4 replies to this topic

[Jgoodroad]

Two basic Ideas I can think of for how to get more people to map for Overwatch.

1. Have a section on this forum where people can upload their maps (for testing and releases)

2. make the minimap optional for mappers. (This was a potential deal breaker for me, really casts a negative light on the prospect of mapping for OW, if I hadn't put so much work into my map I may not have joined the contest at all) Although it might be easy for some people, it wasn't for me, and I doubt it would be easy for people just starting out. (perhaps you can tie it to an entity.)

[braddollar]

Jgoodroad, on 02 February 2011 - 01:55 PM, said:

2. make the minimap optional for mappers.

Making a mini map is an extremely simple task. First time took maybe 10 minutes, each time after that just a couple of minutes to create. Simplicity aside, there is nothing requiring that you use a mini map in your map. There was such a requirement in the contest, but it's not as if your map will not run without a mini map. It will imply a few things to release a "finished" map without a mini map, but if you're comfortable with releasing something incomplete who cares.

[AndY]

Jgoodroad, on 02 February 2011 - 01:55 PM, said:

Two basic Ideas I can think of for how to get more people to map for Overwatch.

1. Have a section on this forum where people can upload their maps (for testing and releases)

2. make the minimap optional for mappers. (This was a potential deal breaker for me, really casts a negative light on the prospect of mapping for OW, if I hadn't put so much work into my map I may not have joined the contest at all) Although it might be easy for some people, it wasn't for me, and I doubt it would be easy for people just starting out. (perhaps you can tie it to an entity.)

1. Was already covered in the IRC channel. If you've missed it, we'll be making the announcement soon.

2. Making an overview material is the easiest part of making a map for Overwatch, specially since it's the same way you'd make it for any other Source game or mod. Without it, you'd be denying players of your map access to a very valuable tool, specially the ones playing as GM. Although Brad's correct in that you can release your map in any shape you want, we strongly discourage it.



You need to understand that every person will have some difficulty when mapping for any game (trouble understanding entities, node graphs, etc..). The solution is never to get rid of the feature; instead, we should be looking at ways to provide support.

In our case, we have a forum section dedicated to community maps and mappers, we have detailed spec sheets for all our custom entities in the Resources area, and we have live one-on-one support in our IRC channel (there are many Overwatch developers and community mappers there during the day). Make use of these resources, that's what they're there for.

[Trainzack]

AndY, on 02 February 2011 - 03:38 PM, said:

Without [the minimap], you'd be denying players of your map access to a very valuable tool, specially the ones playing as GM. Although Brad's correct in that you can release your map in any shape you want, we strongly discourage it.

What if the very nature of the map makes a minimap impossible/unnessesary/game-breaking?

[AndY]

Trainzack, on 08 February 2011 - 08:40 PM, said:

What if the very nature of the map makes a minimap impossible/unnessesary/game-breaking?

Can you think of an example?