unable to finish maps :|

Orpheus said:
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting G.Ballblue</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>I know this absolutely, 100% off topic, but because I haven't been here in a month, I'd just like to say,

"Hi everybody!"

looks at date

FUCHE.. i lost..

i bet you wouldn't return till may 23rd..

who picked april 25th anyways?

</div></div>

Nice to see you to Orph :razz:

The disorder in question is NFAMNS (Never Finish A Map Noob Syndrome)
and it is rife amongst mapping communities. As a sufferer of the latter
stages, I have almost completely consigned the very idea of mapping to
the dustbin.

The best way to describe it is ADHD with polygons and the like.

Main reasons for putting off a map:

1) Writing it down, and refining it (totally changing the idea)

2) EBTTS (Even Better Than That Syndrome) - Very Dangerous, those
inflicted normally have severe cranial pressure and causes brain
haemorrage unless a hole is drilled into the skull to release evil
spirits.

3) Internet - Source of all wisdom, you can do anything looking at the
WWW and ask anything in IRC...but somehow find yourself totally
distracted from your intial train of thought...

4) BNISHMAPGMAIICPWLAPS (By now I should have Made a Pretty Good Map
and If Its Crap People Will Laugh And Point Syndrome) - This is
terminal.

5) JGS (Jade Gooding Syndrome) .... a curious delusion that causes
mappers to loiter forums and troll or speak out with wild opinions in
the vain attempt to get more than their due 15 minutes of fame without
actual work.

6) SBTDS (Something Better To Do Syndrome) - Another delusion. The
latent or repressed mapping instincts become so unbearable to the
patient that they seek to build other things, such as macarroni
figures, small scale websites or Hideously flawed nations and
philososophies....(See also DM_Communism, DM_America, DM_Zimbabwe)

I find the most insperation in other maps. When I first played
Natural Selection I was so drawn into those maps that I came back to
mapping.

Same thing with HL2, it really sparked a fire to map again.

When I'm not around my computer I draw out map ideas all the time, I
get really in depth with entities and scripted stuff, but in the end,
very few maps I've fleshed out on paper come to life.

Most of the time I have a great idea for a small part of a map and can figure out a way to expand apon it.

My most recent map, dm_cliff, is a diffrent story. I started mapping with one idea.

"a huge black mesa(ish) underground facility in the side of a cliff
face. On one side though... there is a public visitor center"

this expanded and expanded untill I had a full layout. By the grace of god I must say it all fit.

I think it worked becuase it was a fresh Idea and when I started
getting off track I was able to leave it for a few days, come back, and
keep on track. I just stuck to a base theme and worked out from
that.

My maps and ideas are always awkward. I never can/want to stick to one theme. Always have to mix everything....I get bored with a certain aspect of the map and continue the map in a different direction. Or I'll have a bunch of ideas and instead of making 3 different maps, I will combine everything into one map. For instance, with my dungeon so map for hl1, I wanted a castle/dungeon theme....and I ended up adding a church and hell portion to the map with elements of zelda and quake.

The end-user will know if you were bored with the map because it'll show. Keep your ideas fresh and if you get bored making a section of your map. chances are, the players of the map will too. So I say, don't ALWAYS stick to one theme in a map, sometimes it is fun to have different aspects in one map to keep it different from everything else out there.

NatUS said:
crono is a sad person with a sad personality.

Where did this comment come from?

Cassius said:
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting NatUS</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>crono is a sad person with a sad personality.

Where did this comment come from?</div></div>

from the depths of n00b hell.
natUS, I met u on IRC and you're a nice guy, so i'm gonna give you advice i wish i'd known long ago. If you want to get along with the older snarkpitters, wait about a month or more after your signing-up to start posting. That way, you get a feel for the inside jokes, AND by then your member number is old by comparison and Orph wont s**t his pants like he does when he sees a NEW member number posting thier opinions. :rolleyes:

Ok, here's the way I do it:

1) I make room and waste 2 days making it cool, but don't bother adding any side-walls.

2) I compile the thing and walk around it trying to figure out what the heck it is.

3) I make a corridor and connect it to a new room, overlooking the lack of walls in the first one.

4) I bang my head against the table until i decide what to make out of the new room.

5) I make the second room even cooler than the first.

6) I scrape the first room for being "uncool" (and for contrasting with the new one).

7) I make a third room, EVEN cooler than the second one.

8 ) I get rid of the second room for being too ugly.

And so on. I usually tend to repeat step 4 every 2-3 steps. And THAT's why it takes me a while to actually complete a map. :cool:

i guess i still got a lot to learn, so i will keep my silly mouth shut and open the not so silly but yet a bit funny mouth.

I scrape the first room for being "uncool" (and for contrasting with the new one).

i pretty much recognize this, when i was making some of my first maps i
was like "whoa omg im so cool, i actually made real BOX!"

and then after some time, i realize how ugly that box was, so i made
another box, with something in it, and as time goes on, my boxes get
more and more realistic and unboxy, but i still got the problem with
deleting the old stuff, sometimes its good to delete stuff though, if
it wasnt good enough for yourself, then other people probably wont like
it...much.

NatUS said:
hmm
maybe youre right orph,

slaps forehead

silly me, i usually don't know anything..

of course I'm right butthole. i would not have typed it if i weren't :razz:

the hardest thing about being right is, sometimes there is more than
one right, and its very hard to convince people that there is.

Quoted for truth. Alot of the time I have seen you in a discussion
thread I have felt like debating with you, however I know you would
just totally pwn me ;p

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting thursday-</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>

Quoted for truth. Alot of the time I have seen you in a discussion thread I have felt like debating with you, however I know you would just totally pwn me ;p

</DIV></DIV>

If I even suspected that this were true, I would avoid most all debates. I am not here to intimidate anyone, nor to alter anyones viewpoint to my favor. My two biggest fears here are 1) that I will corrupt some young mind to my way of thinking, and 2) that someones parent will get me into trouble for posting something they feel is inappropriate to their age.

I would much rather have/read a healthy debate without the need for someone to "make it personal" :sad:

I respect honesty above all else, and would much rather lose a debate through determination, than have someone avoid it completely because they feel the field is stacked against them with the "heavy weight" members.

In the future, if you feel intimidated, send me a PM, and I will bow out in favor of your participation.

/Me bumps Thursday's rating to a "4" for his honesty