The Thread Lovers Thread

[BluePineapple72]

It's no secret that the quality of a thread will make or break a project on this site, specifically wad release threads, event threads, project threads, etc. etc. A good thread will be noticed and have a lot of activity around it. A bad thread won't. I doubt this is news to you at all really.

 

Speaking personally, I spend a lot of time making threads for any wad projects I post on this site (writing this took me two hours or so). It's something that I genuinely enjoy! There's something special about crafting (technically speaking) a piece of marketing for a product that I want people to see/use. Writing little word blurbs and gathering fitting images to make a thread pop feels like an art form to me.

 

Likewise, It's incredibly pleasing to see great threads on here. New and old. I love seeing something that a member had poured their heart and soul into. I love the art, I love the wit and charm, and I especially love the dedication to a theme or a motif.

 

What are some of your favorite wad threads on this site? What makes them stand out/memorable in your eyes? etc. etc.

Edited June 5, 2021 by BluePineapple72

[Reelvonic]

Well now definitely The Pineapple Under the Sea Speedmapping Series - PUSS VI: IMPERFECT HATRED - now on idgames! - WADs & Mods - Doomworld

 

 

but i totally agree with what has been said above. Thread quality matters just as much as the subject matter

[BluePineapple72]

6 minutes ago, Reelvonic said:

Quote

Thanks!

 

To talk about another thread so I can share some thoughts on what I really like seeing, let's look at RAY MOHAWK 2: Ray Wreaks Havoc!

 

The thread opens with a striking an colorful title image of Doomguy (cool edition) blasting a demon. Doomkid then leads in the project with the header: "Ray is BACK and ready for more vanilla-compatible action in the tropics!"

 

Strong headers are a great sign of a good thread. Having a thread introduced with a very clear introduction that not only introduces the wad but also sets the theme and tone of the wad at large (serious, irreverent, etc.). 

 

The strength of this thread comes from it's good use of blocking and spacing of the different aspects of what it has to offer (here, the scope of the project and information on it's resources. It's all clear and easy to follow in their own spots)

 

To wrap things up nicely and neatly before I start analyzing every line of the thread in this comment like the damned fool English Major I am, you can just see the personality of the writer and the tone of the event bleeding through your computer monitor by reading the descriptions of the weapons. THAT IS A GREAT THREAD. I like seeing that shit! It's awesome and I like it.

 

[Endless]

I'm a bit biased with the last one tho :P

[baja blast rd.]

1 hour ago, BluePineapple72 said:

What are some of your favorite wad threads on this site? What makes them stand out/memorable in your eyes? etc. etc.

 

Had some thoughts about this in the past, so I'm going to dump them here. 

 

The one for Tango's Paradise is cool. It's super easy to find everything, the structure lets you understand what everything is at a glance, and unnecessary info is spoiled to keep down space.

 

Ribbiks and Jimmy have fantastic economy with their more minimalist OPs. it's important to have that in your back pocket -- a discordantly big and grand OP for a tiny project can be overly much

More on the maximalist side, I always loved the screenshot presentation of Mapwich 2. It is a project well suited for that approach, since each map is its own thing aesthetically and many of them are so big that 80+ screenshots is somehow not a big spoiler.

 

 

More on the constructive advice thread, I've seen many mappers in places like Joy of Mapping server ask why their thread got zero attention. One lamented that getting plays is hard if you're not "established." Once you get past the hurdle of actually putting effort into your OP -- meaning you have screenshots, you have compat info and a reasonable title (not something like "shitty wad lol"), and you have a download link (<- once in a while, an overlooked technique for getting people to play your wads) -- the #1 thing to avoid is leading with, or burying your post in, many big paragraphs of text. That has happened the last several times I've seen that complaint. 

It can be tempting and cathartic for new mappers to relay the life story of the wad. But people want to scan a bunch of threads on the front page quickly. In that sense, a thread that takes even 2-3 minutes to "hook" the reader is not great -- if name recognition or beautiful or unusual shots won't do it. It's even more awkward when important playing info is buried in there, because that works against the reader who is hooked.

 

So shots, ultra-important info, brief pitch or overview or summary, incredibly visible download link, all early -- then maybe put the big background later.

 

Look how brief the Heartland OP is before it gets to the viewable stuff (it is true that skillsaw would have gotten lots of plays if he led his OP with the entire contents of this Wikipedia article, but still.)

 

Here's Attack on Io, by someone relatively new -- very concise, lots of important info, screenshots. 

 

Arrival: brief and tidy.

Really, if you study good project OPs, you will notice a tendency towards brevity -- even if it's just using spoilers for subordinated content to keep vertical space down.

Last but not least, a great, powerful story can hook the player too. Here is an example.

 

37 minutes ago, BluePineapple72 said:

To talk about another thread so I can share some thoughts on what I really like seeing, let's look at RAY MOHAWK 2: Ray Wreaks Havoc!

 

Yeah this is a great one too. The sense of humor in the weapon descriptions is fantastic.

[Diabolución]

The thread linked below is a favourite of mine, perfectly organised, in my view.

 

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/120788/

 

Spoiler

 

rd: could you, or any moderator for that matter, trim down / delete this excessive overquoting of its original post, please? It’s really annoying.

 

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/post/2286821/

 

@Mordeth

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by Diabolución
Paging Mordeth as he dealt with this offending post: /forum/post/2141993/