2. Items which are impossible to pick up/items that don't despawn. For those of us that use command blocks and fancy stuff this may be useful for things like boss fight loot (or general trolling).
So I'm actually most interested in this. The main thing I came up with was props of some sort, like placing a floating sword that can't be picked up and won't despawn above a villager who does weapons trading. It'll look a bit nicer with the 3D rotation effects, as opposed to the item frames that are generally used.
What do you find are the best times to do mapmaking? Meaning, do you like doing it when you're bored, when you're feeling particularly inspired, on a strict schedule, whenever you've got spare time, etc.?
Personally I don't do mapmaking on a schedule of any sort. General gaming takes up a lot of my time, and when I'm feeling bored with those games, or just feeling more inspired to pursue creative things, that's when I'll work on maps.
What are the process you guys do to make structure based areas, mainly castles? Do you make a large box in mcedit and plop down air boxes for rooms and decorate them by hand or do all of the castle buildings by hand? I want to find the best ways of doing this since I don't really enjoy doing architectural builds as much as terraforming since i felt it could be really tedious sometimes, but I want to add some castles and such to add some diversity in my map.
Thanks
It really depends for me. For Avalon Fortress, I plopped down a bunch of hollow boxes in MCedit and filled in the space from there. However, for T.R.O.L.L.Tech Facility 08 (not literally a castle, but it fits the role of one nicely,) I started with a solid box and air-brush'd my way through it. In both cases, I hand-built all the details inside. I'd say I really prefer the solid box and air-brush approach, as it allows you to add rooms as you need them, as opposed to having to fill space with rooms that you might not necessarily need.
So as it seems my previous banner for Tales of Darkness was too dark (pun totally intended). Because of this I've decided that before I try and work on a new one I'd like for you guys to choose which one(s) of the following screenshots of my map would be best to create a banner off of: *snip* Also if there's any other extra details you'd like to say about the screenshot or even the map itself please do so :).
So, just from those screenshots, I'd say the second or the last one would be the best for a banner.
For general feedback on the pictures, I've got a few things to say. Is the very first picture from your testworld or something? 'Cuz it looks really random and doesn't make much sense. For the second picture, I'd suggest adding something of interest to the area, as opposed to repetitive and monotone resource trees. The third looks okay, but I'm not feeling the block variation. Fourth has some really odd block choices and really minimalistic structures. I really suggest you try and pick a common theme for each area and stick to that, as opposed to adding more and more and more and more an- you get the idea. Fifth/sixth pictures are better, but still pretty monotone and difficult to look at. Seventh is interesting, but once again monotone due to the lack of detail. The last one is probably my favorite actually, as you've got enough blocks mixed in, as well as a focal point structure to bring my interest in.
Please don't take this as rudeness or double posting, but could you guys please give me some feedback on the pics I posted on page 729 for my banner? I'd prefer that before I start making one I'll be able to know which pic seems the best for a banner. Again, please don't take this as rudeness or anything from the likes of such, it's just that it seems that everyone kinda missed that post totally.
This definitely didn't come off as rude, but you don't want to sound like you're begging. I'll admit, I skimmed over your post a few times while reading more current posts, but that was probably because most of your post was text with one spoiler, so it didn't catch me. You could try posting a screenie or two outside the spoiler and say "these are my two main choices right now, other alternatives in the spoiler. What do you guys think?" or something along those lines.
Well, I've come to the conclusion that I probably won't ever finish my CTM map. In total I'd say I've worked on it, on and off, for about 6 months. Frankly, I haven't been working at all the past 6 months though, and I kinda don't have time to work on it the coming 6 months so... I figured I'd show you what I've put into the map so far (Areas in no particular order, some are completely finished, others only about 10-20% done. I guess I'll leave it up to you to decide which ones are done and which ones are not...).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not quitting Minecraft, I gosh darn love the game, and I'm not quitting mapping, nor am I quitting CTM playing... But I think I'll steer my mapping more towards PvP maps, or for all I know, shorter CTM maps (infact I do have a CTM project I'm very keen on getting done!).
Spoiler because, lots of images (also sorry about varying quality/shaders, I couldn't be bothered to go back in-game and snap a new shot of everything.)
*snip*
Aww. Those pictures are really nice, but also a huge tease, knowing what the map could have been, but probably won't ever be. If you find yourself with time to spare, I would really highly consider finishing this. I don't know how close you are to completion, but it looks like you've got nearly enough areas for a full map. Besides, I've been working on DsD for almost a year now, on and off almost constantly, and I'm not about to stop.
Okay so I just realised something pretty crucial. How will we make our super epic loot boxes now with how lapis is in 1.8?
Lapis is only really important once the player has an enchanting table, and once they're at that stage, the mapmaker is going to want to let them use that enchanting table, so they'll likely provide lapis in large amounts. Anyway, I don't think it's going to be a big deal.
So this is my first try at a banner, any thoughts? *snip*
Definitely a good first effort, but it's too dark (not being ironic here because of the title, just from a practical point it's too dark.) I can't tell what the text reads below the series name without leaning in and squinting my eyes, not something you generally want. I'd suggest picking a lighter screenie and sizing down the text a bit; you want people admiring your work, not your font choice.
I've been working on the Gray Wool area for the past few days, and things are almost finished; I'm thinking about 90% completed. I just need to work out a few interior details, place the majority of the loot, add spawners, and it'll be done! After that, I'll return to Jaws of the World (currently 80% complete) to hammer out a few more things before placing loot/spawners and it'll be complete as well. Once those are finished, I'll be free to move on to three completely untouched Intersection 04 areas.
1. A good and free program to make a banner. I'm not intending on buying some editor program just to make a banner. I'm aiming to make mine similar to Eeriewolf's "Arcane Tales" banner in a certain manner.
2. How do you do things like how Fangride did in his thread the little log icons separating different sections of his thread (certain other people use wool and such).
3. How do you do map anchors (when you click something in the top of the thread it sends you down to a certain map in the thread, like how Vechs has it in his map thread).
Sorry if some of these things are extremely obvious and I just don't know how to do them, I just want to make my thread look neat.
Well I can help you with two of the three of those.
1. GIMP is a free and relatively easy to use program. It's what I've used for just about every edited picture I've posted here.
2. Those would be emoticons actually! Just click the little smilie face in the post editor, then click "Show All" under the little row that pops up. You'll find a list of all the icons there.
As for 3, I've been wondering the same thing as well. I know clicking on the post number in the upper right corner of a post gives you an anchor just to that post, but it doesn't work for mid-post anchors.
1) What are your opinions on speedrunning, and what would you do to encourage / discourage speedrunning or sequence breaking?
2) Do you think multisegmented speedruns are legitimate, and why / why not?
1) I think speedrunners are a great resource to expand the length of a map's popularity. To encourage speedrunning in DsD, I'm including a number of well-hidden shortcuts that can save a lot of time, as well as some smaller structural gimmicks to simplify traversal. However, I'm trying to hide these shortcuts so they won't be found on someone's first playthrough, and some so incredibly well-hidden that some speedrunners won't even find it (subsequently, these shortcuts will save the most amount of time.)
2)I'm not a fan of multisegmented speedruns, as it allows you to construct the perfect run, and even though you might have the skill to perfect each segment, you don't have the skill to string them together in real time.
Now I understand that this is heavy sarcasm, but just to satisfy my OCD, I am replying to this:
1. I fail to see how people on the forum can physically tear people to shreds.
2. I am a very calm and hyperactive person, so hatred won't work on me.
3. I am probably the most accurate speller you will ever encounter.
4. Not letting people express their opinion is technically breaking the law. :S
5. Double posting is a waste of my time.
6. I <3 sarcasm.
So as an addon to the previous community question: what makes a black wool area feel the way it should? What makes it feel epic and like it's a final area, like the last accomplishment, what gives it the epic feeling it needs to have? (Also if it's a fortress area more specifically because I plan on making my final area be a fortress, so I wanna know what I need to do to give it the correct feeling).
(Before I start, you should probably know that we like to have community questions spaced out by at least a page or so, just so people don't fire off rapid questions and none of them get any attention. This is a different situation, as it's an add-on to the previous question, but I still felt the need to mention it. )
The question of what makes something feel like a solid conclusion is one that I think most people will be hard-pressed to answer accurately, as it's largely subjective. Some people may find satisfaction in completing a difficult mind-puzzle as the final challenge, whilst others will settle for nothing less than an epic death fortress packed with the deadliest of mobs and traps. The biggest thing you need to convey with black wool is a sense of accomplishment. In almost all cases, the black wool will be your final challenge, so there should be considerable difficulty, or at least something to distinguish it from just another area.
New command /particle to show particle effects in the world. It can also be relative to entities. Example: /particle lava ~ ~1 ~ 1 1 1 0.5 2 @e[type=Chicken]
...do I need to explain how much potential this has? I can come up with at least a dozen custom mobs that will benefit from this feature. Granted, it doesn't do much as far as functionality goes, but it's gonna be really useful for effects.
So I've been thinking how i'm going to do my black wool area(Though I still have a while to go in my map) and I've been looking at some other black wool areas and realized they usually classify under 1 of 3 categories:
1.Citadel/Fortress/Dungeon rooms - Which is typically a large "Death Fortress" with many rooms and one of them contains the wool.
2.Void Bridge/Void Fort - A standard void based area with extra difficulty because it's the black wool.(I don't rather care for having a void based area as the black wool)
3."Chaos Cavern" - Which is a large to medium sized cavern filled with a lot of enemies and danger. It can work the same as #1 but its a cavern rather then a fortress.
Which brings a community question,
What type of area do you like for black wool areas?(How do you like to make your black wool area?)
Well right off the bat, I'll just say I dislike the idea of Chaos Caverns as you call them. I find the black wool is much better suited to a structure of some sort, or at least I like it better that way. Maybe it's just how poorly Inferno Mines did the Chaos Cavern concept that turns me off to the idea, as UT1/3 both had great black wool areas with similar concepts. If done right, void areas can be great for black wool (a la UT2.)
Now, for my black wool areas, I like to have some sort of twist or gameplay complication that will really put strain on the player. People who have finished Isles know what the twist was in that map (don't spoil it. :U) The twist for the black wool in Depths will be much more immediately apparent, with some not-immediately-apparent consequences that the player will have to adapt to. For Heavens, I've got two twists in mind, one that will essentially weave the three maps together story-wise, but I'll have to think about it carefully and develop those ideas.
I like this snapshot update, and the mob eggs are a really nice addition. However, I feel that the "sheep eat grass to regain wool" is a bit overpowered. I'm not complaining, I use wool for carpeting a lot, but it seems kinda unrealistic for the sheep to regain their wool so easily. It might work better to have them eat the wheat grass to regain their wool, and only after a timer of like five minutes. Still, nice snapshot. :smile.gif:
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Community Question!
What do you find are the best times to do mapmaking? Meaning, do you like doing it when you're bored, when you're feeling particularly inspired, on a strict schedule, whenever you've got spare time, etc.?
Personally I don't do mapmaking on a schedule of any sort. General gaming takes up a lot of my time, and when I'm feeling bored with those games, or just feeling more inspired to pursue creative things, that's when I'll work on maps.
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...whaa
wait wait wat
WHADAHECK
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For general feedback on the pictures, I've got a few things to say. Is the very first picture from your testworld or something? 'Cuz it looks really random and doesn't make much sense. For the second picture, I'd suggest adding something of interest to the area, as opposed to repetitive and monotone resource trees. The third looks okay, but I'm not feeling the block variation. Fourth has some really odd block choices and really minimalistic structures. I really suggest you try and pick a common theme for each area and stick to that, as opposed to adding more and more and more and more an- you get the idea. Fifth/sixth pictures are better, but still pretty monotone and difficult to look at. Seventh is interesting, but once again monotone due to the lack of detail. The last one is probably my favorite actually, as you've got enough blocks mixed in, as well as a focal point structure to bring my interest in.
This definitely didn't come off as rude, but you don't want to sound like you're begging. I'll admit, I skimmed over your post a few times while reading more current posts, but that was probably because most of your post was text with one spoiler, so it didn't catch me. You could try posting a screenie or two outside the spoiler and say "these are my two main choices right now, other alternatives in the spoiler. What do you guys think?" or something along those lines.
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SHARDVEIL COVE TOO EASY HMMMMM? WHAT NOW? >:}
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Definitely a good first effort, but it's too dark (not being ironic here because of the title, just from a practical point it's too dark.) I can't tell what the text reads below the series name without leaning in and squinting my eyes, not something you generally want. I'd suggest picking a lighter screenie and sizing down the text a bit; you want people admiring your work, not your font choice.
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Super Amazing DsD Update of Spontaneity!
I've been working on the Gray Wool area for the past few days, and things are almost finished; I'm thinking about 90% completed. I just need to work out a few interior details, place the majority of the loot, add spawners, and it'll be done! After that, I'll return to Jaws of the World (currently 80% complete) to hammer out a few more things before placing loot/spawners and it'll be complete as well. Once those are finished, I'll be free to move on to three completely untouched Intersection 04 areas.
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1. GIMP is a free and relatively easy to use program. It's what I've used for just about every edited picture I've posted here.
2. Those would be emoticons actually! Just click the little smilie face in the post editor, then click "Show All" under the little row that pops up. You'll find a list of all the icons there.
As for 3, I've been wondering the same thing as well. I know clicking on the post number in the upper right corner of a post gives you an anchor just to that post, but it doesn't work for mid-post anchors.
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2)I'm not a fan of multisegmented speedruns, as it allows you to construct the perfect run, and even though you might have the skill to perfect each segment, you don't have the skill to string them together in real time.
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The question of what makes something feel like a solid conclusion is one that I think most people will be hard-pressed to answer accurately, as it's largely subjective. Some people may find satisfaction in completing a difficult mind-puzzle as the final challenge, whilst others will settle for nothing less than an epic death fortress packed with the deadliest of mobs and traps. The biggest thing you need to convey with black wool is a sense of accomplishment. In almost all cases, the black wool will be your final challenge, so there should be considerable difficulty, or at least something to distinguish it from just another area.
Okay I was going to keep writing this post but OMG SNAPSHOT TIEM: https://mojang.com/2014/01/minecraft-snapshot-14w04a/
Here's what I'm excited about:
- New command /particle to show particle effects in the world. It can also be relative to entities. Example: /particle lava ~ ~1 ~ 1 1 1 0.5 2 @e[type=Chicken]
...do I need to explain how much potential this has? I can come up with at least a dozen custom mobs that will benefit from this feature. Granted, it doesn't do much as far as functionality goes, but it's gonna be really useful for effects.0
Now, for my black wool areas, I like to have some sort of twist or gameplay complication that will really put strain on the player. People who have finished Isles know what the twist was in that map (don't spoil it. :U) The twist for the black wool in Depths will be much more immediately apparent, with some not-immediately-apparent consequences that the player will have to adapt to. For Heavens, I've got two twists in mind, one that will essentially weave the three maps together story-wise, but I'll have to think about it carefully and develop those ideas.