Today was certainly a strange test. The greens invasion and all new balance changes really made all the games we played kind of null and void for any actual relevance in terms of testing balance. It didn't help troop and flat weren't present. Never mind.
I'll be away over next weekend as its my stag do, wish me luck.
I was thinking, instead of random teams how about we nominate two team captains to take it in turns to pick their players and nominate a commander each game. Hopefully this would make for a more even spread of skill and avoid the stacked games we've had on several occasions.
Whats your guys thoughts on this?
I'd say keep it simple and ask players to self regulate the spread when it gets horrible. I'd certainly approve of random being used more often and restarting in case of unskilled comm.
The balance never hits horrible imo, except when we're low on regulars or a green manages to claim comm.
Though your suggestion might be fun for a contest. Just make sure flat, qwixxer and redeyes are on my team.
I just want to add a few updates here for the server.
It's currently coming up for a renewal with 5 days left, last time four of us chipped in and it was very cheap. So i'm asking again if anyone wants to give some money to the server, keep it running and support the map testing get in touch with me on steam. You'll be part owner and given admin rights and people will just think you're cool.
I'd like to talk about updates to maps also, if you have an update to your map and you would like it tested on the sunday can you atleast try and let an admin know so we can plan out what we're testing a few days before. We normally have a few hiccups because of this. Current admins are - ObliviousSight, Howser, Flaterectomy, _L_o_k_i_ and troop. Try and make sure at least one of us will be there sunday so we can let everyone else know.
One more thing want to make sure people have joined the Steam groupSpark Crafter Collective so you don't miss any midweek games as we post announcements half and hour to an hour before we start.
Also ! The balance is never really bad but I like the idea of captains we can atleast try it.
FlaterectomyNetherlandistanJoin Date: 2005-02-03Member: 39643Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester, NS2 Community Developer, Pistachionauts
The lack of both pre-maptest map update forum posts and post-maptest map forum feedback makes Flaterectomy cry. Make me feel like I was still there, guise. :P
I think both mappers "explaining" their map and feedback posts are inferior to people just playing the map and mappers watching them or playing with them. Especially in the later stages when the layout is generally final, and the finer details are ultimately the mapper's choice and there's less right or wrong.
That guy who is posting the Youtube videos is great in this respect.
Well we put out an event on the groups about 30 mins or so before we start, so hope you can make it this time. No build of grendel tonight I'm afraid, still lot to do and I got distracted by the new time wasters I found during the steam sale
[=Alex=]Join Date: 2008-12-25Member: 65866Members, Squad Five Blue
Well .... Yesterday I finished my ns2_co_pulse beta 13, I played a while at night and seems to be all in order, but more eyes see better ... The big change that implements was the center of the map changed completely Reactor size room. It is very good now fly in those parts.
If no other map that test, have this newly remodeled.
I'm certain we can fit it in next week's session @xtcmen. Is there anything in particular you would like us to look out for?
Well, I removed repairs on the right, which removes one easy access point to the waste hive for marines. I also added an RT in skylights, and made EC shorter and a starting hive again for aliens.
Its really nice to see your videos return! I've got a few ideas for our group i would like to talk about in a week or two- once all the wedding stuff is out the way. One of them is getting a group youtube channel where we can post all the gameplay videos, tutorials, discussions etc in some sort of organised way with a consistent format. It seems you are the go to guy for advice on this :P
I would like to learn how to edit videos so maybe we can have a weekly highlight/summary reel of sundays games, and the map changes. Hopefully this would make it easier for the wider community to follow the fun and great work everyone is doing in the SCC. I think it would also help promote our maps and serve as a reference point for people interested in learning how to map for the game.
Hopefully flat will be at his PC in a few weeks and we can all have a much needed meeting about our little community and where we should take it next?!
I feel these videos are such a great resource for mappers, but can we (or should we) try to make more accessible content for the rest of the community?
I'm what's called a youtuber, both at heart and in the sense of spending an unhealthy amount of time on the site. Less as a content creator though, but I'd be happy to help you avoid some pitfalls with Sony Vegas or walk you through your first vid. (The basics should be pretty easy to pick up. I'd imagine you may be up to speed with the tools given your background).
The Sunday videos target mappers who want to do some additional usability testing, which wouldn't be possible in a digest form. I've considered making a more widely digestible series. Main reasons I haven't is time constraints and overreach; it's notoriously time consuming to sift through and digest hours of video on a weekly basis. (as in, enough time to make a nice combat map alongside your regular mapping).
The SCC games might be high energy and all the banter humorous and interesting, but it'll take months and a lot of dedication to claim your place in the ocean of lets plays on YouTube, plus it doesn't have a high chance of being showcased beyond the NS2 forums. You'll have to weigh that with the time required.
I'd start with some news worthy content, like a short fly-through video that showcases of all the upcoming maps with some of Flat's music might be a nice place to start, and just go from there.
I know Flat authors the occasional vid, so I hope he chimes in on this.
I'd start with some news worthy content, like a short fly-through video that showcases of all the upcoming maps with some of Flat's music might be a nice place to start, and just go from there.
Also, no grey default texture in the video. NO. BAD.
I'm starting a new map called ns2_Igneus. Origin was really fun to make and Im still not 100% done yet, but I really need this map out of my head and in the game. Look for my new map thread in about 1-2 weeks.
Comments
I'll be away over next weekend as its my stag do, wish me luck.
I'd say keep it simple and ask players to self regulate the spread when it gets horrible. I'd certainly approve of random being used more often and restarting in case of unskilled comm.
The balance never hits horrible imo, except when we're low on regulars or a green manages to claim comm.
Though your suggestion might be fun for a contest.
It's currently coming up for a renewal with 5 days left, last time four of us chipped in and it was very cheap. So i'm asking again if anyone wants to give some money to the server, keep it running and support the map testing get in touch with me on steam. You'll be part owner and given admin rights and people will just think you're cool.
I'd like to talk about updates to maps also, if you have an update to your map and you would like it tested on the sunday can you atleast try and let an admin know so we can plan out what we're testing a few days before. We normally have a few hiccups because of this. Current admins are - ObliviousSight, Howser, Flaterectomy, _L_o_k_i_ and troop. Try and make sure at least one of us will be there sunday so we can let everyone else know.
One more thing want to make sure people have joined the Steam groupSpark Crafter Collective so you don't miss any midweek games as we post announcements half and hour to an hour before we start.
Also ! The balance is never really bad but I like the idea of captains we can atleast try it.
That guy who is posting the Youtube videos is great in this respect.
Didnt realise it was so close to 8
what new builds we got tonight then people?
This weeks testing was interesting we had some really long drawn out games, but as i always say we need more games on each map!
If no other map that test, have this newly remodeled.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=164817596
Well, I removed repairs on the right, which removes one easy access point to the waste hive for marines. I also added an RT in skylights, and made EC shorter and a starting hive again for aliens.
I would like to learn how to edit videos so maybe we can have a weekly highlight/summary reel of sundays games, and the map changes. Hopefully this would make it easier for the wider community to follow the fun and great work everyone is doing in the SCC. I think it would also help promote our maps and serve as a reference point for people interested in learning how to map for the game.
Hopefully flat will be at his PC in a few weeks and we can all have a much needed meeting about our little community and where we should take it next?!
I feel these videos are such a great resource for mappers, but can we (or should we) try to make more accessible content for the rest of the community?
The Sunday videos target mappers who want to do some additional usability testing, which wouldn't be possible in a digest form. I've considered making a more widely digestible series. Main reasons I haven't is time constraints and overreach; it's notoriously time consuming to sift through and digest hours of video on a weekly basis. (as in, enough time to make a nice combat map alongside your regular mapping).
The SCC games might be high energy and all the banter humorous and interesting, but it'll take months and a lot of dedication to claim your place in the ocean of lets plays on YouTube, plus it doesn't have a high chance of being showcased beyond the NS2 forums. You'll have to weigh that with the time required.
I'd start with some news worthy content, like a short fly-through video that showcases of all the upcoming maps with some of Flat's music might be a nice place to start, and just go from there.
I know Flat authors the occasional vid, so I hope he chimes in on this.
Also, no grey default texture in the video. NO. BAD.
Have to make sure we don't let videos like this impact our mapping-time too much though.