Hey guys, So I'm kind of new around here and I only have two maps (links in my sig) but I rarely get any feedback on them. I'm just wondering if there is anything I can do better to make my posts/maps more eye catching so that I can get some feedback on them.
First off, get a video made. Next off, give your map a backstory. Thirdly, make your maps interesting. Lastly, (and most time consuming) build up your reputation here.
I've never been too great with back stories for whatever reason. I have 2 videos on my latest map, Sideswipe, and my friends who have played on it have told me that they think it's great (one even said it looks like a Bungie-made map...for whatever that may be worth lol). As for reputation, I probably don't have the biggest reputation around here, but I see people come in and do their first post and get replies and I try my best to follow guidelines and I get crickets haha. It's pretty hard for me to improve my map making abilities and posting abilities when I get little to no feedback know what I mean?
if you need help with a backstory just embed one of your videos here. And I will see what I can provide you with.
mmm. Odd. And by video, I mean stuff like this: YouTube - Skyjacked! Luck is useful too. Not sure how to obtain though...
Sure why not lol. Here's a video of a 4 person FFA on my map, Sideswipe. It shows the map pretty well I think. [bungievid]14872471[/bungievid] [br][/br]Edited by merge: Oli what do you use for Video Editing? I've been looking to get my hands on a good program lately (more for Church but it would be helpful for this too).
I use corelvideostudio pro X3 and a hauppauge HD PVR. If you live in the UK i'd be happy to sell you my Ezcap with all cables. It got me started before Stevo sold me his hauppauge (cheers for that...) It does depend on what kind of thing you want to edit. If your looking for a few cheap and cheerful title effects then you can use whatever. If your looking for edited videos such as mine, I would strongly recommend corel vstudio. I'd have it over sony vegas any day, simply because it has the same feature set, but has a much cleaner layout. Whilst it seems stupid to base it on that, It does save time. I tihnk the difference between the two videos is that yours is just a flythrough, showing off a couple of key areas at coincedence, but not really showing what happens. In my videos I show what is happening at interesting points, so what the player will expect to see, and also the layout of the map. Also, you shouldn't be afraid to go onto the lolbox and ask people for their opinions on it. As your speaking direct, ir does help.
I live in the States so sadly I wouldn't be able to buy it off of you. I don't mind setting up the videos and rendering them and downloading them at this point since I don't do it often enough where the cost of that would be more than getting better equipment. I am in the process of downloading and installing that video editing program as we speak though (30 free trial ftw). As for my videos, yea I guess I'm just an amateur when it comes to creating exciting videos to show my maps. I guess that kind of thing will just come with time and experience.
Obviously the number one thing is that the maps has to look like something people want to play. It also helps to make friends within the community and test with them, because then they're likely to post on your map when it comes out and draw more people to view the map.
Good point on the friends around here thing. I have ThrowinSomeBows on my friends list but I haven't seen him on or around here in weeks. I have another friend or 2 from around here as well but I haven't had a chance to game with them much yet...I should try and work on that lol. Main issue I have is finding time to play with everyone. I'm married and my wife is pregnant so my time is pretty much limited to Fridays when I have off and not much is going on.
Unfortunately, people think a map will be amazing if it looks good in the pictures. So, you generally want a placeholder picture showing off your map from a certain angle that really complements everything on it. You want to show ever angle, crevice, line and detail you can think of. In theater, you generally want to take "isometric" or "perspective" angles because always show off the most. (Of course, it's always good to go slightly off-center so you can show off one side more than the other) Interior maps can prove to be more difficult. If you decide to make an interior map, you always need to distinguish the rooms so try to take detailed pictures of the rooms whilst relying on the focal points you place throughout the map. For reference: EDIT: You never want to show the top square if it is not a play-area unless it is an interior map. If it is an interior map and the outside is not playable, then the shots displayed above are not advisable.
Agreed, pictures are pretty key for something like this. It can help to edit them as well. Theres some great picture editing websites and free video editor downloads. Check out the bottom link in my signature and then take a look at the promotion section. And I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think this is the right section for this, since this forum pertains to forge itself.
I wasn't entirely sure either, but it seemed like the most appropriate spot since it pertained to map making and using Forge to take good pictures and videos of your map. Yea I'm looking for ways to improve my posts to make them more interesting, but at its core this is about using Forge and Theater mode to create a look and feel that will grab people's attention.
try using a simple graphics package such as adobe fireworks to add graphics to all of your pictures, and use it to create simple titles for your map. Take my map as an example. I created a simple title and added mu name and the map title to the map. It helps your post stand out from all of the other boring walls of grey text that you often see.
A capture card but that can really range in price and quality. If you're going to chuck out a lot of maps in a short period time, I'd recommend it but with Bungie Pro, you have a limit of 5 minutes per month. (You can purchase additional minutes though.) With Bungie Pro, you can make two maps and each of them would span 2:30 which is more than enough to showcase a map.
but if your doing an actual video, with camera angles and stuff, a capture card is a waaay better investment. Over time it saves money too. Btw congrats on doing your wife ;-) Gl with corel, don't be afraid to have a play around with it, you can't go wrong!! Screenshots are important too. Must admit that i'm guilty of downloading a map just because of screenshots. So 1) Fully edited video 2) Good screenshots 3) community awareness 4) ??? 5) PROFIT!