Alright, so I love planning maps and have some pretty awesome ideas. However, for every one map that I make, another 4 are planned. How do you guys keep motivated to keep making your maps? Any advice?
I think too my self "screw it" and I keep on pushing until the map is done. If you keep 2nd thoughting your self on to doing it, chances are you well only chose not to.
It really depends on the map-maker. I myself don't plan out one inch of my map using paper, sketch-up etc. I do know that a lot of people use things like sketch-up to plan out everything about the map i.e. architecture, spawns, and weapons. When I forge, I usually have a VERY basic idea of what I want the map to be like in my head and then wing it from there. That allows for me to change things that I had not originally intended very easily. While as with a sketch-up design, you pretty much have to follow your design piece for piece. If not, you're going to have to do a lot of reworking of the original design, which could potentially change the how the map will play completely.
i second that.. ive tried to sketch out a map before.. and it failed.. miserably... I just go with the flow and create what i think will work in my head.. then i put it down and as it unfolds, i carry on creating if it appears it'll work, if it appears it wont work, i redesign.. My latest map Endure (for conquest) is already on V4, it reached v2 before anyone played on it for playabilty reasons.. i cant imagine what version it will reach when its finished but.. things still need to be changed.
What I do is just start to build ****, maybe a structure or base of some kind, then I'll start to build other things until I get a general idea of what I want that map to be and then I'll continue forging throughout the day. I usually continue building what I started over the course of a few days on and off until the first version is completed. Then I do a test, go back and tweak, and then test and tweak some more until I feel it plays perfectly. The only map I ever had an initial plan for was Mudkip Farm, and the plan looks absolutely nothing like what it is now (save the Grav Hammer spawn.) I finished the original design around early-mid August and I'm still not finished because of all the testing and tweaks I'm doing. tl;dr Just think of what kind of map you want to make (6v6 Multi-Flag based around vehicles, 5v5 Slayer centered around a Ghost, etc.) and just build your map from there. That's usually how I do it and it's been working fine for me ever since.
I usually have 2 styles of forging. When I am making a slayer of CTF map, I usually just wing it. If I ever think-up a new gametype, I usually plan it out on paper, then have a friend of mine look it over. My newest map, hermetic (not a heretic map) went through a lot of planning before I made it. (as soon as I figure out how to set up a map, I'll post it.)
Yeah, that's the problem - I'm the kind of person who NEEDS to plan their map. I feel that I can examine it on paper and find flaws if there are any, and in which case, I fix them. I tend to plan maps that are enclosed, or divided into sections. These are easier to find gameplay flaws in. Two of the three maps I've posted on here have had no complete outline (just a basic idea) and they've been absolutely terrible. There was a map I planned when Foundry first came out. Everything was laid out on paper, but I couldn't fit in in Foundry. I'm making it in sandbox and it's probably 85% done. However, I doubt if I'll finish it because I never have any motivation to finish it. As much as I want to finish it (because it's my best map yet). It seems to be somewhat tedious to forge it.
Don't forge if you don't want to. Start something new if you're bored of what you're currently working on. My newest map (not released) was started at the beginning of the summer. I stopped working about 25% of the way through. Then, in mid August, I was looking for something to build, and there was that map waiting to be forged on. Make sure you keep the map so if you want to come back to it later, you can.
This. I've got more partial maps than I can even list without actually loading Halo up. My most recent map release(Artificial) was on my hard drive for a freakin' year before I finished it off. If you have an idea, do it, and if the inspiration falls apart, you can come back to it later.