The ULTIMATE guide to map making!

[a happy song]

I hereby proudly present the pinnacle of three years+ experience as an active and successful member of the mapping community. Within this thread, you'll find a detailed and extensive guidleine to becoming a well known and respected author, and who knows, you might even realize your own potential as one of the next greats of the game!

So, without out further ado, I give you

The ULTIMATE guide to map making!

nmaps.net

Step one
Click the above link.

Step two
Play maps.

Step three
Define your OWN ideas of what makes a map work.

Step four
Take those ideas and apply your own vision. Like any art, don't limit yourself from drawing inspiration from one source only (NUMA)

Step five
Ask for, accept and appreciate constructive feedback.

Step six
Join the forums and interact with community projects and discussions.

Step seven
Repeat to fade.

-

I'd like to thank the following stimuli for their inspiration, support and acknowledgement. For without them this ULTIMATE guide would never have been realized:
good music, good times, good people, good ideas, good taste, good food, good will, good grammar, good films, good morning, good night, good bye!

For further tips on getting your maps noticed here is a very well written and comprehensive post by someone you should pay attention to: click me - I am a helpful link!

[MattKestrel]

[toasters]

Great guide, it's helpful without being too, uh, forceful I guess? Open to interpretation and innovation.

Also I downloaded your band's EP, good stuff ^^

[blackson]

Just because you didn't like E_S's guide (I didn't care for it either), doesn't really give you the justification to bring it to this level. He at least tried to make his as helpful as possible, and I think this was a low slap in the face.

[MattKestrel]

But a helpful slap in the face imo, especially to noobs.

[a happy song]

Just because you didn't like E_S's guide (I didn't care for it either), doesn't really give you the justification to bring it to this level. He at least tried to make his as helpful as possible, and I think this was a low slap in the face.

You missed the point: The guide itself is actually serious, I happen to believe this is absolutely the best advice you could give a new user looking for guidance. The satire/facetious nature of the wording is aimed at map making GUIDES not a member of the community.

[SkyPanda]

You were spot on with your comments on evil_sire's thread atob, but blackson is right.
If you intend this to be serious then at least do it properly, remove the satire and face-ness.

[a happy song]

You were spot on with your comments on evil_sire's thread atob, but blackson is right.
If you intend this to be serious then at least do it properly, remove the satire and face-ness.

As I said, the satire is aimed at the idea of map making GUIDES. There are no references, derogatory or otherwise, to any actual people at all.

The irony is fun: while so intent on defending the poor guy, you've both gone and dragged e_s into a negative spotlight again...

Gosh.

[lord_day]

You guys are missing the point. atob is saying that the only way to make good maps is to make your own maps, rather than someone elses.

[SkyPanda]

I think many people would have interpreted this as an insult to a particular person, but hopefully they'll see your reply to blackson and myself. No worries then.

[yungerkid]

well...the guide...ehh...hmm...well....erm...

...it lacks detail, and is not all-inclusive. i would not have even thought of what blackson suggested if he had not suggested it, but now that he did, i think that the wrong idea went behind this. are you saying that you made this guide to satire all people who make guides? if you are, you are assuming that all guides are terribly made and inefficient. i think that's wrong. why even take suggestions and advice in the first place? and a guide is, or at least should be, one giant piece of advice. but, maybe i'm wrong.

[a happy song]

maybe i'm wrong.

You are, but that's ok :)

[Evil_Sire]

Umm...

Blackson posted that? He doesn't like me.

Yes, stop bringing me into negative spotlight.

All of you.

[OneSevenNine]

I think this guide seems more like the "throw the kid in the river to teach him how to swim" approach, except without the threat of drowning.

But I appreciate this guide, as teaching someone how to teach themselves goes over teaching someone directly any day in my book. Wisdom > Facts, and I don't see how (other than basic things like "Don't cluster gausses") you could teach someone in a few posts anything you couldn't figure out for yourself in a few hours of screwing around with Ned.

[Nexx]

As the ultimate guide to mapping, this is impeccable. It offers all the advice anyone will ever need in terms of their ultimate journey of mapping.

that leads me directly to:

...it lacks detail, and is not all-inclusive.

Actually, it IS all-inclusive. So really it lacks detail and it's all-inclusive, and that's the point! You can't even get more detailed if you want to, the reason for which is best stated by the timeless proverb: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Just because you didn't like E_S's guide (I didn't care for it either), doesn't really give you the justification to bring it to this level. He at least tried to make his as helpful as possible, and I think this was a low slap in the face.

I can't speak for atob, but it seems clear to me that while it is likely that E_S's guide motivated atob to write this, this is not intended to be a response. It's just something atob thought was worth saying formally.

I think this guide seems more like the "throw the kid in the river to teach him how to swim" approach, except without the threat of drowning.

Hardly. It's more like "Go down by the riverside. Observe how other people are swimming in the river. Play around with the water, and when you're ready, try swimming in it yourself, using whatever approach you think is best." Sure, the other swimmers may criticize you, but that's something everybody deals with.

[Skyling]

Good, very good information. I appreciate the simplicity.
Anyway, another thing that I would say helps you understand how to map is to play the levels of other authors in a very thorough, critical way. While you play a map, think about what you like and dislike about it, and which sections you think are fun and look good. Keep track of your thoughts with each map you play and eventually you'll start to develop a sense of what works well (a bit of personal style and idea helps here too). Not only does this give you a deeper understanding of how to map, it also supplies the other author with helpful and detailed criticism! Yay.

[notsteve]

this is how i sometimes make maps

HEY! maybe i'll join the party and make my own guide!

[handofgod]

Handofgods guide to pissing on the little guy.

1. find someone who's just trying to help (evil_sire)

2. take out a bottle of nice, expensive, spring water.

3. drink. drink some more. ok stop drinking

4. think about waterfall's. Make sure evil_sire doesn't run away.

5. Now unzip pants and urinate until satisfied.

thats what I interpret this as. Maybe I wouldn't think your guide is so obnoxious is it didnt have ULTIMATE underlined and sized up and decorated with red. Evi_sires guide wasnt THAT bad.

[Riobe]

It's funny, this is pretty much what I did. Of course, it was a long and tough road (A good 4 months).

I'm not making a guide, but I will make something similar...

[Nexx]

Okay, I suppose my initial description of impeccable was a little too hasty.

As you yourself have said, atob, there is a notable level of satire, and I agree with handofgod that it's a bit grating (and even hypocritical, since you link to a guide at the end).

Also, I completely agree with Skyline's comment, and while it's true that it's implicit in your guide, it really needs to be made explicit, because in my experience, you can only really grow and learn if you're paying attention to what you play.

Perhaps you may feel I'm taking you too seriously, atob, but you also said this was intended as a serious guide, and as such I think you should strive to make it as helpful as possible. (And toning down the satire a tad would be nice too, particularly this line: "Within this thread, you'll find a detailed and extensive guidleine to becoming a well known and respected author.")

[a happy song]

Handofgods guide to pissing on the little guy.
.

You really should pay more attention to the actual content and my stated motivations before you snatch up your pitch fork.

-

Some of you have completely missed the point, also. I was hoping this wouldn't have to be explained further, but now I'm just annoyed.

YES: it's obnoxious, and the satire is heavy handed. That's entirely the point, this is as much an attack on guides in general as a guide itself.
NO: This was not made as a response, nor does it cast a particular person(s) in a derogatory light.

(Avarin's first post captured my intentions perfectly, read that.)

The problem I have with Map Making Guides is that authors tend to tell you exactly how 'they think' a map should be built. This guide tells you to discover that for yourself.

The reason I've linked to lord_day's guide is that it follows the above philosophy perfectly. It tells you the only way to get your maps noticed is to discover why (how) certain maps are (made to be) noticed and learn the trick for yourself.

The irony of this was supposed to be fun. It's a guide that suggests you don't to pay attention to guides. That's the real message: you can't be taught to be creative, you can only discover that for yourself.


PS - I added to Step Five

[SkyPanda]

Because i really love atob and have trouble showing that late at night when i'm acting like a jerk, i wanted to come along and suggest something helpful like adding the step of finding inspiration,

but you've already added that :)
<3

[Evil_Sire]

'T wasnt that obnoxious.

But I do think guides can be a helpful push in the right (and sometimes wrong) direction.

Some of the stuff was helpful, some wasn't. Maybe we should get all the guides and put them into one, single thread so that people can add to it and we can have our own, extremely in-depth community guide, with loads of different authors' ideas and put into sections.

So, atob starts a thread, 'the ultimate guide to mapmaking', and in the first post he says "come and contribute", loads of authors come to the thread and add their own little tips, doesn't have to be big, it can be the tiniest little thing. Everything gets added into the first post, so by the end, we will have all things like that legacy thing george found, jeffkillian's guide, the instructable guide, this guide and loads of tips from NUMA authors.

Well, I think it's a good idea, it would be really helpful to newbies, should be posted in community projects while it's being worked on, and N mapping when it's finished.

Anybody agree?

[SkyPanda]

Although it is the complete opposite to this particular guide :P I think that the map theory guide is really brilliant and should totally be expanded and finished. Here's a link from another thread (thanks george) for those who haven't seen it:
http://c.1asphost.com/Aspirincomic/Map_Theory.html

[MattKestrel]

I agree with Evil Sire. we should set up a thread where experienced memebers can just post individual tips for new mapmakers, then at the end compile it all in a massive guide. Im here for ya!!!