I posted this on the Battle.net forums a few weeks ago. After the recent announcement regarding upcoming map system changes, I thought it would be nice to get some feedback from the Mapster community. Let me know what you think:
An idea came to me recently regarding improvements for the Battle.net custom map system: searchable and bookmark-able map categories. It's nothing revolutionary, but I hadn't noticed any other posters talking about it recently or in the previous threads I'd seen.
I've doctored some screenshots to demonstrate this idea, as well as a few other previously-suggested features while I was at it.
What's new here are the "Bookmarks" and "My Categories" sections. Any of a player's bookmarked maps (or map categories) will show up in those sections, sorted by the number of games (or maps in that category) currently being played on Battle.net. Think of this as a sort of "Activity List" which parallels the current "Popularity List"; instead of maps being ranked by number of hours played, they are ranked by the number of active maps. This is intended to represent the oft-requested "Battle.net 1" functionality of only showing active lobbies.
In this case, not only does it show players which maps are currently being played, it also allows them to easily see when their favorite (bookmarked) maps have players looking for a match. Also, each of the section titles is a link which, if clicked, will lead the player to a more detailed listing. Ideally, this screen would be somewhat customizable, allowing each player to specify exactly what information is desirable.
The only change here from the current system is the "Show All" checkbox (unchecked by default). If the box is checked, the screen is functionally equivalent to the current system. If the box is unchecked, only active maps are shown. Also, mousing over the popularity bar will show the current number of active games as well as the number of hours played.
This is the meat of my idea. Clicking on the "Categories" button in the Arcade Browsing screen will present the player with this screen. Here, a player can search for any maps of a given category or even bookmark his/her favorite categories. As mentioned before, bookmarking a category will result in that category showing up in the player's Arcade Home screen.
This screen will make it easier to find new maps that are similar to the ones you like. Are you a fan of Survival maps? Here, you can search for all maps that have been published under the "Survival" category. This screen will show all categories that are listed by any map published on Battle.net, listed in order of the number of active maps fitting within each category. This will remove the need for Blizzard to pick out appropriate categories to display on Battle.net (i.e. Tugs and Tower Defense).
Here is the screen that you will see if you click on one of the categories listed in the Category Search Screen. In this instance, a category search for "Snipers" maps is shown; all of the map results have "Snipers" listed as their category or mode.
Now that you've picked a map, this is the information which should be displayed. It's basically what Blizzard showed us at Blizzcon 2011, with one addition. By clicking a button, players are taken to the map's official Battle.net thread (specified by the map's author), allowing them to easily provide feedback or report any issues which can be seen by the mapmaker.
From any Map Info Page, click on the author's name. This will lead you to their profile (if they've allowed it in the publishing settings), where you can see all maps which they've published. This page provides an easy location for mapmakers to check on the status of their maps, as well as for other players to find other maps developed by their favorite mapmakers.
Summary
Overall, I'm hoping this will provide a visual reference for some of what the custom map community is asking for, while keeping all of the visual and organizational framework that Blizzard has already created and is unlikely to want to discard. Any thoughts or suggestions? Also, please let me know if I've completely neglected any of the functionality requirements that have been previously brought up by the community.
Here's a bit more detail regarding the functionality that I've addressed.
Necessary Custom Map System Functionalities (and Solutions)
1. Find maps currently being played Displaying which maps are currently active would allow players to more easily find maps which are being played. This would also make it easier for players to find others to join them in their favorite maps.
Solution: An "Activity list" will show only maps which are currently being played and have a recently active lobby.
2. Find people to play your favorite map If players find a map they enjoy, they want to be able to easily find others to join them. Unless the map is on the front page of the Popularity list, this is difficult to do.
Solution: A "Bookmarks" section on the main Arcade screen will show players which of their favorite maps are currently being played. Looking for more players for your Malum Ruina match? Create a game and all players who have bookmarked that map will see that there's an active game on their main Arcade screen.
3. Find new maps that appeal to your gaming style Many players have preferred custom map types. When they're looking for something new, it's hard to find similar maps to those that they already enjoy, unless they know the name of the map they're seeking. For example, someone looking for new Survival maps can't simply search for the word "survival", as most Survival maps don't actually have the word "survival" in their titles.
Solution: Searchable categories will allow players to find all maps of the same play style as their favorites. A "My Categories" section on the main Arcade will show players when active lobbies are available for games of their favorite categories. Clicking on the category will lead them to a screen which shows exactly which maps are being played and seeking more players.
4. Find new maps by your favorite mapmaker Enjoy maps made by a particular author? Currently, the only way to find other maps by the same author is visiting a mapping website and searching for that author. Most players don't want to be bothered to put that much effort into finding new maps.
Solution: Click a link on the map's information page in order to visit the mapmaker's profile. There, you can see what other maps they've made. Also, what if you could bookmark a mapmaker, so that you could get an announcement on your main Arcade page whenever they publicly publish a new map?
5. Provide map feedback All mapmakers, newbie and experienced, need feedback on their maps. Sometimes, it's difficult to get players to provide brutally honest feedback when the author is in the game with them. When the author isn't around, most players don't want to be bothered to figure out how to report that the map that they've just played has a few bugs.
Solution: A link in the map's info page will send the player directly to the map's official Battle.net thread, where any feedback can be easily posted. No longer will players need to search the internet for wherever that custom maps forum is hidden.
protip: Ignore ppl who have over 1,000 posts; those ppl think they run sc2mapster and will not like any changes. Usually ppl like zenx1 will get upset until they see a screenshot that looks like this: so... best to ignore them
Now, instead of getting upset and saying things like, "grrrr check out the other threads its better", I will say this:
I like the idea of having all categories such as bookmarks, pop list, user-category and others presented all in one screen. Each category even has a link so that it can be expanded to see more.
Unfortunately Iv made decent points why simple/fast etc...is better. Too bad you dont know a shit about UI design (Im not claiming Im an expert, but I can easilly say Iv seen better than the OP posted).
and stop assuming that you know what I think. Since you fail to see how to improve OPs ideas.
And as I said there are already threads about this, which is why I dont bother posting the same things twice.
This will be my last "angry" post for now...I could say things nicely, but I wont...cause whats the difference when point is valid?
BYEEEEEE. Ill return when new and improved bnet comes.
What don't you like about my suggested changes? What do you believe that they lack in terms of added functionality? Where do they fall short in solving the problems I laid out? Are there any problems that I failed to address?
Also, could you link the threads you're referring to? I searched through the first 5 pages of the general chat forums and didn't see anything that seemed to mesh with what you said.
Be able to see if the games you've bookmarked has any active lobbies: Great! Don't really care so much for the other suggestions other than author page it sounds pretty good aswell.
Currently "modes" are pretty much worthless, afaik there is not a single map on Bnet that uses this feature because they can just have a vote or whatever ingame and not have to spread the valuable popularity across several modes.
It would perhaps be cool if the players could add tags to maps, this could even get rid of the catagory system.
protip: Ignore ppl who have over 1,000 posts; those ppl think they run sc2mapster and will not like any changes.
Well you're a bit of an idiot now aren't you? A lot of us merely have a lot of posts because we've been here a while, not because we're inherently stupid. Just be aware that Zenx1 doesn't represent everyone with over 1000 posts, and it's such a horrible fallacy to assume so and it makes other people think you're an idiot, as I do.
Anyway, onto your post. I think you have quite a few good ideas there, such as the stuff with the categories. That would probably help players find what they want much more easily. Also I like the author map listing thing too. On the other hand, I think that the arcade home is too much like what we have already, and assuming popularity functions the same way as it is now, we'd be stuck with the same problems we have now with maps simply snowballing and blotting out all other maps which may well be better. In the end, I think you mostly have ideas which would be nice additions to the custom map system, but not be a solution to its problems.
Be able to see if the games you've bookmarked has any active lobbies: Great! Don't really care so much for the other suggestions other than author page it sounds pretty good aswell.
Currently "modes" are pretty much worthless, afaik there is not a single map on Bnet that uses this feature because they can just have a vote or whatever ingame and not have to spread the valuable popularity across several modes.
It would perhaps be cool if the players could add tags to maps, this could even get rid of the catagory system.
My suggested changes don't really use modes at all, beyond including them in the category search. I agree that "modes" don't really have a purpose now; my own map uses the in-game mode selection for the very reason you listed.
I also agree that tags would be great; it would allow for maps that are hybrids of the traditional categories. In any case, I believe the ability to directly search for maps with specific tags (or categories) is important as one of the complaints I've seen since SC2 has been released is the inability for players to easily find maps of a certain type.
I'd say the biggest themes of my suggestions are searchable categories (or tags) and the ability for players to see which maps are most pertinent to them individually.
new arcade profile is the only good one i see. Popularity should be either hidden or deleted. it does nothing to benefit battle.net it only turns mappers against each other. so yea
@QueenGambit: Go
oh and queengambit i respect you an all but i disagree with you on your point battle.net. it needs to be either like 1.0 version or have no popularity chart. because it is harder to use that way and no one can play the games below page 2-3 for the most part anyways.
I would love to see a Recommended for You list, based on previously played maps. Let's say, if you often play TDs, the list would display other TDs that you have not yet played.
Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to see people taking the time to understand what I'm saying. I felt that pretty much all of the negative feedback on the Bnet forums came from people who looked at the pictures and ignored the rest.
I'm hopeful that simply having a list that filters maps by the fact that there are active games would greatly boost the functionality of the custom map system. Currently, unless you're looking at the front page of the popularity list, the vast majority of the listed maps have empty lobbies. This dissuades players from clicking anything that's not on the front page, perpetuating the cycle. Hopefully just the fact that players can always find someone else in whatever map they click will do a ton of good for improving the ability for players to get into the games they want. I'm also hopeful that the additional features that Blizzard has put forward (improved Fun or Not, map rankings, etc.) will give a bit of a functionality boost as well.
None taken. Don't let my images give you any sort of insight into my skill as a designer. I literally threw them together (mimicking the style of the original screenshots) to provide a vehicle for demonstrating my suggestions. I suppose Monday's xkcd would illustrate what I was attempting (http://xkcd.com/1028/). I am not in any way hoping that Blizzard will take my images and literally convert them into whatever we see in patch 1.5. The features and functionality are the important part of what I'm suggesting here. I would welcome any thoughts you have as to the actual text of my posts.
Not explicitly yours, but I think this interface: http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeHome.jpg is an EPIC FAIL. This isn't the Android Market, where you have to browse everything in a small window. The default window is fine as it is now: redirect to popular games.
In truth, the only thing the current system needs is an "lobbies in need of players" section. That's all.
To clarify, I believe that (if a system exactly like the one shown were implemented) the most clicked items would (or should) be the headers, sending the player directly to a list (similar to the current browse screen) showing whatever it is that the player is looking for. Three, five, and ten items are definitely not enough for any definitive solution; the ability to go to an actual list is absolutely necessary.
My view of the arcade home screen is that it provides a way for the player to easily access whatever list they're currently interested in viewing. This would be made even more effective with an option to customize the arcade home screen, thereby allowing players to select and arrange lists however they want. For example, some players may be frequently interested in seeing active maps of their favorite categories (the "My Categories" list), where others may prefer to have a different list on their home page.
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I posted this on the Battle.net forums a few weeks ago. After the recent announcement regarding upcoming map system changes, I thought it would be nice to get some feedback from the Mapster community. Let me know what you think:
An idea came to me recently regarding improvements for the Battle.net custom map system: searchable and bookmark-able map categories. It's nothing revolutionary, but I hadn't noticed any other posters talking about it recently or in the previous threads I'd seen.
I've doctored some screenshots to demonstrate this idea, as well as a few other previously-suggested features while I was at it.
Arcade Home
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeHome.jpg
What's new here are the "Bookmarks" and "My Categories" sections. Any of a player's bookmarked maps (or map categories) will show up in those sections, sorted by the number of games (or maps in that category) currently being played on Battle.net. Think of this as a sort of "Activity List" which parallels the current "Popularity List"; instead of maps being ranked by number of hours played, they are ranked by the number of active maps. This is intended to represent the oft-requested "Battle.net 1" functionality of only showing active lobbies.
In this case, not only does it show players which maps are currently being played, it also allows them to easily see when their favorite (bookmarked) maps have players looking for a match. Also, each of the section titles is a link which, if clicked, will lead the player to a more detailed listing. Ideally, this screen would be somewhat customizable, allowing each player to specify exactly what information is desirable.
Arcade Browsing
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeBrowse.jpg
The only change here from the current system is the "Show All" checkbox (unchecked by default). If the box is checked, the screen is functionally equivalent to the current system. If the box is unchecked, only active maps are shown. Also, mousing over the popularity bar will show the current number of active games as well as the number of hours played.
Category Search Screen
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeCategories.jpg
This is the meat of my idea. Clicking on the "Categories" button in the Arcade Browsing screen will present the player with this screen. Here, a player can search for any maps of a given category or even bookmark his/her favorite categories. As mentioned before, bookmarking a category will result in that category showing up in the player's Arcade Home screen.
This screen will make it easier to find new maps that are similar to the ones you like. Are you a fan of Survival maps? Here, you can search for all maps that have been published under the "Survival" category. This screen will show all categories that are listed by any map published on Battle.net, listed in order of the number of active maps fitting within each category. This will remove the need for Blizzard to pick out appropriate categories to display on Battle.net (i.e. Tugs and Tower Defense).
Category Search Results
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeCategory.jpg
Here is the screen that you will see if you click on one of the categories listed in the Category Search Screen. In this instance, a category search for "Snipers" maps is shown; all of the map results have "Snipers" listed as their category or mode.
Map Info Page
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeGamePage.jpg
Now that you've picked a map, this is the information which should be displayed. It's basically what Blizzard showed us at Blizzcon 2011, with one addition. By clicking a button, players are taken to the map's official Battle.net thread (specified by the map's author), allowing them to easily provide feedback or report any issues which can be seen by the mapmaker.
Author Map Listing
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeProfile.jpg
From any Map Info Page, click on the author's name. This will lead you to their profile (if they've allowed it in the publishing settings), where you can see all maps which they've published. This page provides an easy location for mapmakers to check on the status of their maps, as well as for other players to find other maps developed by their favorite mapmakers.
Summary
Overall, I'm hoping this will provide a visual reference for some of what the custom map community is asking for, while keeping all of the visual and organizational framework that Blizzard has already created and is unlikely to want to discard. Any thoughts or suggestions? Also, please let me know if I've completely neglected any of the functionality requirements that have been previously brought up by the community.
TLDR Version
Pretty pictures!
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeHome.jpg
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeBrowse.jpg
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeCategories.jpg
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeCategory.jpg
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeGamePage.jpg
http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeProfile.jpg
Here's a bit more detail regarding the functionality that I've addressed.
Necessary Custom Map System Functionalities (and Solutions)
1. Find maps currently being played
Displaying which maps are currently active would allow players to more easily find maps which are being played. This would also make it easier for players to find others to join them in their favorite maps.
Solution:
An "Activity list" will show only maps which are currently being played and have a recently active lobby.
2. Find people to play your favorite map
If players find a map they enjoy, they want to be able to easily find others to join them. Unless the map is on the front page of the Popularity list, this is difficult to do.
Solution:
A "Bookmarks" section on the main Arcade screen will show players which of their favorite maps are currently being played. Looking for more players for your Malum Ruina match? Create a game and all players who have bookmarked that map will see that there's an active game on their main Arcade screen.
3. Find new maps that appeal to your gaming style
Many players have preferred custom map types. When they're looking for something new, it's hard to find similar maps to those that they already enjoy, unless they know the name of the map they're seeking. For example, someone looking for new Survival maps can't simply search for the word "survival", as most Survival maps don't actually have the word "survival" in their titles.
Solution:
Searchable categories will allow players to find all maps of the same play style as their favorites. A "My Categories" section on the main Arcade will show players when active lobbies are available for games of their favorite categories. Clicking on the category will lead them to a screen which shows exactly which maps are being played and seeking more players.
4. Find new maps by your favorite mapmaker
Enjoy maps made by a particular author? Currently, the only way to find other maps by the same author is visiting a mapping website and searching for that author. Most players don't want to be bothered to put that much effort into finding new maps.
Solution:
Click a link on the map's information page in order to visit the mapmaker's profile. There, you can see what other maps they've made. Also, what if you could bookmark a mapmaker, so that you could get an announcement on your main Arcade page whenever they publicly publish a new map?
5. Provide map feedback
All mapmakers, newbie and experienced, need feedback on their maps. Sometimes, it's difficult to get players to provide brutally honest feedback when the author is in the game with them. When the author isn't around, most players don't want to be bothered to figure out how to report that the map that they've just played has a few bugs.
Solution:
A link in the map's info page will send the player directly to the map's official Battle.net thread, where any feedback can be easily posted. No longer will players need to search the internet for wherever that custom maps forum is hidden.
No offense, but I dont like your changes at all.
There are already atleast 2 threads that have way better presentations how the system should be. You should look those threads.
I didnt really read all of the text. But purely at looking those pictures...Ill have to say no to your changes.
protip: Ignore ppl who have over 1,000 posts; those ppl think they run sc2mapster and will not like any changes. Usually ppl like zenx1 will get upset until they see a screenshot that looks like this:
so... best to ignore them
Now, instead of getting upset and saying things like, "grrrr check out the other threads its better", I will say this:
I like the idea of having all categories such as bookmarks, pop list, user-category and others presented all in one screen. Each category even has a link so that it can be expanded to see more.
@QueenGambit: Go
Unfortunately Iv made decent points why simple/fast etc...is better. Too bad you dont know a shit about UI design (Im not claiming Im an expert, but I can easilly say Iv seen better than the OP posted).
and stop assuming that you know what I think. Since you fail to see how to improve OPs ideas.
And as I said there are already threads about this, which is why I dont bother posting the same things twice.
This will be my last "angry" post for now...I could say things nicely, but I wont...cause whats the difference when point is valid?
BYEEEEEE. Ill return when new and improved bnet comes.
@zenx1: Go
What don't you like about my suggested changes? What do you believe that they lack in terms of added functionality? Where do they fall short in solving the problems I laid out? Are there any problems that I failed to address?
Also, could you link the threads you're referring to? I searched through the first 5 pages of the general chat forums and didn't see anything that seemed to mesh with what you said.
@Khalanil1: Go
Be able to see if the games you've bookmarked has any active lobbies: Great! Don't really care so much for the other suggestions other than author page it sounds pretty good aswell.
Currently "modes" are pretty much worthless, afaik there is not a single map on Bnet that uses this feature because they can just have a vote or whatever ingame and not have to spread the valuable popularity across several modes.
It would perhaps be cool if the players could add tags to maps, this could even get rid of the catagory system.
Well you're a bit of an idiot now aren't you? A lot of us merely have a lot of posts because we've been here a while, not because we're inherently stupid. Just be aware that Zenx1 doesn't represent everyone with over 1000 posts, and it's such a horrible fallacy to assume so and it makes other people think you're an idiot, as I do.
@Khalanil1: Go
Anyway, onto your post. I think you have quite a few good ideas there, such as the stuff with the categories. That would probably help players find what they want much more easily. Also I like the author map listing thing too. On the other hand, I think that the arcade home is too much like what we have already, and assuming popularity functions the same way as it is now, we'd be stuck with the same problems we have now with maps simply snowballing and blotting out all other maps which may well be better. In the end, I think you mostly have ideas which would be nice additions to the custom map system, but not be a solution to its problems.
My suggested changes don't really use modes at all, beyond including them in the category search. I agree that "modes" don't really have a purpose now; my own map uses the in-game mode selection for the very reason you listed.
I also agree that tags would be great; it would allow for maps that are hybrids of the traditional categories. In any case, I believe the ability to directly search for maps with specific tags (or categories) is important as one of the complaints I've seen since SC2 has been released is the inability for players to easily find maps of a certain type.
I'd say the biggest themes of my suggestions are searchable categories (or tags) and the ability for players to see which maps are most pertinent to them individually.
@Khalanil1: Go
new arcade profile is the only good one i see. Popularity should be either hidden or deleted. it does nothing to benefit battle.net it only turns mappers against each other. so yea
@QueenGambit: Go oh and queengambit i respect you an all but i disagree with you on your point battle.net. it needs to be either like 1.0 version or have no popularity chart. because it is harder to use that way and no one can play the games below page 2-3 for the most part anyways.
I would love to see a Recommended for You list, based on previously played maps. Let's say, if you often play TDs, the list would display other TDs that you have not yet played.
I do not like your proprosed changes because you lack design skill ... sorting things out into columns is not design.
I have seen better ... no offense ...
@Nebuli2: Go
Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to see people taking the time to understand what I'm saying. I felt that pretty much all of the negative feedback on the Bnet forums came from people who looked at the pictures and ignored the rest.
I'm hopeful that simply having a list that filters maps by the fact that there are active games would greatly boost the functionality of the custom map system. Currently, unless you're looking at the front page of the popularity list, the vast majority of the listed maps have empty lobbies. This dissuades players from clicking anything that's not on the front page, perpetuating the cycle. Hopefully just the fact that players can always find someone else in whatever map they click will do a ton of good for improving the ability for players to get into the games they want. I'm also hopeful that the additional features that Blizzard has put forward (improved Fun or Not, map rankings, etc.) will give a bit of a functionality boost as well.
@DogmaiSEA: Go
None taken. Don't let my images give you any sort of insight into my skill as a designer. I literally threw them together (mimicking the style of the original screenshots) to provide a vehicle for demonstrating my suggestions. I suppose Monday's xkcd would illustrate what I was attempting (http://xkcd.com/1028/). I am not in any way hoping that Blizzard will take my images and literally convert them into whatever we see in patch 1.5. The features and functionality are the important part of what I'm suggesting here. I would welcome any thoughts you have as to the actual text of my posts.
Not explicitly yours, but I think this interface: http://gamescry.com/starcraft/NewArcadeHome.jpg is an EPIC FAIL. This isn't the Android Market, where you have to browse everything in a small window. The default window is fine as it is now: redirect to popular games.
In truth, the only thing the current system needs is an "lobbies in need of players" section. That's all.
@Lonami: Go
To clarify, I believe that (if a system exactly like the one shown were implemented) the most clicked items would (or should) be the headers, sending the player directly to a list (similar to the current browse screen) showing whatever it is that the player is looking for. Three, five, and ten items are definitely not enough for any definitive solution; the ability to go to an actual list is absolutely necessary.
My view of the arcade home screen is that it provides a way for the player to easily access whatever list they're currently interested in viewing. This would be made even more effective with an option to customize the arcade home screen, thereby allowing players to select and arrange lists however they want. For example, some players may be frequently interested in seeing active maps of their favorite categories (the "My Categories" list), where others may prefer to have a different list on their home page.