I was bored and thought I’d scribble a couple of things down that might help mappers and modders to pimp their map around, just relatively small things they can do to help players quickly see the appeal of the map, so they go download and give it a try. Of course I’m no modder or mapper, so excuse the ignorance, just putting down a few things I’ve noticed as both player and a newsposter. I thought most of these things are practically common sense, but many mappers fail to do ANY of them. BTW I am assuming you have already read things like the mappers bible.
Additions, edits & comments of course more than welcome.
Info page.
As a player, it’s difficult to know wether something is worth any consideration unless you can get some info about it. As a news poster, it’s next to impossible to have anything to say about it, or even if it’s worth saying anything about it, unless there is enough info available to make the decision. 90% of the time, lack of info is all the info you need to decide its not worthy of any interest. Readme’s are all very well, but only have very limited info and anyway usually you need to have already downloaded the map in order to read it. Most of the time the newsposter hasn’t download the map, at least likely not before he’s decided wether or not it’s worth posting about.
Making a very basic webpage can help solve these problems. Using free webspace (e.g. from ISP) would be absolutely fine. Give a general ovierview of the map, making special note of anything particularily of interest, unusual or unique. Totally basic pages are just as good as complicated and clever ones, possibly even better because basic ones are quick and simple for people to get to the info.
You dont need masses of info, only “enough”. Babbling on and on just means people skip through it, or get confused and youre back to square one. Give an indication to gameplay and a basic idea of what players are to do. Bullet-point listing of objectives does not count, reader has no idea whatsoever as to what you’re talking about (unless there’s a nearby annotated screenshot or diagram to turn data into information).
Included in the information that people will want to see is some note of thanks about testing, because it tells them that it actually has been tested. If it actually hasnt been tested, it isnt worth releasing unless it’s an alpha or beta and the purpose of current release is for the testing. Being clear about the version of the map is also very important, preferably also including quick info (changelog) about prior versions, so the veterans know whats up. Dont try to pretend it’s been better tested or is a non-beta just to aviod discouraging people, all this will do is annoy and have them already having a negative opinion for all your future releases.
You must also give some indication of the size (area) of the map, what gametype and how many players it would be suited for. This is essential basic information. If you dont really know, you need to go back to the comments about testing anyway.
If the map is non-final, provide some method for feedback and suggestions, even if it’s just a link to the map’s thread on splashdamage forum, otherwise preferably some easy method that doesnt involve signing up to some obscure forum.
So, it really helps to have a simple webpage, even if it’s mostly just quoting that rare beast, an Informative Readme - and supplying download links (with exact filename and approximate filesize). Good screenshots will really help though…
Screenshots
Screenshots are what will really grab the attention, they’re highly noticable and the eye of the reader is sure to be caught by them. Pictures paint a thousand words, and they do it with only a few seconds of attention needed.
Be careful with your choice of screenshots. There should be a mix of “pretty” screens to capture attention and impress quality, and screens that give an impression of layout and gameplay so they get really interested and want to play. When I post news about maps/mods, I tend to look to use the most pretty or showoff screen to grab the interest; the most gameplay-suggestive one to hold it; and thirdly the command map type screen or something specifically interesting.
What do you notice about the official ET pre-release screenshots given out? How many games have you bought that has only empty screens on the back of it? Whats with the apparent view that no screenshot should ever include people playing? Include one or two shots of some nice carnage going on, it shows people gasp testing and enjoying the map! People will be thinking “that guy could be me having fun there”. If they are clans testing it, and those clans liked the map, all the better.
Too many screens are as bad as too little, if you want many then use smallish thumbnails so it’s easy for viewer to pick and choose the interesting ones - this is at least as much about minimising info overload as having a page that doesnt take all day to load (btw MS Paint is actually really good for decent .jpg at low file size). I’d say optimally have between two and four of the best screenshots in the “intoduction” type area, using large thumbnails (250 to 400 pixels wide) so players can see what’s in them but can also get lots of detail by enlargening them. These should be the 2-4 shots you’re hoping will be added to newsposts etc… Clever screenshots imply a clever mapper, shots that show off gameplay areas suggests this mapper knows about gameplay. You are pimping the map, show off it’s genius.
Another good image to use is the command map type image, showing an overlay with annotations so the player can quickly see the gameplay of the map. This helps make them interested in the map, and also gives them a good idea what to do when he plays it. You know all the ins-and-outs of your map, everyone else is running around thinking “WTF”. A bit out of context, but this let me know exactly what to do when I first loaded up the map, which meant I never had a second of thought along the lines of “this is confusing, therefore shite”. Player’s are an impatient bunch and experience has likely left them even less inclined to take the time.
Dont think it is cheating in any way to use highly tarted up images. People expect marketing to use the best possible screenshots for pimping games, this applies to maps too, plus jaggies and whatnot are more noticed on screenshots than in game anyway. Go into your video card control panel and hit up FSAA, Aniso, texture quality, mipmap etc etc. Use a nice “.cfg”, default “nice” settings or even one from a fragmovie site. Ugly, jaggy shots give the impression the mapper couldnt be bothered with pimping, and likely couldnt be bothered much with anything else to do with the map. It’s only cheating if you start going mental with photoshop.
Spreading the news
Most crucial is to post on the splashdamage forum. Many mappers, most newsposters and a fair chunk of players will find out about you map there. Give links to the webpage, download links, and one or two teaser images.
Dont be afraid to email relevant news sites, many have a “submit news” or similar email link for just that purpose. I’d probably only bother with this for final versions or another release of an already popular map though. Be sure to include something for newsposter to talk about, even if it’s just very quick info and link to the info page that has something to quote. A nice touch is to add a direct download link, which will help the newsposter mirror the file - if you dont want this link to be given out just say so and it wont be. If you like, give them a direct link, request it not to be given publicly and say you’ll take it down in 2/3 days.
Extras
Some nice extras you can do include having a demo exploring the map, highlighting gameplay and what players are to do. You can do similar with a video, also including bits of some action that went on during testing - which again shows some proper testing actually took place, and that the architect appreciates gameplay.
Dont go OTT with these things though, and try to keep size down - few will bother with a 100mb vid for a 10mb map. I’m unsure wether to bother including the demo in the map’s .zip or only include link on info webpage, up to you - though certainly dont if it adds more than say 1mb to the .zip.
You spent a hell of a lot of time making the map, and even more learning the skills. Spend just an extra couple of hours helping people realise they want to play it.
Besides, everyone has something to learn, and often the best way of teaching is by using examples.