Interview Questions Thread

[Nineaxis]

I think the compile options one is legit, it is something I'm interested in as Youme rants about proper lighting and all kinds of extra parameters like forcetextureshadow, softshadow, etc.

Being able to compile like Valve compiles will only make our maps look better.

 

[Armadillo of Doom]

Ya know, this is why I shouldn't be allowed to post when I'm tired, lol. Because you all raise some valid points. I'll give our questionaire a proper review with all of this in mind.

 

[Username]

Is it too late to add more?

"What's the most beautiful/elegant solution to a problem in one of your maps you've ever had?"

"How have the ways the community received your maps fulfilled your expectations? How have they surprised you?"

"Seeing as all of you are expert TF2 players by now, how do you properly playtest your maps? Do you bring in outside players?"

"What are the differences in creating maps for TF2, L4D, and Portal? What are some of the similarities?"

"Have you figured out how to reliably make the player look up yet?"

 

[Armadillo of Doom]

I rather your like your second question, and I believe the others have been covered to some extent. Since this thread has died down a bit, I'm gonna take the opportunity to say it's done.

 

[Armadillo of Doom]

Attention! New questions start here. But make sure you read the response we got first; http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?p=45323

 

[Cerious]

Easy question: How long does it take to create a map, from the very first design meeting all the way to its public release?

 

[Armadillo of Doom]

Something I'm genuinely curious about; What's your favorite 'Meet the Class' video? Do the personalities created in those vids influence how you design for that class?

 

[YM]

Something I'm genuinely curious about; What's your favorite 'Meet the Class' video? Do the personalities created in those vids influence how you design for that class?

More like: There are a few sections of the 'Meet the' videos that do not line upwith existing maps, are these new locations build in the modeling program presumably used to film said videos or are they quickly knocked up in hammer by the mapping team?

 

[Acegikmo]

Why do the weapons have a level on them?
Are there more than just two types per weapon coming up?

 

[Cerious]

Why do the weapons have a level on them?
Are there more than just two types per weapon coming up?

1st is just a quick nod to the levels on weapons in RPGs, it has nothing to do with the weapons power.
2nd will probably not be answered, as they still have 6 more classes to give second weapons to.

 

[Icarus]

"Could you give us tips on placing health and ammo pickups? Where? What size? How much?"

I'd like to know an answer to this. The maps I make tend to be very sparse in pickups.

 

[Armadillo of Doom]

That's a good one Icarus. I'm trying to think of some questions that are specific to Badwater and Goldrush. If we can get some of those, we might be able to do an ingame interview, so he can actually show us these things.

 

[Gadget]

Vvis shows the number of average visible and audible clusters in the compile window. How important is this information for the performance of the map, what role does it play when designing a map and is there an average number you're aiming for when designing / optimizing?

 

[Acegikmo]

Have you ever faced optimization issues on open maps like badwater, Hydro or gravelpit? And how did you solve it?

 

[Armadillo of Doom]

Or better yet, 'What is the most challenging optimization issue you have faced in TF2?' I think we'll be sending our reply and a 'thank you' in another week so, casually pointing out that our contest is almost over and to look at all the fancy entries

 

[DaBeatzProject]

Can you show us a screenshot/sneakpeak (don't really know what to call it) of a Valve map in alpha/beta stage?

 

[Armadillo of Doom]

Can you show us a screenshot/sneakpeak (don't really know what to call it) of a Valve map in alpha/beta stage?

Winner!

 

[Icarus]

Are we still doing this?

I'd like to elaborate more on my question and add a couple more.

Q: How do you decide where to place health and ammo pickups? When would it be appropriate to use larger pickups?

Q: How many playable iterations of a map did it take before you were satisfied?

Q: Out of curiosity, which maps took the least iterations? The most?

 

[l3eeron]

Did you play with leggos, lincoln logs and/or erector sets?

ha ha, but sersiously...

Do you use any other program outside of Hammer to make maps?

 

[The Political Gamer]

Did you play with leggos

LEGOS :facepalm