Anyway, I created a few puzzles using the PeTI, and in terms of subscribers, I notice something weird.
First, I created a very simple puzzle (no portal involved) and a very complex challenging one (app. 30-45 mins to solve); and out of my expectation, the simple one got 1500 subs, while the very complex one only got 120 subs now (they were uploaded nearly the same time)

So...can you guys tell me, does it mean that means people love very simple, easy puzzles? instead of challenging/brainy ones? in fact I used 15 hours to make the complex one so it is very frstrating to see that...

Simple: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... d=79213234
Complex: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... d=79554507

Secondly, as I mention, I want to learn to use Hammer to make puzzles with more variations and details, can someone volunteer to be my mentor/instructor? You can simply PM me, or add me as a friend on Steam please help~

Thirdly, I see that there is a number of threads that let us post/advertise our maps there, but...does it really work?? coz if my thread is at the bottom of the list, I don't think people will see them....

1. People are idiots.
2. My steam name is Tanger2b is on vacation. Hit me up right now for a small tutorial. I'm away from a computer, but I can help with most things.

siuking666 wrote:
Secondly, as I mention, I want to learn to use Hammer to make puzzles with more variations and details, can someone volunteer to be my mentor/instructor? You can simply PM me, or add me as a friend on Steam please help~

Search up tutorials on YouTube. There are plenty of tutorials out there.

The Valve Developer's Community pages helped me a lot :

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wik ... _(Portal_2/Getting_Started

portal2tenacious wrote:
1. People are idiots.

lol Think that might be true

siuking666 wrote:
portal2tenacious wrote:

1. People are idiots.

lol Think that might be true

I was tempted to name my latest map 'lol ginormous rollercoaster' just as an experiment to see how many subscribers it would get.

Alexander Bell wrote:
How did a nobody like you get 120 and 1500 subs on your first maps? I suppose I'm a nobody too, though a bit less so than you (I'm somewhat known on the Steam forums), and I'm lucky to get 5 subs!

I have already stated this- PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS.

I tell my friends to forward me any map they consider interesting because otherwise I can't really find good quality maps out in the wild, even when they have a high rating.

Back to the eternal discussion about rating a map and the meaning of your rate... was it based in the challenge, the puzzle design, the visuals (probably not when we talk about the PeTI amps though)?

I think the only way to determinate what ppl really think about one's map would be to attach a survey sheet at the end of the map that forces you to rate upon different aspects of the map and gathers more specific information in order to properly define the map in terms of puzzle difficulty, complexity, ability requirement grade, chamber design, visuals, ... or whatever.

While I spend hours building/constructing brainy stuff, some retarded/idiotic puzzles like a roller coaster (you can build it in 30 mins) simply get thousands of views and a 5-star rating!!!

Maybe as portal2tenacious said, people are idiots...well...

siuking666 wrote:
While I spend hours building/constructing brainy stuff, some retarded/idiotic puzzles like a roller coaster (you can build it in 30 mins) simply get thousands of views and a 5-star rating!!!

I completely understand this and it is very true; that is why I made this map as a joke: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... d=81265044. It actually got to the front page for about a day which was hilarious! However not all crappy maps get to the front page and some people actually appreciate good work. The 12 Angry Tests are a good example.

If your puzzle is intuitive it will get a better rank overall. The impatient portal 'nubs'/idiots can get lost if all I care.

EDIT: I do produce quality work if anyone doubts my hammer abilities. Just so you know.

ChickenMobile wrote:
However not all crappy maps get to the front page and some people actually appreciate good work. The 12 Angry Tests are a good example.

If your puzzle is intuitive it will get a better rank overall. The impatient portal 'nubs'/idiots can get lost if all I care.

of course, not all front-page maps are craps, but since there is simply no one overlooking the front page, trash goes on it, and good works get buried -.-

what do you mean intuitive? can you explain??

PS: I also played the 12 Angry Test, I would love to know how did the author advertise? How do many people know about it?? pre-release pict? videos? seems to be a lot hard work

siuking666 wrote:
PS: I also played the 12 Angry Test, I would love to know how did the author advertise? How do many people know about it?? pre-release pict? videos? seems to be a lot hard work

12 Angry Tests was released before the Portal 2 Workshop existed. It was popular back then.

I can understand the frustration of releasing a map and getting absolutely no feedback, but you have to give a reason for people to want to play your maps; work hard on your stuff, be part of a community, give others feedback on their maps, actually take the time to listen to what people say and, most importantly, use what you learn to make better maps.

Besides all of which. It isn't a numbers game. I don't really care if I get 50 or 10,000 subsrcibers, as long as someone out there plays and enjoys it. It's not like we get paid for this shit anyway. Look at this map:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=74979153

23 subscribers total, but out of that 8 people actually gave me feedback, and the general consensus was either a) it's good or b) it's too hard, both being pleasing responses. That makes me a lot happier than having 642 subscribers for Jam and a discussion page that looks like this.

siuking666 wrote:
Then it is pretty obvious, he has no competition back then...

No, there were a lot of good maps, but 12 angry tests kinda set the standard for good maps. Make em clever, make em pretty, and make em pop out of nowhere.
His test were really popular because TWPers put videos and playthroughs up on youtube. Everyone thought it was so cool. Then caretcaret was one of the first to get hammer maps on the workshop, so he kinda got the freshest input. Such a good map pack.

siuking666 wrote:
Then it is pretty obvious, he has no competition back then...

Nonsense. There were many well made maps back then. 12 Angry Tests was featured on TWP, as portal2tenacious said. Hence the popularity.

siuking666 wrote:
Guys, you know that most frustrating thing about all this, is that even if you spent tens of hours building a very nice puzzle, NO ONE WANTS TO PLAY IT, NO ONE APPRECIATES IT...
after releasing 3 puzzles totally (about 14 chambers in total); and seeing all that view rate, I simply DON'T want to continue on my 4th puzzle anymore...

While I spend hours building/constructing brainy stuff, some retarded/idiotic puzzles like a roller coaster (you can build it in 30 mins) simply get thousands of views and a 5-star rating!!!

Maybe as portal2tenacious said, people are idiots...well...

Well, call me an idiot, but I also liked the simple map more than the complicated one. Here's why:

Your simple map isn't much of a puzzle, but having all those balls bouncing around and snatching them out of the air is fun! In the same way that it can be satisfying to try to cover a whole map with portal paint, aimlessly bounce around on faith plates, or take out turrets in amusing ways. It's a kind of fun that has nothing to do with puzzle solving, but it's still fun!

The main problem with your harder map, I think, is that it looks too complicated for most people. First of all, the collage of complex looking screenshots along with the long description text will turn off a lot of potential players, who will assume that this map is way beyond their abilities. The gameplay is actually not that bad, but the first impression ruins it. What I would do, is zoom the editor view in to frame one of the sub-sections of the map before publishing it, so you get that as the main image. Then add some in-game screenshots of interesting sections.

detailed review of harder map
||The main theme of gathering cubes is well implemented. The exit is right at the beginning with it's six cube slots, so the player knows immediately what is expected of them. The quality of the individual tests themselves are a mixed bag IMO.

The small one with the blue and red paint + funnel is pretty okay. The main 'puzzle' here is not the test itself, but realising that after you got the first cube out, you need to get the other one also, which becomes possible after you get access to the portal paint room. This is a clever idea.

The little hallway where you are launched up, deactivate the laser field and then get followed by a cube is a very enjoyable, surprising moment!

The portal paint room is tedious. I know I said earlier that it can be fun to splatter the stuff everywhere, but if you're required to do that just to get to some place high up the wall, that suddenly seems like a lot of work for a relatively small result.

The remaining two rooms have a problem that is common among beginner maps: the lack of direction. Throwing a bunch of random looking stuff in a room and leaving the player to figure out what to do, is more a game of trial and error than a high-quality puzzle. It becomes even more annoying if guessing wrong gets you dunked or shot at repeatedly. Solving these didn't give me a feeling of "Wow, that was a really clever test and I solved it!" but rather "I wonder if I'm supposed to do it this way...". All of the sub-tests have some of this, but it's especially true in those two rooms.

Also, as you note in the map desciption, there are a couple of ways players can get into an unwinnable situation. This is bad game design, and putting a warning in the description is no excuse. A Portal map shouldn't need a manual.||
All in all, for a beginning map maker this is not a bad start, but there's still lots of room for improvement.

One commenter on your thread posted a link to this article with mapping tips. While I definitely don't agree with the snarky tone of that comment, that article is worth checking out!

And lastly, as others have said, don't be disheartened by a lack of attention. The process of creating something that is your own, is a lot of fun by itself. (If that is not the case for you, then you might as well stop doing it.)

The publicity is a nice bonus when it happens. And if you keep learning and keep making better and better maps, you will eventually get that publicity!

(By the way, you could easily turn the principle of that simple map into an actual puzzle! Make some looping path where the player has to make balls go around and pick them up at different places. If implemented correctly, I think it would be a winner.)