- Joined
- Nov 4, 2013
- Messages
- 2,016
Recently, a thread about the most frequent reasons why people don't finish their projects thus I thought it would be a good idea to share some solutions to the problem.
1- Planning the project
Making a draft of what you're going to make is a good first step. If you just start and you don't even know what you're making, you'll end up asking yourself "What am I going to do next?". When you reach this point, you reach a dead end. You should arrange your ideas first and decide what you're going to do in your project and, most essential, if you're up to the project or not. You may also canvass opinions in forums and gather decent ideas to initiate your project.
2- I planned my project, how should I begin?
How you start off the project already determines how it'll will end. Usually people begin very eagerly and ambitiously with a map but just get bored as they face some difficulties repeatedly so here comes laziness to knock on the door! My recommendation is: "Do never start something you're not sure you can work on well because in 99% of the cases (maybe 100%?) people just abandon it to its cruel fate, known as "forever pending :'(".
3- Lacking time?
Do you lack time for your project? Well, don't despair! First of all remember that when you start a project, there isn't a deadline so don't stress yourself about finding more time for a project (take years if you wish, the important is the result). Oftenly people who don't have time for working on maps are the ones that feel more keen to do them because they consider it more like a funny hobby to let up, not a compulsory job.
4- I get so damn bored while working on the project! What to do?
Simple! You have to find ways to keep yourself interested. One solution which is effective is listening to cool music, especially when you're working on repetative and tedious triggers e.g set variable[1]= A, set variable[2]= B ---> set variable[26]= Z. Another thing that tends to discourage the continuation of the project is the terrain. Who didn't get the feeling "Oh dear, I'll have to terrain that big flat piece of dirt in front of me..."? To get your motivation back, you should look at other marvellous complete terrains' screenshots, those that let you think "I wanna make something like that!!". It doesn't matter if you eventually don't reach the wanted result, at least you'll have worked on the terrain. One last recommendation is: "Don't test your map excessively". If you keep testing your map every minute, you'll get tired very soon.
5- Should I have high or low expectations
A very common problem is that people are prone to perfection. Every tiny detail has to be fixed for them yet this could not be a good idea in the end. Eventually, plenty of time would be wasted on petty details rather than on fundamental ones. You can think about the little details when the project is over but not during its creation.
6- Ok now I'm about to finish the project! How should I conclude?
If you managed to complete about 95% or more of your project, then it's time to become meticulous. Don't just think about finishing it and throwing it to the hive. You have go proceed with the same patience you started. This is the most crucial part of your project (probably it's not so clear to everybody). This is the part where you have to consider yourself one of the downloaders and judge your map as if it is not yours. Whatever you do not like has to be refined. Any small bug you find must be fixed. Any further problem you meet must be solved. Once you're certain that your map has reached a decent level (again I say NOT perfection because it's impossible), it's time to upload and wish yourself good luck! The hungry pack of wolves await you to throw to them your fresh meat!
1- Planning the project
Making a draft of what you're going to make is a good first step. If you just start and you don't even know what you're making, you'll end up asking yourself "What am I going to do next?". When you reach this point, you reach a dead end. You should arrange your ideas first and decide what you're going to do in your project and, most essential, if you're up to the project or not. You may also canvass opinions in forums and gather decent ideas to initiate your project.
2- I planned my project, how should I begin?
How you start off the project already determines how it'll will end. Usually people begin very eagerly and ambitiously with a map but just get bored as they face some difficulties repeatedly so here comes laziness to knock on the door! My recommendation is: "Do never start something you're not sure you can work on well because in 99% of the cases (maybe 100%?) people just abandon it to its cruel fate, known as "forever pending :'(".
3- Lacking time?
Do you lack time for your project? Well, don't despair! First of all remember that when you start a project, there isn't a deadline so don't stress yourself about finding more time for a project (take years if you wish, the important is the result). Oftenly people who don't have time for working on maps are the ones that feel more keen to do them because they consider it more like a funny hobby to let up, not a compulsory job.
4- I get so damn bored while working on the project! What to do?
Simple! You have to find ways to keep yourself interested. One solution which is effective is listening to cool music, especially when you're working on repetative and tedious triggers e.g set variable[1]= A, set variable[2]= B ---> set variable[26]= Z. Another thing that tends to discourage the continuation of the project is the terrain. Who didn't get the feeling "Oh dear, I'll have to terrain that big flat piece of dirt in front of me..."? To get your motivation back, you should look at other marvellous complete terrains' screenshots, those that let you think "I wanna make something like that!!". It doesn't matter if you eventually don't reach the wanted result, at least you'll have worked on the terrain. One last recommendation is: "Don't test your map excessively". If you keep testing your map every minute, you'll get tired very soon.
5- Should I have high or low expectations
A very common problem is that people are prone to perfection. Every tiny detail has to be fixed for them yet this could not be a good idea in the end. Eventually, plenty of time would be wasted on petty details rather than on fundamental ones. You can think about the little details when the project is over but not during its creation.
6- Ok now I'm about to finish the project! How should I conclude?
If you managed to complete about 95% or more of your project, then it's time to become meticulous. Don't just think about finishing it and throwing it to the hive. You have go proceed with the same patience you started. This is the most crucial part of your project (probably it's not so clear to everybody). This is the part where you have to consider yourself one of the downloaders and judge your map as if it is not yours. Whatever you do not like has to be refined. Any small bug you find must be fixed. Any further problem you meet must be solved. Once you're certain that your map has reached a decent level (again I say NOT perfection because it's impossible), it's time to upload and wish yourself good luck! The hungry pack of wolves await you to throw to them your fresh meat!
