Map Organization Project [Ver 3 - Pg 13]

[DiM]

We don't need to borrow any clothes from you DiM.

i don't need them. lately i've been wearing nothing but this:



it's kinda hard eating with a straw but it makes my eyes look nice

[Herakilla]

dim stop being an arse lol and just admit that your maps are complex! afterall i dont think you made them specifically for the newer players now did you *wags finger*

[DiM]

dim stop being an arse lol and just admit that your maps are complex! afterall i dont think you made them specifically for the newer players now did you *wags finger*

shut up. and go play with a rubber duck. *hands hera a rubber duck*

i'm not saying they aren't complex. i'm saying they aren't as gimmicky as coleman says they are. merchants has 2 gimmicks. one way borders (ports to docks) and starting neutrals (pirate cove) that's all. the rest (strategic resources and ranged attacks) are inventions meant to create even more confusion.

[mibi]

just like siege. if a guy has a camp look to see if he also has the gate and add to that. the only difference is that on aom you have more adding to do.

more adding... uh yeah... I dont want to manually add anything close to the bonuses in my current game.

Aoria Castle (5) Xi Castle (5) Aoria Castle and Rhit Village (1) Aoria Castle and Fick Village (1) Aoria Castle and Haet Village (1) Aoria Castle and Duht Village (1) Aoria Castle and Mat Village (1) Aoria Castle and Qasr Village (1) Aoria Castle and Sler Village (1) Xi Castle and Rhit Village (1) Xi Castle and Fick Village (1) Xi Castle and Haet Village (1) Xi Castle and Duht Village (1) Xi Castle and Mat Village (1) Xi Castle and Qasr Village (1) Xi Castle and Sler Village (1) Corn Mill, Corn Farm and Rhit Village (1) Corn Mill, Corn Farm and Fick Village (1) Corn Mill, Corn Farm and Haet Village (1) Corn Mill, Corn Farm and Duht Village (1) Corn Mill, Corn Farm and Mat Village (1) Corn Mill, Corn Farm and Qasr Village (1) Corn Mill, Corn Farm and Sler Village (1) Wheat Field, Bakery and Rhit Village (1) Wheat Field, Bakery and Fick Village (1) Wheat Field, Bakery and Haet Village (1) Wheat Field, Bakery and Duht Village (1) Wheat Field, Bakery and Mat Village (1) Wheat Field, Bakery and Qasr Village (1) Wheat Field, Bakery and Sler Village (1) Gold Mine, Coin Mint and Rhit Village (1) Gold Mine, Coin Mint and Fick Village (1) Gold Mine, Coin Mint and Haet Village (1) Gold Mine, Coin Mint and Duht Village (1) Gold Mine, Coin Mint and Mat Village (1) Gold Mine, Coin Mint and Qasr Village (1) Gold Mine, Coin Mint and Sler Village (1) Corn Mill, Corn Farm and Aoria Castle (2) Corn Mill, Corn Farm and Xi Castle (2) Wheat Field, Bakery and Aoria Castle (2) Wheat Field, Bakery and Xi Castle (2) Gold Mine, Coin Mint and Aoria Castle (2) Gold Mine, Coin Mint and Xi Castle (2)

and thats just one player.

maybe its intuitive to you... but i simply can't play it without computational help (Bob)

[DiM]

maybe its intuitive to you... but i simply can't play it without computational help (Bob)

could be.

[WidowMakers]

OK here we go. Sorry for the big images but i wanted to get the full effect. I have designed and reorganized several of the current and new screens that will go along with the new map organization project.

All of these screens are made up and the ratings I put under each map were random. So please do spam the thread and complain that your favorite map only got 1 star out of 5. It is just an example. (I know someone will post a stupid comment now just because I asked not to)

SO here we go.

Map Select Screen
Here are the new features:
-5 star rating - This shows the current player rating of the map on a level of 0-5 stars. If you have played a particular map you can click on the stars and you will be taken to the Map Rating & feedback screen (see below)
-Map Info link-This link takes you to a new page on the site where the information to the particular map resides. (see below)
-Sort by A/Z and Rating- I added this just to show where we could put the sort button and what it might look like.


When you click on a map the image shows up just like now. However, there is an added link the the map information page (see below)


Map Rating and Feedback Screen
Here a player can pick the rating they would like to give a map and leave a short post about why they liked/disliked/enjoyed/ the map. This information will then be viewable on the map information page.


Map Information Page
This page contains most of the vital information about a particular map. If a map is confusing, a player can come here and rad up on what different gameplay attributes or gameplay styles are best suited for it.

The gameplay gimmicks are listed and are able to be linked ot the main glossary listed int eh help section or instructions at th top of the site. (See below)



Map Gameplay Features
This is the main list of different gameplay features (gimmicks). In each map info page the gimmicks will be linked to this page. That way if a player does not understand how a particular map is played, they can read the map info and then get a clearer understanding of each aspect of the map but reading the actual definition of the gimmick.



Well That is it. I know it is a big post but I wanted to get the actual experience out there.

Any suggestions? I probably will not update the pics but it might get the discussion moving towards a more defined solution.

WM

[mibi]

I have to disagree with some of those ratings.

[WidowMakers]

I have to disagree with some of those ratings.

Well I guess that wraps this up. Mibi's comments are all we needed.

WM

[Kaplowitz]

If you have never played a map, would it go to the back? b/c this might encourage people to never try new maps cause its always at the bottom; i realize you can choose A-Z...but idk.

[WidowMakers]

If you have never played a map, would it go to the back? b/c this might encourage people to never try new maps cause its always at the bottom; i realize you can choose A-Z...but idk.

I don't know what you mean. Go to the back of what?

The ratings are based off of everyone ranking the map. So thousands of people will be voting (0-5) and leaving map feedback. You can only leave a rating 1 time per map. SO if you sort by rating, the maps with the highest rating (MAX 5) will be at the top and so on down to the lowest.

And you will be able to change your rating in the future if you wish (just like the current feedback system).

WM

[Coleman]

I like everything WidowMakers showed and am willing to push back trying to
split up maps into easier to manage categories until we get some real
community complaints about how unmanageable it is. I was just hoping to
get ahead of the curve there.

I would like to know if everything in WidowMaker's peripherals is to
everyone's satisfaction, and if so, I'd like to get back on to the track of
compiling a post that represents all of our opinions as cohesively as possible.

Something I'd like to debate with DiM is how many of these classifications for
frequently seen complexities he feels are worth pointing out and labeling in
map info as "not standard". He obviously thinks some of them are
completely pointless classifications, I'd like to find out what his list would be.

[WidowMakers]

Something I'd like to debate with DiM is how many of these classifications for frequently seen complexities he feels are worth pointing out and labeling in
map info as "not standard". He obviously thinks some of them are
completely pointless classifications, I'd like to find out what his list would be.

When you say classifications you mean the Map Feature Groupings correct?

Are you saying that some of them are too basic (1-way borders for example) and don't need to be listed?

My suggestion is that anything that does not show up on the Classic Map should be listed in this list. You might not agree, but there will be no confusion if they all are.


WM

[rebelman]

I like everything WidowMakers showed and am willing to push back trying to
split up maps into easier to manage categories until we get some real
community complaints about how unmanageable it is. I was just hoping to
get ahead of the curve there.

I would like to know if everything in WidowMaker's peripherals is to
everyone's satisfaction, and if so, I'd like to get back on to the track of
compiling a post that represents all of our opinions as cohesively as possible.

Something I'd like to debate with DiM is how many of these classifications for
frequently seen complexities he feels are worth pointing out and labeling in
map info as "not standard". He obviously thinks some of them are
completely pointless classifications, I'd like to find out what his list would be.

seriously coleman no offence on DiM but he totally over estimates the intellect of the average player - what WM said makes sense - if you listen to DiM every map is simple and uncomplicated. I think this a perspective that is unique to him on this site.

Also WM liked those screen shots above - could do the trick, although i still believe joe soap noob would love to see maps classified as easy medium hard insane.

[Coleman]

I don't know how I could add those extra sorting or organization methods in
good faith when I know that DiM and possibly a lurker or two that agrees
with him is going to be upset about it.

If the first step in the journey towards getting those in is everything
WidowMakers posted I'm willing to take it and try another step later.

[benjikat]

I think some kind of classification based on complexity should be included, but i think it should be a simple badge given to the "classic" maps - i.e. those that are as simple as the Classic map in gameplay terms. The new user to the site should then be strongly advised to play those maps first.

To classify other maps' complexities beyond that however seems too hard, as there would always be disagreements. (e.g. I for one always thought AoMerchants was really easy to understand and still don't really understand why others have so much difficulty with it - although I'm grateful for their points ).

This "badge" could either be a little graphic that sits top right of each map thumbnail, or could be a toggle at the top (i.e. "classic only / all"). It could be that new users are blocked from joining the "non-classic" maps until they have played 5 games (i.e. in the same way as for team games).


I do however like everything WM presented above, and will be very interested to see how much the ratings correlate with the number of games played on the maps initially - although over time this correlation is obviously self-reinforcing - especially if the default sorting is set to "rating".

This self-reinforcement of the popularity of popular maps leads to the issue of how to introduce new maps to the mix. Sites like Youtube tackle this problem by pushing "recent views/ ratings" to the fore - their all-time lists have become very stagnant.

Having said all that, the "new" label as presently used may be enough.