More Useful Map Vault Comments
By rowleybob
K. Map comments are great, and nobody likes them more
than I do. There are however some easy ways to make
your comments better.
In general, explaining WHY you like/dislike something
about the map is extremely more useful to the mapping
guy than not.
Sometimes it's hard to explain why you like/dislike
something, and you only "feel" a certain way. In that
case, play the map again or think a little bit harder
about it. If all else fails, simply tell the author
you can't put your finger on why at least.
Some tips to help the n00b and 133t h6x20rs alike:
THIS MAP IS AWSOME!! YOURS ARE ALL INTERNETS
While very encoraging, it doesn't tell the mapping guy
anything he can use to improve his map. Even if you
can't find anything wrong, or anything that needs improving
iyho, at least describe WHY said mapping guy is
winning
all teh internets.
Nice Map
A variation on above. Such
descriptive ratings
also have less merit. I shudder to think that I actually
used to rate maps like this
DON'T DO THIS!!1
This maps sucks. 1 star for you. *fail.
Perhaps the worst, most annoyingly useless rating/comment
you can give someone. Give some well-thought out reasons
why you think the mapping guy fails and his map are suck.
If a map is unusually bad I don't even bother rating it.
What does anybody gain by rating somebody's first map 1 star?
Some Damn-fine Good and Better examples:
Good:
Your textures suck. Scale them down a little and they'll
look better.
Better:
Your textures are awfully scaled, especially the ones in the
long south corridor. Scaling them much above twice their
normal value is usually a bad idea. Check out this tutorial
at...
Good:
You map is blocky as hell, and under detailed...
Better:
Your map is blocky and boringly detailed. The main hangar
area is essentially a box and the trim and light fixtures are
also big boxes. Try smoothing out the edges of the room with
wedges or other structures, and reduce the size of some of
your detail stuff. I can build some example props for you
if you like... pm if interested
Soe, as you can see, it's all very easy to be a better
map-rating guy. The
mapping guy benefits as well
as the rater--having that warm fuzzy feeling in your belly
after giving a nice set of comments, among other things I
hope!