This shouldn't be much of a dilemma, I think. I'll make you an ASCII flowchart.
What kind of map do you want to create?
| \
| ---------------------> A map most players will like ------\
| |
\/ \/
A map I personally like Will changing/removing these features make the map more fun for the average player?
| __________________/ |
| No \/
| | Yes
\/ \/ |
Do you like these features? ----> Yes -------> Keep features |
| |
| \/
\________________ No ______________________________________> Remove features
Hey hey people, welcome to the seventh edition of the Bi-Weekly Testing Thread!
As per an initiative from JayBorino and me, we've set up the Bi-Weekly Testing Thread, or BWTT, with the purpose of testing specific maps made by community members. What does this mean? Simple: editors in need of feedback suggest their own maps (either via PM to me or JayBorino, or by posting it in the intro thread), and we'll pick one that will be used for the BWTT.
For this week's BWTT, we've picked a map from the ever so popular 'arena' genre: "Certamine", by Caevrane. The map is skillshot based and supposed to be very intuitive, with fast games of around 10-20 minutes being the format of play. You can find the map by searching for it on battle.net, or through the arcade link here: battlenet://starcraft/map/1/274873
Caevrane has told us that his current focus in terms of development lies on the next hero (a canon biological Protoss one) as well as new game modes. That said: for the next two weeks, see if you can take the time to download the map, give it a play-through, and post your detailed feedback here. What did you like, what did you not like? What could be improved, and possibly: how?
This thread will stay up for two weeks, until tuesday, July 26, at which point I'll upload thread #8. Up until that point, all suggestions for maps that require testing are welcome - please put them in the general thread found here.
For this week's theme, something new in the form of something old. "A Forlorn Battlefield" is a theme that, I think, we haven't had before in the WTE yet. What does this mean? Simple: create some sort of deserted battlefield from days past. It could just be a few days old, relatively fresh with corpses, but it could be aeons old with only terrain trails of the wars that waged here left.
So this is what you've been up to all this time! Looking good, though your website doesn't work properly for me. I can click pictures, but doing so simply takes me to the top of the page - doesn't seem intentional.
Hey again folks, and welcome to the sixth edition of the Bi-Weekly Testing Thread!
As per an initiative from JayBorino and me, we've set up the Bi-Weekly Testing Thread, or BWTT, with the purpose of testing specific maps made by community members. What does this mean? Simple: editors in need of feedback suggest their own maps (either via PM to me or JayBorino, or by posting it in the intro thread), and we'll pick one that will be used for the BWTT.
This week, we're throwing up another survival map for the BWTT. "Protoss Temple Survival", by SolidSC, is supposed to be a tough single-player hero-based defense map where the end-goal is to defeat the final boss that spawns after 25 minutes of onslaught. You can find the map here, or through the direct arcade link: "battlenet://starcraft/map/1/190577".
So for the next two weeks, see if you can take the time to download the map, give it a play-through, and post your detailed feedback here. What did you like, what did you not like? What could be improved, and possibly: how?
This thread will stay up for two weeks, until tuesday, July 12, at which point I'll upload thread #7. Up until that point, all suggestions for maps that require testing are welcome - please put them in the general thread found here.
Is it one of the trench objects, by any chance? If so, you're likely boned - there used to be a bug that made these objects multiply every single time you saved/loaded the map and the copies weren't removable, and I'm not sure if it was ever solved. You should normally be able to select (and delete) terrain objects when in the Terrain: Object palette.
This thread is like 4 years old, and the original poster's last log in date was over two years ago. There is a very high chance that you will never get a response.
Today I found myself thinking about a simple biome type terrain we haven't done yet on the WTE, and though it was hard, I managed to come up with one: "Plains". For this week, I'd like you guys to make an interesting terrain resembling barren plains somehow. Think along the lines of Rohan from the Lord of the Rings movies, here.
If you place down a pylon and activate the option to see the power field it provides, does the field's location match the pylon's?
You may be experiencing the second last issue from this post in the FAQ, which is a rare bug that has been occurring intermittedly for mappers since launch.
Now that I've actually been able to take a closer look, I find that there's actually fairly little to say for me. There's great textureplay, the terrain makes sense for the location and backdrop it is placed in, there's amazing decorations in the non-pathable areas... it's pretty much what you want from good terrain. The only tiny point of improvement I could give is that the terrain borders/edges could be slightly improved in some sections to make it clearer to the player where he can or cannot go.
One thing I just thought off, actually, is perhaps the concept of compartmentalizing things a bit more. We can't see the whole map here, but from the Aiur (yellowish) map I'm getting a bit of a "while everything looks good, it's somewhat identical" vibe. One way you could really lift the quality even higher is by terraining certain sections of the map in certain ways. Make the players' base an abandoned shrine. Have more leftover Zerg infestation towards the opponents' base. Perhaps one area has a vespene leak that has killed the plantlife in that area (and perhaps this could tie into a sub-quest). Right now, it's mostly all just "aiur overgrown/deserted temple".
Are there any rules or sort of etiquette regarding the content of a review?
As for etiquette, it's mostly just "don't be a dick". This is why in the OP, I ask people to give constructive feedback and possible ways bad things can be improved. Look at feedback as if it were a diagram with 2 scales, one being "helpful" vs "unhelpful" and the other one being "given like an asshole" and "given in a friendly manner".
Say the issue in a map is that you're having trouble selecting a hero because the selection areas are too small. There's various ways you can point that out, ranging from 'terrible' to good:
Unhelpful dick fashion: "fuck u the map is shit couldn't even select my hero" (what is the mapper supposed to do with this?) Somewhat helpful dick fashion: "hero selection is fucking shit" (you're still being a prick and you aren't going into detail, but the mapper has an area to focus on now) Helpful dick fashion: "the hero selection is shit, any proper mapper would know they need larger regions for this kind of stuff" (still a dick, but you've given fairly detailed feedback on what needs to be changed)
Alternatively, even if you aren't a dick, you can give advice that is unhelpful, somewhat helpful, or plain helpful:
Unhelpful nice fashion: "I really liked the opening sequence of your map and would really like to try the gameplay, but I couldn't select my hero!" (good, but needs specifics to be of use to the editor) Somewhat helpful nice fashion: "The introduction was really cool, but selecting a hero seemed a bit hard; I think I was miss-clicking or something?" (you have hinted the mapper at an issue, but more information would have been more helpful) Helpful nice fashion: "You've done a great job on the hero selection screen, but it needs larger selection regions: I had trouble selecting a hero every single time I tried the map." (you have pointed out an issue and provided a possible solution, helping the mapper out tremendously)
The more objective 'information' you give ('I saw this, did this, tried this, had problems with this because of X'), the more helpful your post. If you're a mapper yourself, then the more solutions you provide ('perhaps you can fix X by doing Y?'), the more helpful your post. It's up to you to see how in-depth you want to go, but ideally you want to be at least 'somewhat helpful' if you're going to be nice, and straight up 'helpful' if you're going to be a dick.
If you haven't managed to figure out a solution yet, try and repost this to the data boards. If there's any easy value to change to get this effect, they'll know :)
0
This shouldn't be much of a dilemma, I think. I'll make you an ASCII flowchart.
What kind of map do you want to create?
| \
| ---------------------> A map most players will like ------\
| |
\/ \/
A map I personally like Will changing/removing these features make the map more fun for the average player?
| __________________/ |
| No \/
| | Yes
\/ \/ |
Do you like these features? ----> Yes -------> Keep features |
| |
| \/
\________________ No ______________________________________> Remove features
0
Hey hey people, welcome to the seventh edition of the Bi-Weekly Testing Thread!
As per an initiative from JayBorino and me, we've set up the Bi-Weekly Testing Thread, or BWTT, with the purpose of testing specific maps made by community members. What does this mean? Simple: editors in need of feedback suggest their own maps (either via PM to me or JayBorino, or by posting it in the intro thread), and we'll pick one that will be used for the BWTT.
For this week's BWTT, we've picked a map from the ever so popular 'arena' genre: "Certamine", by Caevrane. The map is skillshot based and supposed to be very intuitive, with fast games of around 10-20 minutes being the format of play. You can find the map by searching for it on battle.net, or through the arcade link here: battlenet://starcraft/map/1/274873
Caevrane has told us that his current focus in terms of development lies on the next hero (a canon biological Protoss one) as well as new game modes. That said: for the next two weeks, see if you can take the time to download the map, give it a play-through, and post your detailed feedback here. What did you like, what did you not like? What could be improved, and possibly: how?
This thread will stay up for two weeks, until tuesday, July 26, at which point I'll upload thread #8. Up until that point, all suggestions for maps that require testing are welcome - please put them in the general thread found here.
Good luck and have fun to all!
0
Weekly Terraining Exercise #251
Hey hey guys!
For this week's theme, something new in the form of something old. "A Forlorn Battlefield" is a theme that, I think, we haven't had before in the WTE yet. What does this mean? Simple: create some sort of deserted battlefield from days past. It could just be a few days old, relatively fresh with corpses, but it could be aeons old with only terrain trails of the wars that waged here left.
As always, good luck & have fun!
The Global Information/Idea thread for Terraining Exercises can be found here: http://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/development/terrain/14658-terraining-exercises-global-information-idea-thread/
0
So this is what you've been up to all this time! Looking good, though your website doesn't work properly for me. I can click pictures, but doing so simply takes me to the top of the page - doesn't seem intentional.
Will have a look, soon, hopefully...
0
Eventually. I've been hard at work on my thesis, along with doing some moving. Haven't gotten to it.
0
Hey again folks, and welcome to the sixth edition of the Bi-Weekly Testing Thread!
As per an initiative from JayBorino and me, we've set up the Bi-Weekly Testing Thread, or BWTT, with the purpose of testing specific maps made by community members. What does this mean? Simple: editors in need of feedback suggest their own maps (either via PM to me or JayBorino, or by posting it in the intro thread), and we'll pick one that will be used for the BWTT.
This week, we're throwing up another survival map for the BWTT. "Protoss Temple Survival", by SolidSC, is supposed to be a tough single-player hero-based defense map where the end-goal is to defeat the final boss that spawns after 25 minutes of onslaught. You can find the map here, or through the direct arcade link: "battlenet://starcraft/map/1/190577".
So for the next two weeks, see if you can take the time to download the map, give it a play-through, and post your detailed feedback here. What did you like, what did you not like? What could be improved, and possibly: how?
This thread will stay up for two weeks, until tuesday, July 12, at which point I'll upload thread #7. Up until that point, all suggestions for maps that require testing are welcome - please put them in the general thread found here.
Good luck and have fun to all!
0
@JEGCPR: Go
Is it one of the trench objects, by any chance? If so, you're likely boned - there used to be a bug that made these objects multiply every single time you saved/loaded the map and the copies weren't removable, and I'm not sure if it was ever solved. You should normally be able to select (and delete) terrain objects when in the Terrain: Object palette.
0
Ironically, he just got one.
0
Weekly Terraining Exercise #250
Hey hey guys!
Today I found myself thinking about a simple biome type terrain we haven't done yet on the WTE, and though it was hard, I managed to come up with one: "Plains". For this week, I'd like you guys to make an interesting terrain resembling barren plains somehow. Think along the lines of Rohan from the Lord of the Rings movies, here.
As always, good luck & have fun!
The Global Information/Idea thread for Terraining Exercises can be found here: http://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/development/terrain/14658-terraining-exercises-global-information-idea-thread/
0
If you place down a pylon and activate the option to see the power field it provides, does the field's location match the pylon's?
You may be experiencing the second last issue from this post in the FAQ, which is a rare bug that has been occurring intermittedly for mappers since launch.
0
@Pr0nogo: Go
Sounds and looks good! Looking forward to it.
On a small note: the Zerg thing was simply an example, but I think you got that.
0
Now that I've actually been able to take a closer look, I find that there's actually fairly little to say for me. There's great textureplay, the terrain makes sense for the location and backdrop it is placed in, there's amazing decorations in the non-pathable areas... it's pretty much what you want from good terrain. The only tiny point of improvement I could give is that the terrain borders/edges could be slightly improved in some sections to make it clearer to the player where he can or cannot go.
One thing I just thought off, actually, is perhaps the concept of compartmentalizing things a bit more. We can't see the whole map here, but from the Aiur (yellowish) map I'm getting a bit of a "while everything looks good, it's somewhat identical" vibe. One way you could really lift the quality even higher is by terraining certain sections of the map in certain ways. Make the players' base an abandoned shrine. Have more leftover Zerg infestation towards the opponents' base. Perhaps one area has a vespene leak that has killed the plantlife in that area (and perhaps this could tie into a sub-quest). Right now, it's mostly all just "aiur overgrown/deserted temple".
0
@magicaldivinity: Go
Note that OP is located in Australia and keep timezones in mind :)
0
As for etiquette, it's mostly just "don't be a dick". This is why in the OP, I ask people to give constructive feedback and possible ways bad things can be improved. Look at feedback as if it were a diagram with 2 scales, one being "helpful" vs "unhelpful" and the other one being "given like an asshole" and "given in a friendly manner".
Say the issue in a map is that you're having trouble selecting a hero because the selection areas are too small. There's various ways you can point that out, ranging from 'terrible' to good:
Unhelpful dick fashion: "fuck u the map is shit couldn't even select my hero" (what is the mapper supposed to do with this?)
Somewhat helpful dick fashion: "hero selection is fucking shit" (you're still being a prick and you aren't going into detail, but the mapper has an area to focus on now)
Helpful dick fashion: "the hero selection is shit, any proper mapper would know they need larger regions for this kind of stuff" (still a dick, but you've given fairly detailed feedback on what needs to be changed)
Alternatively, even if you aren't a dick, you can give advice that is unhelpful, somewhat helpful, or plain helpful:
Unhelpful nice fashion: "I really liked the opening sequence of your map and would really like to try the gameplay, but I couldn't select my hero!" (good, but needs specifics to be of use to the editor)
Somewhat helpful nice fashion: "The introduction was really cool, but selecting a hero seemed a bit hard; I think I was miss-clicking or something?" (you have hinted the mapper at an issue, but more information would have been more helpful)
Helpful nice fashion: "You've done a great job on the hero selection screen, but it needs larger selection regions: I had trouble selecting a hero every single time I tried the map." (you have pointed out an issue and provided a possible solution, helping the mapper out tremendously)
The more objective 'information' you give ('I saw this, did this, tried this, had problems with this because of X'), the more helpful your post. If you're a mapper yourself, then the more solutions you provide ('perhaps you can fix X by doing Y?'), the more helpful your post. It's up to you to see how in-depth you want to go, but ideally you want to be at least 'somewhat helpful' if you're going to be nice, and straight up 'helpful' if you're going to be a dick.
0
If you haven't managed to figure out a solution yet, try and repost this to the data boards. If there's any easy value to change to get this effect, they'll know :)