Our second letter to Valve, part 1

Armadillo of Doom

Group Founder, Lover of Pie
aa
Oct 25, 2007
949
1,228
Since our previous letter met with some success http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=2208 I thought I should get the ball rolling on a second one. This letter will be asking them for an interview or mapping chat, as discussed here; http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=4117 This thread is for talking about the form/content of the letter, not requests for Valve or other events.


Subject: From the mapping community

Dear TF2 Design Team (*or Robin Walker*),

Hello, my name is (full name here), and I am writing you on behalf of the mapping community at TF2Maps.net. We all really appreciate the effort you have put into this game, and your prompt reply to our previous request of Hammer updates and fixes. In light of the fact that custom content is becoming more prominent, we are wondering if you (*anyone on the mapping team*) would be interested in doing a brief mapping-focused chat or interview. This is not just for our group, but the benefit of the entire mapping community. We realize that everyone at Valve is quite busy with Left4Dead and planning new TF2 content (*and Episode 3*), so time you can spare (if any), would receive the utmost thanks from both myself, and the rest of the community. Thank you again for your time and hard work. Sincerely, Daniel JE.
 
Last edited:

l3eeron

L8: Fancy Shmancy Member
Jan 4, 2008
593
88
Maybe a sentence added in about what kinds of things we want to ask concerning mapping?


...in other words we arent going to ask "How did you make the displacement bowl in Hydro?"

rather

"Are there any plans to update with more textures and props?"


etc

I don't know, it looks pretty well versed if you ask me. never mind me :p
 

Kookies!

L1: Registered
Oct 21, 2008
27
3
That would be amazing. If it would happen, my suggestion would probably be to only have some of the long time mappers actually on the server, and they would relay questions from the community, or something of that sort, to keep it more organized.
If they do respond, maybe we could have a thread where people can post questions that they would like to hear answered...

FINGERS CROSSED.
 

Armadillo of Doom

Group Founder, Lover of Pie
aa
Oct 25, 2007
949
1,228
While a cool idea, I really think VALVe is overburdened at the moment, and with many requests from the community currently pending, perhaps this is best left for a more quiet time at their office.

I agree. This certainly won't be sent until after L4D has been released, at least.
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
aa
Mar 4, 2008
5,441
3,814
You may want to use your full name at the start rather than just Daniel, even though you added your initials at the end.

I also agree with Mangy. Though, without an update to be released for TF2 untill 2009 i do believe they kinda owe something. Despite saying that making me feel like a spoilt brat, since this isn't WoW based subscription, where technically they don't owe us anything.
 

A Boojum Snark

Toraipoddodezain Mazahabado
aa
Nov 2, 2007
4,775
7,669
Something to think about: "valve" is not a single amorphous entity, it is made up of many people who do different things. The people we would be interested are the mappers... would they actually be in a busy crunch time? I'd assume they are less busy, or at least less rushed, than others. L4D likely has very little left to do on the mapping side, just final tweaks and stuff. Plus I'm sure there is somewhat of a division between mappers for L4D and for TF2.
 

drp

aa
Oct 25, 2007
2,273
2,628
Something to think about: "valve" is not a single amorphous entity, it is made up of many people who do different things. The people we would be interested are the mappers... would they actually be in a busy crunch time? I'd assume they are less busy, or at least less rushed, than others. L4D likely has very little left to do on the mapping side, just final tweaks and stuff. Plus I'm sure there is somewhat of a division between mappers for L4D and for TF2.
boojum has a point here. i would love to hear from the mappers that create the tf2 maps, and not just some marketing directory.
 

Armadillo of Doom

Group Founder, Lover of Pie
aa
Oct 25, 2007
949
1,228
Also good points. I had planned to send the letter to Robin Walker like I did last time. So far as I know, he is still the head developer/designer. Perhaps we should address him directly? I hadn't considered that L4D would have it's own set of mappers, but that certainly makes sense. So if we're going to be send this to the lead TF2 designer, and not the entire Valve team, should we leave out the line about L4D?
 

Brandished

L5: Dapper Member
Jan 19, 2008
234
311
The best bet would be a questionnaire of 10~20 items emailed in to Valve about the game, due to as said, they're quite busy now with the upcoming release of L4D and a rumored teaser press release for HL2:EP3 this winter.
 

Armadillo of Doom

Group Founder, Lover of Pie
aa
Oct 25, 2007
949
1,228
Yay Episode 3! I'm not sure about a questionnaire though. A lot of the items I can think of would require a rather lengthy response. In which case, we may as well try for a chat session. I've updated the op a bit, and marked potential changes w/ *.
 

l3eeron

L8: Fancy Shmancy Member
Jan 4, 2008
593
88
What exactly is on the list of questions we would be asking? Or, what points would we talk about?
 

Arhurt

L6: Sharp Member
May 7, 2008
315
140
Could we ask them for a run through the top three of our own maps and hear their comments on it, then play a little bit?