Advice Needed

Hello,
I'm Thasis and I'm planning on getting big into Warcraft. I played it while back but I got obssessed with Runescape and didn't have enough time. Now that I've quit I have time to come back to Warcraft.

One of the main things that have always gotten my attention was map making. It looks real fun and I want to break into making maps. I was wondering if anyone could be give me any general advice, instructions, ect.

Theres quite a few threads around here with alot of tips, n answers to questions. Mainly though the best tip for a total noob map maker is to start small and easy.. Find out what ur good at, and what you suck balls at then make some small maps untill you can do a lil of everything, then either make, or join teams, or if you prefer work alone.


G/L with ur career :P

try dl soem maps or go on bnet, open up other peoples map n then seein what they did to get ceretain effects etc, like assasin said, start small you wont be a pro straight off the bat but after time and experince you can be. If you need any help just ask alot of people here will be happy to help(as long as your nice :) )

My advice would be, similar as already said, experiment a bit with the object editor and the trigger editor, most of the work you have to do on a map is done with these two tools (besides doing the terrain). Read the stickied topics here in developer's corner, they contain many usefull tips. If you run into difficulties in your experiments, you can look at how things are done in a similar map or just ask on the forums what you are doing wrong. After some time, when you figure out how things you want to do can be done, you'll be ready to start making your playable map.

The earth warms to touch of your passing, child!

Heed my advice, child!

Try to delve into RPG-type maps. There is a lack of those in WarCraft mapping community.
Most of the maps that are created each months are dumb tower defences and similar, second-hand idea scenarios.

Try to create a story, characters... It may not be multiplayer, but it doesn't really matter if the story and gamplay is interesting and immersive.

Also, try to find a likeminded comrade to work together. When you are alone, your motivation might wane very quickly, my child. A fellow mapper, on the other hand, will stimulate the process and your motivation will be saved.

Bless you, my child.

Just make whatever you want

To start out, make a small map thats fairly easy (just what you can figure out) and then experiment and add to it with different stuff.

Also keep in mind to put a lot of effort into your map if u want to release it. Im so tired of buildings and spells with no text and totally unbalanced units in most of the maps on bnet.

oh and try not to "take on" to many projects either stick to one at a time and concertrate on it. I usually get 2-4 new map ideas when im half way through a map and can get side tracked but i try stick to 1 at a time, + if u take on to many ull neglect or just not bother.

What about note taking? Make a document on your computer, and make notes specifically for doing things in the world editor. This way, everything doesn't have to stay in your brain.

This is what I'm doing. It helps a lot.

Make sure you make two copies of your notes. You never know when you could need a spare. :P

Save back-ups of your maps, prefferabley to a disc or another computer. That way if your computer crashes or you screw up the map, you don't have to start over. Do it frequently, if you only back up once a week you could loose a lot of work. I try to do it every 2-3 days when I'm working on the map.

the note taking and map back up is a good idea, i hardly ever back up as much as i should, which is kinda bad.