100hands Community Project (preliminary proposal)

Hello fellow doomers. The idea of this community project is to have 100 hands work on one map. Each mapper is given 60 seconds to do what they can in that time. Then they will upload the map for the next person to download and map for 60 seconds. The primary focus for the map (and thus the individual mappers) is on gameplay. There will be a general theme for which you are mapping (undecided as of yet, but some possible examples could be in the style of abstract doom 2 early city maps or it could be in the theme of a castle or Doom 1's Inferno), so you can think ahead of time what you will build before it becomes your turn to start mapping.

This community project was inspired by Genaral Rainbow Bacon's 1minutepoop.wad

Rules: there will probably have to be a set of some basic ground rules to ensure utter chaos does not ensue.

Possible rules:
#1: You are not to edit existing items or structures and to a large extent, existing textures. You are only allowed to add to the map. Given that here is rule #2: after you are done adding your part to the map and uploading it, you have to write a brief summary of what you did (less than 25 words) making especially clear what items, monsters or keys you added and whether you implemented a trap (and what kind of trap); whether you did small scale or grand scale design; also, you may mention what your intentions were in the event you were unable to do everything you wanted in the 60 seconds. This way people can read how the map is progressing and think about what they are going to do (and not do) when their turn comes to edit. This will help ensure continuity as well as the earlier mappers not having what they do be drastically changed or outright deleted and limits the amount of power the final mappers have in the overall outcome of the map.

Moderators: There could possibly be moderators--people experienced in mapping to monitor how the map is progressing and give suggested guidance to ensure that by the time the last mapper is done the map is not too difficult or too easy, that there is an exit, the right number of keys and key doors (for example they could follow closely the written progress reports of the individual mappers and then make suggestions for what the map needs, whether it be less revenants, more health, less door traps, more shotgun shells, more plasma, more powerups etc. etc. EDITThere could be a checklist that could be ticked off as the map is built (this correlates with rule #2).

The checklist could go something like this:

Essentials
Exit
Player start (DM starts? Coop starts? multiplayer considerations? [monsters, items])

weapons
shotgun
chaingun
super shotgun
rocket launcher
plasma rifle
bfg

power ups
green armor

soul sphere
blue armor
berserk pack

invulnerability
blur sphere

megasphere

medikits
stimpacks

keys? (not required)
red key -- red door
blue key -- blue door
yellow key -- yellow door



Phases: there could be pre-prescribed mapping phases. For example, the first 40 mappers could be advised to focus only on building layout and placing monsters. The second 40 mappers could be asked to focus only on placing decorations and building secrets, and the last 20 could be asked to focus strictly on placing weapons, ammunition and health.

This project is probably too ambitious and the result will probably be a giant mess, but give your feedback on how it could maybe be feasible.

That's all for now: click here for my brief description of the original idea.

It probably won't turn out so good, but it sounds like it'll be fun to make. :)

I'll join when slots open up.

Not to be a downer, but is it really possible for anyone to do anything in 60 seconds??? After I fire up DOOM Builder, take a sip of water, and get my bearings, 45 seconds have usually gone by. Any sort of meaningful gameplay element like a trap or a room with halfway decent architecture takes me hours to do. I'm well aware that there are many people(actually most people) here who are faster than I am, but mere 60 second intervals seem so severe.

I'm pretty sure a player 1 start is essential too :P

And I agree with Vordakk. I think this one should be like 3 - 5 minutes per person as each subsequent person needs to look at whats there and see what they want to add. The only reason 60 seconds worked for the maps I made was they weren't passed to me and I didn't have to consider anyone else's input.

It would probably take longer than 60 seconds just to look at what's there already and figure out what could possibly make sense to add to it, especially if gameplay is being considered at all.

If you guys are serious and want this thing going, you should up up each mappers time to at least 62 seconds. 60 just isn`t enough!

As essel said, there is not a lot you can do in 60 seconds, counting actually seeing what is there, so I would suggest that the 60 seconds is 60 seconds of actual mapping, which would come after looking at the sork that has already been done.

yes, I agree with all. How many minutes per mapper? 5, 10, 15, 30?

If we did an hour per mapper then for 100 hands to be a part it would have to span many weeks to complete. I'm thinking 10 min, maybe 20 min, would be good.

Yeah, if you made it between 10 and 20 minutes of actual mapping, not counting time it takes for the person to figure out what's been done before them, it could be a cool project idea. Good luck!

30 minutes sounds about right, if you could pull it off. A minute isn't enough to do anything at all, and 30 minutes is at least keeping in theme with the project since it's less than the average speedmap.

Coordinating this to actually pass the map hand-to-hand over a single time interval would be a nightmare, though. There'd be at least one guy who ends up not showing or not actually uploading his map after 30 minutes, and the delays would compound up to the point where any sort of 'schedule' would need to be tossed out the window. A fair amount of "honor system" timing would be needed, and doing it right would indeed take a long time to reach the 100 mark. Which is fine -- this shouldn't be rushed too much.

Additionally, I'd relax the restriction on "no modifying previous map bits" a little. We need some sort of room for mappers to make touch-ups or somesuch to existing areas, although limiting it in some way (maybe requiring mappers to add more than they change) would probably be necessary to prevent a few people reverting each others' changes repeatedly. :P

If everyone works with two hands, then you don't have 100 people working on it, only 50.

This sounds like something I might want to do. I agree with the others Hellbent that you should up the mapping time everyone gets to at least 20 minutes to get any kind of quality. 60 seconds is pretty unrealistic and will only result in a layering of mindless lines.

I propose implementing a one day policy, meaning, mappers agree to complete their portion within a 24 hour period upon accepting a pass. If a mapper doesn't comply, than open it up again to the public.

I think it would be tough to organize any sort of mapper queue, so I think the most efficient way to do this is to just open it up to anyone who want to do it after a mapper has made his portion available.

Finally, just for clarifications sake, I think you should outline what kind of pre-planning is allowed before one can map and not waste their minutes. It could make a world of difference. For instance, would it be acceptable for me to write a sketch or a list of things for me to do before hand?

I like the rest of your ideas. Especially the one about predesignating a certain amount of hands for certain areas (ie layout and thing placement). I think the layout to everything else ratio should be 30:70, that way game play is stressed over visuals (which will probably be quite eclectic anyways).

Who measures the time?

BTW I'd join if you allow more time.

Katamori said:

Who measures the time?

BTW I'd join if you allow more time.

Not sure... how is time measured in other speedmapping sessions?
How much time?

Jimi said:

If everyone works with two hands, then you don't have 100 people working on it, only 50.

Anyone else like this argument?

Xaser said:

I'd relax the restriction on "no modifying previous map bits" a little. We need some sort of room for mappers to make touch-ups or somesuch to existing areas, although limiting it in some way (maybe requiring mappers to add more than they change) would probably be necessary to prevent a few people reverting each others' changes repeatedly. :P

I was thinking it might be too rigid to have absolutley no touching of other peoples' portions. I'd be open to a sort of honor system for editing other peoples' portions; something along the lines of "try not to edit it at all but if it would really help the whole and is necessary for you to implement your idea, then do it."

fiend-o-hell said:

1: [/b]I propose implementing a one day policy, meaning, mappers agree to complete their portion within a 24 hour period upon accepting a pass. If a mapper doesn't comply, than open it up again to the public.

2: I think it would be tough to organize any sort of mapper queue, so I think the most efficient way to do this is to just open it up to anyone who want to do it after a mapper has made his portion available.

3: Finally, just for clarifications sake, I think you should outline what kind of pre-planning is allowed before one can map and not waste their minutes. It could make a world of difference. For instance, would it be acceptable for me to write a sketch or a list of things for me to do before hand?

4: I like the rest of your ideas. Especially the one about predesignating a certain amount of hands for certain areas (ie layout and thing placement). I think the layout to everything else ratio should be 30:70, that way game play is stressed over visuals (which will probably be quite eclectic anyways).

1: The only problem with that is then it would take at least 100 days for the map to be completed.

2: I'd be open to foregoing a queue, or maybe just a casual queue where if someone doesn't step up then the next in line can go.

3: Yeah, I think pre-planning is fine. Sketching out different ideas is fine. I think maybe it could be good to restrict people from looking at what has been made as it is being built, that way it's more of a challenge and you can't just make an area before hand and then expect it to work with what's existing. I think what I'm going for here is a sort of "edit on the seat of your pants" kind of mapping experience instead of too much careful mapping.

4: Yeah, I think 30:70 could be good for emphasis on gameplay.

Thanks everyone for your feedback and support.

I think that this shouldn't have a sign up, rather anyone who wants to do it can just dl the map and do their 30 min of work and then upload the result and so on. I say we stop talking about it and do it while the idea is still hot. Also, I think that it should be an ongoing thing until a week goes by and nobody does anything with it. Then release it. I'm gonna go ahead and start this thing as this idea is great, but I'm very much done speculating and want to do it. Expect something in about half an hour. Good luck participants.

Are you aware of a similar concept? (excorpse)

Well, from my understanding Exquisite Corpse involved joining together twelve 1024x1024 sections of maps (inspiring the Congestion 1024 project) whereas this seems more like Double Impact or Hell's Eventide in execution.

Wait GRB, what are you going to do? I think there are lot details to sort out first. I think its best to wait until Hellbent finalizes the rules so everybody is on the same page.

Not sure... how is time measured in other speedmapping sessions?
How much time.

If its in groups, I would imagine people meet at a specific time through IRC to map at the same time. I don't see how that applies here, so we probably have to rely on an honor system.

Anyone else like this argument?

I was thinking it might be too rigid to have absolutely no touching of other peoples' portions. I'd be open to a sort of honor system for editing other peoples' portions; something along the lines of "try not to edit it at all but if it would really help the whole and is necessary for you to implement your idea, then do it."

I'll put one in for anything goes.

1: The only problem with that is then it would take at least 100 days for the map to be completed.

Its just the maximum allowable time frame a mapper has after they announce they have receive the a link to time they pass it on. We can cut it down to something like 4 hours.

2: I'd be open to foregoing a queue, or maybe just a casual queue where if someone doesn't step up then the next in line can go.

Agreed on the casual queue.

3: Yeah, I think pre-planning is fine. Sketching out different ideas is fine. I think maybe it could be good to restrict people from looking at what has been made as it is being built, that way it's more of a challenge and you can't just make an area before hand and then expect it to work with what's existing. I think what I'm going for here is a sort of "edit on the seat of your pants" kind of mapping experience instead of too much careful mapping.

Hmm... I like the idea of restricting public view. I guess the way it will work is announce here on the thread, than when its your turn to map, the previous mapper will pm you (and a moderator) the DL link.

Also, I think that it should be an ongoing thing until a week goes by and nobody does anything with it. Then release it.

I like this idea. Keep it going until it just grows stale and no one wants to touch it. And just incase we run out of people to soon, perhaps old mappers can cycle back in?

Okay, here are the final rules, as Hellbent and I have already started a map.

-anyone can join at any time
-Boom compatible
-Add areas
-add monsters and items if you have time
-if the previous person did not have time, add monsters and items to that section first.
-add textures if you want, but remember you only have 30 minutes to work
-add difficulty settings
-rinse, repeat.

So how is the map going to be made available for people to work on. Its gonna be like a publicly made link?

umm. there's another thread already :P

Could a mod lock this thread now as there's a thread for the actual project?