Foundry discussion

[porkenbeans]

I would like to ask that we carry on a grown-up conversation here. I do not want to see a digression into flaming and baiting. If you are interested in this discussion and have something useful to contribute please join the party, but if you have other disruptive goals in mind, I will not take the bate and participate in a flame-fest. I have learned my lesson. I will just report it instead.

[porkenbeans]

I am talking about all those maps that just died in the Foundry for lack of support. The word "support" is a misnomer. It only means Foundry support, not community support.

Well how do you suggest getting the greater CC community involved in the foundry process? They are welcome to come, but most people don't want to take the time to come in and look through, see what needs to be fixed, figure out how to fix it, and share that in an easy to understand way. When non-foundry people do come in, they usually just say something like, I love this map, quench soon! Which is unhelpful. The foundry community is what counts, but everyone can be in the foundry community if they want!

Well how do you suggest getting the greater CC community involved in the foundry process?

Well, that is exactly what we are trying to figure out here. I agree with you about how most people do not want to come and read about maps. This is very true, and I have said so myself. The majority of people come to this site to play Risk, NOT read forum text. But, they ARE still the majority, and if their voice is to be heard, we need to find a way to listen without demanding that they become "Forum" goers.

[The Neon Peon]

You mentioned several posts back that the foundry is too small a pool of people to appreciate certain types of artistic styles. I fail to understand how you came to this conclusion.

How is a group of around a hundred people to be considered "a small handful"?

What I think is really killing you maps is that you focus far more on the areas around the map than the map itself. Take the Romania map, for example. The map itself could have been very good, but it seems that most of the work and the attention of the image was directed at the various things around the map.

You do some things graphically that no other map maker has yet done before, but you tend to throw in a lot of "junk" around the edges that is not necessary. If you do make another attempt at a map, might I ask that you limit yourself to simply a map, legend and title, with a texture for a background. I think that if you do this, your work would be received a lot better by the community.

Another thing I do not understand about your maps is that several of them use standard territory borders yet you color only the names of the territories and army circles as if you are making a map of linear connections.

These are the things that I think damage some of the maps that could have been great otherwise. I would have liked to see the Jamaica map you started finished, but not with the several coats of arms, palms, oceans, compass, figures of people, map border, helicopter, and huge "Jamaice'mon" (I'm not saying get rid of it all, but only 2 or 3 at most should be on the map)

[natty dread]

I think it's a bit unfair to say that pork's maps are bad.

He may not have a lot of experience, and IMO he is still trying to find his style, his "voice" as a mapmaker, but he has a lot of talent and once it develops into full bloom I have a feeling many of you will be amazed by his products.

Pork, generally I like your maps. I think you're doing an awesome job with the graphics. One thing though I have noticed... sometimes, it seems like you're a bit "all over the place" with the graphics... like, you get focused on each small part of the image so thoroughly that you forget to look at how the image looks as a whole. So you develop this part here, that part there, and this produces a kind of conflict between the parts of the map, and I think this is what most people who criticize your maps are displeased with.

I hope you understand I don't mean this in a bad way. And on the other hand, I'm a bit drunk, so I might be just rambling nonsense. But I just wanted to offer this observation, and I hope you can take something out of it, and use it to help yourself to develop into a great mapmaker. I know you have it in you.

The rest of you, give Pork a chance. He's got some amazing talent with graphics, which should earn him at least a moderate amount of respect. Once he has some more experience, ... meh, I'm just repeating myself here. You know where I'm getting at.

Anyway, back to on topic.

There's no way to force the rest of CC to take interest in the foundry if they don't want to do that. The Classic revamp is a glaring example of this. Two whole months the revamp has been up in the foundry 4 every1 2c, and now that it is up, we get people complaining "why weren't we warned about this!"

You can take the camel to the water but you can't make it drink.

So what we should do IMO is to advertise the foundry more. Restarting the foundry newsletter seemed a good idea. However, 4 some reason the project was shitcanned by The Man.

Perhaps some weekly changing headlines about current events in the foundry, along with images, posted on the front page. Something like that.

[captainwalrus]

I don't think we should change very much. Most of us have fun, and until Pork came, there were very few complaints.

[thenobodies80]

Restarting the foundry newsletter seemed a good idea. However, 4 some reason the project was shitcanned by The Man.

Just for the record, foundry newsletter is currently present.
The newsletters evolved into a unique fortnightly newsletter that covers what happens on the whole site.
Moreover, the foundry section is still looking for people willing to help: http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=429&t=105340

Nobodies

[azezzo]

why doesnt the map foundry let porkenbeans help out making maps, he seems to have the motivation

[captainwalrus]

why doesnt the map foundry let porkenbeans help out making maps, he seems to have the motivation

He tries to make many maps, some of which were getting pretty decent, before the lockdown of the foundry. Anyone can make maps, Pork jsut complains that some people insulted his first few maps, as they were not very good.

[natty dread]

Restarting the foundry newsletter seemed a good idea. However, 4 some reason the project was shitcanned by The Man.

Just for the record, foundry newsletter is currently present.
The newsletters evolved into a unique fortnightly newsletter that covers what happens on the whole site.
Moreover, the foundry section is still looking for people willing to help: http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=429&t=105340

Nobodies

Yes I noticed that after I posted this.

I'm also considering applying to the foundry news team...