Just curious as to what you all do once you've spent hours (or minutes) creating the perfect map (and obviously share it on here). Do you ever actually get to use it regularly? Do you do any testing and tweaking as it gets some use? How hard is it to drag people into a custom? (Especially when those that only play Infection with every single weapon and vehicle on every square inch of the map on Sandtrap). [But good Infections do exist!] Or does it just sit and languish in obscurity? Discuss!
I think that is how everyone does it I do it like so Make it, play it, fix it, play it, redo it, redo it, test it, publish.
More like days Unfortunately, no. I've got a good group of XBL friends that gets together every once in a while to do customs, but it's usually new maps getting tested. I think we're about to start doing a bi-weekly session to revisit the old favorites. I can't wait. Of course. I've never had a map play just the way I wanted it to on the first try. It's a shame more people don't test their maps. They just save it, publish it, and bump it. Not hard with my group. The hard part is finding mature, considerate people who will help you test your maps after you've helped them test theirs. The way we do it is the party leader sets up one game on one map, then passes leadership around the party. Once everyone has done a map, it goes back to the first guy who can do another game on the same map, the same game again, or a totally new map. Actually, the hardest part about testing my maps is getting accurate feedback. No one likes my maps because I totally own them whenever we play! [/bragging]
Damn you popular jocks of Halo! So it certainly seems that a regular group of gamers is essential to testing/playing maps. Besides Forge Hub, how have you found more people to play customs with? Matchmaking? Friends of friends in customs?
what AZN said I make it, play it, fix it, post it and it is hard to get ppl to play all they play is infection with every weapon on the map aka Run on Run
make a basic (very very sloppy) 'idea' map, make playable skeleton from it, basic first testing, fix, test, test, test, un-sloppy it, test about 20 times at least, final fixes and tweaks, test test test, publish i can rarely get people to help test, it takes a long time even with the Tester Guild...i havent really gotten a chance to go back that often...i only have 2 released maps tho so i guess its hard to go back that often
Plans map in head Creates map geometry Creates gametype Tweaks geometry Adds weapons Adds spawns Private playtest Tweaks everything FH playtest Tweaks specific things FH playtest Polishes Final playtest Screenshots Publish Usually takes a week or so from start to finish. Having alot of FH people on my friends list and knowing them over time helps immensely.
Here are my steps for forging; 1. Get an idea 2. Brainstorm on the idea 3. Forge my idea 4. Test the map generally for major problems 5. Make any needed adjustments 6. Make gametype 7. Test gametype with map 8. Make any needed adjustments to map and/or gametype 9. Repeat steps 7 & 8 as needed 10. After a 4 hours of work realize it sucks 11. Lose any and all self-esteem 12. Cry myself to sleep at night for being a failure
my steps: 1. make friends on forge hubs 2. make a map 3. test map 4. get feedback 5. tweak 6. test repeat steps 5 and 6 as desired 8. post 9. watch ur map post for critisizm 10. fix map 11. test again 12. edit or repost map post if u repost i would suggest having a mod remove ur previous post or u can wait for ur previous post to dissapear
here is my process. 1- Get an idea. Usually is sparked by someone elses map, or one of my own maps, or something i see IRL, or whatever. 2-Test the most complicated part/whatever i have never done before to see if its doable. If its an easy build or something that i know how to do, i skip the test. 3-Build it and make sure everything seems right 4-place weapons 5-place spawns 6-place objectives/other specialized pieces (if its not a slayer map). 7-run a preliminary test to see if spawns and events and stuff work i never used to test, because i didnt have enough friends on Halo at any one time to be of use, but no that im part of forge hub, i can test, then if needed, fix, then test again, then post.
I actually think of what and how I want the map to appear first, then I design it. I also take into account what gametypes the map will best suit.
Yes I am surprised people are saying they create the gametype near the end, it is one of the first things I do...
I usually try to make maps that work with Bungie's defaults. But I am so guilty of this thread title. I have made a ton of maps that i liked a lot, and then just lost interest and never finished for no apparent reason. But yes, testing your map a lot is key. If you arent too eager to release it, testing will help to make sure you never HAVE to release it twice (with fixes) becuz all the testing will have fixed it already.
I'm fairly new to forging. I've only got about 4 completed maps, only one of which I actually like (I'll be publishing soon after I finish rebuilding it with straight walls and flat surfaces). I haven't really had a chance to test any of my maps with more than 2 players, however. As a result, I tend to make small maps that are designed for 2 to 4 players. It's a fun time, to be sure, but I wish I had a few more friends on my friends list who were really into forging so I could actually drag them away from COD 4 to help me test out a map. Most of the feedback I get is, "It's pretty cool, man. Now let's play some matchmaking!" As soon as I get this map finished, I'll be looking for some map testers. I want to know if my maps really are good, or if my roommate and I just have really low standards. That's one of the reasons I joined this forum.