Hello! Here’s my thoughts.
Thanks, Stephen, for raising this idea. It’s good to have a discussion about it and hear people’s thoughts on the matter.
My perspective on this issue is: how can we make the map the best it can be? Which is pretty much my job as a designer. And that does include taking the community into considersation as part of that, as they are so integral to the process.
While I agree with Mershy and Drao's points above, my main reason for not supporting this proposition is about the concept of placeholders, and whether they have a ‘place’ on the map.
I personally don’t like having placeholders on the map and I disagree with the idea that having something is better than nothing. While placeholders contribute to ‘filling space’ I think that builds of lower quality with less planning do not properly represent us as a server and usually bring up more questions that those of ‘where is this and why isn’t it built yet’. I know we do currently have placeholders on the map, and while I am not petitioning for them to be removed, I don’t want to add any more.
At the end of the day this map is not going to be finished for a long time and there’s going to be areas that people want to explore but cannot do so yet. I do not believe adding temporary builds is the answer to this. I think placeholders can ruin immersion more than an empty area can, especially if we have to stress that this is a placeholder. There is already so much to explore on the map, and if people do ‘run out’ of things to do, a few placeholders every couple of months will not solve this problem.
I also think that placeholders can linger longer than intended, and those areas with placeholders can often be neglected, because ‘there’s something there’.
In regards to my comments above that these projects will be of ‘lower quality’, this is by no way meant to insult anyone, and I hope people can understand my perspective even if they disagree: I know there are currently, and will be, talented builders who have not yet joined the build team, but even with these skills, projects that have not had the time, thought, planning and team involvement in the development of them are simply just not up to the standard that we are striving for on this map. We’re not just after good looking builds, so much more goes into it, and it’s that amount of work that makes the map the standard it is today.
On the point Stephen made that some areas of the map, eg. Shire, are already low quality, what’s the harm in having more areas of low quality… um do I need to answer that one?! I know there is a stark difference between earlier projects and more recent ones, but they are still completed projects that were planned and built with consideration.
The suggestions made on how to ensure these placeholders are up to standard raise them to the level of mini projects, which use up the resources and time of builders that could be spent on the main map. It’s not that we are trying to avoid work or effort, it’s that we only have so much time and energy, and we want to spend that on main map projects. The suggestions on how to cut down this amount of work actually shave off very little and it’s still a great deal of work and responsibility.
I don’t think there is anything wasted about a completed theme build, especially for artist applicants, and it certainly isn’t a waste of time to complete it if it doesn’t end up on the map. At the end of themebuild each builder is more skilled then when they started, has learnt loads about how to use the rp, our custom inventory, concept planning, etc. etc., and that’s hugely valuable. Themebuilds are also usually done at the beginning of the app to show they can build to a brief or to given them ideas and a structure if they don’t know what to build in those early days. They are rarely initially up to map build standard. By the time most applicants are getting towards that standard, they are already building on the map, often doing large sections of a project by themselves.
As for the argument that this opportunity will attract builders, I think it will actually discourage people from joining the build team if they have an opportunity to put their own solo build on the map without an application. I don’t want to turn this into another debate about artist apps, but they take time not just because these applicants are learning how to build up to standard, but also because they are learning how to work with the team and through that process become more involved in the community. I’m not really interested in attracting people who thrive off competition. I’m sure there are exceptions, but once people have reached a quick goal that involved little investment, they usually wander off looking for the next challenge.
I don’t want to appear mean and deny people their opportunity to be ‘featured’ on the map, I just want the server and map to be the best it can. We currently have loads of opportunities for server members to get involved, my last project wouldn’t even be half finished at this point without the contribution of the community. It’s great being in tours or wandering around the map with commoners and adventures when they point out something and say - I built that! That’s never going to change and is a very important part of the server.
Badger x
, for context.
