Talk:Mann Co. Beta Maps

From Team Fortress Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search

Documenting the Program

There is an opportunity here to document the evolutions of both the Mann Co. Beta Maps - Early Access program and the new maps; in the latter case in particular, the community is witnessing a new experience within the TF2 environment. I suggest limited pictures in Galleries/Screenshots in Mann Co. Beta Maps and in the new Beta map articles that record in the first case what the program looked like as it started, and in the maps case what the maps looked like in the beta stages. Also, I see a risk in the Beta map articles that the existing [[Help:Style guide/Maps|map style] may struggle with the dynamic nature of the maps (uneven reporting of changes in the map). I suggest and addition to the Map style of a section ("History", "Development", "Beta", "Early Access", or some such) as a place to contain any development narrative. Mikado282 (talk) 20:48, 8 July 2014 (PDT)

  • I agree. We'll need a changelog for every map used in the new program, as with imagry. I think that an additional style of a "community tested" map might prove successfull if organized correctly. DC64 (talk) 21:25, 8 July 2014 (PDT)
  • See if there are point_devshot_camera entities, that would automate and legitimize this.--Henke37 (talk) 10:33, 9 July 2014 (PDT)
  • I checked and there aren't any point_devshot_camera, there aren't even any in Cactus_Canyon. --Person124 (talk) 12:03, 9 July 2014 (PDT)
    • Being an old guy, I figured you could just back yourself into a corner or some such place to consistently register your position every time and shoot the same aim point. Manual and tedious, yes, but you get to pick a shot you think might develop interestingly. Naive question, do scripts work when in Spectator? I think so. Mikado282 (talk) 19:48, 9 July 2014 (PDT)

So I was adding in the image for the beta payload when I had a thought, shouldn't we add in the beta map to the official payload list, and just say something like: "Payload maps carry the pl_ prefix; community maps are identified with an italic font and beta maps are identified with a bold font."? Could I have your guy's opinions on weither or not we should do this? --Person124 (talk) 07:10, 11 July 2014 (PDT)

  • Not qualified to say whether it is a good idea, but if it is I would suggest a blue font color to match the blueprint motif of the Early Access program. Mikado282 (talk) 10:52, 11 July 2014 (PDT)
  • Need also an image of the random beta map selection. Mikado282 (talk) 11:05, 11 July 2014 (PDT)

Thematic composition of gallery

 Maps inside of the beta stage might have bugs, lack of cosmetic props, and have a high chance of using dev textures(see Gallery further down this page).

I like the thematic composition you set up with this statement, and I like that you have one image of each of two of the elements you listed. An image of a bug would complete the composition. I noted that on a few falls into the crevasse , I landed in an non-kill area, like an invisible ledge. I was stuck down there. I could walk around a like. If someone survived a similar fall, a screen capture of the player taunting would illustrate the survival. It's not presently noted as a bug; though, so I'm not certain this is would pass review as a bug image. Mikado282 (talk) 20:56, 10 July 2014 (PDT)

Pitfall survival bug probably fixed in July 17, 2014 Patch Mikado282 (talk) 19:01, 17 July 2014 (PDT)

Beta Infobox

Hey guys,

Sample Infobox

I was thinking it would be informative to have a clear indication that a map is currently in beta stage. I got the "Beta" word from the official update image and added it to the map infobox, like shown in the image. Tell me what you guys think of it. If this seems like a good idea, I'll toy around with different alignments, positioning and sizes of the image. --Marcotulio (talk) 23:08, 20 July 2014 (PDT)

Requested move

I was thinking that we should move the name of the page to Mann Co. Beta Program, since we have more than just maps in the program with the addition of Mannpower. Thoughts? Paint Splat TheValueOfTeamwork.png ClockworkSpirit2343 Scout emblem RED.png 10:23, 29 December 2014‎ (PST)

Pictogram plus.png Yep I agree, as seen already with the Mannpower as you said.(by the way I hate)Tark lm(pt-br) 01:05, 2 January 2015 (PST)
More we have to remember on TF2 Blog says how "Mann Co. Beta Maps". — Tark lm(pt-br) 01:18, 2 January 2015 (PST)
Pictogram minus.png Nope By commenting "more than just maps ... with the addition of Mannpower", I take it you mean that the Beta Maps early access program is maps and game modes. I point out that that game modes were part of the early access program from the start; see Robot Destruction. Moreover, is not introduction of maps is the normal means of introducing game modes? Mann Co. Beta Maps is the Valve name for the program; Mann Co. Beta Maps - Early Access if you want to be pedantic. Mikado282 (talk) 19:32, 26 February 2015 (PST)

Requested move 2

Pretty much the same as the other request, this should be Mann Co. Beta Program or simply "Mann Co. Beta" because it also included Mannpower, Robot Destruction, and PASS Time. If the article has images and mentions the game modes, why shouldn't it include them in the article itself too?
BLU Wiki Cap.png | s | GrampaSwood Praise the Sun! (talk) (contribs) 17:12, 24 May 2025 (UTC)

Pictogram cross.png No Valve calls them Mann Co. Beta. Maps or Mann Co. Beta. Maps Early Access. The gamemode is part of the map. You can't have Robot Destruction the gamemode without making a Robot Destruction map in the first place. I agree that there should probably be a little more information about the Mannpower and PASS Time maps and how they moved out of beta but the article name itself should stay as-is. No move imo. Mediarch User Mediarch PFP.pngTalkMy Edits 14:29, 27 May 2025 (UTC)
Valve didn't really call it anything, the blog post is titled "Mann Co. Beta Maps - Early Access" simply because they capitalise most blog posts in this same way. The blog post itself also specifies that game modes will be changed. Having the article be named "Beta Maps" but talking about game modes that were in beta too would be out of scope.
BLU Wiki Cap.png | s | GrampaSwood Praise the Sun! (talk) (contribs) 14:42, 27 May 2025 (UTC)
It's not just the title of the blog post it's all over. To access them you had to enable a "Play Beta Maps" checkbox. The in-game announcement refers to them as TF2 Beta Maps or simply Beta Maps. The current title is fine imo and see no reason to change it. I don't see why mentioning examples of maps that were in beta but were added would be "out of scope". They were part of the Beta Maps. I've given my opinion, I'm not going to discuss it further. Mediarch User Mediarch PFP.pngTalkMy Edits 19:50, 27 May 2025 (UTC)
They also mention that PASS Time is no longer in beta or that Mannpower is no longer in beta. It's clear they were advertising people to play maps, but they were also clearly testing the game modes themselves (as they said in the blog post). The actual program is much more likely to be called "Mann Co. Beta" than "Mann Co. Beta Maps".
BLU Wiki Cap.png | s | GrampaSwood Praise the Sun! (talk) (contribs) 19:53, 27 May 2025 (UTC)