Sometimes when I’ve been working on a map for a while, I come back to it one night and just have the feeling that I can’t be bothered with it any more. It seems you have been working on it for a good while and it’s still got a long way to go. How do you guys keep yourselves going at these times?
I usually quit and go back a few weeks later. Therefore I rarely finish anything!
One way to finish project, is to lower the goal. I do that sometimes.
Initially I have these grand ideas about the map or parts of it. Then the progress stops for weeks/months because I get stuck… Eventually motivation goes down. In order to get out of it, I just rewrite the goals. (Example: The entity X doesn not work and therefore section Y of the map cannot work - delete the entire section Y. Problem solved. Move on Loffy!).
Sometimes I get a bad fit between brushes on the ground. You can see caulk in the crack between the brushes. I try to fix it, but it just get worse. Solution? I just place a wooden board there. The board covers the crack. Hopefullt the player thinks: “I guess one of the people who lives in this virtual world must have dropped a board here?”.
// L.
i use the exaxt same method as loffy. however i also find that a well concieved plan makes mapping much much quicker.
Another way it to work with someone else. It splits the workload and you have that constant feeling that you cannot quit and leave the other guy on its own. Of course, you have to be ready to make compromises and listen to the ideas from your partner.
I just do my best and when things go wrong I take a break, then come back a few days later and try to fix it.
Usually I delete things that I can’t fix and then start them all over and then try different methods, and then ask in the forum. (lots of then)
When things are working but I think there’s a better way I save a copy of my map, delete whatever needed to be deleted and try the other way.
When nothing helps I just say to myself that I’ve done my best and that I don’t force anybody to play my map…
But still I don’t know what gives me motivation to keep working on my map.
Maybe it’s the joy of beating the challenge, maybe it’s because I get to learn new things (that doesn’t help in school so much but still…) maybe it’s just because it’s cool to see TheMuffinMan playing the same server you are on and know who he really is…