Ive made poor gimmic maps for other HL mods in the past but as a first time TF2 mapper there are many different things that make up why first maps are what they are.
First maps help the mapper to learn about hammer and what it can do, so ofc they are going to look bad or scrappy. Even second and third maps are still going to be scrappy depending on how much the mapper has learnt. Its also a big hill for a beginner, when you are at the bottom and you look forward and think it will take a good 5 months to complete. Is it even worth all the time if assholes are going to shit on you every step of the way?
My first TF2 map was a rocket jump map aimed at internediate to hard rocket jumps. This means i spent time on the design of the map and how you would beat the jumps with whata soldier can do. Being a beginner, like most other jump maps, it was pretty standard vertical and horizontal brushes with the same texture and lighting. I stuck the map up on FPS Banana so like minded players who are interested in that could check out the designs of the jumps and see if they could complete the map.
The map got 2 reviews, both rated below a 1 out of 10 and the map got removed from the site within 1 day. The 2 guys who reviewed the map totaly ignored what i said the aim of the map was and rated it shit because it didnt look like dustbowl/2fort/whatever. WHO THE HELL COMPARES A ROCKETJUMP MAP WITH A MAP LIKE DUSTBOWL? Because of those 2 elitist assholes, other players didnt get to d/l and play the map from that site. It also makes a beginner think, why should i bother to learn more about hammer and mapping in general if 80% of the mapping community are cockbags who WILL unless you are a natural god at mapping flame you.
I quit bothering to map for a few months after that but after a request from a friend i made up a basic map for what he wanted. After i made it i spent a few days remaking it and learning to use the displacement tool to better effect. The remake of the map is probably the best so far that ive made but it is ofc still a gimmic map. Its a Death Match arena map where players can pick a class and have close combat fighting and train their aim.
Having people play your map is part of what you make it for. If elitist gfx whores are going to burn your shit down in such a quick time, would you even bother to try and make something that looks good? Because in 5 months time if its not good enough to satisfy the mapping gods (who probably havn't even released their own custom maps) you would have wasted your time.
So in brief:
- Beginners dont know how to fully use hammer or its tools, thus minimising what they can actualy do.
- Proper TF2 maps are made by professionals who get paid to map and have lots and lots of experiance and being their job, have lots of time to map which custom mappers dont have.
- The scale of a full TF2 map is way way too much for a single beginner to even think about, let alone take on.
The reason you see small gimmic maps from first time mappers is due to the above reasons.
Map links
My rocket jump map can be found here. Its designed for rockets so dont use a demo but for those of you who just like the graphical content of maps, you better use the demoman or dont download it at all.
http://files.filefront.com/rick+roll+rocketrar/;9997427;/fileinfo.html
I will post my 2nd map on this forum when its complete which shouldnt be very long at all if anyone is interested and isnt just going to shit talk.
Now im going to post a question in the help section on the mappers forum if i can find it because i am a noob still and i make noob gimmic maps for assholes to shit on. If i didnt they wouldnt have anything to do.