Map and Mod Councillor Applications

[Lieutenant Lich]

Yes, something like that. To make those posters I'll collaborate with the map maker once he is confident the map is ready to go public.

[FtXCommando]

why are the maps bad lich king, also what is a good map

[nine2]

It is possible to upgrade old maps to v60 which means the minimap would appear properly. The M&M Councillor could organise that to happen

[speed2]

It is possible to upgrade old maps to v60 which means the minimap would appear properly. The M&M Councillor could organise that to happen

Not really, only authors can upload a new version of their map.
It would have to be done manually.
There's no system to distrubute the new versions nor disallow playing the old ones.

[nine2]

things can change

[CookieNoob]

There's no system to distrubute the new versions nor disallow playing the old ones.

sadly this is true, however, I upgraded the outdated map filter a while ago, so it checks if there are seval maps with the same name and different versions and hides all old versions without the need to blacklist them... so over time, newer versions should spread (ppl joining someone and downloading a more recent version wont host an old version later)

[SilentWarrior]

There's no system to distrubute the new versions nor disallow playing the old ones.

I upgraded the outdated map filter a while ago, so it checks if there are seval maps with the same name and different versions and hides all old versions without the need to blacklist them... so over time, newer versions should spread (ppl joining someone and downloading a more recent version wont host an old version later)

This appears more and more like a manual job. We can use filters to show us, but we have physically either inspect them or make a call. I think the time to be timid is over. We have far too many maps. I love diversity, but some of these maps are plain copies, or outdated. Sounds easy, I'm sure.

I wrote a program for a university's computer system. This program would start up when any computer would be logged in and check for updates.
Two years, after I left the University, they called me and asked for my permission to modify the program. They could have just done it without asking, but this is the professional way to approach someone else's work.
So, I'd be the last person to delete something that someone has created. But, we have an obligation to tidy things up and create a procedure that will help maintain a healthy pool of maps/mods.
I feel that there needs to be a separation between the maps, players create, and the ones that we actually put into the vault.
That way, the vault is not flooded with nonsense.
This would require someone actually checking which maps have been submitted, going through them and evaluating whether the map meets a minimum specification. This process cannot stop there, as mistakes are sometimes overlooked and found out later by others. This leads to map feedback.
Whether a map is popular or not, is not something we should go near, as everyone is different and creativity takes on many guises.
Version control of mods/maps is important. When I look for a mod/map, I want the latest, not something out of date, but I'm still presented with a list and have to decide for myself which one to download. This is silly. If a new version comes out, why do we still have the older versions there? They should be archived.
Let's play Canis! Which version? Are they all the same? Oh, look this one has 5v5, this one has more reclaim and look that one has a McDonalds!!!! lol
Maybe you know which one, but as a newer player, I haven't got a clue. (There are presently 23 versions of Canis!)
I think it's important that we're talking about it, as it means many people can contribute with ideas and workable solutions.
Maybe stepping down, has benefits?

[speed2]

There never was a lack of ideas or suggestions of working solutions, but lack of people that would code them.

[SilentWarrior]

... lack of people that would code them.

The mountain of work, you guys/girls, have done is amazing.
Getting more people involved is probably key to getting over the finish line (if that exists).
I think that a lot of players have the technical ability to code. Getting people to actively get involved and learn, seems like the logical approach. I take it, you've tried anything I could think of and the only thing you needed was manpower.

There are a number of applicants for the role. Why not use all of them, in some fashion? ( that was my plan )

I'm a great believer in getting people together, I think this role requires someone to get things moving and ways of motivating people to come along. I believe the people are there, they just don't know about it, yet. I have the time to code, but I know there are loads of players that are currently miles ahead of me technically. More is better? Quality control is central to the role.
.
Whenever there is change, there is a level of excitement. I want to use this excitement and get more people involved. Hence, people talking about this will bring forward more people to help. I mentioned to someone that I was applying for this role, they hadn't even registered with the forum, but was willing to have a look. When they did, they found a world of information. That's just one person, but it changed the way he looks at faf now. He's now plundering the Mods section to find cool mods that will help with gameplay, he'll spread them out to players he knows. Someone will get inspired and say,' I want to make a mod or map'. This leads them to find out some of the problems we face and if they have the technical ability to help, then we could possibly have found the next best map maker or mods maker or even someone that can do more.
The problem we have, is some players do not interact with the faf community at large. Subsequently, they don't know the depth of work that has gone into faf, just to get it to this stage.

why are the maps bad lich king, also what is a good map

[size=50]There are no bad maps! Only badly made maps! Once you start dictating what maps are allowed and what are not, you stop creativity and growth. Without growth, this community will die, and all that will be left is the salt of the Earth and the salty.

[Cyborg16]

How about "archiving" any map older than a month and which hasn't been played in a month, or something like that?

Assuming you can get the stats (plays per map) it needs little work: a server script and make the lobby hide archived maps by default (a filter).

One thing I'd love to get fixed on several maps is visual inconsistencies: traversable areas which look like mountains (e.g. closed Wonder 4v4) and inaccessible slopes which look like grass/flat areas (one of the small ladder maps with high aspect ratio).