Getting the most out of TF2Maps.net

There are several gamedays per week which are used to playtest maps on official TF2maps.net servers. The basic idea behind these gamedays is to get people to play on your map so as to provide feedback about glitches, aesthetics, gameplay, etc. using the in-game feedback system (made by our very own Geit). The gamedays are announced here.

To sign up for gamedays, simply link to your map in the appropriate fashion which is described in the gameday thread. Check out this example.

As for making threads to showcase your map, you can do that here. If your map is nearing completion (in RC stages / fully completed), you can request to have it moved to the showcase forum. More info here.

For general progress pictures, you can always do that in the WIP in WIP thread here.

Lastly, the TF2maps.net chatroom is ultimately the easiest way to get quick questions answered. You can access it here. Good luck!

Welcome, as he said the chat room is definitely the best way to get questions answered quickly. If this is your first TF2 map, you might want to read Yyler's helpful "what not to do" guide as well as this guide and all of grazr's writing. Grazr makes excellent tutorials that are geared towards design and gameplay rather than technical tutorials on how to use hammer.

It'd get played as much as you'd submit it to gamedays or impromptu's. You can submit to gamedays in the event threads posted here: http://forums.tf2maps.net/forumdisplay.php?f=35 But there are limited positions per event and limited gamedays per week.

Impromptu's require that you be active in our steam chat room. It's not really a rule, but the whole idea of an impromptu is that random tests occur at random times with random maps, of authors that are present and available to organise such an impromptu at any time. Impromptu's happen almost every night and several times a day (usually between 6pm - 4am GMT as that's when most of the users are active at any one time and can thus fill the server to make the most of the test.

If you want to make the most of TF2maps and get your map tested as much as possible then those are the 2 main things you'll want to do.

Donating helps keep the server up and for us to continue our personal level of testing in the TF2 community, as well as our site. The rewards are perks such as not having to ask for your map to be uploaded to the server by one of the admins who may or may not be present at any one time, allowing you to more efficiently arrange impromptu's and tests of your map.