Hello fellow community members.

Over the years since we all have discovered the map editor and other UCC apps on other games, there have been many arguments, Ideas and overall wish's from the various creative user communities.

Well, this article really touches on all sides of the coin.

UBISOT should read this and take it to heart since they are realisticly one of the Console community leaders for UCC (user created content)

Read the article and please post your thoughts regarding it, and how it could be used to greater benifit.

Ubisoft please get off your ***'s and start working on how you can make this continue to work for you.

I personally think that this answers questions regarding ownership and also regarding how this can be used both to build the industry and change the way it currently operates.

Great story. I just can't picture UBI Soft really caring about the user. They still haven't fixed the freeze up in single story game and they won't give map makers any dlc let alone the content they promised in the pre-release editor videos. Heck, they hand over contol of their game to a third party 6 months after release, they just don't seem to care about us, they already got our money. I doubt I'll even get FC3. Hopefully Crytek will have a better grip with Crysis2.
I have heard it said that map making in FC2 will not jump start a career in the gaming industry. I know level editing has in the PC world for a few people (a couple Quake 2 editors), there is no reason it can't work the same on consols as well.

I agree Mikk. Untapped talent is always out there, just waiting to be found. Level editors let the real hardcore players create their own visions, and many are just as good as any Dev on the payroll's. Maybe the right person sees it, maybe not. Usually, not. But that doesn't mean its impossible

Well one mapmaker I know for a different Ubisoft game, ended up with one of his maps being good enough to be put on an expansion disk for the game, and he got some nice stuff from the dev team and was invited to the studios.

I was invited up to Ubisoft to check out Far Cry before it released.
I couldn't have a passport in time to go though.

While the article is talking about untapped talent waiting to be found and all that, It also shows the plus's and minuses of doing UCC.
On the plus side I think it would help developers keep a game alive longer If they included Editors like Far Cry has.
That way if it has solid MP and other sought after components then they can make money selling DLC. Require a disc to play it and they have to buy the full game.
Negatives sure Developers can become lazy. I mean we see that already. I would just like to see more of this kind of thing on Xbox.
Especially with shooters.

I am also waiting to see what CRYTEK does.

quote:

Originally posted by BTOG46:
Well one mapmaker I know for a different Ubisoft game, ended up with one of his maps being good enough to be put on an expansion disk for the game, and he got some nice stuff from the dev team and was invited to the studios.

there is probably more luck than talent needed. that guy probably made a very good map, but there are probably dozens of other guys who made maps as good or better and didn't get any recognition.

Also, a lots of people are ignorant about what you can really do with the mapmaker, because they don't download maps, except those from their friends and a few very well known ones.
and I guess that's why maps such as 'la tour eiffel' are so famous. most players are dumbstruck when they see it. they are a lots of maps which are way better, but they are so amazed that it wouldn't come to their mind. seriously, they were already so proud when they managed to put 3 trees and a house in their own map, so the eiffel tower, you imagine.

so basically, if players aren't constantly looking for better and better maps, of course the best maps will always remain in the shadows.
the problem being that as soon as they find one map that stands out of the mass, most of them must be convinced they found the best of the best map.

fortunately, the situation isn't too bad on far cry 2, with maps such as renavista or jurassik park being very famous, most players begin to have some clues about what is possible with the editor. on timesplitters 3, we were like only 5 to produce maps of the best quality, and most players seemed convinced it wasn't possible to build a good map, until I proved hundreds of them wrong by putting videos of my maps on youtube.

quote:

for a different Ubisoft game

rayman designer?

quote:

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A guy that used to be on my friends list back in the FC: Instincts days actually got hired by Ubisoft because of his maps.

His Gamer tag was Mr. Lee Ames He did some nice maps back then. From what I heard though he didn't like Ubisoft and ended up quitting.

I definitely agree with you ALL.

Lot of guys do have way more talent and creativity, but they never get a chance to showcase their work. I hope UBI at least releases a 'patch' to fix some of the current Single Player and MP issues. An SDK would be more better, but I don't think we can hope to see it coming ?

What do you guys think, can we hope to see another Patch (PC) or at least an SDK in near future ? The SDK gives the modders/mappers a lot of 'creative' freedom to showcase their talent and update their portfolio. PLEASE REPLY.

Anyhow, Good LUCK to you all.

quote:

Originally posted by Fauch_:

quote:

for a different Ubisoft game

rayman designer?

The clue was in my sig, Settlers 6 Rise of an Empire, his map was included on the Eastern Realm expansion, map making for that game requires LUA scripting knowledge, as well as simply designing the map terrain, as it was a single player map, and in that game editor, there's no random AI generator, all AI has to be scripted by the mapmaker.

He also had to devise a plot-line and quests for the map, all of which are done with LUA scripts.

In contrast, all the mp mapmaker in that game needs is the skill to make a good balanced map, even I can make mp maps with that editor, but sp maps are a bit beyond my skills at the moment, and to make matters worse, yesterday they released an editor for another game I play, and getting to grips with that is going to be another distraction for me.

Time is a big issue for me. I can make good maps, look good, play good, quite believable. The problem is, I have a Carreer that takes up nearly all of my life, so I have to settle for 20-40 hr maps I rush out jst to stay competitive with the rest of the Clan Servers.

Id love to have like 2 weeks to just make a map with. Im sure there are tons of us who could really make some great stuff if we just had the time to commit to it.

quote:

Originally posted by Agent00Kevin:
Time is a big issue for me. I can make good maps, look good, play good, quite believable. The problem is, I have a Carreer that takes up nearly all of my life, so I have to settle for 20-40 hr maps I rush out jst to stay competitive with the rest of the Clan Servers.

I obviously don't speak for all studios, but generally speaking based on my experiences, Developers are often under those same time constraints.

There is a lot of stress to get it right the first time and do it quickly. What makes things worse for them is that if they fail then people post all thier mistakes on Youtube or the Company Forum and it hurts future titles by impacting the fan base.

In continuing franchises, they are often given a certain budget for each area of the game based off the communities reaction to the previous. So companies are forced to find ways to cut costs that often put them at higher risk. You can't always build your company on interns or inexperienced workers as a way to keep the budget down and eventually luck will not be on your side.

Separately, I would love for a Developer to say to me, "hey, come on board", but I also realize the risk they are making to take that step. I think ego can be a major problem in approaching and hiring people in that manner. It allows the potential prospect a lot of power for negotiating contracts if done in reverse. It is a business after all and it is in the companies best interest to let the workers come to them.

Wow, its great that you have all created a totally unrelated topic of conversation here.

The point was that UCC is becoming bigger on Consoles. Of course it is becoming bigger on the PS3. So why aren't more 360 developers creating titles that allow UCC in them?

why is it that companies like UBISOFT who are in the position to lead the charge and prove it can be profitable do absolutely nothing to make use of what they have already invested millions into?

answer those questions and forget the whole untapped talent thing. that was only like 5% of the whole article.

quote:

Originally posted by zeeEVIL1:
why is it that companies like UBISOFT who are in the position to lead the charge and prove it can be profitable do absolutely nothing to make use of what they have already invested millions into?

answer those questions and forget the whole untapped talent thing. that was only like 5% of the whole article.

I believe companies like Ubisoft are doing something. However, I also believe they could do more.

The reason I feel this way is because I see these tools for us Map Makers as an 'Industry Standard' if you will and setting that fictitious bar. Companies making level editors are in a way, creating a playing field or equal ground for everyone to stand on. It speaks prerequisite without actually claiming it and in Level Design, most of creating is a theory that can be moved between genres. Those companies are providing the tools for you to have a better start and to me it speaks leagues

I never understood why companies that did this don’t embrace clever PR strategies by holding unofficial contests of sorts and select individuals from that to then work for them. It sounds like from Brimtown’s post that maybe Ubisoft has done this in the past. Maybe it is something they should pursue in the future? It makes perfect sense to me because they will find passionate contributors. We all know, if you love what you are doing, it shows.