Moonrat's Big Fucking Dump

[Moonrat]

http://www.mediafire.com/download/6f02gn7ogdnm8i6/MBFD.zip

This ZIP contains EVERY map I have made for TF2, even maps I never told you people about.

If there is soemone who actually cares about all of this, feel free to fix where I went wrong. This is all open, so I won't complain about anybody using these maps, not that you should. All of these amps are being canned because they all suck. EVERY single one of them is awful. Shitty design, Broken Logic, Bad choices and whatever else. Every map you see here is horrible and shouldn't be touched, but like I said, if you really want to, you can pick one up.

But why dump everything here?

Because I suck too much at mapping, I can't make anything worth playing, I always mess something up. I am probably going to stop mapping for TF2 for a long time, if not altogether...

 

[Muddy]

Maybe you suck at mapping now, but it doesn't necessarily mean you'll suck forever. Seriously, you'll be hard-pressed to find an expert whose first few maps weren't bad.

Just please don't give up. Keep making maps, and keep studying what it is that existing maps great. You'll never get better at mapping if you let yourself be discouraged enough to quit it altogether. After all, don't you enjoy mapping??

 

[Another Bad Pun]

You already know what I'm about to say, but I'll say it anyway:
Don't give up!
If you really enjoy mapping, you should keep doing it, no matter how miserable it makes you. That's the short version. Have this:

Something which will help you make "good" maps, if you want to, is this: observe the maps you admire.
For me, that's a handful of official maps and others. I'm talking about old official maps. CP_George, PL_Upward (can't believe that map is old) Dustbowl, etc. Even maps most people hate (like Dustbowl, which I like because of its difficulty progression) you should look at. Run around as scout all night, breaking barrels while accomplishing nothing, and then think about why you enjoyed it. (if you did)
Mapping based on feedback is the actual mapping part. If your map is received negatively, it's devastating, but TF2m is ultimately just trying to make it better. You can start over with what you've learned, or you can keep trying to improve it.
Anyway, you can dump your children in the orphanage and leave them, but I recommend making some more afterwards. They'll be better.
/autobiography
Here's my seventh map, if this makes you feel better. Everyone starts somewhere:

 

[Moonrat]

It's just that this is demoralizing, you guys can say don't stop all you want but... I don't really want to go on, I am not good at mapping.

Look at Raise, what I thought was my magnum opus of design and fun, simply turned out to be the low point of all my mapping. Worse than Canal and it's shitty design. Worse than Cliffhill and it's shitty design.

I don't seem to understand what makes a map work, and for that I don't see much reason to go on. I just seem to be getting worse and worse.... I don't have the will left, Hammer is fun, but the will to continue is gone. I don't have any motivation to go on and map something new. I can't continue when I have no will to continue. I am just sitting here now, all the productivity is gone, now all I have is a moderate amount of skill in Hammer....

I just can't go on, anytime I think I have something decent, it is just shit. Anytime I try something, I fail at it. There is no reason to make more maps if I don't want to make any more maps....

 

[Muddy]

It's just that this is demoralizing, you guys can say don't stop all you want but... I don't really want to go on, I am not good at mapping.

Again, if you keep at it, you will become good at mapping!

Look at Raise, what I thought was my magnum opus of design and fun, simply turned out to be the low point of all my mapping. Worse than Canal and it's shitty design. Worse than Cliffhill and it's shitty design.

I thought Sally Valley was my magnum opus, but it instead turned out to be a big bucket of bubbling toss. Same with Jeanette. Mapping can be very hit-and-miss, and it'll take you maybe many tries before you make something great. The same goes with pretty much anything creative, such as making games or writing songs or novels. All it takes is some perseverance (and free time).

I don't seem to understand what makes a map work, and for that I don't see much reason to go on. I just seem to be getting worse and worse.... I don't have the will left, Hammer is fun, but the will to continue is gone. I don't have any motivation to go on and map something new. I can't continue when I have no will to continue. I am just sitting here now, all the productivity is gone, now all I have is a moderate amount of skill in Hammer....

Then sit back and look at existing maps, official or custom. See what it is that makes them work and incorporate them in your maps. And watch tutorials and read up on TF2 game design theory.

I just can't go on, anytime I think I have something decent, it is just shit. Anytime I try something, I fail at it. There is no reason to make more maps if I don't want to make any more maps....

This is the case with all beginners. It's easy to be discouraged, but you really just need to take the time to practice and improve. And again, don't give up. Otherwise you're guaranteed to never get better. Ever.

 

[RubbishyUser]

First lesson I learnt when I started mapping is that nobody knows what people likes. That's why we do playtesting. We're all terrible at it and just throw stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

The first casualty of mapping is pride.

 

[nightwatch]

I thought this thread was going to be about your recent victory over the plague of constipation

 

[mdpenguino]

Yeah, the only way you'll become better at mapping is if you try. If you try and give up on a map, you've achieved something. But, if you give up entirely, what have you achieved?

Take Raise, a nice neat map, add some vertical aspects to it, make some cover for it. Resubmit it for play testing, see what people like, and take, with a pinch of salt all the criticism.

 

[Tupperwits]

Don't be so hard on yourself dude. It is incredibly demoralizing because mapping is incredibly hard. It's like being told there's no right answers and then constantly being told you're wrong.

Look at my legacy, an invalid file, a map that proves I don't know how to pack and an arena map that drops bombs that no one enjoyed playing. I've been here for 3 years and I still don't know what makes a fun map but I'm still trying to figure it out.

You've got one thing that I don't though, you're actually making the maps! It is so much easier to figure out what's wrong with a map than to predict what's right. That's why the majority of feedback is negative and it can feel like you can't do anything right (especially "this map is uninteresting" who says that? that's not useful feedback). Alpha is, in theory, the worst version of your map so as long as each version is slightly better, you're doing it right. Game design is all about iteration. Some creators are still tweaking their maps when they're release candidates.

Cp_raise has some great control point design however little variety in routes, add some flanks so players aren't forced through a single choke point. It'd take little effort but make a2 10 times better than a1.

 

[Sergis]

if you want a break take a break

no need to do what you dont want to do

especially when youre not getting paid for it

 

[HQDefault]

That title made me die laughing.

But seriously. Like what everyone else said, don't give up.

Everyone else has a common issue with each of their maps. I underscale things, Mudpie has wonky layouts, and other mappers have other problems that I won't bother to state because I haven't really been paying attention to their strengths and weaknesses. But they're there. Trust me.

What matters is that you adapt to your issues, and make sure that what you create counts.

You appear to have a problem with overscaling. It's a common problem with beginning mappers. But honestly, a little too big? Big woop. Just add a forward spawn and move the control point around and you'll be just dandy. Have some confidence in yourself. You have in fact proven that you know what is supposed to go in maps, you just don't know how to apply it to hammer. It's the trick that turns a good mapper into a great mapper. Heck, I'm still learning it!

It's just life. Everything takes practice. Don't feel discouraged, because here's the thing: You're not alone. Thousands of people have come here, tried once, and then left on the first try. You were confident enough not to do that. And I'm not gonna let you walk away from this! I'll handcuff you to your computer if I have to!

And remember: You got the whole site to back you up all the way!

EDIT: I feel like I should mention- I was in a very similar situation when I started mapping. After I made arena creekwood, I just sorta went: "well the fuck with that!" and left.
Then I got bored one day of refreshing youtube over and over and over... until I decided to go back. I looked at the orphan repository, and found a map. I took it in. And played with it a little. After the first test, I almost left again, but then motivation struck: "Hold up... I CAN FIX THIS!" Then I got to work. And kind of fixed it.

Today that map is in beta. And I'm a veteran now

 

[Crash]

I'm going to go against the grain a bit here. If you aren't feeling it, there's no reason to continue. Mapping should be something you do for fun, if it's not at any point in the process, then maybe it's not for you.

There's no reason to force yourself to keep going if you are over it. Mapping isn't for everyone.

Ultimately you know yourself better than anyone else.

 

[Tumby]

Fix'd

You only need the part after the watch?v= which in this case is -djDAYyvhI8

 

[Davekillerish]

I'm going to go against the grain a bit here. If you aren't feeling it, there's no reason to continue. Mapping should be something you do for fun, if it's not at any point in the process, then maybe it's not for you.

There's no reason to force yourself to keep going if you are over it. Mapping isn't for everyone.

Ultimately you know yourself better than anyone else.

You ever wanna give up mapping, go be a therapist. Youd be good.

 

[Moonrat]

You ever wanna give up mapping, go be a therapist. Youd be good.

Bit late child...