Board Thread:Off-Topic/@comment-30248084-20171209215940

Howdy again everyone. So basically people have posted - or are wishing to post - their work and have real contribution to R2D:A, however, most of them would get negative feedback by the community or otherwise on a rare case, PR and his Friends (which they ARE the judges after all). So yes, I will be a little harsh on some designs I have seen recently, but hopefully, they would help the builder on improving in future projects. Sigh, ok. Let's get started:

1. Know The Features In R2D:A Maps

Some of the maps I have seen - recently posted on homepage is Salvation City by Radu133. Let me say this: This isn't R2D anymore guys. The maps you see in R2D:A (generally made by a mix by Gammashock, PlaceRebuilder, BelowNatural, etc) have headed towards a more 'realistic' approach than a bunch of blocky structures and terrain. Before making a map yourself, it is quite recommended to see their work in the game - How the spawns/ammo/supplies are around the map, tactical advantages, open to tight spaces, terrain, etc. The work that will be done is under intermediate levels, so you should know how to build at least, but there is nothing wrong with calling for help from other users such as Nariox (on Twitter) or Yiris and many other trusted users that are willing to help and give insightful tips to improve your building, and explain better than I could...

2. Know Which Tools Suit You Best For Making A Map

Most users would declare that they have never made a map before, which would sometimes explain their building skills. There are lots of features in ROBLOX that can help with that - the Smooth Terrain Tool, and ROBLOX Plugins such as Triangle Terrain. It is quite recommended to test each of them and see which is better - for starters, I use Smooth Terrain because of how easy it is to shape terrain in a complex manner. It is mostly your decision on which would be best.

3. Limit The Amount Of Free-Models On Your Map

This is quite the most basic thing you must understand - People do not like a complete map full of Free Models. But that does not mean you CANNOT have free models, you just need to limit how you use them. I will admit that I use free models, however, I use them for either build preferrences or as an assist if it is too complex and at a good limit. Take my Homecoming and Vacated maps for example, they do have some free models, but I do not go overboard with them, and kept the whole thing as close to original as it could be, and always give credit to them - it just relaxes the community knowing that you respect the users that have made the models.

4. Quantity over Quality

In general, you should never rush in your work. These maps take a lot of time to do, and yes, it will be tedious and mind-numbingly boring, but that's life for making a map for a game. But most users would rather have fewer things of higher quality which promotes the builder to rush in his work and encourages to do it quicker. This is how some maps look such as Salvation City - Blocky and some overused free models. This is not a race to get your map finished and over with, because honestly, you have a lot of time in the world. Besides, it does not hurt to ask for help from a friend or the suggested users at Number 1.

5. Do Not Expect Things Instantly

SO many people thing that their work could be accepted by PR at any given moment, but you have to face the facts. He either does not have the time, he does accept but will take time, or otherwise, decline it as a whole. It's not that PR is ignorant in any way, but he's a human being too, and like all human beings, we are always busy in the real world. Other than that, you should never expect your work to be taken at any given moment. Chances are that it wouldn't be seen or accepted or implemented any time soon - this was the case for the Platypus Map-Remake by Yiris and another user (forgot his name...) and had been added at a much later time than they once anticipated.

6. Accept But Never Reject Criticism

Lastly, you must ALWAYS expect criticism, either new or old, young or older users that have either played the game for a long time or just started it. Ever heard by some owners of restaraunts saying "The Customer is always right"? This is mostly the exact thing to your map, because they do not want to run into invisible barriers at random on your map, see glitchable and abuseable spots or otherwise, offensive work on your map. Before even suggesting your map to PR, you must post your work on the community for them to see it themselves (NOT just a bunch of pictures or any silly shit, but an actual LINK with the game-place OPEN) - and give you criticism, either constructive or negative. I have much of my work on my maps - even many others official or unofficial in the community - improved greatly by the provided criticism from the community. But do not take negative criticism to heart. The last thing you want to do is take things in defense - or otherwise not do them - and expect other people to not pay any attention due to that.

Well, that is pretty much it. I am quite sure that this may not be totally accurate - mostly due that I do not explain things all that well. But this is what I believe, is the top five things that would help

=( Lost Ratchet )= 