Map Center Stage

I've noticed in the development of my map and with discussing with fellow mapmakers and the such, that most maps, even the best ones, just don't get enough support in the development stage or even in the completed stage.

I was chatting about this with a couple mods from this here site, and from them I was inspired to formally suggest it to the public and see how it goes over.
Shall we begin?

Well, the idea behind this concept is to support maps in general by having a section on the site where everyother week a new map would be posted.
The map would be picked based on fun primarily, but also on quality, originality, and more.
Notably, a map would not have to be part of the resource section to be picked!

Effectively, it would be a place where maps would be shown to the public to try them.
I have noticed in my ventures across BNet and the entire WC3 world that a lot of the best maps never recieve any attention, and are usually forgotten and fall to the wayside of things.
This is a very unfortunate happening that well-made maps with lots of potential get forgotten and then cease production.
I think we, as a very prominent modding community, should do something about this.

That is why I am suggesting "Map Center Stage".
Map Center Stage would of course have its moderators, whoever they would end up being (Probably Griffen and the other map section moderators) who would delve into the recesses of Bnet and the maps and campaigns section and find maps that were excellently made but just didn't recieve any promotion or recognition.

I think by doing this, we could help the mapmaking community threefold.

• It would help motivate the mapmaker to get it done and out there! (Maybe even into our resource section!)
• It would give the community itself a new map worth trying everyother week, possibly giving the map new fans even!
• It might promote a little more activity too, since people could suggest maps they think deserve to be on "Map Center Stage."

There of course would be standards for maps that would be considered for this sort of promotion.
Note, this would not replace the resource section, rather supplement it. The maps picked for this are NOT accepted to the resource section.
These maps are simply put out there based on potential and fun, they're for the world to give a try!
Read on:

• The most important factor in this promotion would be to pick FUN maps! Fun above all else! If its fun, it qualifies here!
• After the fun factor is analyzed, quality is considered, "Is it playable?" for example.
• Even older maps that have been forgotten to the recesses of time (Those old school maps we all love but never found hosted) would be considered!
• Revolutionary maps could also be chosen for this type of promotion, things that redefined how a certain genre was made ie.
• Maps don't HAVE to be part of the resource section, that's the point! Maybe it's not known all too well and needs a little promotion to get up there!
• Any genre of map would be considered, it doesn't matter, as long as it's fun and needs the oomph, then it might get it!

So tell me...
As a mapmaker, don't you ever wish you got a little more support?
Don't you some days open the WE and wonder "Why am I doing this?", don't you ever play your map and ask how in the world it'll ever get hosted amidst a world of DotA and more DotA?
Wouldn't you like some more appreciation for the hard work you put forth for no other reason but to give the world something else besides DotA to enjoy?

And so now, I reach out to you all, the community, the administrators, the moderators, the mapmakers, the frequents, and everyone else.
Let's make this happen? Let's give maps with future and loads of potential a place to say "I was promoted here!" proudly and a little extra support to keep them going! Give them a few more fans to keep them motivated, maybe even supply a couple awesome ideas!
Let's take the modding community one step further and get really involved, let's make this happen and support the people of this site and beyond by promoting maps that deserve it!

I implore you all, consider the idea and offer some feedback, tell me what you think of it!
Thanks very much for reading this far, I hope I made it clear enough for everyone.

~Dusk

We'd run out after 2 weeks.


Very much so, but your suggestion wouldn't solve that. If it isn't made by soemone at WC3C, there isn't much we can do besides contact them and hope they reply. If they are, odds are they'd post anyway and it would generate interest in the normal way.

Main issue is that very few maps are of a decent quality, or have any real form of dedication behind them (eg: all of my maps).

Captain hit the nail on the head here unfortunatly :(. I too have opened up WE and thought to myself, "Why am I doing this?"

My advice is to work on a genre that is very popular. A TD (COUGH) will fill quite well, instantly at anytime if its well known. A Tag map WILL NOT fill quite well, regardless of quality. I can tell you from experience that hosting a Tag (GUESS) during the day can fill it in under a minute which isn't too bad. When night rolls around its a whole different story though.

Heres the deal, as a mapmaker you need to decide what you want out of your map. If your mapping for the fun of mapping and/or simply want to create something for your friends then make w/e the fuck you want. If you want map popularity and want to be able to host your map and get it full in under a minute at anytime of the day, then you must limit yourself to specific genres.

I could list all the different genres and tell you what and whatnot to make, but it would be easier to go onto your own server, and see what people are playing. Sit there for 5 minutes and refresh the list and see what comes up. Different games will be played at different times and on different servers, so specific advice cannot encompass everyone by anymeans (for example, Tag (GUESS) fills like crap on East(night)/Euro(night) but well on West(anytime)/East(day).)

I know this is just a big ramble. I wanted to get this out there because I have been pissed many times for choosing a Tag as my first map to work on. I have hosted the Tag and sat there waiting 5 minutes for it to fill, only to give up and be forced to play something else. Let me tell you, taking on a TD was very rewarding. Being able to get on at ANY time of the day and fill my game in under 1 minute is nice. Regardless of server/time, this advice I can give to you that is specific: AVOID TAGS!

I dont think we should cater to whats popular, anything can become popular if done well enough and with enough effort.
I don't buy that a genre is what limits a maker, so much as originality IN a genre.

In any case, I have lists of maps that would be potential candidates for this system.
Many of which I'm sure this site isn't even aware of.
Also keep in mind I took that into consideration and said there'd need to be one every OTHER week.

The point of this isn't JUST to promote the mapmakers (Even though that's a big part), the point is also to give the community a different map everyother week to look at and maybe enjoy.
I know for a fact there are maps, whether old or new, that are extremely worth at least giving a try.
Some may be projects, some might not be, some might be offsite-based, other might be based here, some might be done already, others may still be in the beta stages, who cares!

This isn't as strict as the resource section.
If it was, I would never have suggested it, since you might as well submit your map instead.

I think this would just be a good way to help bring the WC3 back into WC3Campaigns.

Not popular on B.net:

Battle for Minas Tirith.

Popular on B.net:

Battle for Minas Tirith! NEW! COME!

I'm serious. The difference in people is about a factor of 5-10.

I hardly consider wc3c == Bnet to be true.
The community, NOT BNET, can try the maps that are FUN.
Emphasis on fun, popularity means absolutely nothing in being picked for this sort of thing.

DotA for example would never be seen on this list.
The point is to offer the community (wc3c community) some fun maps they can try everyother week.

You mentioned they have to be fun games, Thats the point of having map submissions and beta tests forums..

I have spoken with dozens of people from these forums that have not paid any attention to any of the maps that shuffle through those forums.
Anyone can promote their own map and make it sound fun, in that case it's their ability to make it worth others' while to play --

--Whereas the point of this section would be to promote maps already known to be fun.
The reason there are multiple people moderating the Maps section anyways is so that you get many opinions.
The difference here is that among those moderating it, they would pick fun ones, and highlight them for others to try.
I'm sorry, but the "Maps & Campaigns" and "Beta Testing" forums do not provide that.

Dusk, I think that's a good idea. Maybe even have like a frontpage like "This week's Spotlight map is: AotZ (example)" maybe have a little detail in there. But I think the spotlight maps should be limited to the approved and the submitted (waiting for approval), just so we don't spotlight maps only half done. Even if it doesnt affect the overall Bnet community, I would still rather find a quality map here than try to find one on Bnet (KITTY TAG JOIN NOW doesn't tell you much about the map, does it?)

Rising Dusk, I don't think WC3C is intended to go down the lowest common denominator route.

I don't see why we should spotlight anything but high quality and origional maps. And we already have a section for that.

No we don't, we have a section for submitting maps.
It would be a logical fallacy to say that every good/high-quality/fun map around gets submitted.

And what are you talking about "lowest common denominator"?
It's not like we're "lowering our standards" by offering up fun maps that likely will never get submitted to our database.

If a map doesn't get submitted, that means that either:

a) The maker doesn't think it is good enough.
b) The maker doesn't want it on WC3C.

Either way, I don't see a reason to put it up.

c) The maker doesn't know about WC3C?
d) The maker doesn't think it is polished enough yet, but still wants people to play it?

If they don't know about wc3c, we have no right to unilaterally put up their map.

Also --
e) The map is out of date, will never get submitted anywhere, but is still incredibly fun and people would enjoy playing it.

I hardly think people will complain when we put their map up saying "Hey, this is awesome, try it!"
If anything it would be a pleasant surprise.
I can't see a single downfall to it.

Saying that as a mapmaker, a "Hey, people like your map and it got put on a modding site!" would be absolutely phenomenal.
It's not like we're posting their map up to say how much it sucks, but quite the contrary.
I can't fathom a mapmaker complaining about it, and if they do send 'em to me. :P