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It's nothing compared to the old days of farming for the Ratings Badges.
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Originally Posted by GlaziusF
What do you mean "were"? I still see this all the time. 25 tickets for something and then one or two "someone voted on" messages right after.
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I said right after, didn't I, that any old sewer or abandoned office map would have worked out fine? You could even drop in Vahzilok's Lab, I don't see that one nearly as often as the dang asylum.|
Originally Posted by Sister_Twelve
For example, when GlaziusF reviewed my arc, one of the things he downgraded me for was me using the Mayhem's Hospital map. That mission featured a hospital and the only map I could find that featured hospital trappings was that one. So I considered that particular criticism a bit unfair on his part. But his experience is his experience. If he finds the hospital map to be overused and he has had to play through it numerous times, then in his eyes, the criticism is valid.
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The asylum is intentionally even more of a frustrating maze than the normal office buildings are, with even tighter quarters and even more obstructed vision. It doesn't lend itself well to glowie hunts (I seem to recall everything I had to find being partially or wholly obstructed by dividers) or, heaven forfend, defeat alls.
It works if you're going for psychological impact, if the "place you're going" is supposed to be mixed-up and confused. It didn't make much sense when they used it for the Special Maps, er, Silver Mantis Strike Force, and it doesn't make much sense as an "ordinary" hospital.
It was this and the Ruladak Caves that really ground my gears - both confusing to navigate and fight in for different reasons, though I haven't been poking around the Ruladak Caves lately.
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)
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Ruludak's Cave is a map that should definitely be used in moderation. The fog gets pretty tiring on such a ridiculously long map when it would have been interesting on something much small, like that Banished Pantheon Cave that mysteriously lost it's fog effects some number of issues ago.|
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
It was this and the Ruladak Caves that really ground my gears - both confusing to navigate and fight in for different reasons, though I haven't been poking around the Ruladak Caves lately.
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Hopefully they'll have the sense to coordinate with the author from now on, instead of doing things like giving DC status to invalid arcs.
I wasn't arguing your critique of the arc. On the whole, your critique of the arc left little for me to answer, because by and large, your criticisms were wholly based on your own individual experiences, which I don't know and can't intelligently answer.
I was using this as an example of how a reviewer's personal experiences tend to dictate the way he reviews. The tone of the critique certainly didn't indicate that you were tired of the map because of any mechanical difficulties it offers. The tone of your review indicated that you were simply tired of playing that map.
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| Might be a bit higher if I hadn't played so many arcs already, but the asylum is just getting a bit old. |
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The fog actually works pretty well in the original incarnation, because it obscures monster models but not the particle effects, meaning you can still see the host of monsters out there waiting for you. It works pretty well in concert with the Banished Pantheon (as I imagine the fogged-up BaniPan map did) for the same reason.|
Originally Posted by Lazarus
Ruludak's Cave is a map that should definitely be used in moderation. The fog gets pretty tiring on such a ridiculously long map when it would have been interesting on something much small, like that Banished Pantheon Cave that mysteriously lost it's fog effects some number of issues ago.
Hopefully they'll have the sense to coordinate with the author from now on, instead of doing things like giving DC status to invalid arcs. |
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Originally Posted by Sister_Twelve
The tone of your review indicated that you were simply tired of playing that map.
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There's something to be said for a rarely-seen map or enemy group adding novelty value to a storyarc, but if the map's a pain to fight on or the enemies are a pain to fight, the novelty functions as a "crash pad" for that. If it's not there for somebody they get all the downside full-bore.
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)
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I'm sorry I offended you with my attempts to help people write better. I'll try harder not to give anyone any advice in the future.
| There are a lot of ways to fine-tune your work based on response... without having to put up with self-important Simon Cowell clones. |
Alright, lemme clarify here. Mostly because it's been gnawing at me a bit that my offhand remark probably aggro'd half the board. (Now I know how BaB feels.)
I don't want to name names and I still don't, because that way lies madness. But my main beef isn't with ALL reviewers -- it's with ones who let their 'critic persona' overwhelm their efforts, resulting in caustic, unhelpful reviews coated in a superiority complex with a general air of being aloof. Hence: Simon Cowell clones. And there's more than one review who cops that attitude.
However, because this isn't a world of absolutes, there are of course plenty of GOOD reviewers who primarily offer constructive feedback and just want to help people improve arcs. They aren't trying to be anything other than that and don't let ego get in the way. That's the sort of feedback people should definitely listen to, along with the other channels I've mentioned.
But someone who comes at you like a raging twit in the guise of criticism, well, just ignore them. And I still say if you disagree with feedback, be it constructive or destructive, unless you're deliberately trying to hit mainstream popularity... write what you want. It's your hobby, your game, have fun with it.
Global @Twoflower / MA Creator & Pro Indie Game Developer.
Mission Architect Works: DIY Laser Moonbase (Dev Choice!), An Internship in the Fine Art of Revenge (2009 MA Award Winner!) and many more! Plus Brand New Arcs for Issue 21!
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I ask you once again Twoflower are you now or have you ever been a member of the communist party? The committee is awaiting your answer.|
Originally Posted by Twoflower
I don't want to name names and I still don't, because that way lies madness.
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Senator WN
Check out one of my most recent arcs:
457506 - A Very Special Episode - An abandoned TV, a missing kid's TV show host and more
416951 - The Ms. Manners Task Force - More wacky villains, Wannabes. things in poor taste
or one of my other arcs including two 2010 Player's Choice Winners and an2009 Official AE Awards Nominee for Best Original Story
Hell, I'd like to go on record and note that I've played several of Twoflower's arcs and they are really quite solid. "An Internship in the Fine Art of Revenge" is an excellent arc, I can't say whether it deserves the award MORE than the other candidates, but I can tell you its great and most certainly deserves notice. Villianous without being zomgevulz, fast paced but still substantial, and the plot doesn't overstay its welcome.
"...his madness keeps him sane.": My Profile on VirtueVerse
Can You WIN the Internet? MA Arc #85544
Inhuman Resources - At Work with IE #298132
Task Force Mutternacht #349522 <-- 1st AE Challenge
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You guys are so sensitive.|
Originally Posted by LaserJesus
I'm sorry I offended you with my attempts to help people write better. I'll try harder not to give anyone any advice in the future.
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When I read the comment, (even though Twoflower won't admit it) I thought it was directed at Venture. I haven't seen a single reviewer here who is as biting in his criticism as he is. Some people like that (I know I do; give it to me straight with no chaser. Don't pretty it up. If you hated it, say you hated it without prefacing it with flowery language), other people hate it. I've played every arc he (and PW) has reviewed and while Police Woman is generally the kind, nurturing sort, Venture is 'BZZZT! Try again!'. I haven't always agreed with either of them but I see the differences in their approaches and take it into consideration. I really don't want to have to wade through all the trash that's still clogging up the MA.
@Remianen / @Remianen Too
Sig by RPVisions
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Sarcasm over the internet never works the way you want it to.
| You guys are so sensitive. |
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There are two kinds of feedback. |
Originally Posted by Twoflower
And I still say if you disagree with feedback, be it constructive or destructive, unless you're deliberately trying to hit mainstream popularity... write what you want. It's your hobby, your game, have fun with it.
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The first is feedback from players who play your arc and tell you what they think of it, because your arc is offered for public consumption and there will be people who have opinions of it. You cannot criticise the player for having his opinion because you're offering the arc to be played. The opinion you can disagree with, and it's also subjected to all kinds of factors including personal likes/dislikes, toon they are using, how their day at work was, etc.
The second feedback is from someone who styles themselves as a critic, and is offering to review your arc. As far as I know the people who do these kind of "review threads" do not review arcs unless you ask them to. And if anyone gives an arc to someone to be reviewed, then they have no business feeling offended if the reviewer does not like their arc.
Basically, why do you need to object to the way these people carry themselves, because the authors seeking them out are seeking them out for that reason, and it whatever they do to each other doesn't affect you?
At least, we should give them credit for the effort they put into playing what randomguy gives them and maintaining their review thread, no matter what you think of their behaviour.
"Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty." -- Plato
Playing Gods (51106) - Heroic Lvl 5-20
What Rough Beast (255143) - Villainous Lvl 40-50
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)