Map/Mission making

[Lengo67]

Man! This is a lot of work!

Considering that

a. You want your map to be playable
-- places that look flat should be flat
-- places that aren't flat should be painted to look un-flat
-- resources should be spread according to trade availability
-- resource placement for quick identification
-- fast development
b. You want your map to be interesting
-- have canyons, cliffs, valleys, and still have adequate space for building
c. You want a believable world map
-- which includes what cities trade
-- what's visible and what can be revealed
-- which is a land route, and which is a water route
-- what represents a site visually
-- what activates a site
-- the site's active text, innactive text, and deactivated text
d. You want story driven, immersive text for
1 . triggers and events
2. Goals
3. The story and description
e. All the other things I've not listed

YOU NEED
a. Good organizational skills FIRST AND FOREMOST
b. Talent in writing and story telling
c. Talent in making a visually acceptable map
d. A degree in logic, logistics, and comparative analysis
e. A whole hell of a whole lot of time!

This isn't simple! It's a hobby! Mission making with this most thorough editor can be a nightmare!

I seriously doubt that there is a wealth of maps that fulfill all of the above criteria. I strongly suspect that most user-made missions are incomplete and far from displaying any real genius. It's simply a lot of work!

I therefore suggest that there be some standards for map evaluation, and adequate reviews of user made maps. These standards need to be agreed upon by the community and reviewers. A list needs to be made of what the criteria is. THen, a list of criteria for reviewing, i.e. Does it play fast enough? Is it story driven? Does it look nice? Does the playing field allow the player to plan?

I don't want to be downloading a lot of trash. This incredible editor allows superbly made missions and that's what I look for. We need a way to identify the truly great map, and reject those that fall short and very short. We also need a way to identify those mission makers that show exceptional talent! They deserve very high praise!

So, who is up to this task? Who will be the one that makes mission downloads available with adequate descriptions and high praises for the gloriously talented? It ain't gonna be me! I'm spending way too much time making missions!

MY BRAIN ALREADY HURTS! :eek:

Have you got suggestions for criteria? What are these?

Have you got time and space to provide a download site?

Can your recruit talented, qualified reviewers?

Can you suggest a way to separate the wheat from the chaff?

Are there writers out there, that can provide more accurate and succinct how to's for mission makers?

WHAT do you think should be done regarding all these things?

[Kiya]

YOU NEED
a. Good organizational skills FIRST AND FOREMOST
b. Talent in writing and story telling
c. Talent in making a visually acceptable map
d. A degree in logic, logistics, and comparative analysis
e. A whole hell of a whole lot of time!

I seriously doubt that there is a wealth of maps that fulfill all of the above criteria. I strongly suspect that most user-made missions are incomplete and far from displaying any real genius. It's simply a lot of work!


Far from displaying any real genius? :eek: For me, couldn't be far from the truth! Have you played any scenarios by Karter, NumakNatut III, Raccoon TOF, Azeem...? Great stories, lovely maps, several ways and options to get your victory screen...better than many of the scenarios that came with the game. :)



I therefore suggest that there be some standards for map evaluation, and adequate reviews of user made maps. These standards need to be agreed upon by the community and reviewers. A list needs to be made of what the criteria is. THen, a list of criteria for reviewing, i.e. Does it play fast enough? Is it story driven? Does it look nice? Does the playing field allow the player to plan?


I don't want any standards. To me they sound more like handcuffs or something, rigid rules. Great talents don't need them. (OK I am not making any scenarios myself, not even trying, simply talking about the great talents we already have on the forums.) :)

Good suggestions though! Can't wait to see your first scenario. :)

[Azeem]

Making a map in the CotN editor is no easy task, especially making one from scratch. I usually simply edit pre-existing scenarios and give them completely new World-Level maps, trigger settings, and goals. Simply changing the world-level dramatically affects how the game goes. If you're going to use the editor, remember to save the map often; there are occasional technical hiccups in the editor that might cause your computer to crash. :o