Mission Design Tips

[Sotha]

Hi!

I started writing a wikiarticle on general mission design.

 

Maybe it helps new (and old) mappers to improve their work.

 

The basic work is here

http://modetwo.net/d...ion_Design_Tips

but it could use some more tips from other veteran mappers.

 

Let me know what you think.

[LEGION]

Thanks for that, I´ll need everything I can get. Oh, as I speak of it: I always wanted to ask, but I´m not this far now, but now I dare it:

 

Would you (the mappers) like it if me someone would rip the most stuff from other missions like architecture, scripts and what else is not 'nailed' into his own? I´m not talking of prefabs here. The main question is, is it ok to use released missions as spare-parts-source(can´t figure out a better word atm) even if the end-product is mostly put together with 'stolen' parts?

Sure I would ask the mappers, but if I forget, I don´t would want to have anyone mad at me.

 

Atm it´s a theoretically question, I haven´t done anything serious yet! I just want to know your opinion.

[Sotha]

@LEGION:

I'd say it is polite to ask for permission. If you use anything other than your own, you *must* give credit in your mission readme. Do not put the mapper you 'ripped off' as an author, but make it clear you used his work.

 

I'm unsure why would you use something made by others, since you can create complex stuff pretty fast and conveniently on your own. It may even be easier to make your own geometry than take from another map and then spend a lot of time to make it fit in yours. Creating the map on you own is also good practice for you.

 

Also I'm thinking the community aspect here: I would think it is a bit boring to explore the same inn in your map, Günther's map and Charlotte's map. It is better to have variety and individual implementations, rather than cloned geometry over and over again.

[Baddcog]

Yeah, I think is is polite to ask for permission. It's very easy to yank stuff from one mission but that doesn't mean it's respectful.

 

For the most part authors want their stuff to be unique and special.

 

But we are also working on getting a prefab contributers site up, so if people want to share pieces of their missions they can upload them there.

 

And I know on alot of my stuff it kindof gets "built into the map". So if you pull a building out there's probably alot of clean-up involved around the edges so it'll fit/seal with a new map.

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I'd say it's just best to look at maps for inspiration, then build something similar to the specs you want

[Fidcal]

Yes, that wiki article complements the basic A-Z very well: art v science aspects of map building as it were.

 

I see no problem in extracting very small generic parts from other maps and reworking them. For instance, say you have trouble making and texturing a rounded arch you might rip that out of another and retexture it. It's just a shape. Whose to say you didn't make it from scratch. But to take an entire hall of arches would be too recognizable.

 

There is already a contributions website (see thread.)