Hi, and welcome to the foundry! Whether or not you intend to create a map of your own, we hope you keep returning, as public input is what keeps the foundry running.
- Good Foundry Conduct
We know everyone has their own way of doing things. Below is our advice to you on good foundry conduct when it comes to posting map updates or posting feedback to a map you have interest in.
A comprehensive guide to giving and receiving feedback is contained within the Foundry Feedback Guidelines.
General Mapmaking Rules
Before starting your own map it is recommended that you read and understand the following rules to ensure that the process is as enjoyable and efficient as possible for you and the community at large.
The Melting Pot: Map Ideas
This Foundry sub-forum is where all CC maps begin to take shape. Here you will find raw ideas, working drafts, and an assortment of unfinished projects. All of them are in the melting pot, waiting to be hammered-out, before the Foundlings (maps and their makers) are thrust into the heat of the Foundry Workshops.
- Map Ideas - The Melting Pot is the perfect place for CC members to discuss what kind of new maps they would like to see at this site. You don't have to be a mapmaker to post a new topic here - you just have to have an idea that you would like to see turned into a map. And if you are a mapmaker - or would like to be one - this is the place to kick around new ideas before you get started. It's always a good idea to check that your shiny new idea for a map hasn't already been suggested/developed - the Forum Search Tool is your friend.
- Who are the characters in the map? (backstory, why is this map significant or a cool story)
- What is your map about?
- Where does it take place?
- When does it take place?
- Why are the events taking place? (again backstory)
- How will the events unfold?
- Anything else?
- The names of up to 2 cartographers who will be developing the map - Think about the roles each person will play: Who will be managing feedback? making decisions? drawing the map? writing the XML?
- Map Size- What is the approximate total number of territories/regions on the map? Think about how this will affect gameplay.
- Your aims/design style - Think about what has influenced the map? Do you have any specific gameplay types in mind? Do you want a contemporary or old-fashioned look? Have you thought about your target audience? Who will play the map? What game settings would work well, or would suffer? What do you hope to achieve by this project?
- Uniqueness - maps should be 'inherently unique either in gameplay, location, or theme': what is it about your map that sets it apart from the existing canon of CC maps?
- Relevant Experience - you don't need to be an experienced mapmaker or fantastic graphic designer to make a map, but will need to think about: how well do you know your map subject? have you contributed to any other maps in development? will you be creating the graphics? how well do you know your graphics software? have you seen any good tutorials?
Working Drafts - Map ideas may contain accompanying images which slowly develop to become a Working Draft. If you are looking to create a map yourself and have a first draft you would like folks to look at, we suggest you post your draft as a new topic.
Here are some questions that you can ask yourself as you develop your draft. While not every question will be appropriate for every map, they will help you focus your ideas and design:
Recycling Bin - For every map that makes it out of the Drafting Room and eventually into Live Play, there are lots more that don’t survive the hammer and tongs of the Foundry, and end up in the Recycling Bin Subforum. In some cases the map has not gained enough community support, and in others the mapmaker has simply run out of steam and abandoned his/her development.
Map ideas in the Recycling Bin Subforum tend to contain raw material that has already been tempered, and may be picked by new mapmakers; an effort should be made to inform the original mapmaker of your interest in using his/her idea. The new mapmaker must start a new Draft topic and any artwork from the abandoned map may not be used without the original mapmaker's consent.
