
• Avoid: in a bhop stage, making the last jump distance too large (it introduces randomness and frustration; it's better to make it a guaranteed landing)
• Avoid: really small "pixel-sized" blocks (1-4 units in size) in the corner which make it impossible to gain any prestrafe
• To eliminate random/imbalanced jumps, make sure that you/your testers of appropriate skill level can land each jump consistently within several minutes
You don't have to follow this list unconditionally, but doing so significantly increases the chance that players will enjoy and grind your map.
Now that you know what to avoid, here’s what is encouraged:
+ Variety in jumps: You can include big prestrafe, big block distance CJs; small prestrafe, small block distance CJs; interesting trajectories; turns; flying around corners; unique/unorthodox techniques; etc.
+ Slides, ladders, and bhop are allowed, but they should not make up more than 25% of the map's gameplay combined (remember, at least 75% of the map must be climb).
+ Full climb maps are totally allowed and welcome, as the concept of X-D maps and checkpoint runs is inherently climb-oriented.
Useful Examples / Inspiration
We understand that creating an X-D map is a rather niche experience, which is why we recommend checking out some of the best existing X-D maps for inspiration. See what kinds of jumps people enjoy the most, and take a look at the wacky structures and map layouts that are often unique to X-D maps. Here are some examples with completion videos attached:
♦ hb_lrs2_beta – Golden classic of X-D maps, offering a very well-rounded and smooth climbing experience. (Run on YT)
♦ kzru_hb_all1ance – Features a great variety of very challenging and interesting jumps; flaws: weak design, redundant bhop stages. (Run on YT)
♦ ccn_unmake – Appealing design, many unusual jumps and techniques, frequent incorporation of ladders and slides into the climb. (Run on YT)
♦ v4r_hb_vdm – Creative dynamic-colour neon visuals combined with rocky landscape, challenging turns and strafejumps, addictive and likeable climb stages. (Run on YT)
♦ hb_abubas – Mind-bending structure and architecture, traditional jumps pushed to their limits, with an occasional mix of weird techniques, objectively one of the greatest death maps of all time. (Run on YT)
♦ hfr_haunt_xD – Beautiful design, extremely enjoyable jumps within an intricate map structure; flaws: redundant 265 DCJ and 267 WJ blocks. (Run on YT)
♦ xr_vvn1ght – Lots of diverse and engaging jumps, mindblowing map structure, very fun to play; flaws: messy design without a clear theme, redundant bhop stages. (Run on YT)
♦ hb_mekko2 – One of the most unique structure choices, great CJ-heavy journey; flaws: second half of the map is poorly balanced, lots of easy jumps. (Run on YT)
♦ gbc_hb_hoLy – Easiest map from the list, simplistic yet pleasant design, top-notch jumps, traditional techniques; flaws: incredibly random triple duckbhop at the last stage. (Run on YT)
It's important to note that this list is intended for those who want to participate but aren't sure where to start. If you're already full of ideas, that's fantastic! However, if you're feeling hesitant, consider this: there's a good chance many other mappers feel the same way. If that's the case, we might end up with fewer submissions, which means you could be the one to walk away with the prize money! Easy money for you, and a great new X-D map for us!
Contest Events Chronology
Since X-D maps are very special, we have decided to make this contest slightly different from previous ones in terms of our procedures and methods.
Phase I. Map creation: Mappers work on their maps, finalize the layout and design, and prepare the jumps for testing.
Phase II. Initial check: Participants submit their maps to kreedz.com, map admins check them for visual flaws and other bugs, and of course test the jumps.
Phase III. Public check: This is where things get interesting. When the maps received an initial polish, they will be added to KZ-RUSH servers for everyone to playtest. It's the first time kreedz.com is cooperating with the community on such level and we are eager to receive as much feedback as possible. Players can report any found issues or their suggestions in the dedicated forum of X-D beta-testing section in kreedz.com's discord channel for mappers to see. A separate thread will be created for each of the submitted maps.
Imagine you really like a map, but one jump irritates you—report it on the forum immediately! This is every X-D player's chance to contribute and help make the maps as balanced and playable as possible. This process also gives players more time to explore the maps before voting begins.
Phase IV. The voting: Once the public playtest is over and the maps have been polished based on feedback, we will release the final versions and launch the voting!
Voting Procedures
- Part 1. Admin vote: We will start with a panel that consists of our current mapchecking team. Each one of them will judge the maps on a scale from 1 to 10 based on 4 different categories, from most to least important:
- Gameplay/Balance: How fun the map is to play? Are there "cancer" or imbalanced blocks?
- Aesthetics/Visuals: How much the textures/visuals satisfy the eye? What is the level of immersion achieved with them?
- Polish: Is the map well-optimized? Are there many bugs, visual issues, attention to detail, etc?
- Theme: As there are no rules regarding the theme, this one is about how creative you can get with it and how well it is executed
The ratings from all map admins will be averaged to have a score that accounts for 60% of the final map rating.
- Part 2. Community vote: The same process will be repeated by the community. Every member will vote on these 4 categories, and their individual ratings will be averaged into a single community score for each map. This score will account for the remaining 40% of the each map's final rating. During this time kreedz.com is going to hold a SURPRISE TOURNAMENT!!! X-D players will compete on all of the contest maps (more information at the end of the newspost).
- Part 3. Final results: The admin score (60%) and community score (40%) for each map will be combined to create a final rating. All maps will be ranked based on this rating, the results will be published, and the winners will be announced.
Phase V. The tournament: as specified above, this phase will occur simultaneously with Part 2 of the voting. The goal is to showcase the maps and their gameplay to a broader audience by hosting a cup, allowing even non-X-D players to familiarize themselves with the maps and cast an informed vote. This event will be described in further detail in a dedicated news post once the final versions of the maps are released. But here's a spoiler: the tournament rewards are going to be brand new Drunkdeer keyboard and Logitech G903 mouse—devices that were bought specifically for outside's in-person check and used during his performance. Right now they are at ShoCk's place, and will be shipped to the winner(s) once the tournament ends!
The Conclusion
And that's everything you need to know! We are unbelievably excited to see what nightmare-ish masterpieces you will create. We've truly poured our hearts into making this contest rewarding, collaborative, and fair.
To everyone taking on the challenge: thank you! Your effort is what keeps this community alive! And remember, kreedz.com map-checking team is with you every step of your mapping journey! If you have any questions, you can contact sekai (me) for dedicated X-D consultation (Lain_lover on discord)!
Now get out there and create something legendary!