Map review section

DJive

Cake or Death?
aa
Dec 20, 2007
1,465
741
Later tonight we will be removing arcade from the top nav and add a link for getting the map reviewed. ty for the feedback Corion.

Ontop of that i will be putting in a hack that will require a user to read a guideline and accept it BEFORE they can get to the post screen. This will help with all the maps being wrongly posted and also let them know the rules for a map that is final.

Please look this over and add/change anything accordingly

Source: Submission Guidelines *PLEASE READ*
Map Submission Criteria

* Map must be complete. It cannot be in testing stages.
* Map must have a win condition for the teams.
* Map must be accessible to all classes.

Explanation
The reviews on this site are meant to be analogous to movie reviews or game reviews. Thus the map reviewed needs to be a finished product. The second two criteria form the basis for what makes a map play as a TF2 map, as opposed to a Portal map, a HL2DM map, an Audiosurf level, etc. The "team" in Team Fortress refers to two things.


First, it refers to team vs team conflict (point 2). Second, it refers to the way team members, or classes, work together. A map that fails at point 3 is not using the entire team. Regarding other aspects of a TF2 map, it would be impractical to demand a map look like a TF2 map as well, because the line there is a bit muddier, and would simply be part of the final review rather than the qualification.

Notes about specific types of maps that would not qualify under these criteria:

* Orange maps would not qualify. Dev textures are meant for testing stages of maps. A map textured entirely in dev textures is not a complete map.
* Deathmatch and duel maps would only be able to qualify if they included some mechanic for a team to be declared a winner at the end of a round. Team deathmatch requires more than just the individual players scores.
* Jump maps are inaccessible to several classes, and therefore would fail at point 3.
* Sniper duel maps are also inaccessible to several classes, and even if a mechanism was put in to satisfy point 2, point 3 would still remain unsatisfied.
* Surf maps really depend on their construction, but the majority of them will fail at least one of the listed criteria. If a submitter wants a surf map reviewed, he or she must make the case to the reviewing staff.

Novelty Maps
This does not mean that we don't like novelty maps and that all such maps will be rejected. However, we review TF2 maps. A map author making a novelty map really should consider whether the map they are making works for TF2, or if they are just making it for TF2 because that happens to be the game they like playing at the moment.


It is unfortunate that many novelty map makers do not consider the game they are making the map for, even when the addition or removal of just a few elements could make it work.


Hopefully the above criteria will help encourage more innovation in novelty types that still satisfy the teamplay crucial to the TF2 experience.


As its slowing down we are still up to a few things behind the curtains =p however we are going to work on how to make the reviewing a more prominent feature.
 

Shmitz

Old Hat
aa
Nov 12, 2007
1,128
746
I'm also thinking about making the review guidelines public so that it's more clear to people why they get the scores they get. This probably shouldn't be mixed in with the submission criteria though.

Do you think the guidelines, publicly presented, should be as long and detailed as what's posted here for the reviewers, or should it be more abbreviated?
 

Corion

L2: Junior Member
May 17, 2008
67
8
Do you think the guidelines, publicly presented, should be as long and detailed as what's posted here for the reviewers, or should it be more abbreviated?

Both.

I suggest that you present them in list form, like so:

Contents:
  • <A href="#postcraft">Craft</A>
    Brief description about craft.
    • <A href="#postcraft_construction">Construction</A>
      Brief description about construction.
    • <A href="#postcraft_aesthetics">Aesthetics</A>
      Brief description about aesthetics.
    • <A href="#postcraft_technical">Technical</A>
      Brief description about technical.

  • <A href="#postdesign">Design</A>
    Brief description about design.
    • <A href="#postdesign_balance">Balance</A>
      Brief description about balance.
    • <A href="#postdesign_flow">Flow</A>
      Brief description about flow.
    • <A href="#postdesign_action">Action</A>
      Brief description about action.

  • <A href="#poststyle">Style</A>
    Brief description about style.
    • <A href="#poststyle_fit">Fit</A>
      Brief description about fit.
    • <A href="#poststyle_creativity">Creativity</A>
      Brief description about creativity.
    • <A href="#poststyle_consistency">Consistency</A>
      Brief description about consistency.



  • <A name="postcraft">Craft</A>
    • <A name="postcraft_construction">Construction</A>
      Detailed information about construction goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed nec nunc. Integer id lorem. Quisque rhoncus diam sit amet arcu. Fusce lobortis dolor vel mi. Mauris imperdiet. Aenean ligula justo, imperdiet eu, malesuada sit amet, pretium id, arcu. Mauris nec est. In eu erat. In convallis. Nulla suscipit nibh. Mauris sed tellus.

    • <A name="postcraft_aesthetics">Aesthetics</A>
      Detailed information about aesthetics goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed nec nunc. Integer id lorem. Quisque rhoncus diam sit amet arcu. Fusce lobortis dolor vel mi. Mauris imperdiet. Aenean ligula justo, imperdiet eu, malesuada sit amet, pretium id, arcu. Mauris nec est. In eu erat. In convallis. Nulla suscipit nibh. Mauris sed tellus.

    • <A name="postcraft_technical">Technical</A>
      Detailed information about technical goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed nec nunc. Integer id lorem. Quisque rhoncus diam sit amet arcu. Fusce lobortis dolor vel mi. Mauris imperdiet. Aenean ligula justo, imperdiet eu, malesuada sit amet, pretium id, arcu. Mauris nec est. In eu erat. In convallis. Nulla suscipit nibh. Mauris sed tellus.

  • <A name="postdesign">Design</A>
    • <A name="postdesign_balance">Balance</A>
      Detailed information about balance goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed nec nunc. Integer id lorem. Quisque rhoncus diam sit amet arcu. Fusce lobortis dolor vel mi. Mauris imperdiet. Aenean ligula justo, imperdiet eu, malesuada sit amet, pretium id, arcu. Mauris nec est. In eu erat. In convallis. Nulla suscipit nibh. Mauris sed tellus.

    • <A name="postdesign_flow">Flow</A>
      Detailed information about flow goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed nec nunc. Integer id lorem. Quisque rhoncus diam sit amet arcu. Fusce lobortis dolor vel mi. Mauris imperdiet. Aenean ligula justo, imperdiet eu, malesuada sit amet, pretium id, arcu. Mauris nec est. In eu erat. In convallis. Nulla suscipit nibh. Mauris sed tellus.

    • <A name="postdesign_action">Action</A>
      Detailed information about action goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed nec nunc. Integer id lorem. Quisque rhoncus diam sit amet arcu. Fusce lobortis dolor vel mi. Mauris imperdiet. Aenean ligula justo, imperdiet eu, malesuada sit amet, pretium id, arcu. Mauris nec est. In eu erat. In convallis. Nulla suscipit nibh. Mauris sed tellus.

  • <A name="poststyle">Style</A>
    • <A name="poststyle_fit">Fit</A>
      Detailed information about fit goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed nec nunc. Integer id lorem. Quisque rhoncus diam sit amet arcu. Fusce lobortis dolor vel mi. Mauris imperdiet. Aenean ligula justo, imperdiet eu, malesuada sit amet, pretium id, arcu. Mauris nec est. In eu erat. In convallis. Nulla suscipit nibh. Mauris sed tellus.

    • <A name="poststyle_creativity">Creativity</A>
      Detailed information about creativity goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed nec nunc. Integer id lorem. Quisque rhoncus diam sit amet arcu. Fusce lobortis dolor vel mi. Mauris imperdiet. Aenean ligula justo, imperdiet eu, malesuada sit amet, pretium id, arcu. Mauris nec est. In eu erat. In convallis. Nulla suscipit nibh. Mauris sed tellus.

    • <A name="poststyle_consistency">Consistency</A>
      Detailed information about consistency goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed nec nunc. Integer id lorem. Quisque rhoncus diam sit amet arcu. Fusce lobortis dolor vel mi. Mauris imperdiet. Aenean ligula justo, imperdiet eu, malesuada sit amet, pretium id, arcu. Mauris nec est. In eu erat. In convallis. Nulla suscipit nibh. Mauris sed tellus.

 

Corion

L2: Junior Member
May 17, 2008
67
8
DJive, I'm wondering if you could condense the post a bit more.
A lot of people are probably going to skip that without reading it because it seems a little long.

I would list out the criteria and add links for people submitting surf maps, duel maps, orange maps, etc. with disclaimer sections for each map type at the bottom.

I.e.:
Orange Maps
If the map you are you submitting is an "orange" map, the map will not be reviewed. Dev textures are blah blah blah.

Surf Maps
If the map you are submitting is a "surf" map, there is a high probability that your map will not be reviewed. All surf maps that are submitted for reviewing through TF2Maps.net are expected to be designed with Team Fortress 2 in mind. This means that if the map is not balanced for TF2, considering all classes and blah blah blah.

Duel/Deathmatch Maps
By now you get the idea so it's just blah blah blah here about deathmatch and duel maps lacking a victory condition.

Sniper Maps
And here we tell people they need to make the map fun for all classes or we're not going to review it. A short apology after each of these might be appropriate "Sorry, but this is just how things are at TF2maps.net. I'm sure you can get your map reviewed elsewhere."



This way people who are submitting those maps will notice the sections easier and people who aren't know they can ignore them.

EDIT: We probably need another category for "FUN" maps.

Fun Maps
Are you serious? You want a review of one of these? No. Just ... just ... no. Not gonna happen. Blah blah blah.