ok so lets all get in the same convention
im see a lot of different ones around
i thought it would be nice to get a standard on the go

so what one ?

dod_mapname_b1
dod_mapname_r1
dod_mapname_rc1
dod_mapname_p1
dod_mapname_v1
dod_mapname_beta1

uh what?

for all i know, b1 = beta1, rc1 = release canidate 1

Yup pretty much how it should be done

dod_mapname_a1 = Alpha, very rarley see any is its just a box :)
dod_mapname_b1 = Beta, for testing gameplay etc
dod_mapname_rc1 = Release Candidate, where you think its a final but daren't call it that :D

Another issue I was thinking about posting is model placement, ive seen about 4 variations of Ransons 88 which means that people have to download it each time for a different map.

I use models\flak18

but I've seen models\ranson\flak18 and other variants.

just a though, maybe we could even turn the thread into a standard set of directions for future mappers?

Personally i hate _final because its not always.

take dod_saint-lo for instance.

dod_saint-lo_final
dod_saint-lo_v2

Which is newer?

Originally posted by [oap]Agent_S

Another issue I was thinking about posting is model placement, ive seen about 4 variations of Ransons 88 which means that people have to download it each time for a different map.

I use models\flak18

but I've seen models\ranson\flak18 and other variants.


i still don't know why not everyone packs their stuff into a bsp before releasing it...

Originally posted by pedroleum
i still don't know why not everyone packs their stuff into a bsp before releasing it...

the reason I dont is that so I dont add the 3mb of the 88 to the bsp to make it faster to D/L for people that have it already.

but thats just me!

Agent you're not saving 3 Mb. you're saving 1/10th of a second. Because by using bzip, your map gets so small that you can download maps in less than a minute anyway. What you do on the other hand is increase the workload of server admins when they want to install/delete your map off their server, when they have to go in each folder and delete those off.

Think about server admins, and even the players who download off http with zip archives. Make the job easy for them.

Originally posted by Furyo
Agent you're not saving 3 Mb. you're saving 1/10th of a second. Because by using bzip, your map gets so small that you can download maps in less than a minute anyway. What you do on the other hand is increase the workload of server admins when they want to install/delete your map off their server, when they have to go in each folder and delete those off.

Think about server admins, and even the players who download off http with zip archives. Make the job easy for them.

Its one way of looking at it and you must be in the USA! 1/10 of a second isnt 3mb even on my 2mb connection, I used to be a server admin and used a http d/l and prefered it that way,

guess its just one of those preference things, liberer_b2 got slated for being bziped

There are 2 versions of the 88. The first version was the pure flak18.mdl, the 2nd one is in it's own folder and has "ranson" in the filename. Same for the Me109. Thats how most custom models were distinguished in DoD 1.3, so i changed the filenames accordingly.

Anyway, the 2nd version has better UVs and a slightly changed texture, no changes to the model itself, so it's safe to just replace it, and whoever is still using the flak18.mdl should replace it.

Going from how big the zip file is ( home.tiscali.de/cryogen/maps/models/flak18.zip ), bzipping it with the map adds bout 650kb. Not a biggie.

Back2Topic, personally I would never add _v1 or _final to a mapname. Doesn't make any sense. So stick to b1, rc1 in the testing phase and just the name itself for the final version.
And I'd like to see less maps never leaving the beta state, look at all the old custom maps, lots of them still carry a _bX in their name.

I am just going to use the _B1, _B2 etc. until all of the bugs are squashed, no need in using _RC

Originally posted by Ranson
There are 2 versions of the 88. The first version was the pure flak18.mdl, the 2nd one is in it's own folder and has "ranson" in the filename.

aahhh I didnt know there was an update to it, ill get it changed over.

Im also going to do a comparison between bzipped and normal maps and see.

I'm actually French (nobody's perfect), live in France (again not much of a choice right now) and only play on US servers, both east coast (907th) and west coast (coj).

Originally posted by Furyo
I'm actually French (nobody's perfect)

LOL, I want having a go, what I ment wast im on a 2mb internet connection currently the best I can get and 3MB to me isnt a few tenths of a second.

i.e. 2mbps internet connection = 256kb max d/l = 4 seconds a mb

so 3mb added to a map adds more like 12seconds to its overall download.

but im gonna give bzip another try,,, if I can get my bloody map above 70fps on my rig (currently 50)

Ok from a player's standpoint AND as a server op, this is the way it's been done forever until recently:


betas: dod_fakemap_b1 ,2,3,4,etc

Possible finals: dod_fakemap_rc1 ,2,3,4, etc.

final: dod_fakemap

At some point the mapper NEEDS to say "ok, I've done all I want to do to this map" and call it a final.

IMHO of course.


--Ozz

Originally posted by theozzmancometh
At some point the mapper NEEDS to say "ok, I've done all I want to do to this map" and call it a final.

lol ... no chance of that happening from me ... I always mess with my maps.

I've thought about this once before and then I stop thinking about it. I've used all sort of different ways ... _v1 ... _b1 .... mapname1.

I've seen one or two now using _rc1 after Fuzzdad used it for some version of a map he did.

This might help.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_stage

tbh ... the ones I've seen that I don't like are

_final
_ultra
_fixed
_beta1
b1_d
_b1v1

Never saw version numbers like this in dod maps untill Source came out.

Originally posted by Someth|ngW|cked
I am just going to use the _B1, _B2 etc. until all of the bugs are squashed, no need in using _RC

Thats what I do too but please do not use CAPS in your map name, folders, and filenames. Makes life harder on server admins with case sensitive filesystems.

ok now that i understand the orginal idea here, here's what i think

xxx=game (dod/para/whatever)
y= number
mapname= do you have to ask?

xxx_mapname_wip: could be used for a WIP map so people don't join when testing

xxx_mapname_ay: could be used for a map that the creator wants tested but with a limited amount of people

xxx_mapname_by: could be a public version that the creator wants tested out by the masses

xxx_mapname: final release

One thing's for certain, there needs to be a standard gauge for mapnames. Perhaps the devs could chime in?
My proposal:

dod_mapname_a## for internal testing,
dod_mapname_b## for private serverside testing,
dod_mapname_v## for public releases, no suffix for initial public map

Hell, there are even variants in names for the same maps across different servers.

Agent, I wish 3 MB was 1/10th of a second for everyone. That's why I talked about bzip and bz2 files. Once your 3 MB model is packed within your bsp and zipped with bzip, the transfer of said model is but a tiny fraction of the overall transfer, which can be done under a minute total.