How much time do you invest for your map/campaign projects?

[Verdun]

Wanted to do this in map development originally but this is more of a general question not tied to a specific project.

If you contemplate your most "ambitious" projects on the Hive so far - full campaign, really detailled supersize map, your own tower defense, etc. - how long did it take you to move from idea to uploading the finished thing here?
Were there big pauses in development?
Did you ever finish it at all?

What sort of general advice would you give, based on your experiences?

 

[Footman16]

Lordaerons Legacy took a year I think? And it's short for a campaign only 5 playable missions and 2 cinematics.

Lordaeron's Destiny a full campaign with ten chapters and multiple interludes took me multiple years with a big break in the middle and delays due to Reforged originally not having CCs so I couldn't test as I developed it.

My current project Path To Valour was started January last year and should be finished by this summer so a year and a half? To be fair I did work on it fairly consistently at the start finishing maps in an average of 2 weeks roughly. However, I also took breaks again at a few points where little to no work was done including recently.

So my advice is Two-fold:
1) Start off with a smaller project that you can finish before you lose passion, a mini-campaign is good because it's tight and forced you to be sharp and efficient with the plot and missions.

2) For longer projects you need to plan and have a clear vision of the story and where things will go. It doesn't mean everything needs to be planned perfectly but you need a good idea of the story you want to tell and how but the specifics can change as you progress. Also people starting out tend to overestimate the scope they'll be able to achieve, most blizz campaigns are 7-9 missions, usually 8, which is a good guideline I think to aim for as any more and things can start to grow out of control, lose focus and motivation.

 

[FeelMyRash]

My largest project was "Lord of the Rings: Dagor Dagoroth" which took about 2 Years to develop to a point where I thought I could release it, but I took a lot of breaks between and sometimes I simply didn't have any ideas or motivation for how to continue.

I don't really have any specific advice aside from saying that breaks are important and that you shouldn't try to push development too much or else you'll burn out quicker.

If you get burnt out just work on something else or play a different game for a bit until one day you think about the map and go "Hey, what if I added this?"

Also don't be too disheartened if something you really wanted to add doesn't initially work out or doesn't work out at all. Concepts can be totally different in theory VS in practice. Either look for new ways to implement the idea or save it for another map.

 

[deepstrasz]

I think time is the essence here. If only there was more of it. Passion is there but it's never enough alone.

 

[Rheiko]

Actually, I don't have a finished map project uploaded to Hive yet, but please allow me to share my perspective.

I'm the type of person who keeps working on something with little to no breaks, hoping I can finish it faster that way. But that often leads me to cancel projects midway due to burnout. Don't be like me.

FeelMyRash is right — breaks are very important. Don't force yourself to push development too hard. I also agree with Footman16: start small. I often find myself getting new ideas that way, perhaps because small projects are easier to expand on. Just make sure to set boundaries for the ideas you want to implement, or they'll pile up and become harder to manage. Don't forget your main goal — that's what I'm trying to say.

From my experience with projects outside of map development, breaking a big goal into smaller, achievable milestones makes things much more manageable. I've applied this to my latest map project. Along with taking proper breaks, I don’t burn out as much anymore. Progress may be slower, but it's steadier. Hopefully, I’ll finish it and upload it to Hive someday.

It's okay to be ambitious — just remember, life is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[Footman16]

I will say that one advantage of Custom Campaigns is the sheer breadth of things sometimes keeps it fresh. Because once you finish a map you move onto something different it can help to prevent burnout or things feeling stale. You also need to: terrain, techtrees/units, trigger, sound design, cinematics, writing etc so it's a very holistic project to work on.

 

[ThompZon]

My biggest project is: https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/the-defence-of-the-castle.324524/
I think it was ~5 years from I started working on it until first upload here (and now another 5 years have passed).
I've had many pauses for various reasons and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Take care of yourself and do what you like. If motivation is low, don't push too hard. Burn out is a risk.

I guess my advice is to do what feels fun and try to get family or friends to try what you make. It can be demotivating when you don't get any feedback. Also, don't worry too much; if you keep at it, you'll learn. I didn't really have interest to learn jass at first, but then it was required to do some suff (clearing leaks, doing timer stuff, local variables, etc.), then more and more things became easier. You don't need to make it perfect the first time. It's always best to do something simple, try it and improve it rather than trying to make something "perfect" from the get go (and risk getting stuck and lose motivation).

I also took way too long before doing initial upload. I should've uploaded it earlier imo. I also have very low interest in "marketing", so the page for the map is very "unprofessional" (simple) imo, and so is the minimap-art (I did it in paint). I think that is fine. If I cleaned the map-page up, maybe the map would be more popular. But I don't think it's fun to do, sooo... Mabye at some point