Feeling overwhelmed and pressured was certainly a factor, but more than that, I personally was trying to fit gameplay ideas and features that were just too complicated for Minecraft to handle, even as few features were added with each big update. I'm sure that sounds conceited, but it's the only way I know to say what I was thinking. I was imagining cutscenes, extremely dynamic environments, pseudo-jumpscares, puzzles that would shape the environment around you, etc.
I worked on a project in my last semester of high-school: a platformer prototype using Unreal Engine 4. Just from that small dip into the world of full-on game design, I realized how limited Minecraft was as a medium in relation to how I wanted to express myself. It was less pressure from the map market of complex, up-to-date, feature-packed experiences, and more a personal need to make something that represented my original vision.
And who knows, maybe one day I'll develop some of the ideas originally intended for Minecraft maps into fully-fledged games.
I know the feels bro. I've had it happen in so many cases, where I've had an idea for a mechanic, and Minecraft just isn't compatible. Actually, I had an idea for one recently, that I actually based my map around, but... no dice. Unfortunately, Minecraft is so limited that it's almost not worth it unless you want practice for balancing game design.
What I'd suggest: Either find a different medium to express your ideas (which I believe you said earlier was books,) or take a programming course and design your own games. Not much you can do other than that :/
I know the feels bro. I've had it happen in so many cases, where I've had an idea for a mechanic, and Minecraft just isn't compatible. Actually, I had an idea for one recently, that I actually based my map around, but... no dice. Unfortunately, Minecraft is so limited that it's almost not worth it unless you want practice for balancing game design.
What I'd suggest: Either find a different medium to express your ideas (which I believe you said earlier was books,) or take a programming course and design your own games. Not much you can do other than that :/
That's what I've been working towards. Starting next semester, I'll begin taking courses required for a New Media degree (touches on a lot of stuff, from animation to game design). I wish I could've started those classes sooner, but I couldn't because of stuff and things. >.>
But yeah, writing is a big creative outlet for me, and oftentimes it's not even the writing as much as it's just the general world-creation that comes before writing. No doubt I'll be inspired to work on more visual projects soon, but right now I'm content.
The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Join Date:
4/4/2012
Posts:
89
Location:
In my own little world
Minecraft:
lancearmada
Member Details
So i believe i may have fixed it. When i built the area i was trying to make a spawner that spawned fire charges and when looking around the area in mcedit it seems there was like hundreds of entities just sitting there infront of the spawner for some reason. I have deleted all the entities and i have not noticed the issue at all! But thanks for the information anyway, and if i do see it happening again i will try some of your suggestions.
On another note, i have been working on my map a bit on and off. Its hard because im at a point where i can't make new areas, and yet im having ideas for cool new areas (will have to wait for the sequal map maybe). Mix that with extremely slow progress in my friends beta testing. Maybe i will have to end up releasing a "beta" version to the community. Alas, i have still made some good improvements and heres a pic of a newly improved area:
Ice looks so nice, yet is so terrible gameplay wise... Oh well ill just consider it a "feature" to make the area more difficult XD
Ahh, good ol' Skeeto that makes the wall of China cry in shame
So lemme address a few of the things you said here:
1. As for super Pantheon/Heliceo maps: people want to create something which feels large and amazing and will get a response like those maps, as it feels more gratifying. Thus, this makes people be over-ambitious with stuff, as it's very obvious that a lot of us have been. Maybe people will try to tone things down a bit once they're done with their current super-maps, but until then, no one wants to scrap something they've spent the equivalent of 3 decent maps dev time on.
2. As for less posts: Skype, PM's, Twitter, etc. We have a Skype group and a lot of us communicate via Skype now, while large personal posts would usually be done through PM's which by this point, we also have a lot of. Also there are people like R3dwing that commonly use Twitter to get feedback and whatnot. I do agree that we should try use this place more than all the other media's, as they make everything be a lot more spread out, but they are quite comfortable and nice with certain things
3. One of the things that's making maps be away from the game and more like games of themselves is how we try and use a ton of features. There are places where they're good to use, and there are places where they're overkill. I'm sorry, you don't have to make a helmet that is the equivalent of a bunch of "if" statements in code to do some super cool effects in most cases. CTM's should try relying more on the game itself than other things, so they are more of a hard version of the game. Thing is, with all the features that we have now, doing that sorta feels like having a box with a ton of new toys while you're using the ye olde ones. IMHO, we just need to find a good balance between them, AKA use them in a somewhat rarer manner in a way that makes them enhance the game but not create a whole entire new one.
As AcaranDeahtstorm says above, it would help if the OP was updated regularly. I use the OP quite a lot to find maps for my server, and often times, ... actually, never, I see the OP change. I think if it were more up-to-date then it would help a lot.
As far as the aesthetics thing Acaran also said, I do believe that if it's not at least OK-looking, it won't get downloaded, but I do think it's possible to make a good, gameplay-based map that's interesting.
First, let's try comparing it to the current Game Industry. If any of you have watched many Game Design videos and movies like I have, you'd know that for Indie games (AKA first-timer map-makers), if you don't have a good *art style* then you're basically toast. Without a cool and interesting art style, no one will be interested. That being said, why does Treyarch and whoever else get away with gritty games that have almost no color? It's because they're already established (AKA long-timer map-makers, like Drago, Heliceo or Amlup). However, why did they get popular in the first place? Not that I was around during Treyarch's rise to CoD, but I can say for once that Amlup got his maps popular initially because he was popular on YouTube. That being said, his maps are excellent, but the only reason I think they became popular (considering, (having not played UT3 all the way through) they aren't too great with aesthetics) is because he had a loyal fanbase already established. Now, my theory for getting more simple CTM maps out there, is simply to do more marketing (that's the Game Industry term, I don't know what the mapping term is), and show off the gameplay of the map more, as opposed to just randomly posting a screenshot or two of meh-looking areas and calling it a day. Ye olde CTM podcast thingamajig, I think would be a great way to do this; get some people together, and play a map on a server for 30-45 minutes, talking with the Dev on it? I think that would be a great way to show off the gameplay of the map as opposed to just the aesthetics.
That being said, I think if more established Map-Makers were to start making more simpler maps, it would be somewhat disappointing, simply because of spectacle creep. However, I do think that they could get away with it if they had another series of CTM maps --- instead of just having one series of CTM maps and nothing else, maybe have a more casual series alongside it that is just simple, down-to-earth maps that are pure gameplay.
Okay people, just a little kick in the pants from the resident CTM streamer who regularly has to work on applications, so bear with me here.
I seriously doubt that people are leaving forever, nor are they willing to give up. It's just that people are human beings on this thread, and they need time to process their own lives. Making games that give fun to others is a tough gig for anyone, especially those who are not used to it like amateur game designers in the sense of actual experience. I love this genre, and I know that those behind it have interest in it too-they just need time.
I'm not going anywhere, because I still enjoy it...after I nearly broke my brain on Ragecraft and defeating it? I'm still here. It's just that we need to step back, and reflect on how far we've come..and what that means for the future. Don't give up on this yet.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hey there all. I stream CTMs as well as other indiegames, RPGs and more. Check me out: www.twitch.tv/aurabolt
Okay people, just a little kick in the pants from the resident CTM streamer who regularly has to work on applications, so bear with me here.
I seriously doubt that people are leaving forever, nor are they willing to give up. It's just that people are human beings on this thread, and they need time to process their own lives. Making games that give fun to others is a tough gig for anyone, especially those who are not used to it like amateur game designers in the sense of actual experience. I love this genre, and I know that those behind it have interest in it too-they just need time.
I'm not going anywhere, because I still enjoy it...after I nearly broke my brain on Ragecraft and defeating it? I'm still here. It's just that we need to step back, and reflect on how far we've come..and what that means for the future. Don't give up on this yet.
Agree 100%.
What might actually help is support new mapmakers by... supporting them, not harassing. We should just try to get people interested in making (small) maps and reward them for it, or help them in the process.
This might be a good time to collaborate with fellow mapmakers and others to brainstorm with the ideas we have, figure out design concepts and gameplay ideas as a group, or on Skype, or on a server, and figure out what we want to see. And of course, I'll be there to play.
What might actually help is support new mapmakers by... supporting them, not harassing. We should just try to get people interested in making (small) maps and reward them for it, or help them in the process.
This might be a good time to collaborate with fellow mapmakers and others to brainstorm with the ideas we have, figure out design concepts and gameplay ideas as a group, or on Skype, or on a server, and figure out what we want to see. And of course, I'll be there to play.
Y'know, I've got a server... if people are interested, I could set it up with some mapmaking tools and people could make a map together or something. It would probably be a good idea to set up a spreadsheet to coordinate what's going on, etc. I think this could be interesting, though. The map wouldn't necessarily be a Pantheon/Titan's Revolt-style map where everyone does their own area; people could work together and stuff, and switch back and forth between areas - something like "work on what you're interested in working on". Who here would be interested in doing something like this? What style (open-world, linear-branching, etc.) should the map be? What plugins should I put on the server?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Mapmaker and LPer of Complete The Monument (CTM) maps.
Creator/owner of the CTM Community Mapping Server - ask about it on the CTM Community thread!
Current projects:
Thanatos - a subterranean semi-open-world urban CTM
Titan's Revolt - a collaborative project run by ProjectCTM; sequel to Pantheon
Pinnacle - a "sketch" mini-CTM intended for newer players (nearing completion!)
I guess we could do a rough canvas sketch of the map in 1.6.4 then put in mcedit and port it to 1.8. I think that we are a little limited when it comes to mapping in game at the moment :(.
(btw) If we linked the current collab maps in progress to the CTM COMMUNITY front page they might get finished more efficiently. (I don't know if we do, I haven't seen any up. like ever...)
I think a good way to help "revive" the community would just be to help get new maps out. There aren't a lot of good places to see what new maps are out, and providing a place where players can see new maps should be a function of this thread. I think two things could be done to help this.
1. Update the main post on this thread / start a new thread with an updated main post. If players know they can come here (or to a new thread) and check out what new maps are out then that could really help out the community in general. We could also try to get some publicity for the CTM community in general out, and having a place we can direct players to where they can see an up to date list would be very helpful.
2. Have some sort of "Featured Map" section. This could be a great way to help new mapmakers get their maps some attention. This would only work if it was changed often enough, but having a section in the main post with a screenshot or two and a link to the mapmaker's thread could help people who might have a hard time deciding get right into the action with a CTM map. I think there should be some limits on what maps get featured though. First, they should be finished maps, and second, they should be from lesser known mapmakers. It defeats the purpose to have "Featured Map: Spellbound Caves (1.8 version)" since people are already pretty likely to have seen it. A brief post about the featured map posted to the thread when it's updated would work well with this.
In general, I think we should start working as a community to start spreading more about the CTM genre to players who haven't heard of them yet, or who have maybe forgot. Getting a larger player base will help all of us. More potential players for our maps, more potential contributors to the community, etc. I've really enjoyed the community while I've been a part of it so far, and I think it has a lot of potential if we pull together and make things happen. I don't think the maps themselves or the time people spend making them is the issue as much as a bit of a lack of organization.
Well generally people who are newer to the community or just released their first map and aren't getting as much attention. I think it'd be a good way to make people new to the community feel welcome and a part of it, as well as help them get feedback on their map and encourage them to keep contributing to the community.
Y'know, I've got a server... if people are interested, I could set it up with some mapmaking tools and people could make a map together or something. It would probably be a good idea to set up a spreadsheet to coordinate what's going on, etc. I think this could be interesting, though. The map wouldn't necessarily be a Pantheon/Titan's Revolt-style map where everyone does their own area; people could work together and stuff, and switch back and forth between areas - something like "work on what you're interested in working on". Who here would be interested in doing something like this? What style (open-world, linear-branching, etc.) should the map be? What plugins should I put on the server?
So yeah, I think enough people in the Skype group expressed interest in this idea that I kinda want to make this a thing. I feel like this would be a good thing for the community; it might help with the "oh noes ctm are dieing" feeling that I've been seeing in this thread lately. Not only could it be a good way to introduce new people to the community ("hey, want to help build a map and get tips from us?"), I feel like it'd be a good way for us to share ideas and inspiration so that we can all work on our own maps too and end this map drought.
So, I'm working on setting up my server (I haven't used it in ages, and apparently the hosting service had some changes that messed up how I manage the server), but in the meantime, I'd like to set up some more organizational structure. Should we start up a private message thread? A Skype group? I'm making a Google doc for general planning purposes. Do we even need any of this? (My opinion is yes, yes we do.) Tell me what you want! I don't want to do this all on my own.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Mapmaker and LPer of Complete The Monument (CTM) maps.
Creator/owner of the CTM Community Mapping Server - ask about it on the CTM Community thread!
Current projects:
Thanatos - a subterranean semi-open-world urban CTM
Titan's Revolt - a collaborative project run by ProjectCTM; sequel to Pantheon
Pinnacle - a "sketch" mini-CTM intended for newer players (nearing completion!)
The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Join Date:
4/4/2012
Posts:
89
Location:
In my own little world
Minecraft:
lancearmada
Member Details
"20 hours. No post! That used to never happen. " -goldentwister888
The ctm map making community, and this forum, is not dead, and spreading belief that it is dead will not help. Its like telling someone they are diseased and going to die, it doesn't cure them, it only depresses them and makes them more likely to die. But why is it not dead? well i am a new ctm map maker for starters so i'm proof that new map makers are coming. But more importantly there is all of you posting on this forum. I read one comment saying that the forum is not getting as many posts as it used to, so what? The CTM map maker community is not dieing. I come on the minecraft forum every day and i see that there are new posts from this forum in particular. That is in no way dieing. My server was dieing for a while and we would go a week without having a new post on the forums, so you guys are definitely exaggerating a bit. Oh yea, and even if we did start going a week without new posts, guess what? The server i play on was dieing, but it has recently revived itself. If this forum really is dieing then i'm sure it can too.
On another note, work continues on Danger O' Plenty. I had a epiphany of inspiration and was able to pretty much finish my work around intersection two areas. I will of course still need play testing for everything to determine what loot i should be giving where, but we'll get to that when i feel like all my areas are complete. So refurbishing of intersection 3 and 4 is still on the way. Intersection 3 had a couple areas from infinity chasm, my first map that i gave up on, so these will be a bit annoying to go over and re balance. Also i am not at all happy with how my final area is and there is a possibility that i will be remaking it. I have a gameplay idea where there are beacons laid out over the area and the player must destroy them as they progress to make the area safe. Unfortunatly i am still unsure on how the area will look and what blocks it will be made of.
I hope you guys realize your exaggerating a bit and i heard some guys mention that helping out new mapmakers would help the thread, and although i don't feel like i need much help at the moment, i think that is a great idea. (I am a bit biased though since i would be one of the people receiving help lol.)
I know the feels bro. I've had it happen in so many cases, where I've had an idea for a mechanic, and Minecraft just isn't compatible. Actually, I had an idea for one recently, that I actually based my map around, but... no dice. Unfortunately, Minecraft is so limited that it's almost not worth it unless you want practice for balancing game design.
What I'd suggest: Either find a different medium to express your ideas (which I believe you said earlier was books,) or take a programming course and design your own games. Not much you can do other than that :/
Eᴠᴇʀʏ 60 sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅs ɪɴ Aғʀɪᴄᴀ, ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴘᴀssᴇs. Tᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴ sᴛᴏᴘ ᴛʜɪs. Pʟᴇᴀsᴇ sᴘʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅ
That's what I've been working towards. Starting next semester, I'll begin taking courses required for a New Media degree (touches on a lot of stuff, from animation to game design). I wish I could've started those classes sooner, but I couldn't because of stuff and things. >.>
But yeah, writing is a big creative outlet for me, and oftentimes it's not even the writing as much as it's just the general world-creation that comes before writing. No doubt I'll be inspired to work on more visual projects soon, but right now I'm content.
- Enlarged 2 of the ponds, and removed all the others
- Added sugar canes around the ponds (not in the picture)
- Added soulsand around the ponds
- Added alternate-material trees
- Added the intersection above the spawn
- Replaced some of the dirt with podzol in the swamp area
Eᴠᴇʀʏ 60 sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅs ɪɴ Aғʀɪᴄᴀ, ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴘᴀssᴇs. Tᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴ sᴛᴏᴘ ᴛʜɪs. Pʟᴇᴀsᴇ sᴘʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅ
On another note, i have been working on my map a bit on and off. Its hard because im at a point where i can't make new areas, and yet im having ideas for cool new areas (will have to wait for the sequal map maybe). Mix that with extremely slow progress in my friends beta testing. Maybe i will have to end up releasing a "beta" version to the community. Alas, i have still made some good improvements and heres a pic of a newly improved area:
Danger O plenty-Epic Classical CTM map
Soycraft-my favorite server
Ultra Ecstatic Recreational Event-A ridiculous Challenge map, and sequel to "Super Happy Fun Times"
Keep up the good work!
Ahh, good ol' Skeeto that makes the wall of China cry in shame
So lemme address a few of the things you said here:
1. As for super Pantheon/Heliceo maps: people want to create something which feels large and amazing and will get a response like those maps, as it feels more gratifying. Thus, this makes people be over-ambitious with stuff, as it's very obvious that a lot of us have been. Maybe people will try to tone things down a bit once they're done with their current super-maps, but until then, no one wants to scrap something they've spent the equivalent of 3 decent maps dev time on.
2. As for less posts: Skype, PM's, Twitter, etc. We have a Skype group and a lot of us communicate via Skype now, while large personal posts would usually be done through PM's which by this point, we also have a lot of. Also there are people like R3dwing that commonly use Twitter to get feedback and whatnot. I do agree that we should try use this place more than all the other media's, as they make everything be a lot more spread out, but they are quite comfortable and nice with certain things
3. One of the things that's making maps be away from the game and more like games of themselves is how we try and use a ton of features. There are places where they're good to use, and there are places where they're overkill. I'm sorry, you don't have to make a helmet that is the equivalent of a bunch of "if" statements in code to do some super cool effects in most cases. CTM's should try relying more on the game itself than other things, so they are more of a hard version of the game. Thing is, with all the features that we have now, doing that sorta feels like having a box with a ton of new toys while you're using the ye olde ones. IMHO, we just need to find a good balance between them, AKA use them in a somewhat rarer manner in a way that makes them enhance the game but not create a whole entire new one.
Danger O plenty-Epic Classical CTM map
Soycraft-my favorite server
Ultra Ecstatic Recreational Event-A ridiculous Challenge map, and sequel to "Super Happy Fun Times"
[WoT]
As AcaranDeahtstorm says above, it would help if the OP was updated regularly. I use the OP quite a lot to find maps for my server, and often times, ... actually, never, I see the OP change. I think if it were more up-to-date then it would help a lot.
As far as the aesthetics thing Acaran also said, I do believe that if it's not at least OK-looking, it won't get downloaded, but I do think it's possible to make a good, gameplay-based map that's interesting.
First, let's try comparing it to the current Game Industry. If any of you have watched many Game Design videos and movies like I have, you'd know that for Indie games (AKA first-timer map-makers), if you don't have a good *art style* then you're basically toast. Without a cool and interesting art style, no one will be interested. That being said, why does Treyarch and whoever else get away with gritty games that have almost no color? It's because they're already established (AKA long-timer map-makers, like Drago, Heliceo or Amlup). However, why did they get popular in the first place? Not that I was around during Treyarch's rise to CoD, but I can say for once that Amlup got his maps popular initially because he was popular on YouTube. That being said, his maps are excellent, but the only reason I think they became popular (considering, (having not played UT3 all the way through) they aren't too great with aesthetics) is because he had a loyal fanbase already established. Now, my theory for getting more simple CTM maps out there, is simply to do more marketing (that's the Game Industry term, I don't know what the mapping term is), and show off the gameplay of the map more, as opposed to just randomly posting a screenshot or two of meh-looking areas and calling it a day. Ye olde CTM podcast thingamajig, I think would be a great way to do this; get some people together, and play a map on a server for 30-45 minutes, talking with the Dev on it? I think that would be a great way to show off the gameplay of the map as opposed to just the aesthetics.
That being said, I think if more established Map-Makers were to start making more simpler maps, it would be somewhat disappointing, simply because of spectacle creep. However, I do think that they could get away with it if they had another series of CTM maps --- instead of just having one series of CTM maps and nothing else, maybe have a more casual series alongside it that is just simple, down-to-earth maps that are pure gameplay.
[/WoT]
Eᴠᴇʀʏ 60 sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅs ɪɴ Aғʀɪᴄᴀ, ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴘᴀssᴇs. Tᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴ sᴛᴏᴘ ᴛʜɪs. Pʟᴇᴀsᴇ sᴘʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅ
I'm not sure that would help things, i think really new maps would be the better fix. Then again, i'm a Veteran so i might be biased
Edit: Oh, well at least I got a PAGE GET!
I seriously doubt that people are leaving forever, nor are they willing to give up. It's just that people are human beings on this thread, and they need time to process their own lives. Making games that give fun to others is a tough gig for anyone, especially those who are not used to it like amateur game designers in the sense of actual experience. I love this genre, and I know that those behind it have interest in it too-they just need time.
I'm not going anywhere, because I still enjoy it...after I nearly broke my brain on Ragecraft and defeating it? I'm still here. It's just that we need to step back, and reflect on how far we've come..and what that means for the future. Don't give up on this yet.
If you like what you see, follow me on Twitter to know when I stream:
https://twitter.com/Aurabolt1
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Curse PremiumAgree 100%.
What might actually help is support new mapmakers by... supporting them, not harassing. We should just try to get people interested in making (small) maps and reward them for it, or help them in the process.
If you like what you see, follow me on Twitter to know when I stream:
https://twitter.com/Aurabolt1
*looks at Hybran*
Eᴠᴇʀʏ 60 sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅs ɪɴ Aғʀɪᴄᴀ, ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴘᴀssᴇs. Tᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴ sᴛᴏᴘ ᴛʜɪs. Pʟᴇᴀsᴇ sᴘʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅ
Y'know, I've got a server... if people are interested, I could set it up with some mapmaking tools and people could make a map together or something. It would probably be a good idea to set up a spreadsheet to coordinate what's going on, etc. I think this could be interesting, though. The map wouldn't necessarily be a Pantheon/Titan's Revolt-style map where everyone does their own area; people could work together and stuff, and switch back and forth between areas - something like "work on what you're interested in working on". Who here would be interested in doing something like this? What style (open-world, linear-branching, etc.) should the map be? What plugins should I put on the server?
(btw) If we linked the current collab maps in progress to the CTM COMMUNITY front page they might get finished more efficiently. (I don't know if we do, I haven't seen any up. like ever...)
I would be happy to give my time, if ya want it.
1. Update the main post on this thread / start a new thread with an updated main post. If players know they can come here (or to a new thread) and check out what new maps are out then that could really help out the community in general. We could also try to get some publicity for the CTM community in general out, and having a place we can direct players to where they can see an up to date list would be very helpful.
2. Have some sort of "Featured Map" section. This could be a great way to help new mapmakers get their maps some attention. This would only work if it was changed often enough, but having a section in the main post with a screenshot or two and a link to the mapmaker's thread could help people who might have a hard time deciding get right into the action with a CTM map. I think there should be some limits on what maps get featured though. First, they should be finished maps, and second, they should be from lesser known mapmakers. It defeats the purpose to have "Featured Map: Spellbound Caves (1.8 version)" since people are already pretty likely to have seen it. A brief post about the featured map posted to the thread when it's updated would work well with this.
In general, I think we should start working as a community to start spreading more about the CTM genre to players who haven't heard of them yet, or who have maybe forgot. Getting a larger player base will help all of us. More potential players for our maps, more potential contributors to the community, etc. I've really enjoyed the community while I've been a part of it so far, and I think it has a lot of potential if we pull together and make things happen. I don't think the maps themselves or the time people spend making them is the issue as much as a bit of a lack of organization.
So yeah, I think enough people in the Skype group expressed interest in this idea that I kinda want to make this a thing. I feel like this would be a good thing for the community; it might help with the "oh noes ctm are dieing" feeling that I've been seeing in this thread lately. Not only could it be a good way to introduce new people to the community ("hey, want to help build a map and get tips from us?"), I feel like it'd be a good way for us to share ideas and inspiration so that we can all work on our own maps too and end this map drought.
So, I'm working on setting up my server (I haven't used it in ages, and apparently the hosting service had some changes that messed up how I manage the server), but in the meantime, I'd like to set up some more organizational structure. Should we start up a private message thread? A Skype group? I'm making a Google doc for general planning purposes. Do we even need any of this? (My opinion is yes, yes we do.) Tell me what you want! I don't want to do this all on my own.
The ctm map making community, and this forum, is not dead, and spreading belief that it is dead will not help. Its like telling someone they are diseased and going to die, it doesn't cure them, it only depresses them and makes them more likely to die. But why is it not dead? well i am a new ctm map maker for starters so i'm proof that new map makers are coming. But more importantly there is all of you posting on this forum. I read one comment saying that the forum is not getting as many posts as it used to, so what? The CTM map maker community is not dieing. I come on the minecraft forum every day and i see that there are new posts from this forum in particular. That is in no way dieing. My server was dieing for a while and we would go a week without having a new post on the forums, so you guys are definitely exaggerating a bit. Oh yea, and even if we did start going a week without new posts, guess what? The server i play on was dieing, but it has recently revived itself. If this forum really is dieing then i'm sure it can too.
On another note, work continues on Danger O' Plenty. I had a epiphany of inspiration and was able to pretty much finish my work around intersection two areas. I will of course still need play testing for everything to determine what loot i should be giving where, but we'll get to that when i feel like all my areas are complete. So refurbishing of intersection 3 and 4 is still on the way. Intersection 3 had a couple areas from infinity chasm, my first map that i gave up on, so these will be a bit annoying to go over and re balance. Also i am not at all happy with how my final area is and there is a possibility that i will be remaking it. I have a gameplay idea where there are beacons laid out over the area and the player must destroy them as they progress to make the area safe. Unfortunatly i am still unsure on how the area will look and what blocks it will be made of.
I hope you guys realize your exaggerating a bit and i heard some guys mention that helping out new mapmakers would help the thread, and although i don't feel like i need much help at the moment, i think that is a great idea. (I am a bit biased though since i would be one of the people receiving help lol.)
PS: Defeating a sandwich, only makes it tastier
Danger O plenty-Epic Classical CTM map
Soycraft-my favorite server
Ultra Ecstatic Recreational Event-A ridiculous Challenge map, and sequel to "Super Happy Fun Times"