Hey guys. Recently, i have been thinking about my maps. Most of them sit half finished in my local files and the finished ones usually are terrible. So i am thinking of giving up forging since i will never make a good map. Who thinks i should give up?
Don't. I just viewed escalation. It's perfectly fine. If the reason you're saying this is because of the fact no one commented on that thread, then you must think your maps suck. To tell you the truth, I've seen FAR worse. Your maps you've posted are actually pretty good. If you think that because no one's commenting, your maps aren't downloaded, you're wrong. I don't know how many people have downloaded escalation, but it really doesn't matter. It takes some time to get known on forgehub. Hell, people who have posted 6 maps here still may not be known. It takes time to get your maps recognized. Give them some effort, patience, and time, and eventually people will notice your maps. I hoped that helped...
Now I'm not much for sob stories, but I do know how disappointing it can be to never meet your expectations. I have finished about 10 maps on reach and I only released 3. And I only am proud of 2 of them, so I know how it feels. All I have to say is if you enjoy it, keep going. As long as you learned something from each map, it's worth the time and dedication. You will eventually create a map that you are satisfied with and it will all feel worthwhile. If you are in a rut with your designs, look at other maps from other games and take some inspiration from them. Or request that someone designs a map so you can adopt it.
The exact amount of downloads for Escalation is 0 and the reason i think that my maps are bad is because people rarely tell me that i make good maps and people tell me that they have many flaws a lot. I have posted a ton of maps and i'm pretty sure that people know me by now. But thanks for the encouragement guys. I really appreciate it.
You should thinking about giving up on making threads instead. Because your maps are much better than your threads. If you are going to quit, go ahead. Making a thread about it just seems like you are striving for attention or for someone to tell you that your maps are good or not. Plus you shouldn't be forging just to get noticed or to be good but just to have fun.
Inspiration takes a HUGE role in map building. If you have no form of inspiration or theme whatsoever, there's no point in forging a map IMO. If I'm trying to pull off a forerunner themed map, I go surf the web of forerunner concept art before building a map. I'm building a map that takes inspiration from Frailty in halo 3. I'll post a picture, but what I'm trying to say is that if you want to create a successful map, find inspiration that pops out to you, and make the map thread pop out, as well. Try building one more map and try out the things I said, and if you still feel this way, then it's your choice.
Don't mind lynx, he's given up himself. As for me, I think you should not give up, but rather learn through viewing others forge and from them. Invite people to your forge sessions and have them help you and show you new ways to forge with the objects given. Inspiration will come one day and when it does you will be ready if you continue practicing, even if its on a map you are not fond of. In my time here I went from a less than awful forger to now having a FHF, and its all because of the people here. Dont give up forging unless you truly believe you should, and if you doubt that you should then dont stop, learn. Remember, what others think is irrelevant, though they can help make for good feedback and suggestions for competitive gameplay. Learn and inspiration will come. If you do decide to quit, well then I hope you do it because you want to, and not because others brought you to the conclusion you should.
Flat complaints implicitly offer the author ways in which he can improve his work--you just have to look into it, while criticisms offer the author explicit ideas. Both are equally important and are often better than comments of adoration. At the end of the day you shouldn't forge for your download count. Forge for the love of design. If you don't love design then you should indeed quit.
Stop forging until Halo CEA comes out. We get a new map to forge on New Forge Map. In the meantime, start drawing out ideas and then drop an epic deuce of a map within a week of the launch of CEA.
The lack of downloads can certainly be discouraging for anyone, but it'd be foolish to simply give up hope because of it. You just have to keep on trying, perseverance is just as useful as raw talent when come to success in anything. Also, a bit of patience doesn't hurt either; you only posted Escalation 1.2 a few hours ago. However, a few pieces of advice may be in order; a few tips to make your maps more appealing to someone looking to download. Tip #1 -- A Unique Appearance & Theme A mix between a signature style in your design and generally not looking like a generic location will always make your map more interesting. I haven't tried out Escalation (v1.2 or otherwise), so I can't say how well it plays; however, I can say (based on the images in the thread) that it doesn't look that special. There's nothing much to distinguish it asthetically. Even if you have quality gameplay as your top priority, it never hurts to have your map look interesting. Tip #2 -- A Unique Premise An extension of the above, it helps if you're willing to give your map a bit of a story behind it; one which is then told through the asthetic design of the map. This is less critical for multi-purpose maps (as opposed to Invasion or Infection maps), but the idea that the map exists for some purpose helps it garner some attention. If you take a look at all the other (built-in) maps in the Halo games (or at least those in Halo 3 & Reach), the description for all them are implying that there's more going on than them simply being generic battlefields. Tip #3 -- Avoid Completely Enclosing the Map Another extension of the first point, but I feel it's worth being its own point. If you keep on the underlying trends, it's no secret that people (in general) aren't fond of all the grey which permeates forge maps; while just about all the pieces in Forge World are grey, having them as the only thing the player can see isn't a must. Even just having no ceiling (use kill zones & safe zones if players escaping the map is an issue) and a few windows (these do run the slight risk of lagging the map if used in excess, so just avoid using them excessively rather than not at all) will allow the player to see something other than the grey forge pieces; at the very least, it doesn't come across as "yet another grey forge world map". Tip #4 -- Better Screenshots I seem to have a knack for taking good photos & screenshots (during a trip to Europe recently, I was always being handed everyone else's cameras to take pictures), but the images I'm seeing in the Escalation thread aren't that great. Sometimes the map can look a lot better if you just take better screenshots, and throwing in a few action-shots wouldn't hurt either (such as when you're play-testing the map). Tip #5 -- Make a Mini-Game Map This one might sound a bit out of the blue, but it mostly has to do with gaining recognition & downloads. One thing I've noticed about when I make maps is that the mini-games are MUCH more popular for some strange reason. Perhaps it's because they're easier to get into and try out (particularly if they're doable solo), or because they're a nice change of pace from the usual run-of-the-mill maps we run into all the time. Make a half-decent mini-game map, and it's almost guaranteed to break a hundred downloads very quickly (though don't expect it to surpass more than a few hundred after that initial batch of downloads). It should give you some more notability at the least, which should help out all your maps gain a few more downloads; because people will be looking to see what you'll come up with next. In theory, any good map will have the same effect; I just seem to find that I get better results with mini-game maps. The other reason for trying your hand at making a mini-game map is that it can be good practice for your forging in general. It won't be good practice for everything, but it should help you get a good feel for a few things. Mini-games involve changing the basic gameplay in Reach, which automatically gives you that unique premise and appreance; you're creating something different. Extending this principle to maps with a more conventional type of gameplay can be done as well, you just have to make it so that you have a slightly different experience (but still close enough that it's still fits into the base gameplay model); do it right, and the map won't feel as generic. Mini-game maps also encourage you to create a theme to the map's asthetic design, and usually have ample budget left over for purely asthetic pieces. The final benefit to pure design is that mini-games require you to really get into how the game works, and then you have to go make it do exactly what you want it to. Even in more chaotic mini-game maps, everything has to be somewhat controlled. On the whole, trying your hand at a mini-game map allows you to push your creativity to it's limits; and by doing so, you might be able to improve you skills as a creator of forge maps in general. Expanding the breadth of your knowledge and talents is just as good (if not better) than perfecting what you already have. I guess I should give a few examples of what I'm saying by each of the points, so here are a few of my maps to illustrate some the points: Sanctum of the Fallen Asthetic design & premise, and the theme is present throughout the whole map. There's even something of a centre-piece (even if it is a significant chunk of the map), with the "entrance" (first screenshot of the thread). Starfall My latest mini-game map, and it's pretty damn fun (even if it is a fairly blatant Avalanche-clone, though I did add a few). There is some asthetic design on this map as well, such as the chevrons giving the player some guidance as to where to go. Having windows as the sidewalls rather than solid pieces also makes the map much more visually appealing, allowing the player to look at the scenery a bit. The Complex It's an infection map, but it shows what I mean by using the asthetics of a map to tell a story. The pictures in the thread don't really do all the little touches justice, but there's a lot going on in the map. The debris shows that a lot has gone wrong (setting object physics to normal and then just dropping them can be surprisingly effective), many of the weapons are placed in a way to show that they were discarded, and even a few make-shift holdouts which were visibly broken through. [links redacted] To be perfectly honest, I still wouldn't consider myself to be that well-known. I just enjoy creating maps in forge, and I then post them here so at least some other people can get the chance to enjoy them. Becoming good at creating maps takes a lot of practice, and it doesn't hurt to throw in some creativity & innovation either. A map which plays great is a good goal to aim for; but you can't let it become (too) generic either, less it blends in with everything else. There are plenty of ways to make your maps stand out, and it would seem yours could use some of those. A map shouldn't just play well, it should look good while doing it. Playing somewhat differently, but still being balanced and fun, is even better.
I've told you chief, don't give up. ever since I tested Corporate Plaza it's been clear to me that you just need to put more thought and planning into your maps. Look at Bungie maps and forge maps for design and aesthetic inspiration, and then draw something out on paper. make sure there's multiple paths across the map, all with different risks and rewards. Then, once you actually start forging you'll be able to make a better map. Don't give up. Hit me up on XBL if you ever want a forging buddy or something, just keep at it and you'll only get better.
I gave some quick feedback on your map, which I like but I can see how you could do more in the future. Downloads, comments, etc... are IRRELEVANT when it comes down to design. Sure, they are nice but if you don't get them at first don't worry. My last map had 5 pages of comments and over 100 DL's. My first here had 2 comments and 4 DL's, so often it is more based on how long you have been an active member. Th final decision should be based on this: Do you like to design the maps and do you want to improve? If you can emphatically say yes to both of those, absolutely do not stop. Even is you only grudgingly say yes, still don't let others comments affect your decision. In short: Do what you love, for yourself.
This thread reminds me of the insecure girls at my school who post on facebook worrying about how they look in the mirror. They just want to be told that they look good. People get a natural high from compliments in what they do. If forge is an art and forgers are artists, then the ones who are trying to market a product are doing it wrong. The ones who are more concerned with their popularity than their feeling of personal success or fulfillment are doing it wrong. You know, I almost never check my download count on any of my maps. And if I do, it's inadvertently. I show my maps to people for criticism, not for praise. I know many people who do the same. Once you realize that you're playing a game, you know, for fun, you'll probably start forging again, and you you'll only seek to improve rather than seek to profit on cheap, minute compliments. Just my thoughts.
If you enjoy forging no matter what the outcome you should just keep doing it. If you don't enjoy it stop doing it. Simple as that.
All that and plus, not many people do get the chance or give the time to see your map. It is also near to the fact that forge hub, in my opinion, does not have as big as a player count as before.
The first two or three maps I made I hardly received a comment, seriously, it is hard,but you have to keep trying, I just went insane by 4 th and 5th map before my forging was even recognized. My advice would be to keep trying, hard work will be noticed, find friends that can help, the more testing you do on a map, the more likely they may leave you feedback. Ask your friends for help, many send a message to all friends to publicize new maps or to help test. A good map name helps and good screenshots. Videos, and good computer skills also help. A whole load of work goes into map making and publications, it is hard when this goes un noticed.
But not even my closest friends want to play on my maps. And those who do join often leave during the wait. I find that Infection has dominated custom lobbies and has stopped me from finding anyone willing to play even 1 game on a competitive map. And i have just gone on to (what is pretty near to) my tenth map post. the first map i posted got more than 1000 views and more than 500 downloads and then it went downhill. Not the opposite. And i would love to get custom lobbies together but i never can. I even get laughed at at school for making maps. No matter what i try it always seems to backfire in the end.
Don't be so dramatic sir. This. Though I get what you mean about custom games. Halo 3 was great for testing and I never really got into reach customs, though I haven't played reach in four months. In all honesty, you wouldn't be able to quit. You gotta find a replacement in order to quit. This way, quitting becomes an individual decision not a public, attention-seeking, "I'm quitting" thread. You will always come back unless you find a good replacement, like hanging out with friends more, getting into graphic arts, playing minecraft, or anything that you find fulfilling. Good luck sir.