Odds & Ends- VG's do's and dont's of map making

[NoobMag]

I think that the Versions with letters should be only when you fix minor bugs, yet big.

Lets say for example:
a heroe's skill wasn't working the way it should.
then if the version before was 1.00, the next would be 1.00a
but if other major improments are made, it goes to 1.01
and only go to 1.10 then 2.00
imagine...version 1.99 .... it would take along time...

but this tuturial is VERY good , :) i like it.

[Matt540, sheep god!]

I might add tips like these and give credit next time I adjust my matt540 basics of map making tutorial!

[VGsatomi]

Matt...you haven't even MADE any maps yet...who are you to write a tutorial on one while only copying my advice?

[dhk_undead_lord]

LoL i agree VGsatomi, you should not write something if you havent even made a map before

ohh and sorry for the bad english I am from germany>

Germany RuLeZ^^

[PurplePoot]

i dont agree with the whole "Gold" thing, because sometimes a map is better BECAUSE it is updated alot, and therefore is constantly adapted to make people happy

About Protection and Crediting I totally agree, exept 2 things

1) dont scream at people that havent given credit for every single icon

2) why 1)? because its mot like you can snap your fingers and have the people automatically credited ( like me ). it takes time, so when you make a map, you usually credit the Big Picture ( models for main chars, etc ) first, then move down.

I've always wondered why people bother saying Plz Give Credit, because either

1) Most People Won't

2) If you do, you would anyways...

truly, if you dont like people stealing, DONT MAKE YOUR STUFF PUBLIC.

Also, i am completely for the x.y.z system, though i dont use it because my maps dont usually EVER have major changes. ( that is if they are ever released, which only one ever has been )

Also, with your comment on Captain Kirk, maybe it was in a map like Anime Fight, where the size would be 2.5 mb BEFORE imports. Maybe the map author wants to keep the size below 4.0 mb.

[Abraxas)]

I've been involved in programming and scripting for many years... I learnt to script in BASICA, then QBasic, VB, and so on. Scripting in maps such as Starcraft and Warcraft are also among a hobby of mine.

Whenever I write a version number, I find it relly helps to know WHEN it has been released. so typically my version numbers look like dd.mm.yy.

So if I made a map today it would be called Abraxas'map.28.5.06.w3x

I suffer from the elitism VG talked about previously... except that I have a different notion of betas. sometimes I'll release a map with one complete race done, along with all the base triggers I need for a whole game... followed a week later by another race, and a week later by another.

Also, date version numbers let people know how active the map maker is with his map, and whether there is sence in contacting him for any reason.

Suffice to say, date version numbers tend to work better for betas then simply numbers.

Once the map is completed though, date version numbers could be clunky. sometimes, the creativity of the author is endless, and he\she doesnt want to end the beta phase.

depends on one's perseverance to a single idea.

[dudeofwar]

Yeah VG is absolutely right everyone in this community should worry more for making great maps not maps that are made in 5 mins

[Eusira]

You've bested me beyond my limits, VG, simply out of expertise. I've gotten better, but don't have the field of knowledge anymore. Simply excellent. I hope to hear from you again.

[billy22]

I'm in the middle of a campaign, and I want to post some of the maps, but it's so long that with the five maps I've made so far, the story doesn't seem to be going anywhere yet. AND I've tested them so many times they don't even seem fun, and I wonder if anyone else will think the same thing. ALSO- everytime I code a new map, I have to spend lots of time updating the previous ones, because of--"Crap, why didn't I think of that before?" I look back on the second map I did- it is a twenty minute long movie- and I did it without a single variable. Now, I can't imagine how the hell I pulled it off. In my fifth map, I finally started experimenting with sound, and custom models. Now, I have to go back and update the other maps to make the campaign flow smoothly.
My plan so far, is around every other map, you play a different set of characters. They converge of course, but not before you come to love and respect each set. Then, they gradually seperate into good verses bad whether you like it or not. One problem of course, is before I decided this I didn't carry over imported data between the maps. So when they finally converge, I'm going to have to make everyone from one set of characters from scratch. ...damn... And that's just the tip of the ice berg.
My advice in making the campaign of a lifetime, is come up with a story line, characters, and anything custom first. Then, define your strength with the editor, and try to stick with it to the end without changing anything to avoid going back to previous maps over and over. Planning would've saved me alot of time as well as learning how to use the editor before I undertook this thing, instead of in the middle of it.

[Thalassicus]

Coming from the perspective of art/tech and programming, those are also the only two things I look at differently...version numbers, and completeness. Anyone who's ever put lots of time into art knows that something may never be complete, you just get it to a state where it's acceptable to yourself and your employer or audience and go with that.

In the case of making maps as a hobby though, and many other things, you have no "final" deadline where the check is written, or the painting goes on the wall, so changes and improvements over time are nothing to be feared. This also goes hand in hand with programming, as an se/cs major I know that programs will never, ever be bug free. Ever. Even if you had a thousand monkeys with a thousand keyboards for... you get the idea

The important thing is knowing how to balance update frequency with the quantity and importance of the content actually being updated. Releasing 20 new versions for minor bug fixes after a "gold" version is not the way to go - you save them all up for one patch.


Version number preference is pretty minor, but I know what probably bugs you is just all these crazy versioning systems like "blue" and "emerald" that are out there. On the other hand, it's a pretty common convention to number computer programs with the x.y.z system, representing major versions, minor versions, and individual builds of a minor version... I just use it out of habit.


A note on singleplayer compatability: some things don't really inherently lend themselves to be played solo. To give an example from another commonly-played game, groups in WoW are with other people. Instances aren't designed or intended on the most part to be run by one person...if you can't solo Stratholme because it inherently isn't ment to be solo'd, that doesn't mean it's poorly designed, or should be penalized in ratings for that reason :)

On the other hand, the number of players in the map as a whole should be taken into account, since obviously you might not always be able to, or want to, play a map with the ideal number of players. If it lists 2-9 players, the gameplay should be relatively consistent across that range.

[mr_KING_noobie]

ok so basicly if you start with version 1.00 and then have version 1.01 thats kinda stupid, ok so your gonna be using the numbers after the 1. part and this would be your next version is 1.01, that means you've just started on a game and already on your 101th version.

Now the way I do maps is I do them with 0.01 and then 0.02 and so on, now dont tell me its the wrong way because yet again it works, and also it kinda makes sense.

O and one more thing, true there is updates but now there isnt that many and they dont really screw up maps, and also all you do is you fix what ever problem there is and still keep numbers out, and just put it out as a new gold versioned map, ok.

[infuzions]

Well I'm Stumped.

Who to vouch for?

Nonetheless, VG is my god, and i am his slave.

[The_wand_mirror]

Map protection selfish??

Edit that :P !

[pandamanana]

i know this will sound like the n00biest thing on this thread but... what is a memory leak? broken triggers or what?... yes i've been making maps for a while but I'm not familiar with the lingo.

[The_wand_mirror]

Originally Posted by pandamanana

i know this will sound like the n00biest thing on this thread but... what is a memory leak? broken triggers or what?... yes i've been making maps for a while but I'm not familiar with the lingo.

Memory ... leak ... is .. slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow