Take your time when mapping

[Dragonfel666]

It seems to me that alot of mappers are just throwing lvls together just to get them out there. They arnt taking time to pay attention to detail and realism. Its like a race to them. Lets see how many maps i can pump out in an hour.

Personally I would rather have 1 Really Bad *** map over 10 ok maps.

For example, the map I'M STILL WORKING ON has taken me around 500 hours of work, with tons of testing.

http://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/showthread.php?t=34195

I would like to get other people's thoughts and opinions on this matter plz.

 

[chewmyheadoff]

Well I havn't been able to play any new maps since the shopping arcade final one. This is because I'v been spending most of my spare time making my shaun of the dead map. I do agree with you, but it's really up to the author to decide if they want a good map or not. So far I'v spent probably on average 3 hours a day on my map for the last month and a bit. It's just that some people probably don't have the same amount of time as I do, because I still go to school, and its close to the holidays so I have very little school work to do.

 

[Corwin]

I do agree. It's not really about taking your time. Going fast and dedicating huge amounts of time to it is a plus. I think the key word is "Polish". Too many maps get released without any polishing or attention to detail.

I believe it's the usual beginner's trap: you get pretty excited to see your level play alright even with limited visual detail or texture work, so you feel like sharing it with others. But it's like babies: you love your own but others can't stand yours. They can't enjoy your level because they haven't felt the effort you had to put into it.

That's what you learn after a while. That a good map, just like a good game, takes a lot of polish to get done. Most of the time, polishing a level takes longer than creating a playable prototype. That's where people usually stop and release their level. Only the laid-back, confident designer will postpone the joy of releasing his level to put the final touches and make it so much better.

You can usually feel that, in that people who tend to throw too much media at your face on every little modification of their project will probably fail to spend enough time to polish their work. On the other hand, people who don't announce their work until late in development and basically say "When it's done" manage to get better quality material out the door.

It's like game production: some games feel unachieved while others astound you by all the attention to detail and tweaking that went into it. I believe that's one of the main problems with games nowadays: the lack of time to really implement the final tweaks that make the difference.

 

[Basic_Infantry]

I fell for it, started quick and am now sloooowwiiiing it down I try to polish to the best of my abilities and as I go on I learn new things

 

[Templarion]

On the other hand, I have started three maps and never released any of them.

Just do not polish them too much. You do it for fun and it is much more fun to update the map after you have heard it is worth of updating!

 

[KiCk3R]

I spend 2 Years on Hive.
Polished her up every day

She had Multiple versions.

Alpha 1 / 2 Beta 1 / 2 Version 1 (mod) Version 2 (250) Version 3 (251)

And now V1 Retail.

With each release, i got better feedback each time. This help alot with designing maps. It gave me knowledge and ALOT of fun.


Now, ive been mapping Degeneration since Late February.
Its now July, and she is getting ready for her big day

 

[Dragonfel666]

I rember one map i made for a game called THIEF 2 took me 8 months to make. And you know what suxs about that? I got the dreaded virus with no backups So I lost it all.

Lol but w/e that was like 10 years ago.

Also I dont have much time to map, I am a full time college student with 6 classes a semester. Tons of homework every day, but thats no excuse for a crappy map because I am still able to release works of art, they just take a little longer to put out.

 

[SHeld]

mm, i took 8 months with a map of UT3, but it isnt finished, and is good when the players tell you what is wrong or bugs or another things that do the map "unplayable".

It works because you are getting experience about of mapping and public comments, for me is a good new when someone is making a fix of any map that I had been created.

im making a map for killing floor that is in construction by about of 2 months.

 

[Dragonfel666]

the map im working on for the Wave 2 of the competition (grade prize 1) is gonna take about 2-3 months to make also..... Im still in the process of drawing it out

 

[Bombs]

I agree man, i downloaded a pack of maps and omfg, your killing me hahahaha

 

[dextronaut]

I agree man, i downloaded a pack of maps and omfg, your killing me hahahaha

same here, a few come to mind:

deathpit - youve got to be kidding me. at least add some blood projectors or skeletons to make it look like a deathpit. you can see that they are somewhat capable with the brushes, and its meant to be a simple design - its a deathpit, but some added decorations is really what this map needs. skeletons, blood, cobwebs, axes and gibs littered on the floor, etc.

heresy - ok, it was originally a deathmatch map that was ported over to KF mod, now its been ported to KF retail. virtually nothing has changed, its still easy to camp on the second floor. and yes the layout is really easy, but keep in mind it was originally a deathmatch map for another game, so cant bash it too much.

arcade - this one is also from mod days. its four pill boxes across from each other in a square formation, you sit inside with the door welded and just blast whatever tries to break down your door or your friends door. if this wasnt from the mod id think its a leveling map.

 

[Dragonfel666]

Ok dont dis death pit.... lol i spent 30 mins on that map just to get used to the editor lol.....

now compare DEATHPIT to Aquastudy

30 mins => 500 hours

take a look at aquastudy. http://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/showthread.php?t=34195

its still amazing how death pit is one of the most popular maps out there, when i spent soooo little time on it.

 

[dextronaut]

Ok dont dis death pit.... lol i spent 30 mins on that map just to get used to the editor lol.....

now compare DEATHPIT to Aquastudy

30 mins => 500 hours

wait wait wait wait, you made deathpit and actually released it?! didnt i just see you a few minutes ago in the underwells thread yelling at that guy that his map is crap?

take your time when mapping please!

 

[Dragonfel666]

dude if your login onto the chat rooms to start an argument with a waaay better designer that you then go somewhere else....

IF YOU READ WHAT I SAID I COMPLEMENTED HIS MAP

take my time when mapping ???!!!!?! AQUASTUDY TOOK 500 HOURS HOW MUCH MORE TIME DO YOU WANT. GEEZE PEOPLE WITH YOUR ATTITUDE PISS ME OFF

Mr. Junior Member with 30 posts

AND BTW I REALEASED DEATH PIT LIKE 5 DAYS AFTER KILLING FLOOR CAME OUT SO SHUT IT. I HAD TO GET USED TO THE EDITOR SO I CAN MAKE AMAZING MAPS SUCH AS AQUASTUDY AND FLOOR 17

 

[Polygon]

Yeah, it's a common trend to see a lot of custom maps for whatever game which were hastily thrown together and some that had a sound concept and clearly took awhile to develop. I'd say quality > quantity hands down any day.

 

[dextronaut]

IF YOU READ WHAT I SAID I COMPLEMENTED HIS MAP

your compliments:

THIS IS NOT A BETA!!!! post in reg level design forums as WIP

looks like crap too

STILL LOOKS LIKE CRAP

sorry, i mustve misunderstood em.

 

[dextronaut]

dude if your login onto the chat rooms to start an argument with a waaay better designer that you then go somewhere else....

IF YOU READ WHAT I SAID I COMPLEMENTED HIS MAP

take my time when mapping ???!!!!?! AQUASTUDY TOOK 500 HOURS HOW MUCH MORE TIME DO YOU WANT. GEEZE PEOPLE WITH YOUR ATTITUDE PISS ME OFF

Mr. Junior Member with 30 posts

AND BTW I REALEASED DEATH PIT LIKE 5 DAYS AFTER KILLING FLOOR CAME OUT SO SHUT IT. I HAD TO GET USED TO THE EDITOR SO I CAN MAKE AMAZING MAPS SUCH AS AQUASTUDY AND FLOOR 17

someones flipping out hahaha

 

[Dragonfel666]

dont diss my maps or abilties or i will spam you like non other

and if you really want to quote me you sho8uld read further insted on the 1st post dumb A S S

and on that one example it WAS CRAP $#%$!!!!!!

maybe you should read my other NUMEROUS posts where i compliment their maps and give helpfull advice

QUIT TRYING TO START CRAP ON A HELPFUL THREAD

 

[dextronaut]

dont diss my maps or abilties or i will spam you like non other

dude, calm down, eventually we'll all forget about deathpit.

 

[Dragonfel666]

dude, calm down, eventually we'll all forget about deathpit.

thats why theres like 5 servers at all times playing it...


I dont even care about that map, i made it DAYS ago.

JUST SHUT UP AND MOVE ALONG