calamarain
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 933
Registered: 03-25-2007
IP: Logged

*growl*

Tried to make rooms for my hold today. They worked. They're good rooms. Standard. Slightly challenging. And utterly boring and unoriginal, done several times before.

Anyone else having a week like this? Every room I've tried to make this week has turned out dull and stodgy, not bad but the sort of room that's been done before loads (with one exception).

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My Holds

Dex Stewart
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 355
Registered: 01-19-2007
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Of course I know how it is... haven't come up with a good room in more than three weeks, myself.

Usually however, I just say "Hell with it; I'm no Larry" and keep the rooms as they are, provided they are of at least decent quality.

calamarain
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 933
Registered: 03-25-2007
IP: Logged

Dex Stewart wrote:
Of course I know how it is... haven't come up with a good room in more than three weeks, myself.

Usually however, I just say "Hell with it; I'm no Larry" and keep the rooms as they are, provided they are of at least decent quality.

Ah, but that requires you to have enough rooms to do that Also, having unoriginal rooms was one of the main criticisms of my first hold. Everyone liked the polish (appearance, storyline, voice acting) but wasn't so keen on some of the rooms. So I'm trying my utmost to improve - my end goal is to get a Smitemaster's Selection. If I can get this hold good enough to be rated significantly above 8, then I know I'm ready to at least make a try.

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My Holds

Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3626
Registered: 10-06-2005
IP: Logged

Usually, whenever I'm trying to make a "clever" or "inspiring" room, I try to figure out what my lynchpin is going to be. "Player needs roach queen to spawn three roaches, not four" "Player needs all bombs to go off at the same time" "Player needs tar and not tar babies to enter an area" and such. Then I try to make a very simple and easy room with that concept.

Usually, if I can get the room to work properly, I just keep it. A fun and easy room with a clever lynchpin is usually good enough for me - you can put in the challenge later if you feel like it. "Player needs to balance time against access to switches to make tar and not tar babies enter an area"

And, sometimes I, too, just have days where I can't seem to think of a good puzzle. If you can't seem to make puzzles that day, then maybe today is a puzzle-playing day and not a puzzle-making day.

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Briareos
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3516
Registered: 08-07-2005
IP: Logged

calamarain wrote:
Tried to make rooms for my hold today. They worked. They're good rooms. Standard. Slightly challenging. And utterly boring and unoriginal, done several times before.

Hmmm... maybe take a look at Calamarain's DROD Ideas Generator?

Oh, errr... nevermind...

np: Ike Yard - NCR (Funkstörung Remiks) (Viceversa)

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"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
R.I.P. Robert Feldhoff (1962-2009)

NoahT
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1133
Registered: 06-17-2003
IP: Logged

Dex Stewart wrote:
Usually however, I just say "Hell with it; I'm no Larry or Henri" and keep the rooms as they are, provided they are of at least decent quality.

Fixed.

-Noah

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And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

My stuff:

Dex Stewart
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 355
Registered: 01-19-2007
IP: Logged

NoahT wrote:

Dex Stewart wrote:
Usually however, I just say "Hell with it; I'm no Larry or Henri or agaricus" and keep the rooms as they are, provided they are of at least decent quality.

Fixed.

-Noah

Yeah, I thought about that, but didn't want to put in more than one name

And BTW: Re-fixed

---

[Last edited by Dex Stewart at 08-22-2007 08:26 PM]

NoahT
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1133
Registered: 06-17-2003
IP: Logged

Speaking of whom, where has Wesley been these days? He hasn't posted since 2006. Hope no one minds me going a little off-topic.

-Noah

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And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

My stuff:

eytanz
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2708
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

I think he lost interest in DROD and drifted off.

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I got my avatar back! Yay!

calamarain
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 933
Registered: 03-25-2007
IP: Logged

Finally got some inspiration. Made a reasonably good room, not brilliant but it certainly doesn't appear in TCB or any other holds I've played. Just like the Hints/Solutions board, posting here helps!

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My Holds

Tahnan
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2459
Registered: 11-14-2005
IP: Logged

Yeah, I've got a hold I'm working on, and as RoboBob would attest if he weren't too polite, the last room I posted to it was incredibly uninspired. Still trying to find ways to make it work.

calamarain
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 933
Registered: 03-25-2007
IP: Logged

I go by the formula that you're allowed one uninspired room per level. One nice standard room that doesn't tax the brain too much, that you've seen before. The rest have to be at least semi-original.

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My Holds

golfrman
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 165
Registered: 07-10-2006
IP: Logged

Dex Stewart wrote:

NoahT wrote:

Dex Stewart wrote:
Usually however, I just say "Hell with it; I'm no Larry or Henri or agaricus or rheb" and keep the rooms as they are, provided they are of at least decent quality.

Fixed.

-Noah

Yeah, I thought about that, but didn't want to put in more than one name

And BTW: Re-fixed

...

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Jesus is Lord and Messiah!

RoboBob3000
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1978
Registered: 10-23-2003
IP: Logged

Dex Stewart wrote:
Usually however, I just say "Hell with it; I'm no Larry or Henri or agaricus or rheb or RoboBob" and keep the rooms as they are, provided they are of at least decent quality.

Yes? No?

No?

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http://beepsandbloops.wordpress.com/

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2388
Registered: 05-29-2003
IP: Logged

Dex Stewart wrote:
Usually however, I just say "Hell with it; I'm no hold building genius" and keep the rooms as they are, provided they are of at least decent quality.

Ta-dah

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Dex Stewart
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 355
Registered: 01-19-2007
IP: Logged

Wow! So many people are quoting *me*! It's making me feel giddy inside!

golfrman
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 165
Registered: 07-10-2006
IP: Logged

Dex Stewart wrote:
Wow! So many people are quoting *me*! It's making me feel giddy inside!

Quoting you?
Whos quoting you?

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Jesus is Lord and Messiah!

Jason
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1076
Registered: 05-05-2006
IP: Logged

golfrman wrote:

Dex Stewart wrote:
Wow! So many people are quoting *me*! It's making me feel giddy inside!

Quoting you?
Whos quoting you?

You.

and me.

and others.

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Kwakstur
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 385
Registered: 05-05-2006
IP: Logged

Suddenly, I had disturbing thoughts of how my hold-in-progress is so far 16 levels of these so-called uninspired weeks. I just insist on making a 20-25 level hold for my first hold. Stupid me. But I refuse to drop it because I like the concept. It's like a 3D Mario game; you have to find the entrances to the levels yourself, and some required levels are completely hidden. I have worked hard on making all sorts of clever ways to find certain levels.

On a board where quality greatly outranks quantity, the puzzles I currently have will need a lot of fixing to be worth the 25 levels.

For now, I shall just sneakily shift the blame to "uninspired weeks," since they double as "uninspired first years" when it comes to amateur architects.

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Also known as ExpHP everywhere else.

calamarain
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 933
Registered: 03-25-2007
IP: Logged

25 levels is *very* ambitious. I wish you luck!

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NoahT
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1133
Registered: 06-17-2003
IP: Logged

calamarain wrote:
25 levels is *very* ambitious.

Without a doubt. I remember that back in 2003, in the early AE days, Clayton was going to make Claythro Tower 26 levels, and I was going to make my hold Nanfro Budkin's First Dungeon 27 levels. In the end, Claythro Tower had eight levels of puzzles, and my hold had eight levels total.

-Noah

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And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

My stuff:

Kwakstur
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 385
Registered: 05-05-2006
IP: Logged

NoahT wrote:

calamarain wrote:
25 levels is *very* ambitious.

Without a doubt. I remember that back in 2003, in the early AE days, Clayton was going to make Claythro Tower 26 levels, and I was going to make my hold Nanfro Budkin's First Dungeon 27 levels. In the end, Claythro Tower had eight levels of puzzles, and my hold had eight levels total.

-Noah

And my total progress is 16 levels so far, the exact sum of both your holds. Mwua ha ha ha ha ha!

Hey, with 16 levels made so far, 13 parts of one grand secret planned to be placed, over 70 level entrances and staircase/warping NPCs, 10 custom images, and 4 months in the making (it feels like 6 months), there is no giving up. There are only two things: Going forwards, or improving what's already there.

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Also known as ExpHP everywhere else.

NiroZ
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1302
Registered: 02-12-2006
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Remember: Quality over quantity.

Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3626
Registered: 10-06-2005
IP: Logged

Neather2 actually has a hold with 25 levels in Architecture.

...I think NiroZ is correct about it though.

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Kwakstur
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 385
Registered: 05-05-2006
IP: Logged

Yeah, I know. Why do you think everyone loves Magic Show (and other larry holds)? Sure, it only has about 24 puzzles, but they are quite some good puzzles.

That's why I have to do lots of prerelease reworking on stuff I already made. Here, quality is not just more important than quantity . . . you see, in most cases here, quantity is even frowned upon, regardless of quality! So I need to add a lot of work to make it worth the time it takes to master the hold.

It's an inconvenient truth, if I dare say so myself. But, then again, what isn't an inconvenient truth?

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Also known as ExpHP everywhere else.

calamarain
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 933
Registered: 03-25-2007
IP: Logged

I said 25 levels was ambitious, I never said it wasn't doable ;-)

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Briareos
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3516
Registered: 08-07-2005
IP: Logged

calamarain wrote:
I said 25 levels was ambitious, I never said it wasn't doable ;-)

If it wasn't, we wouldn't have had the original KDD, after all...

____________________________
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
R.I.P. Robert Feldhoff (1962-2009)

golfrman
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 165
Registered: 07-10-2006
IP: Logged

Kwakstur wrote:
an inconvenient truth

If you want to talk about global warming, go to the correct thread.

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Jatopian
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1842
Registered: 07-31-2005
IP: Logged

golfrman wrote:
If you want to talk about global warming, go to the correct thread.

Read, comprehend, then correct if necessary.

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Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

calamarain
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 933
Registered: 03-25-2007
IP: Logged

One could always cheat... have 25 levels each with three rooms. The entrance room, the exit room and one puzzle room

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