SC2Mapster

Since the marketplace is coming up next year, I got curious about how much people are spending and making on free SC2 maps.

Add together all the costs directly related with the production, distribution, and maintaining of your SC2 maps. Include website costs, development costs, salaries/commissions, equipment, donation money, advertisement money (website ads and in-game ads), and other investments and income. Do not include the cost of your computer or software, unless there are components you bought specifically for creating the SC2 map, but DO include the costs of programs you purchased specifically for making the map, such as Photoshop, 3D Studio Max, StarCraft II itself (only if you bought it more than once), etc. Divide the costs for some of these items at your discretion if you bought them for multiple projects, only one of which was a SC2 map.

Also, do NOT include your time spent mapmaking in this estimate. If people converted their time spent making the map into monetary liability, we'd all be below -$500.

There is an anonymous poll, but if you'd like, you can post here with your net gain/loss and how many hours/hits your map gets on the battle.net servers.

@DarkRevenantX: Go

The project I'm working on, StrikeCraft, is being made at no cost, unless you count the fact that one of us already had 3DS Max.

That guy already had it, though.

Costs: 60 bucks. Gain: None so far :P

I've gained a very small amount from donations but the cost of SC2 outweighs lol.

I'm not really into making maps anymore other than helping Ryan tbh. I don't know if I will compete personally in the marketplace. I am more interested in diablo 3 at this point... I like the idea of an E-economy :)

@OneTwoSC: Go

Probably another poll will come up: Net gain/loses with your Auction house. If i'm answering that question probably I will get enough to cover Hots and LotV

@progammer: Go

so true :)..and I will continue on the same road meh

Woah, someone has sunk over $500 into a map. I wonder which project it is?

Tofu is sitting well over the $150,000 mark of loss income @ standard award wage of $20 an hour.

@DogmaiSEA: Go

:O

My Diablo map is at 0 € at this point because I'm not trying to live from mapping.

I don't do this for money, I do it as a hobby in my free time, so 0€.

I'd rather not add up the man-hours invested. If we ignore that cataclysmic value, I've invested $200 in the mod with an impressive grand total of $4 donated to me as a thank you :p

This market system does have its advantages - the idiots who decide to actually charge money for their maps will make the maps that don't cost anything more popular.

Should this include the prices of cracked 3DS Max and Photoshops that most modders use? :D

@Tolkfan: Go

Don't forget cracked Fraps :D

I think they meant how much money have you spent on your map project.

In that sense, I've spent nothing.

Quote from Tolkfan: Go

Should this include the prices of cracked 3DS Max and Photoshops that most modders use? :D

Probably some of them, call them "student" editions. ;)

@Clord: Go

How about another post with hours invested into the map? On that note, if you calculate how much money I "COULD" make and instead wasted my time investing into SC2, then my numbers would be a lot.. lot higher.