Map Organization Project Revisited

[DiM]

as yeti and incandenza mentioned in the other thread there were problems reaching a consensus on several sorting methods like:
1. complexity - i said most maps are easy yeti said they aren't then benjikat said they are but others said they aren't and so on. my bet is this will never satisfy anybody not even if we come up with a formula.
2. star rating. wm and me said it would be nice with a feedback system then mibi came and said it's crap.
3. terit number sorting. most people said it would be cool but others came and said it doesn't give any info because while AoR maps have lots of terits they make for a pretty fast game.

i think the best way of sorting is according to theme. yes there will be some maps that fall under various categs but those are few and i'm sure a consensus can be reached.

[Ruben Cassar]

I don't see any need to categorise the maps in the "start a game" menu.

Just using alphabetical order is enough and much easier to find than having to think about which category it falls into...

[DiM]

I don't see any need to categorise the maps in the "start a game" menu.

Just using alphabetical order is enough and much easier to find than having to think about which category it falls into...

right now you are right but maps are growing and soon people will have to do a LOT of scrolling. even now if people use a laptop they still have to scroll at least 3 screens (depending on resolution)

in the future having 5-10 map folders will be much easier

[Ruben Cassar]

I don't see any need to categorise the maps in the "start a game" menu.

Just using alphabetical order is enough and much easier to find than having to think about which category it falls into...

right now you are right but maps are growing and soon people will have to do a LOT of scrolling. even now if people use a laptop they still have to scroll at least 3 screens (depending on resolution)

in the future having 5-10 map folders will be much easier

I don't know DiM. That was just my personal opinion.

However if the number of maps keeps growing we could make folders according to the alphabet classification. For example list 50 in the first folder or page and the rest in the following folder or page using alphabetical order as the sorting criteria.

However, once again personally when creating games I prefer to have the maps all accessible in one page, no matter how much I have to scroll.

Maybe a viewing option could be added to let the user customise the view according to his/her preference?

[DiM]

I don't see any need to categorise the maps in the "start a game" menu.

Just using alphabetical order is enough and much easier to find than having to think about which category it falls into...

right now you are right but maps are growing and soon people will have to do a LOT of scrolling. even now if people use a laptop they still have to scroll at least 3 screens (depending on resolution)

in the future having 5-10 map folders will be much easier

I don't know DiM. That was just my personal opinion.

However if the number of maps keeps growing we could make folders according to the alphabet classification. For example list 50 in the first folder or page and the rest in the following folder or page using alphabetical order as the sorting criteria.

However, once again personally when creating games I prefer to have the maps all accessible in one page, no matter how much I have to scroll.

Maybe a viewing option could be added to let the user customise the view according to his/her preference?

ruben, i don't know where you've been during the initial discussions but i think this image will make you happy. notice at the top you can choose how you want the maps to be displayed (alphabetically, by theme, by rating, etc)

[Ruben Cassar]

ruben, i don't know where you've been during the initial discussions but i think this image will make you happy. notice at the top you can choose how you want the maps to be displayed (alphabetically, by theme, by rating, etc)

Hey that looks fantastic. "I'm lovin' it!" (McDonald, R. 2005)

I didn't see it on this thread...maybe it's on the other one.

What is that rating feature? A user can give ratings to his favourite maps to act as a sorting criteria?

[DiM]

ruben, i don't know where you've been during the initial discussions but i think this image will make you happy. notice at the top you can choose how you want the maps to be displayed (alphabetically, by theme, by rating, etc)

Hey that looks fantastic. "I'm lovin' it!" (McDonald, R. 2005)

I didn't see it on this thread...maybe it's on the other one.

What is that rating feature? A user can give ratings to his favourite maps to act as a sorting criteria?

yes it's from the other thread. after debating and talking aout ratings and sorting and feedback and so on, WM kindly made some images. here is his post:

Map Select Screen
Here are the new features:
-5 star rating - This shows the current player rating of the map on a level of 0-5 stars. If you have played a particular map you can click on the stars and you will be taken to the Map Rating & feedback screen (see below)
-Map Info link-This link takes you to a new page on the site where the information to the particular map resides. (see below)
-Sort by A/Z and Rating- I added this just to show where we could put the sort button and what it might look like.

Click image to enlarge.

When you click on a map the image shows up just like now. However, there is an added link the the map information page (see below)

Click image to enlarge.

Map Rating and Feedback Screen
Here a player can pick the rating they would like to give a map and leave a short post about why they liked/disliked/enjoyed/ the map. This information will then be viewable on the map information page.

Click image to enlarge.

Map Information Page
This page contains most of the vital information about a particular map. If a map is confusing, a player can come here and rad up on what different gameplay attributes or gameplay styles are best suited for it.

The gameplay gimmicks are listed and are able to be linked ot the main glossary listed int eh help section or instructions at th top of the site. (See below)

Click image to enlarge.

Map Gameplay Features
This is the main list of different gameplay features (gimmicks). In each map info page the gimmicks will be linked to this page. That way if a player does not understand how a particular map is played, they can read the map info and then get a clearer understanding of each aspect of the map but reading the actual definition of the gimmick.

Click image to enlarge.

Well That is it. I know it is a big post but I wanted to get the actual experience out there.

Any suggestions? I probably will not update the pics but it might get the discussion moving towards a more defined solution.

WM

[AndyDufresne]

I do hope that we can some day have a few additional organizations, but always keeping standard Alphabetical as default perhaps.

Anyways, this is a little ways down the road, but perhaps we can all come to a general agreement.

(Essentially a bump post, just couldn't allow myself to write "bump." )


--Andy

[wcaclimbing]

I like widow's design for it (see the quote in DiM's post).
It packs in a ton of information, but it still looks relatively easy to use.

[laci_mae]

I haven't pushed this for a few days. I think about half the site (including me) are overwhelmed with school. However, if there were to be some type of ad hoc group, I wouldn't mind taking on a steady role. I believe this is one of the issues that must be addressed for the site to truly have a user-focused interface. Granted the forum upgrades have been an unbelievably huge step in the right direction.

Best,
LMR

[wcaclimbing]

I haven't pushed this for a few days. I think about half the site (including me) are overwhelmed with school. However, if there were to be some type of ad hoc group, I wouldn't mind taking on a steady role. I believe this is one of the issues that must be addressed for the site to truly have a user-focused interface. Granted the forum upgrades have been an unbelievably huge step in the right direction.

Best,
LMR

I'm not sure about how much help an ad-hoc group could give, because it seems like we basically know what needs to be done already. It just needs the final steps to get everything organized.

I do agree that this site NEEDS the organization, though. It would make everything on here much more user-friendly and more enjoyable for everyone (especially new players and people interested in the maps and gameplay styles)