whatever the next jam theme is, it should be something relatively unique (like the last two). There are already lots of great Daikatana-E3 maps. I imagine some people are itching to make base maps, but there are also a lot of base maps already (along with a lot of Quoth/Fodrian maps). I liked the Elder World suggestion, as well as the Low Gravity suggestion. There are plenty of wads on quaddicted that have hardly been used yet, though they might be too unfamiliar to inspire people. If I had to settle on that balance of used enough to inspire, but not too much, I'd go with the textures that were used in Glassman's Day of the Lords, Necros' The Living End, the Coagula Contest 3 Start Map, and I think Hrimfaxi has a turtle map in those as well (can't remember what game they're from). Or even the ones from Necros' Altar of Storms. Actually just make the whole thing based on that, it's been too long and I want a Necros map. heh. 

 

Glassman's Day of the Lords

This was an awesome map, but literally every square inch of it is the exact same shade of babyshit brown. 

Coagula? 

Build Styles:

No Monsters / No more than 30 monsters
You Must Chainmap (all authors in pack to contribute 'something' to all maps)
Ziggurat Vertigo Revisited (would need a progs)
Only one enemy type
If not Day of the Lords then Colony
Zerstorer
Lost Entrance to The 'insert id1 map name here' (different for each author)

Texture Wads:
Kingpin
Kell (fodrian or fury)
Meatech
White Room
Speedbase
Ogro
Natural Textures Only 

A simple "use this wad" theme would be pretty boring compared to the previous two themes, which implied both what the textures and the architecture should be.

"Honey" speaks volumes, "city2_x" does not. 

The last events - Koohoo, Honey, Ikwhite/blue - were all good strong themes that didn't get explored/used much by other mappers, so they were fertile territory. What themes are left that are like that? A lot of people have already done things in the style of Zerstorer, Contract/Quoth, ikbase, speedbase, every other kind of base ... Altar of Storms might be a little too monochromatic, considering what the last theme just was.

Maybe leave the texture set up for grabs and find a different kind of theme, one that helps all the submissions hang together while providing ideas and letting every mapper explore in their own way. How about just a phrase as inspiration, like ludum dare/older speedmap sessions/etc? Something as simple as "The Bridge and the Tower"? 

"Paganism"
"Burial Mound"
"Citadel with a Moat" 

 

if it has to be a base theme, I think Colony is by far the best example of a base map with a "good strong theme that didn't get explored/used much by other mappers."