Chainmapping is the the best solution. 

i find the easiest way to break a block of any kind of to just go out and see a bunch of content similar to what i'm trying to do. 

on an asteroid fifth? Cool.. 

wait, you mean its possible to actually *finish* a map?
dammit, I wish I'd gone into mapping instead of coding. 

than: I believe the any project, not just levels, have their parts you hate but must do. You just have to find the will to power through them and make it happen. I love the early experimental parts of making a map, but tend to hate the fiddly 'make everything perfect' parts where I'm not creating new things, just making stuff work.

So my advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxGRhd_iWuE 

wait, you mean its possible to actually *finish* a map?
dammit, I wish I'd gone into mapping instead of coding.

I rarely feel like I'm finished a map. Every map I've release felt like I could do more. At some point though, you gotta just call it quits and accept if there are bugs or things you could have done better otherwise you won't release anything.

At least with coding you can release versions incrementally and it is useable. No one wants to replay a map because you added a new room or tweaked some textures. 

I block it out, then come back and add +10 rooms to each subsection and a whole new feature set just because I can.

I need to learn compact mapping. 

I thinks that's the problem of big maps or map packs. The larger the map is, the more chance is that you will abandon it at some point.

For me there are two types of blockers: ones when you lose the clue of what the next part is gonna be like and when you finish the whole map but some part of it you need to tune or re-make.

In the first case you just need to take some rest from this project and then everything goes fine. While in the second case it may be really hard to make yourself to go back to that project, especially if the map is huge.

The solution I think is to make yourself an asskick and finish it. Or (it worked for me once) to make yourself a deadline and say it in public (here or other forum) like: "I'll release this map on NN/NN/NNNN". The deadline must be a few month from that moment of time if the project is almost finished.

That's my solution. 

One of the most important things you can learn about mapping is that it is an iterative process.

Behind the inspiration and techniques, it's important to remember that at any time during the process, you need to be prepared to throw any part of your map away if it is necessary.

The worst thing that can happen to your map is for you to become attached to a particular aspect of it. Then, when problems arise, you are constantly trying to fix them while trying to avoid touching that one part that you like so much.

You are scratching everywhere except where the itch is.

Delete it. See what happens. You could discover you can make an even better looking area than what was previously your 'favourite'. 

I believe the any project, not just levels, have their parts you hate but must do.

Certainly feels that way with TrenchBroom 2. 

speaking of that, in a perfect world all I would do is build architecture, and then give some very vague impression of what the lighting was supposed to be like, and maybe a couple gameplay setups intended by the architecture. lol. I'm probably not the only one who wishes that the entire aspect of mapping was just building, I'd build stuff way bigger, way more detailed, with way more sense of place details and thought-out secrets totally justified by the level concept, etc. I tend to lose patience with the later iterations of the iterative process, though I'm sure I've corrected for that at least some over the years (that and trying to incorporate feedback at least to a nonzero extent). 

I'm the opposite.

Just pure gameplay setup is what drives me to map.

All that artsy-fartsy fannying about with look and feel calls out the weaknesses in my skill set... 

hehe everyone should just make empty maps then send them to ijed to do the gameplay. the build is the fun stuff. 

"hehe everyone should just make empty maps then send them to ijed to do the gameplay."

Errrrrr......hmmmm..... 

If you eliminate the feeling that you need to finish it immediately, you eliminate the pain surrounding whether or not you finish it immediately. Whether you want to do it is vital to your wellbeing - whether you need to is simply a made-up sense of obligation.

That's not the best thing for the map, of course, but who gives a shit? It's the best thing for than. The only problem you'll have is a lot of people whining that you aren't going to provide them with a quality Q1SP in the near future, but they're only thinking of themselves, and whether they get to play a neat map or not, not of you. You solve that problem by just getting off func_msgboard. :) 

 

yeah, definitely depends on what kind of mapper's block we're talking about. 

It's not about this kind. 

Definitely not out of the question. Collaboration can be a great way to get motivated again, but sometimes it can actually add more stress, since you feel like there's an extra person you are letting down if you have prolonged block or don't have time to map.

The map I am working on is nearly finished, and I'd like to finish it myself. I probably just need to show it to a couple of people and get some comments and ideas for where to take it to be able to get a bit more motivated. Once it's done I'd like to maybe do a map swap on another map, since I still have a few more maps I feel obliged to make now (dm#rmx), and have ideas for them.

Regarding the "scratching everywhere except where the itch is" problem, I feel kind of like the whole map is the itch, but there is no way in hell I'm starting it again :) Feels like it can be made fun without too much destruction, but it's become kind of a pain, or I have some mental barrier making me thing that way.

Anyway, Negke offered to have a look, so hopefully he'll be able to give me some good ideas. 

:^D 

Get neggers on the case! 

Get neggers on the case! 

I think you should get Lun on the case too 

definitely depends on what kind of mapper's block we're talking about

Basically the map I am working on now I hate and never want to see again

so, that kind?

yeah, if you want to never see it again, never look at it again. voila, you get what you want, just like that!

if it would really be intolerably sad that the map you hate won't get finished, go ahead and give it to a willing coauthor, but don't break your own balls putting time in on something you're getting no enjoyment from.


I think you should get Lun on the case too

got my own albatrosses atm 

when I have enough mapblocks I collaborate the best parts together.