$15 to make a GOOD ball map

[FDS]

$15 to you via paypal if you make a map that is good enough to be put in the ball ladder random rotation. i'm willing to reward up to 2 maps which means there is $30 dollars total up for grabs.

i have no specifications on what i want, because this is to be your map. i'm merely offering you a small incentive to get off your lazy end and produce it for the rest of us to play =D




how this goes down: you design and submit your map as you usually would, but you show it to me beforehand so i know what to look for. if that map shows up on the ball ladder rotation in the upcoming weeks/months, then i'll transfer $15 to your paypal account, or i'd also be willing to buy you something of similar value if you don't have paypal (1 month subscription to WoW, for example)

[nobodyhome]

Going to +1 this with my approval and say that the ladder is indeed in desperate need of better ball maps (and to a lesser extent tbd maps).

If anyone makes a decent ball map with decent graphics (graphics is important because the ladder is approved in part by the game's developers so maps have to look good), then there is a good chance of it getting into the ball ladder.

As extra incentive to some, if we get more quality ball maps then the map pool will be big enough so that we will be more comfortable with removing lower quality ball maps like labyrinth and cross from the map pool. So labyrinth and cross haters, help us out and we will reward you .

[FDS]

would you rather have me pay $15 for each of two maps, or would it be more productive to just offer a larger amount for a single map?

i want the money to actually add incentive for somebody to really put some effort into it, but if it takes a dozen hours to make a map, then $15 probably doesn't even enter into the equation.
at the same time, i think offering to reward multiple maps will increase the likelihood of people submitting entries.



roughly how long will it take somebody to make a good map? think i should delete this thread and start over with a new approach?

[Flyngbanana]

Lots of kids struggle to get monies online. I know I did (long story). So $15 is a good incentive I think.
Also people seem to enjoy making maps anyways, the $15 may be the prompt for someone to actually get off their ass and make one

[Luke]

Originally Posted by FDS

roughly how long will it take somebody to make a good map?

Considering concept design, testing and refining it, drawing the graphics, polishing the whole thing.. I would say go give them at least a couple months (assuming ppl have a life and could spend on this a few hours per week).

Originally Posted by FDS

think i should delete this thread and start over with a new approach?

Imho a more "Official" approach would give better result, like talking to lam/karl and maybe launching the contest with the next patch in the welcome screen, so that it could be seen by everyone.
Also, I would differentiate among placements, rewarding maybe 20$ the 1st and 10$ the 2nd place.

[FDS]

oh, wow, i assumed it'd just take some college kid a long weekend to design his concept, and then a week or two of testing/redesigning/more testing to polish up everything. +however long it takes for the guys up top to implement the new map.

but if this is something that's going to take as long as a pregnancy, then i don't think this baby is mine

[innerlyte]

Eh, depends on the person and the quality of the map. Generally, a good quality map (most of the officials, for example) will take up to a couple weeks to complete. Offering a reward is a nice incentive, as it seems most map makers (me included) are not feeling very motivated at the moment >_>

[Boko]

Can I still collect this cash with ball_asteroids?