mibi wrote:qwert i think you should stop asking for peoples opinions.
As a graphic designer by profession, and a member of numerous design forums, I have never seen a place so wrapped up in the design-by-committee ethos. It is very frustrating for the designer and apparently, often the maps end up in some bureaucratic black hole.
chances are i wont be finishing my current map nor making new ones due to the fact that everyone here has qualified themselves as an designer in residence.
classic example of 'those that cannot do, teach' only replace 'teach' with 'bitch' or 'nitpick'.
I suggest you use your skills on a more appreciative community.
Sorry, I'm gonna call you out on this one...
Surely the 'design by committee' is important as these maps are gonna be used by the whole site! The designer still has the authority to make changes if he can argue for them properly. Most of us on this site are not graphic designers I'm afraid, and we need that constructive criticism both to make a map with good playability and to avoid just making what we think is great but everyone will hate once it is up for play (see the circus maximus map, for example, or the middle east - both were put up before the current foundry 'standard' was eveloped, as it were).
I don't know whether you've read Qwert's threads but the changes he objected to were not huge big deals but little things which would just make the map look more professional. Moving a few titles away from borders so they didn't touch. As a graphic designer surely you should realise that you would never present a job to a client which had minor flaws, so why should these maps be the same? many many maps get quenched, we've had two this month in fact, and I'm sure yours will too as its shaping up to be a great map in my opinion.
The only maps that have ended up in this 'black hole' you describe have been Qwerts. Others have started maps then given up or have had to bow out due to copyright, but only Qwert has had to stop because he isn't mature enough to take constructive criticsm and wants his map quenched as soon as he thinks it is ready. If the system worked like that we'd have twenty maps a month or more, and they'd all be shit!
And it really isn't a case of those who cannot do, bitch'. Most of the people commenting have either made really high quality maps already themselves (e.g. Keyogi, Oaktown...) or are in the process of making them (e.g. Me, Ruben...). We all know what it takes to get a map made in this forum, and should Qwert.