Okay, im not a mapper but i have a GREAT idea. NEED MAPPERS!

(maizcul) #1

This a just a polite request to anybody who can map and who would be willing to make a map.

I can create plans for the map (e.g. overhead view like you’d have if you were a real builder and like you see in GTK[well sorta]) and i will see if i can get my friend who is good at art to draw some pics of how i want the textures to be … doesn’t have to be exact, just an idea. I would like to make my school. its quite a large school (about 1200 pupils and also a 6thform attached) so this is no small thing. I think that if it could be done it would be a really great map with some effort. oh and my school actually has an intruder alarm thing XD. Heres some simple ideas… There is a three story main block, a hall, a library (on 2nd story but its only one), a main entrance, a two story re block, two story science block, a dt block, an art block, a music/drama block, a maths block, and theres more bits a pieces. theres also currently an extention to the 2 story 6thform area. there are also a few more bits a pieces. theres 25 room in main block. about 15 in science. 12 in RE. 10 in maths. in total around 80 rooms. This is a big thing but i truly believe it could be a great thing. Anyone willing to help please reply and add me to xfire (Username is Maizcul)

Many Thanks,
Ryan

(Loffy) #2

Hi maizcul, welcome to the forum!
The idea sounds great but it is too general. I mean, a couple of buildings and players running around fragging.
I do not have the time and the design is too un-inspiring, sorry. Good luck though. You should try and map some yourself, it is fun. there are excellent tutorials. Maybe you can start working on the map yourself?
//Loffy

(maizcul) #3

Okay, thanks. I know it doesnt sound much but if i could show you then it woud be cool … maybe i can get some pictures or something. i can use google earth for an overhead view i spose… the idea isnt for buildings and frag only. i was thinking that the field is maybe a barrage style/trench the axis have to get up and then they have to get around the far side of the school and get into an underground generator/heating system and destory it in order to win. they would need keys or cards or something though and they would be around the map in different places. Does anyone know who made the cortex map (im guessing it was cortex) and anyone have contact details? i think he might be the man for this map …

(carnage) #4

although a nice idea its an idea very personal to yourself since it is your school. you might find that other would be happier mapping there own school as they would find it more satisfying as it has something personal to them. from a player POV they might not like it since they dont have that conection with it

also basing a map with a complex gameplay system like ET on realy locations to me seems doomed to failure. good maps are very carfuly made from the ground up for gameflow and tweaked untill they play right

and if that amount of effor is going into a map that i would expect a mapper to make it looks like a real battle zone or something in WW2 rather then produce something totaly out of place with the game (again fun for you as you are faimilar but maby not as fun or understandable to others)

also with that many rooms i think you would soon find revy repatative furiture as deisngers probably wouldnt have time / game resources to make individual things for each room. although re aranging the furniture a bit could help it could still be very hard to work out a map location

(maizcul) #5

yea i spose … TBH when i set it modern day i was thinking more for TC:E i guess (true combat: elite. cs style mod of et) dont have to be all 80 you can get in … maybe only some… anyway i get what you mean. it’d be fun if i could do it like cause i no some othr games at my school but i see what you mean … maybe i can come up with something less personal … and not too sensitive (ie the recent goings on with terr. stuff) :moo:

Do you think that something like a known town would be good. eg blackpool or LV for all you 'mericans

(DWM|Commando) #6

good luck finding a mapper who would rather work on someone elses idea than their own, especially considering hte time and dedication it takes to make a map… I personally would never do it

(carnage) #7

personaly i would but the map would have to be presented in a way they demonstrated gameflow and some top down drawings so the layout of the map could be clearly seen rather then just a gas factory or a german town. they are not map ideas but themes and you can pretty much adapt most theams to most layouts

if presented with a map idea and layout that looked good i would still propably change the theame to suit several factors difficualty to build/performace needs/time to build/avidable resources for given themes

not to say i would make every map a snow map since its the plain and fialry easy to get right without muge performace strains. but making a highly detailed city with very unique achutechtual buildings is going to take a lot more time (considering its a customer map it could take years if its difficult to build)

(aburn) #8

well lets change the topic a bit…

Cause I like the idea… altho the building seems a bit big. and I still have no idea what would be the objective…

Could you think of one… I am sure, that if you find a cool idea of what would the players do in your school that would be more interesting to mappers and you would find more general interest in this map too…
Greatz Aburn

PS
I am no pro-mapper just starting but I come here on the forums from time to time :stuck_out_tongue: :smiley:

(maizcul) #9

theres a basement thing with a generator/heating system or something, i dnno what exactly tbh, i think its prob. heating. the axis would have to go to the different areas of the school, like the music block, the science block, etc. and get “keys” they would have to blow the big double doors to the basement and put the “keys” into “slots” to deactivate the protection on the system. then they either blow up the heat system, or maybe they have to fetch the “master key” from the staffroom or headteachers office… prehaps it could be like an allied only door … but it can be destoryed, but has TONS of Hp…

(maizcul) #10

:Bump:

(SCDS_reyalP) #11

maizcul you have to understand that mapping is about 1% idea and 99% elbow grease. Making a good map is a LOT of work. The chance of finding someone who wants to make your idea, and has the skills and time to do it is quite slim.

(Loffy) #12

I agree with SCDS_reyalP.
If you do not like to read manuals (I really find them boring myself), you can watch tutorial videos over at www.3dbuzz.com. You need to register (but it is free) and click on “Video Training”. Then scroll down to “Quake III Game Design”.
Mapping for Quake III is very similar to mapping for Enemy Territory. These video tutorials are awesome! They helped me alot.
//L.

(carnage) #13

maizcul you have to understand that mapping is about 1% idea and 99% elbow grease. Making a good map is a LOT of work. The chance of finding someone who wants to make your idea, and has the skills and time to do it is quite slim.

i disagree with that. mapping if 50% idea and 50% work. thats not how the time to compleat each part works out but as for the suces of a map it pretty acurate. a good idea but crap development will be poor. and a crap idea with good development will just develop a crap idea

and to be honest as it stand ur idea is pretty poor and so unspecific that it could be any number of differnt map and posabilites. if you expect to even get interest from a mapper you need to spend less time bumping and more time drawing topologies and concept art as well as taking photgraphs of buildings and landscapes u want to base it on as well as load of photographs of surfaces u think would make a nice texture sets for the map. doesnt mean just wildly wonder around with a camera, actuly think about what ur doing

(SCDS_reyalP) #14

Time and effort was what I was talking about.

(onu123) #15

im telling u something important!

do it your self… started out with a idea too, then i thought what the hell, make it my selfand am doing it…

it was not easy: first i made a box map, then made some sample maps ofstairs and windows and doors. made my first house-> and then started real mapping (witch didnt turn out easy, first it was crappy then buggy and then ugly…)
in between i red a lot of tutorials.

(aburn) #16

heh…

I didnt make not even one map…
scrapped a lot of ideas… cause of I reinstalled my system like 1 hundred times… made dozzens of tutorials…

Haveing a good idea is not good enough… U need to learn the realities of mapping… than u will get to know that ppl dont like this and that… u will also need to learn that… the gameplay is the key… and just makeing a nice map where game play actually goes only through 30% of it would be a stupid idea… but well…

Just start and I am 150% sure that all people here will try to help you out :smiley:

(blinded) #17

Me and my friends have made about 5% of our school. It doesn’t take much time to pick up on how to map, although you’ll have to concentrate etc.

(Etnies) #18

considering it takes good mappers months and months to make a good map, you can imagine the time it would take lower skill mappers to make a map of the same quality.

(spaffdog) #19

it’s far more rewarding taking the time to make something yourself. i’m sure thats how we all got started, with an idea. admittedly it takes a looong time to get up to scratch. Thats what places like SD and various tutorials are for. there is a wealth of information available if u take teh time to look and learn it. frustrating at times but I would much rather make something and nurture the idea than get someone else to do it for me. once you’ve gone there the idea no longer becomes yours as the mapper has full creative control. that said, i don’t mind helping others (as is the case with what i’m woking on at the moment. i just love to create things. my idea or someone elses)

(Diego) #20

I have been working on my map for nearly 2 years now. I only had a little bit of mapping experience with MOHAA before starting my first ET map. And while working on 1 map for 2 years seems like an eternity, the plus side is that I’m not releasing crappy maps over and over. I just do what needs to be done to get it right in my own map.

I started with a solid idea, yet I’ve rebuilt the entire map 5 times already. Mostly that is to improve the quality of the construction, but I’m not afraid to make radical design changes where necessary to adapt to the needs of gameplay. And by taking my time, I’m able to learn more from these forums and other websites on how to build things properly, as well as what people do or do not like about many maps that have been released in the past.

Now that I have been working on some more advanced scripting and objective issues, I have created an experimental map that I use to test new design ideas, and solve complex problems before implementing them into my main map.

Anyway, it takes a lot of time and dedication, but you will find it is much more rewarding to work on it yourself. And there are plenty of vets in here to help you out. I highly recommend EB’s tutorials. They worked great for me.