Staredit Network

Since we're going through DLDB changes anyway, why not experiment a bit?

I propose a series of nomination/voting threads be created to let members pick the really good maps they've played in the DLDB and move them into the Featured section, so we have maps there that aren't just made by Yoshi, Moose, Beer and Bolt.

Only myself and Moose have recently put maps in there.

The Featured category means Staff and Admins, so DLDB Keepers, Tutorials Keepers, Global Mods and Forum Mods could just request a DLDB Keeper to move their maps to the featured. Just not all of them, only the major ones.

I really suggest we do something called a "Map of the Week"

- On sites like http://www.broodwarmaps.net we do a map of the week with melee maps, where many of us get together and take a vote on which map we think is best. We can do the same with UMS maps.
- Last time I was told by minimoose that we had the Map Spotlight. But the problem with those is that they really don't seem to change. They're basically reserved for contest winners.

You can change the Spotlight for whenever you want.

The spotlight isn't some sacred thing only admins can touch. If there wasn't any intention for you to use it... you wouldn't be able to use it, or it would say not to use it.

As for Featured, we can pretty much kill it off. The category itself seems a bit buggy from my point of view (well, v5 will fix that). Anyway, I can get my own place to store my maps, I have my methods and don't really need a DLDB category anymore.

Yea, but if you look on http://www.broodwarmaps.net the way they do it gives more attention to those maps because they don''t just only update their MotW list.

They also have a section on the right side saying MotW: (map name), but what makes their MotWs so special is that they actually make newsposts about them. Then people can comment and be like "Congrats so and so," just like as if minimoose made a post for the results of a map making competition. This'll make the MotW system even more special and have people be like "Wow, cool, I really want to have my map receive such recognition." If we make tihs like a mini-map making competition, it'll incite more people to make maps and thus, wanting to submit them to our MotW Competition.

Just updating the map spotlight is boring. It's like giving out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places but without any ceremonies. What's the use of getting 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place if you receive barely, if any, attention for it? What I mean by attention is where people can actually say/respond to the results on the newspost or w/e. We need to do more than just change the map spotlight, we need to somehow bring more attention to those maps that make it into the map spotlights.



This is one reason why I seem to nowadays spend less time with SEN and spend more if it at BWMN, because at BWMN, they have competitions every week (mainly the MotW) and everyday we users can discuss the maps and vote on which one gets MotW. Everyone there is alway eager to know which map is going to get MotW, and there's this atmosphere there where people want that attention, want their map and their pictured posted on the frontpage of that website. It's almost never boring at BWMN when it comes to the SC/map making world there. It's kind of like our SEN games; it's something we all want to win/participate in. Making a MotW system like the one at BWMN here will create that incentive.

MA... okay.
I suppose map of the week is for new maps only?

Yea pretty much. At least that's how it works at BWMN
Edit: Well, technically you can submit any map you want, but normally people submit their fresher ones.

A new map each week? Personally I'd prefer each month.

The Featured section of the DLDB can still be turned into an archive of MoTW (or MotM), so the recognition doesn't fade with time like forum topics do.

Yeah, you can move all winners into the Featured category.

The question is: Are enough new maps submitted to the DLDB that are good enough for something like this?

We can just go with Month instead of Week to increase the odds of getting some quality from a greater quantity to choose from.

Once we announce this Map of the Week (or Month) system, people will eventually start pumping out maps. It might take a couple of these competitions to actually get the whole thing really kicking, but like with the one at BWMN, it'll become serious business.

It's because of the MotW system there which I really got into making serious melee maps; I want my melee maps to become MotW.

BWMN's motw system works where starting on monday, you can submit whatever maps you want to the MOTW competition list. The deadline is on friday and then you have from that day till sunday to discuss amongst yourselves the order of your preferences (like #1, 2, 3 candidates.) Then on monday, we count up the votes and usually (but not always) make the map with the most votes the MotW and have somebody make a cool newspost about it.

So I guess that if we do a MotM (map of the month system) I guess we can make the deadline to enter the maps 1 week before the last day of the month and during that one week, we can play the maps and discuss which ones should be best. There will be no grading rubric or any criterion for these maps; you just simply pick the one you like best or is worthy of a MotS. Maybe we can make an official specially made poll or something (now I said special mainly so that we can also make sure people don't cheat in voting with double accounts.)

EDIT: Well actually, scratch the poll. Just make it discuss only. We'll give everybody the chance to discuss/share their opinions on the map and then a selected few people (probably us staff members) will make the official pick based on how the comments turned out to be.
(This method will reduce as much bias in the map picking, because I know there are PLENTY of people out there who will blatantly exclaim that a person's map sucks or that they show major favortism based on who the authors are.)

The way I envision it is this:
All maps that are submitted in the week prior are automatically up for the MotW award. A script would be in place to show staff all the maps that was submitted last weak and hold a little voting booth. At the end of the week, the highest voted map goes into the motw spotlight... and the procedure starts over again. UMS takes a little longer to make, so a weekly "competition" won't be really fitting (although melee maps are elidgable(sp haha) as well). Moose's monthly theme competition is very nice as is. I also want some script support for that... make it more of a feature (gets a spot on the portal, in the dldb, and a shiny medal in the profile for winning).

Thoughts?

Yea, but make it so that people submit what maps they want, not have the maps automatically submitted.

Just auto submit em whenever you test out a map from the DLDB that looks really good.

What about Map of the 2 weeks? Nobody has that and it looks new and different.

I'll stick to MA's plans on doing this.

Now for scripting support, here's how I see it:
It can be done manually.
Portal would be when one of us makes a description about his//her experience(s) while playing the map.
When it wins, just move it to the Featured category.
Now that medal would have to be coded though. The best place to code it would be in the Additional information section of your profile, under B.net Account. It could be labeled as "Map of the 2 weeks accomplishments". Then, on the black table, you could put the image of a little trophy of something and the date that spanned the competition or the date in which the prize aws recieved.

Now to have the candidates, a small thread containing all maps for that week could be held and in that same thread, discuss the winner.

Call it the BWMap section: Bi-Weekly Map! (Same as Brood War Map)

Yea I prefer every two weeks rather than one month. It's a little more frequent and doesn't completely put a person down if he misses the deadline and has to wait another month to enter the next one.

It's not like your time in making a map for this competition is constrained to only two weeks. You can spend however long you want on it, and when it's done, submit it to the current Map of the (Two) Week competition that's in progress.

Another thing: the replay section.

There are a lot of useless files laying around there after all the patches we've had.

However, if we get another 1.09b period -- which in memory is the record holder for being in effect without need of a new patch -- then replays should still be good to have.

So the question is, when do we know that?