The Joy of Mapping - RELEASED!

[Jimmy]

This session is over and the maps are complete! Thanks so much to everyone who participated.

Download Links
Current Release: Final
Dropbox / Powerhouse / /idgames
Requires ZDoom/GZDoom/Zandronum.

Map list:

MAP01: Crapola Canyon - Baratus
MAP02: Better than Wow, Barely - BouncyTEM
MAP03: Rocks - DoomTheRobot
MAP04: Pure Jammin' Arse Burgers - speckygingerweapon
MAP05: AASHITTY - Fulsy
MAP06: Little Green Base - Fuzzball
MAP07: The Duobase - Gutawer
MAP08: The Horror of Mapping - Kate
MAP09: Untitled - MarketAnarchy
MAP10: Hogshoe - MrGlide
MAP11: Spooky Spoops - Pinchy
MAP12: Fut the Whack - Fonze
MAP13: Untitled - ZZYZX
MAP14: Crap - Vbob
MAP15: Joyfort - Jimmy

=====

Discord #general channel Link - For general communication.
Discord #mapping channel Link - For the group tuition session later. PM me for link.

My Twitch Stream

• Have you heard of a thing called "Doom mapping" which is that thing a load of snobby retrophiles do for fame and glory?
  
• Have you opened up Doom Builder maybe once or twice but been utterly intimidated by the interface?
  
• Does mapping seem to you like something best left to "the professionals"?

Come along down! I'll be hosting an instructional mapping tuition session for an hour or two, which will be hosted on Discord and Twitch, for the newbiest among us. We'll all come together and make a mapset.

You will learn:

• The basics of mapping in your chosen format. There are universal mechanics which we will cover.
  
• How to use sector tags and switches and make your map dynamic.
  
• How to make interesting layouts, and keep the player interested in progressing.
  
• How to prevent the player from getting stuck, or too lost.
  
• How to place monsters and items sensibly.
  
• How to make your map look pretty.
  

I am hosting this on Saturday 23rd July @ 9PM EDT / 1AM GMT / 9AM GMT+8. Mapping should start at this time, so please join the server early so we can prepare.
This date/time is negotiable, we can totally change it if it suits more people.

How this works:

• Show up to the Discord #mapping channel. PM me for the link to this. You don't need Discord installed, as the web app will do just fine. Discord, for those not in the know, is a powerful communication program with text chat, voice chat, file sharing, streaming support, and all sorts of other goodies.
  
• You won't need to have voice enabled for this session, but it might help to be party to what's going on. I will be making important announcements over voice, Discord chat, and maybe Twitch chat. (Might get a bot to do these for me actually, if I can.)
  
• There will also be a Twitch stream through which I'll broadcast what's happening on my screen. You may refer to this throughout the session if you wish.
  
• We will map for an hour, maybe two. In that time, I'll be giving a set of instructions to all the participants. Every 5 minutes the mappers will receive a new thing to do with their map. It'll be a mostly general thing rather like "make a set of stairs", or "make a connecting bridge" or "place down some decorations". I'll give details on how these things are done if needed. But it's up to the mappers to implement these instructions as best they can, in whatever stylistic way they choose.
  
• At the end of the mapping session, we should all have complete maps - we'll take a while to playtest and bugfix anything. Missing textures, erroneous tags, misalignments and such will all be cleared up here.
  
• The mappers should upload their WADs to the Discord channel (or post links to them there) once they're ready to share. Your map will then enter the roster for the compilation WAD I will create out of everyone's submissions.
  

Rules:

• Stay on-topic please! Talk to your friends about the latest memes in private messages if you have to.
  
• Disruptive or disparaging behavior will not be tolerated. We're all here to have fun. Moderators will likely be employed in the chat, just in case disruptions become a problem.
  
• Excessive posting of images, unless it's of your map, is discouraged. The chat will have image thumbnails enabled, so please don't spam.
  
• When submitting your map, it must be beatable. We will go over this during the playtesting phase at the end. If your map is not beatable or has not followed the guidelines set throughout the tutorial, it won't be considered for inclusion in the compilation.
  
• Don't be afraid to ask any questions, no matter how obvious they may seem.
  
• As already said - have fun!! On pain of death. Fun is mandatory here.
  

The Discord chat is open now, though my availability may vary over the week. I am happy to provide answers to any queries you young whippersnappers may have!

[LuciferSam86]

Seems pretty interesting. Since I cannot follow the stream will you release a recorded video of the tutorial?

[Jimmy]

Yes, that'll be highlighted on my Twitch as a VOD, as all my recent streams have been. :)

[Pinchy]

';,,;'

[TMD]

neat!

[Programme]

That Doom Ross graphic is amazing.

[Jimmy]

Due to some ineloquent behavior on the chat, I've changed the public link.

PM me if you want to come along and are definitely interested in learning how to map, I'll hook you up with the #mapping channel link.

[Jimmy]

Hey, everyone! It's (around) 8PM EDT (8AM Western Australian/my time) - which means this session will be starting in about 24 hours! We'll be taking some time before the session starts proper, so be here at 8AM (or whatever time it is for you) on Saturday! See you all there. :)

[Jimmy]

CLICK HERE FOR HOW MUCH TIME BEFORE IT STARTS! (3 hours 30 minutes as of this post)

[Fonze]

Thanks for the clarification, Jimmy!

[Technician]

Can't wait!

[Jimmy]

Howdy, folks! I can say the session went well, with 15 submissions counted. After some internal alpha testing, lots of good feedback and collaboration between the mappers, we have a beta. One more submission is still to come but it's not too late for that one by any means.

Without further ado, I'm pleased to be able to share with you all the first Joy of Mapping compilation! Congratulations and well done to all the students who turned up. I think there's a lot of promise on show here, and I think everyone did good whatever their experience level.

Download Links
Dropbox / Powerhouse
(EDIT: The above links are to outdated versions of the set. Please download the full release!)

Map list:

MAP01: Crapola Canyon - Baratus
MAP02: Better than Wow, Barely - BouncyTEM
MAP03: Rocks - DoomTheRobot
MAP04: Fut the Whack - Fonze
MAP05: AASHITTY - Fulsy
MAP06: Little Green Base - Fuzzball
MAP07: The Duobase - Gutawer
MAP08: The Horror of Mapping - Kate
MAP09: Untitled - MarketAnarchy
MAP10: Hogshoe - MrGlide
MAP11: Spooky Spoops - Pinchy
MAP12: Pure Jammin' Arse Burgers - speckygingerweapon
MAP13: Untitled - ZZYZX
MAP14: Crap - Vbob
MAP15: Joyfort - Jimmy

Watch this space/thread for updates from me about possible future sessions like this one.

[Fuzzball]

Whooo! :D Playing it noooow

[glenzinho]

Nice project, these maps would have to be the cleanest & shapeliest speedmaps I've ever seen and they play well to boot. Love the the title/inter/endpic but am slightly disappointed it wasn't a parody of this. Great job all!

[Walter confetti]

What a nice mapset of speedmaps! Kudos to all!

Also, why this isn't on WADS & MODS?

[MrGlide]

an update to mine, I accedently left the door wide open after editing it before I gave it to Jimmy, https://www.dropbox.com/s/7cggkzaf6q687y4/HogShoe.wad?dl=0

[Jimmy]

Thanks, everyone!

Also yes, this thread really belongs in WADs and Mods now that it's an actual product. Could it be relocated there by a mod? Please and thanks.

[Royal_Sir]

Will there be more of these in tge future?

[Jimmy]

Yes, I'm thinking of scheduling one a month, on the last Sunday of every month.

[Aquanet]

MAP01 - hmm ok I can see this
MAP02 - extra points for floating liquids and nazis
MAP03 - this is pretty good
MAP04 - it's a trap! seriously this is hard
MAP05 - some nice e1 flavor
MAP06 - my favorite, there's something satisfying about the geometry
MAP07 - very short, I thought more would be like this
MAP08 - sorta funny
MAP09 - nice terra cotta buildings
MAP10 - I turned around and ended up exiting immediately
MAP11 - I think Pinchy has done this before
MAP12 - BEST MUSIC
MAP13 - very nice, but ammo?
MAP14 - some e3/4 style
MAP15 - +5/5 for design but -5 for damaging floors

[Jimmy]

This is out! Check the first post for the download link! /idgames link is still to come.

There've only been a few changes and bugfixes to the maps since the beta release, but the most notable are MrGlide's red door being fixed, and MAP12 and MAP04 (speckygingerweapon's and Fonze's, respectively) being swapped in the set, as the former is an easy romp, while the latter is pretty fiendish with its monster placement.

Check the readme file for all the relevant credits. Once again, thanks so much to everyone who got involved with this, in whatever capacity. Really cool to see so many people keen to learn, and to meet some new friendly faces.

We're keeping the Discord channel very much open and active, by the way. Our tutors are usually available for guidance and advice in whatever area you might be in need of. We're also working on building a list of tutorials - mainly stream and video-based - in a special channel for easy perusal. Come on down if you're eager to learn direct from us!

[The Green Herring]

Jimmy said:

/idgames link (TBA)

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/joymaps1

[Jimmy]

Thanks, TGH! /idgames link added.

[Suitepee]

https://www.twitch.tv/johnsuitepee/v/82327769 = my playthrough of all 15 maps. (UV, pistol starts)

Well this was a decent bunch of maps, with no real bugs or problems. (no HOM's! No inescapable pits! No bad thing placement!)

Fonze's map was the only one I found some issue with; whether I played it badly or not, it felt like a real difficulty spike and I argue whether that outdoor area needed some cover from the twin Archviles/Revs that swarm out later on or not. I liked the monster combos (Mancs/PE's x2) but I felt something was off, although I can't quite pin down what it was.

ZBob's map was good as well, nice detailing and having encounters based around both secrets was nice! Also liked the Archvile use from speckygingerweapon, although the rest of the map was meh.

Some future potential in bursts from this mapset, and I hope to see more Joy of Mapping sessions in the future!

[Fonze]

You're welcome suitpee; glad you enjoyed it so much! Hehe. Almost surprised you didn't say the map name while playing.

To answer your question, the map wasn't missing more ammo or cover, it was missing something other than PE's+mancs for the first wave ;D This was my first speedmap, and having been busy beforehand I had nothing planned, so it was legit, so to speak. The PE's+mancs were split second decisions and it was perhaps lazy to use the same combo twice in a row, though I went other routes on the easier difficulties. I gotta be a bit of a stick in the mud and disagree on some of the comments, like the lack of cover, use of HK's over revs, and ammo/gameplay balance, but you would have made life much easier for yourself to have restarted and managed ammo better, as well as staying in the outside area rather than making the run for the door (though you pulled that off; nice, heh). You were correct when you figured to clear one half quickly to give you some breathing room; truthfully that was the same strategy twice in a row, with the RK grab meant to be just grabing the key and standing there nearby for a sec to observe before opening fire on the newly appearing mobs. The exit fight wasn't meant to be anything bad, more-so just a fun little shooting gallery as your remaining rockets tear up the revs+av's all tightly packed together. It was certainly a difficulty spike, in retrospect, to the other maps; unfortunate, but it is what it is. I love thing placement; perhaps the map reflects on that, what with being 2 rooms at best. I spent most of the time detailing the first room and the outside of the building, which is also why the outside was a cramped, flat mess. Hopefully as I learn to map faster I'll be able to put in more rooms of nothing but rockets and skulls :D

Thank you for the good watch man! I'll be watching the rest of the stream soon. Really looking forward to the play on Pinchy's map.