Quote from satchmo on August 30, 2011, 11:37 am

Jane_Doe wrote:

Just my tuppence-worth to thank you, Rubrica, for such a helpful, informative and thoughtful post. In fact the premise of the map I was making changed as a result of ideas you had about the pre-GlaDos Destroyed setting.

That, along with links and insets that made learning design and building elements that (hopefully) improved the look of things too, meant I've been back to explore this post any number of times when tinkering.

I'll just add to the clamour over an update including the Wheatley Destroyed design, but otherwise just plain thank you!

Wow, what a mature, thoughtful post. There are no misspellings, grammatical errors, or punctuation mistakes--definitely a rarity in a gaming forum.

Quote from Rubrica on August 30, 2011, 11:40 am

Well, to be fair, this is certainly the maturest forum I've ever visited. Anyway, your thanks are very much appreciated - I'm glad to know you liked it.

Quote from Jane_Doe on August 31, 2011, 4:08 pm

Er, thank you satchmo; as much as anything I wanted to highlight such a constructive post.

So many postings here are negative, slagging off the weaknesses in any creation without suggesting practical improvements - just look how handy is your post in this thread about lighting/shadows. This is information being imparted, not just Opinions being Handed Down.

I'm sure it grows tiring watching people learn before your eyes with their stumbling early efforts, but Practical posts like these are infinitely more useful than dismissive summaries. People are LEARNING here, as well as providing (free) entertainment, so when people push knowledge over opinion, how can I not be grateful? After all I never saw Hammer until a few months ago.

Anyway, I'll quit my soapbox right now, I've a cunning plan forming... ^.^

Quote from ForbiddenDonut on August 31, 2011, 4:15 pm

I hope people who were interested in some of the more theoretical aspects of the underground architecture guide got a chance to read it (along with the other wonderful tutorial on underground details). I'm planning to write a more design/planning oriented tutorial for the underground theme in the coming future. If I feel it is appropriate (and Rubrica approves after reading it), I'll possibly add it to the underground section.

Quote from satchmo on August 31, 2011, 4:44 pm

One thing I've learned over the years as a mapper is to have a thick skin. People can be pretty brutal in their criticism, but I learned to accept them and find out the underlying reason for their criticism on my own.

Quote from ForbiddenDonut on August 31, 2011, 4:53 pm

satchmo wrote:

One thing I've learned over the years as a mapper is to have a thick skin. People can be pretty brutal in their criticism, but I learned to accept them and find out the underlying reason for their criticism on my own.

Incredibly important advice. If you make a bad map - don't assume that mapping isn't for you and that you should give up. Credible game studios make misses all the time. Sometimes things just don't work out. If you do make a blunder map, or even just a mediocre map, you should read what players are saying and take them into account if you plan to patch or renovate the map (or keep them in mind for your next map).

To add on: be your own biggest critic. You should be tearing your own map apart with criticisms. Have high standards, know the difference between high and low quality and present everything in the most professional matter.

Quote from Jane_Doe on August 31, 2011, 5:24 pm

Thank you both, and especially thank you ForbiddenDonut for the thought-provoking PM. I think what I was trying to emphasise is that even 'brutal' criticism is useful, if it's Helpful.

I do try and take into account what people say - Walkthroughs are especially helpful - but the very best posts are those you can build on, not reel from. I've still tons to learn about Hammer, and map design too. Consequently it's the post that points rather than wags a finger I like.

This isn't my first try at virtual creating though, so I know there's always some noob-bashing, I'm just rooting for the Teachers, not the Critics

Quote from Mr. P. Kiwi on November 18, 2011, 2:52 am

If anyone is interested, I'm currently in the process of working on the wiki fiction of this tutorial, on the VDC. The VDC is a really great tool to expand upon this tutorial without having to ask Rubrica to do it for you. If you feel like it, helping uploading it would be very much appreciated, just try to stay true to how I arranged the page 'skeleton'.
You can find the introduction page here.

Quote from Brainstone on November 20, 2011, 4:11 pm

Quote:

All other robotic personnel use management rails, which they cannot be detached from.

You're missing that this is because they would die if they did. ^^