[Tutorial] How to Get Your Map Tested

Tarry H Sruman

Large Orphanage Proprietor
aa
Jul 31, 2011
872
1,021
As a new member of this community, you're probably asking yourself "How can I get my map tested?" It can be difficult to get someone in chat to stop whatever conversation they're having to fully explain our map testing system to you, so to ensure that newcomers have a solid understanding of the rules, I'm going to compile the whole process into this guide.

  • What Does My Map Need to Have?
Since there are already very comprehensive articles on this already, I'm just going to link to those.

English Mobster wrote a very useful checklist for the first versions of maps. You can find it here.

For what NOT to do, consult this article.

Now, on to the actual testing.

  • Sign Up for a Gameday

The easiest way to get your map tested is to submit it for a gameday. A gameday is a scheduled, planned-in-advance event where we test a series of maps for a set amount of time each. Gamedays are great for testing your map because they almost always fill up with players, you know exactly when they will happen, and you can have your map tested even if you aren't able to make it at that time. To sign up for a gameday, check the events forum and look for a gameday thread. The instructions will be in the first post. There is a limit on the number of maps that can be in one gameday.

  • Join an Impromptu

The second type of testing is a bit more difficult. Impromptu tests happen when several people in the Steam group chat (which, if you want to be a part of this community, you should frequent) have maps they want to test, and have an admin start up casual test. Maps in impromptus are played for unspecified amounts of time (usually a few rounds depending on the map) and late-joiners can usually ask to have their maps added on the end if the host is willing.

If you want to have your map in an impromptu, hang around in the Steam chat and see if anyone is interested in starting one. If you can get at least 2-4 maps to test, you'll need a server admin to upload any maps to the server and hang around during the test to change the maps. If someone else is organizing an impromptu, offer your map up and they'll be happy to add it on to the test. Just please don't go into chat and ask for an impromptu every five minutes or an hour after the last one ended.

If all this sounds like too much work for you, just wait for the next gameday.

  • Feedback

On the TF2 Maps server, we have a custom-made feedback plugin. This system allows players to place "annotations" on maps from in-game. There are two types of annotations, placed via text commands. They are:

General Feedback (!gf): Places an annotation without a specific location. General feedback is used for feedback about the whole map. Some examples:

!gf everything is too dark
!gf the doors are all too short
!gf the spawn timers are too long
!gf I'm getting lost, you need to place signs around
!gf there isn't any health or ammo on the map

Location-Specific Feedback (!fb): Places an annotation at a specific location (tracks where the player is standing and the point they are looking at). Location-specific feedback is used to point out graphics errors, specific areas or rooms that need to be changed, etc. Some examples:

!fb this room is dark
!fb this door is too short
!fb I keep getting stuck on this beam
!fb there is a big sniper sightline here

To check feedback, either type !ta (toggle annotations) while on the server to see the annotations in-game (good for catching graphical errors and sightlines) or by checking the feedback page. The feedback page will give you general feedback as well as the coordinates of location-specific annotations. The feedback system is excellent for keeping track of what people thought about the map, and for when you can't make it for a test.

  • Other Notes

If you couldn't make it for a test of your map, ask an admin for the STV (Source TV) demo of your map. It will let you rewatch the whole test to see where people move, where most of the fighting happens, etc.

And for those of you who don't want to read this whole thing, here's a simple comparison of the two types of tests:

Gamedays
  • Planned in advance
  • Maps must be registered ahead of time
  • Fixed number of map slots available
  • Set time limit for each map
  • Set up on the forums

Impromptus
  • Set up whenever enough people feel like it
  • Maps are decided on shortly before the test
  • Time limit can be extended
  • Set up on the Steam group chat

Hopefully this will be helpful to the newcomers.
 

Bloodhound

L6: Sharp Member
Jan 3, 2011
316
489
Well written.
There are more possibilities to get your map tested, but those are the most common, for us.
It´s also a nice guide how to use the feedback plugin, I didn´t know that !ta command even.
Thx!
 

Pioneer_Reisha

L1: Registered
Sep 1, 2016
7
0
Thank you so much for clearing this up--but I'm still trying to figure out how to upload a map. Where can I find that info?