Another of Xiane's maps

[Lava Croft]

First off: lava doesn't know I can make better survivor.

Yes, Ice Station was a funny map, but also looked and played like crap, apart from that funny button that would totally ruin every game, and the retarded layout.
Stop acting like I do not know you, and stop pretending your abilities are greater than what you have showcased so far. It makes absolutely no sense to release maps that you yourself think aren't pretty, and even more important, aren't of the quality that you yourself think you can produce. That is just downright stupid, and also another reason for me to keep on fighting the crap you release. If your abilities are even a fraction of what you want to make us believe, then prove it by making something else than crap.

I map for two reasons, firstly because I just love to make maps and secondly because I am bored of the stock maps, and third-party maps with quality like yours are not something to get excited about. Since I am a loudmouth, I had to back up my moaning at other mappers by producing something that plays, but most importantly looks better.

So, if you want constructive criticism, please make and release maps that are at the top of your abilities, and not crap. You cannot expect me, or anyone for that matter, to give constructive criticism to someone who is obviously working below his level. Constructive criticism is on place when you showcase work that is made with all the skill you posess and in your case respect for the original maps. You cannot expect anyone to try and help you with work that is according to yourself below-par with what you can actually do. Show us something worthy, and I will be glad to give you feedback, as I do with any map that shows its creator has put his heart into it.

[Survivor]

ok so that's a suggestion to work on the eye candy and architecture but doesn't exactly say in what areas. That's the difference. And a key note.

While I've churned out over half a dozen playible maps they have never been architectural masterpeices, is the one part of mapping I've never been given ANY advice on just flamed for.

I have a question about these 2 points. You see, we (as in all the mappers on this forum, including you) don't instinctively know what other mappers want us to help them with.
I have in none of the threads about your maps seen any questions coming from you about architectural/aesthetics help.
We are not here to think about everything but we are here to answer smart questions.

Fact is; You're not a bad mapper. At least not truly in the sense of technique.
You're a bad mapper in the sense of polishing. Just had a look around infested pumpstation and caverns looking purely for some small stuff which would make it either more interesting visually or gameplay wise.

Trimming, You have little use of trimming, it exists in some spots but markings on the floor showing use, more definition of rooms, not simply ending most rooms as boxes helps a lot. One thing you'll most definately notice in original trem maps is the addition of parts you cannot reach. Look at the pipes running beneath the floors in arachnid and the outside area in arachnid behind the windows. The glass flooring in parts of nexus not the least in the large cylinders near human base and the large pipe room. They are not simply concrete cylinders/octagons, they have true definition, you can see inside, get a feel for what that room is supposed to be.

Lights, I applaud your use of lots of lighttextures, they indeed make your maps seem more natural. Why o why then are most of your lights usually square boxes with one side a light emitting texture? Give them a true place, put some cables between a series of them a hallway. Give them a feeling

You barely use filler and if you do it is incorrectly. Filler is necessary, again for the feeling but this one you can actually also use for gameplay. For example a crate. You have some, everybody has. What could help make crates distinct is the alien hitboxes. In late games some crates in rooms sporting only 40 gu width between them can save some larmour from a tyrant if it has to walk around. Some pipes with a small hole leading to a room above might make a nice escaperoute for adv granger when an alien base is lost.

Another thing to remember is start positions, they matter greatly in a game. Caverns for example has a human base with effectively one way out which ends in easy escape/ambush routes for aliens. Put it somewhere else, shuffle it. Try reading the gameflow guide on trem.info. I haven't yet put it up on the mapping wiki since I'm not yet done with rethinking and redoing it but you will at least understand some basic dynamics from it. First part of the pdf here. LINKIES

Also a thing lacking in all your maps is true base locations. Yes you have rooms in a dead end for humans, yes you have some height for aliens. But you're forgetting their defenses. Think about the z/x/y angled surfaces for efficient trapper placement making them unpredictable. Think about tesla use in high rooms, think about snipeable turrets.
You are the mapper and as such you have an unbelievable influence on the way the map is played. If you make a good alien location or 2 aliens will probably move, humans might intercept them there. If you make a starting alien base relatively strong for s1 and 2 but weak at s3 you force them to move. If you make turrets easily snipeable you force humans to move. But these are all moot points if there isn't anything better to move to. Tempt them, give them something which makes it worthwhile. A human base in an area with the crates as i mentioned might last pretty long in s3 while not truly making it invincible. People would have to adapt to less tyrs more goons/marauders.

Remember:
The players play tremulous. The mappers play the players

[Taiyo.uk]

To comment on the map:

This appears to be an alien side / human side map, and IMHO that means that each team should feel as though it is invading the territory of another species when they go to attack.

This needs two distinctly different areas with a short transition between them. So far there's the alien cave and the human tunnels and they join with no transition. How bout a more detailed human area and organic alien caves separated by short "blocky" sections where the humans had drilled through the rock into the alien caves?  Think of the idea like this: "The miners had broken through into unknown natural caverns, but then all contact was lost with the underground base. Fearing the worst the marines were sent in"

The caves look too blocky with too many straight lines - this makes them inorganic; they look almost as if they had been quarried by the humans. Straight lines detract from the "non-human" feel. Perhaps a terrain technique similar to the one used by DASPRiD in Ancient Remains would produce better results. Slime textures could be alpha-blended with the rock textures to simulate vast expanses of alien creep. Some stalagmites and the like would complete the natural cave look. Possibly add some glowing alien organisms or some portable lamps left by the humans to add light to the caves. See this thread for organic textures: http://tremulous.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3569

The human side is bland with little detail. As an underground installation there would be air ducting, an entry point(s), cables for lighting, water supply and what not. How about adding a large (inoperable) door or a large platform elevator? That would give the feel of being in part of a larger human base. Adding a fat air duct and one or two other pipes along the human tunnels would add significant visual weight, as would suspended lamps. Trails of mud left from mining and blood smears on the floors and walls can add to the impression of being in a recently occupied underground base, as would a few models of rock drills and the like left about.

This map still has potential.

[Survivor]

There, me and taiyo summed it up pretty much. Hope you will refine caverns first since it borders more on the alien side of maps and we have so few of them.