How to make a "Decent" Map

Every map that does get somewhat noticed has ridiculous aesthetics. And maps that play really well seem to not get much attention sadly.

 

good gameplay.
unique aesthetics.

these are not going to be accomplished by maps that dont take hours and hours.
those maps that are mainly made up of thin walkways are frowned upon. maps arent random floating pieces of metal. you need to have structures, great lines of sight, a great weapon layout that youve tested. look at any one of the succesfull maps here for some inspirations. they all have unique architecture too.

dont just build a map, maps built that have no plan or design are rarely good. put together a map on a sheet of paper, dont just build as you go, and if you need to make changes so be it.

test your map. test your map a LOT. dont throw together some walkways, and say JOB WELL DONE!
play games on it before you release it. if you post a map, and than a week later you have to make a V2 because the V1 had some ridiculous flaw, you are doing it wrong. bungie spends loads of time testing their maps, and a lot of them arent too well liked. so if you think you can have a popular map without testing, your dead wrong.

a lot of maps that are posted by people with a high post count/popular map makers from H3 will get attention. you will have to work super hard to get your map noticed.

a great OP is another way to get your map noticed, if you have a map banner, cool looking pictures, etc, you will get me to stop and look at your map.

i like to see action shots, it shows youve done some testing. i just like to see them, and i am more likely to dL

a cool name is another good way to get noticed. i wont bother looking at a map named super mansion, or metal fever. yet vanilla was something i instantly looked at. put some thought into it, and dont name it something generic, or cheesy. look at bungies maps, they all have great map names. they sound good, they are unique, and they arent annoying.

this is about all the help i can give you.

@cart, sadly that is the way it is, people look at the pictures, and if it looks good people will pay attention. if its a boring slab of wall colliseum, than i wont look twice at your map.

an example of a really well done map post
http://www.forgehub.com/forum/reach-casual-maps/109987-no-hope-act-2-streets.html
since it is part of a series, the name thing doesnt really apply, but the OP is so well done.

 

Contributory information that may actually be helpful:
Screenshots that look good and show off distinct areas of your map tend to be the best kind. A little bit of art theory tends to work well -- I try to incorporate the rule of thirds at times, for example. The best thing you can do before saving a screenshot is position your head so that when you look directly forward, you're looking at the exact center of the screen; this way, perspective won't cause any oddities when you view the image on smaller screens (like on a computer). (This only really applies if you have a big TV, though.)


Request for help that you need not even pay attention to:
Aside from the bland title, imperfect screenshots, and lack of action screenshots, my map hasn't gotten that much attention at all, either. It doesn't have the most unique architecture, but I think I did a pretty good job with it. I'd post pics of some of the better-looking areas along with some action shots, but I can't -- when I take screenshots in Theater, they don't show up in Recent Screenshots on Bungie.net anymore.

...Anyway, could someone here provide some tips that could help me out?

 

I've made two map previews and yet nothing, It's a feeling that irks at you knowing all that time is seemed to be wasted.

 

Yeah, and it's even more annoying when you release the finished map. I actually have a decent number of downloads on my map (~60 when I last checked), but no posts in the topic (save from one guy who (rightly) expressed concern with my use of Fixed weapons).

It's like people see a map, randomly queue it for download for the hell of it, forget they downloaded it, and never play it and never remember to come back and tell the author what they think.

 

Before I make a map, I usually have a plan in mind, a vision of how I generally want the map to look like. I'm very meticulous when building, aesthetics are a big thing to me, but just as big is the gameplay of the map. A lot of things can affect the gameplay, such as lines of sight, weapon, and spawn placements. You have to nail these points, or else you'll have a pretty map with sucky gameplay.

Of course, you could have made the best map in the world, but if you don't know how to sell it, no one will download it. Your map post has to make the reader want to download your map. Good pictures, and good explanations of the pictures. People see shots of your maps, but they can't picture the map as a whole in the shots, this is why a good explanation is needed, it puts the reader "in your map", and then they want to see what it really looks like. If you don't put effort in your map post, people will think you didn't put effort in making your map.

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And yeah, I know how you guys feel about making something you think has real potential, and people DL your map, but no one ever posts in your thread so it gets no bumps. I hate it, but at least I know that my map is somewhat good because I know that even though it's like on page 6 or something, it's still getting downloads. That means people are playing it with their friends, and their friends are also downloading it. That tells me that the map can sell itself, but I really wish my thread would get a bump because I feel that my map post can sell my map even more. For those of you here who download my map, and also post in it's forum post (see my sig), I will do the same, because we all know we need bumps. Just make sure to PM me so I know to DL and comment in your map post.

 

Just a quick suggestion if your all about the DLs, tag the crap outa it. One of my maps got over 120 DLs in a week and I hadn't even posted it anywhere but my fileshare. The tags were not ridiculous like "awesome" "sweetness" and other meaningless junk. But describe the map with the tags, and people who browse the fileshares may find your map and be pleasantly surprised.

 

people throw around the term aesthetics here to describe any kind of visual flair or details that accentuate your map's design.

so, for example, if you have a really cool, complex looking uber-phased structure in the center of your map, that would be considered your "aesthetic centerpiece."


as far as the all the comments,

i can also add this question:

are you making maps because you love creating and designing things?

or are you making them because you are seeking the approval of your peers?

i know all of us want to have a very popular map, thousands of DL's, and a few features here and there on popular forging sites. But if that is your main goal and you dont ever reach it, are you failing? hell no.

my advice is to not worry about it.
the forum is extremely busy now, and even maps made by popular forgers from H3 are falling into the abyss without being recognized.
after you test your map, message the people who helped you test and politely ask them to leave constructive criticism on your thread here.

also, over time if you continue to make amazing maps, you WILL be noticed.
all of the "higher ups" here at FH (i mean, anyone with a colored name) frequently check out new maps and test them out. word of mouth travels fast, and if something really great comes out, it is definitely noticed. things just dont move as fast as you'd like sometimes.

 

For me, it's just making things look nice and neat. I don't like it when foliage (grass, tree branches, shrubbery, etc) clip through solid objects. Things like a plain looking map, or when the ground is bumpy because of bad object placement, pretty much no attention to visual details. Aesthetics is adding little touches to maps, not necessarily adding to the gameplay, but making it look nice.

 

I looked at your maps, they seem to be somewhat original and deserving of a bit more attention... however, there is one thing. You posted them in the casual section. Although thats a great section, infection and all, which is still played by a multitude of people, does not get as much publicity as competitive or aesthetic maps.

Trust me, look through the competitive map and the aesthetic sections and you will notice a trend, more views and comments. To get a casual map in the highlights it will have to just be utterly amazing, thread, map, gametype, everything. Look at what little views and comments the minigame section has in comparison to Camofo's new minigame.

 

It's how your map looks -- the architecture, the lighting, the layout.

EDIT: @Youtuber: Ah, so it's just that it's in Casual? Thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated.

 

Well I follow a set of rules to keep game-play and flow good. For example, don't make steep ramps(45 and over), it tends to slow down flow and it looks ugly imo. As for aesthetics, I'm not an expert in but I just give it the important role of cover. You will get better over time and people will notice if your consistent.

 

Well obviously you aren't always going to get better reception if you don't go into casual, but that's usually a good bet.

 

Same. I hate hate HATE camping in Infection, so when I was making my Infection map, I followed a few rules (though I was mostly making it up as I went, and focusing on aesthetics):

• Minimum 3 entrances to an area. For very cramped areas that few humans could fit in, 2 may be acceptable.
• Have a few open spaces, but not too open, because humans have a blatant advantage in such areas. Break up large outdoor areas with rocks and cover. Corners are a zombie's friend.

Having consistent rules tends to help. You start with the big picture (i.e. "building, two floors, decent size, Terrace, aesthetic centerpiece in the corner") and use rules like the above (focusing on gameplay) to help you flesh out the details.

 

Pretty much this entire thread can be summed up in one long post...
Read This...

Yes, I know it was written for Halo 3, but most of the gameplay mechanics from Halo 3 carry over to Halo: Reach. Also, by reading this guide you should be able to correct your map for reach.

 

To get your maps noticed at first requires making it look unique, but not in a way that would make people afraid to download because it might be bad. Good aesthetics, good pictures, and even a video will help. Once some people try you map, it needs to play flawlessly for people to continue playing it and passing it on to friends. To help with this, read these to perfect gameplay. If you are working with any maps outside competitive, you need to get the map passed on by word of mouth because so few of these maps play well, but those few are played many times and people usually download from recent games. Notice maps take about 3 hours to go to the second page, so if its going to be noticed, it better be noticed quickly.

Edit: Damn you sticky for typing faster than me.