Wrecking yard

[Borg]

Is there some kind of depository for discontinued, unwanted or otherwise discarded doom maps? A boneyard of sorts where really good mappers can sift through the crap and maybe pick up a carcass that might have some possibilities. You know, break the mappers block with something that has a glint of inspiration.

The reason I'm asking this is because I have come to the conclusion that I will never be a really good mapper. I don't want to be OK. I see no value in pumping out thousands of linedefs of boring shit.

So that's my question. What in the hell do i do with this stuff? I would be ecstatic if somebody could get something out of it.

[DarkIceCyclone]

Aaand I doubt you're right here. Take a break, play other games, or even better, go outside and walk around a bit just you and your thoughts, then at one point come back. You'll be amazed what change of scenery can do to map making. 

 

I'm currently stuck on my shenanigans map among other shipwrecks I haven't posted. So I do get where you're at. out of 10 maps, i'm constantly working on 2 at the moment.

Also, as for repositories...well idgames has everything lol. But for specifically repository of bad maps, no, doom would delete those if they could

[Sneezy McGlassFace]

3 hours ago, Borg said:

I have come to the conclusion that I will never be a really good mapper.

That sounds unreasonably harsh, fam.

I mean, as with anything, getting good takes a lot of time and endeavour. If it means pumping out tons of not-so-great maps in the beginning, so be it. It's for practice. Learn from feedback, there's a ton of great playtesters here. One can't just skip the awkward part where you have all the passion in the world but skills don't match. But you know, the passion is important. Determination that you want to get better. Enjoy mapping for what it is, do it a bunch, and get better with time.

Most of my maps kinda suck (imo), yet I keep pumping them out, shamelessly, because it's practice. I get a little better with each one. That's the point. Make it, get it out the door and into people's hands, learn from what they say/do, repeat.

If you wanna learn to play the piano, you gotta play a bunch. If you wanna learn to draw, you gotta draw a bunch. The beginning is learning the octaves and fingering, holding the pencil, linedef specials.. But learning the piano, start with learning to play other people's songs. With mapping, you're inventing your own songs on the go. Progression, flow, encounters, texturing, there's a bunch of stuff to learn and a lot of it has no rules, you gotta develop a feeling for what's right and wrong. And that takes time. I bet you anything that every single great mapper out there has made a ton of top tier garbage maps. Nobody's great from the get-go. "Talent" is mostly a lie we like to tell ourself as an excuse for feeling bad. Behind every "talented" person is countless hours of work.

All that to say: don't beat yourself up with unreasonably high expectations. Enjoy the process, and just keep swimming. Things will get better. See where the path will take you.

 

3 hours ago, Borg said:

depository for discontinued, unwanted or otherwise discarded doom maps

I guess you can ask somebody if they'd show you some of their maps they're embarrassed about. I don't think people would delete them for sentimental reasons. Not publishing, sure. Perhaps they would if you asked nicely. For science education! Maybe try to DM someone you think is doing great maps, asking doesn't hurt, right? Worst case scenario, you won't get an answer. Best case scenario, you won't get an answer you expect.

[Shepardus]

Here are a couple threads with that sort of idea:

 

[Borg]

I do appreciate the encouragement which is exactly what I would expect from this community. However, I have spent a lifetime doing many, many different things and one thing I have gotten good at is recognizing what I am not particularly good at. You'll have to trust me on that.

I did take a break from it. I got Omicron the day after Xmas. I had no desire at all to map and none since. I tinker with the mechanics and discover new ways to do things. That interests me.

At some point, a person should take stock of an endeavor, and decide whether or not all the time and effort is paying off in either results or personal satisfaction, the fun of learning something new and actually making it work. I do a lot of that but when it stops being interesting, I move on.  By moving on, I mean I will dabble in other Doomy arenas such as midis. I've written, composed and recorded 40 or 50 complete songs. No learning curve there. I have noticed that quite a few mappers would like to get their hands on some original music to accompany their Doom creations. I think I can help there.

 

[Borg]

22 minutes ago, Shepardus said:

Here are a couple threads with that sort of idea:

 

Allright! Thanks. That's what I need to see.

[Thelokk]

Another option could be taking the good bits of your maps, save them as prefabs and then make a zip resource pack. 

[Sneezy McGlassFace]

Sorry, sometimes I totally miss the point and waffle on regardless.

 

Anyway, the midi creation sounds cool. Do you have some sample of them to listen to? I'm intrigued :)

[Borg]

1 hour ago, HrnekBezucha said:

Sorry, sometimes I totally miss the point and waffle on regardless.

 

Anyway, the midi creation sounds cool. Do you have some sample of them to listen to? I'm intrigued :)

All I have is what I used on my wad and really none of them were written for doom. They were modified from older stuff and not real doomy.

I will post a couple when I figure out how.

[Borg]

Drop in and Flash are original.

Ready1 is a cover.

DOOM music.zip

[DannyMan]

I think I have unfinished maps

[Sneezy McGlassFace]

Those sound really good. I know I'm now labelled as a cheerleader but I do like the songs a bunch. Drop In is my favourite, pretty addictive bassline. Would you mind if I asked you for a midi when I start making a new map?

[Dusty_Rhodes]

On 1/26/2022 at 9:30 AM, Borg said:

I tinker with the mechanics and discover new ways to do things. That interests me.

At some point, a person should take stock of an endeavor, and decide whether or not all the time and effort is paying off in either results or personal satisfaction, the fun of learning something new and actually making it work.

If you want to make midis, more power to you. I will always welcome music for my maps. 

 

But I share your sentiments in the OP at times. I feel I'm finally at place where I do make at least decent maps, but it took me a long time to get there. 

 

Now on to what I quoted: 

I love learning and tinkering and fighting to get something to work. As much as I love vanilla mapping, Boom is where I really fell in love with mapping. So many unique things to tinker and experiment with. Once you get those down, you feel like you've accomplished something and adding them into maps for neat effects feels amazing because of the work you put into learning it. So if you feel bored, I find Boom is a good place to really experiment and learn. You can also throw in some vanilla tricks like bridges and see through doors too. This might not be super clear, but what I'm trying to say is that mapping is only engaging as you make it. If you're bored of making something, try something new. 

[Borg]

5 hours ago, HrnekBezucha said:

Those sound really good. I know I'm now labelled as a cheerleader but I do like the songs a bunch. Drop In is my favourite, pretty addictive bassline. Would you mind if I asked you for a midi when I start making a new map?

Like I said, those were not really written for Doom just modified a bit. Drop in is actually the music for a surfing vid I put on youtube a few years ago.

Anyway, yes, I would like to try to do a custom midi for your new map. Are you able to use the mp3 format? I use midi synths and stuff but I also use live guitar and keyboards and I'm not sure how to render that to an mid format.

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Borg