|
Post by Jeff on Nov 24, 2011 19:36:29 GMT
I acually hate to say this, but I kind of miss the noob mods for one reason: it had forum activity. Since there are really none, there have been a very low amount of custom levels or graphics. Plus since the MBDK is filling up, I am supprised to see that people are not taking advantage of the things in there. Anyways, I want to hear your thoughts guys Happy Turkey Day guys from the US! Jeff
|
|
|
Post by ktbold12345 on Nov 25, 2011 1:13:57 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Jeff on Nov 25, 2011 1:46:05 GMT
that was more disturbing than a real noob mod
|
|
Rtyh-12
Experienced Marbler
Yay for Windows 8-style avatar!
Posts: 154
|
Post by Rtyh-12 on Nov 25, 2011 17:16:22 GMT
kwill can i join plz i can doez imagez en coed a bit plz plz plz In all seriousness though, I don't think n00b mods are the solution to the inactivity issue. Things were better back then but I don't think it was because of those mods. I think n00b mods were the consequence of forum activity and the other way round. TBH I don't see the forums getting activity any time soon. Although I'm sure nobody will like this, we have to admit that MB is an old game which will probably die soon. At the moment not even PQ seems to be a rescue, all it will do will be to postpone these forums' death a bit (and give us hours of enjoyment, of course, but we'll not talking about that now). If there are people who want (and can) make their own game they should probably try as MB is in agony.
|
|
|
Post by ktbold12345 on Nov 25, 2011 20:24:43 GMT
I agree with what Rtyh said. I for one would rather have our small, quiet community than a huge community filled with n00bs, spam, and mods. I do definitely want some of our old members back: Ian, Phil, Xelna, Sonic, Rokushu, etc. But I don't want the n00bs back (I won't name any names " I think PQ will save the forums temporarily. There will be a large burst of custom levels, new members will come back and visit, and the forums will be populated. But after a period of time (a few months to a few years) PQ will get old and the forums will likely go back to the way they are now. When multiplayer gets released with PR, I expect another temporary burst in activity (the more fun multiplayer turns out to be, the longer there will be activity.) I expect people to create lots of multiplayer maps, etc. But again, after time, the community will just get bored and die down again. I think the only thing to revive Marble Blast for a substantial amount of time is if GarageGames gets re-involved with MB and brings back Marble Blast Online. And there are still no guarantees that will happen. and yah rtyh u can definitly join my mod we need lotz and lotz of coderrs and image makerZ!!!
|
|
Mr. E.
Intermediate Marbler
[ss:Default Skin]
Posts: 115
|
Post by Mr. E. on Nov 26, 2011 1:15:59 GMT
Technostar has some words to say about this:
"I have to agree about the new mods bringing a burst of activity to the forums. However, not many new players are playing Marble Blast. Newer players would be the only thing that could keep the forum going strong.The fact that IAC is not letting anyone buy Marble Blast isn't helping. Fortunately, there are a few people who aren't old enough to join the forums that like Marble Blast (myself included). That means that we would still get new members, but not as many as before. I also think that the lure of the game is that you can customize it. If the community started designing enough custom levels to get more level competitions (like LotM), it would get the Marble Blast community going again. By that, I am encouraging more people to start creating custom levels. By looking in the rubbish bin, I found that when a lot of custom levels were being made and Level of the Month was active, there was more activity."
|
|
|
Post by marblefire on Nov 26, 2011 2:11:55 GMT
I don't miss the n00b mods. I do miss the custom levels boom of 2007-8 (and to some extent 2009), when I joined the forums. Those were the golden days of this community for me.
|
|
|
Post by Seizure22 (Witty Title) on Nov 26, 2011 2:24:57 GMT
thread over, give kwill some points on hangman
|
|
|
Post by Jeff on Nov 26, 2011 3:11:50 GMT
thread over, give kwill some points on hangman Meh, good point Seiz. Yea, i see your point guys. It would be nice to see some more activity though around here. Thanks for your thoughts!
|
|
|
Post by ktbold12345 on Nov 26, 2011 3:43:41 GMT
thread over, give kwill some points on hangman Hey thanks, Seiz. Now, I have an announcement to make: NO 1 JOIND MY MOD AND I DONT HAVE ANY STAFFF. I TRIED TO DO ALL THE CODIN AND LEVELS AND TEXTRS AND SOUNDS BY MYSLF BUT I FAIL EPICLY. SO UNFORTNATLY MARBLE BLAST TURKEY IS DEAD. IM SO SAD.
|
|
|
Post by Jeff on Nov 26, 2011 4:37:37 GMT
thread over, give kwill some points on hangman Hey thanks, Seiz. Now, I have an announcement to make: NO 1 JOIND MY MOD AND I DONT HAVE ANY STAFFF. I TRIED TO DO ALL THE CODIN AND LEVELS AND TEXTRS AND SOUNDS BY MYSLF BUT I FAIL EPICLY. SO UNFORTNATLY MARBLE BLAST TURKEY IS DEAD. IM SO SAD. Awe :3 its ok, dw, come on msn and I will give you a cookie
|
|
|
Post by Riblet on Nov 26, 2011 5:51:43 GMT
I don't miss the n00b mods. I do miss the custom levels boom of 2007-8 (and to some extent 2009), when I joined the forums. Those were the golden days of this community for me. Yeah this. It was all the mods that people started attempting that stopped the level making (since obviously making good levels isn't a part of mod design).
|
|
|
Post by Pablo on Nov 26, 2011 7:10:52 GMT
I don't miss the n00b mods. I do miss the custom levels boom of 2007-8 (and to some extent 2009), when I joined the forums. Those were the golden days of this community for me. Yeah this. It was all the mods that people started attempting that stopped the level making (since obviously making good levels isn't a part of mod design). Good point. I'd go further and say that people view the flashy, easy parts of mods as a substitute for level design.
|
|
|
Post by IsraeliRD on Nov 26, 2011 7:42:26 GMT
I think MBP killed it because everyone wanted to do a mod like MBP, thought they could do better, and we're seeing the results today.
Edit: when I first saw Kwill's post at the top, I thought it was brilliant. Made my day.
|
|
|
Post by ktbold12345 on Nov 26, 2011 13:13:47 GMT
This is why I miss the Level of the Month competition. It actually motivated people to build good levels. I know it was discontinued because of a lack of entries and votes. But it really did increase forum activity a little. I vote that we bring it back and modify the rules a bit to have the fairest results (a set panel of judges who votes for each level for example)
|
|
|
Post by Andrew on Nov 26, 2011 15:48:45 GMT
I agree that the best years of this community were from 2007 to 2009. During this time, we were relishing in our independence from the GG forums, MBP had come out and people were making tons of custom levels for it. For whatever reason, people gradually stopped making levels and started trying to copy MBP's success by making their own mods. With the exception of MBAdvanced, MBReloaded, MBEmerald, and MBOpal, all of these noob mods failed miserably (and the ones I listed weren't even completed and didn't live up to their potential also). I'll just come out and say it... noob mods killed the custom level building community of the forums. So I am quite glad to see no new noob mods being started lately, and I don't want to see them start up again. I would rather have people make custom levels and revive LotM/Y. Like it or not, the MB community is slowly dying. Fewer custom levels, members leaving, IA shutting down, and MBG not being sold anymore has hastened that. We hope PQ and PR will stop the death of the community temporarily at least, and bring in a golden age much like the one from 2007-2009.
|
|
|
Post by Jeff on Nov 26, 2011 18:51:56 GMT
Yes, I have changed my mind now, thanks guys.
Andy, i completely agree with ya.
|
|
|
Post by marblefire on Nov 27, 2011 16:27:19 GMT
This is why I miss the Level of the Month competition. It actually motivated people to build good levels. I know it was discontinued because of a lack of entries and votes. But it really did increase forum activity a little. I vote that we bring it back and modify the rules a bit to have the fairest results (a set panel of judges who votes for each level for example) I see it differently, and the entire year of 2010 was proof that LotM was not really what inspired levels to be made. I think there are a lot of factors that caused the drop in creation: 1) You're like me, and while you genuinely enjoy making levels, it's really hard work and so you don't end up making many 2) A lot of us are growing up past the point where we want to (or can) spend our time making levels 3) We've moved on to other games and/or MB is not the novelty it once was (I'm also in this group) But making levels solely for LotM was rare, I think. It probably was a motivation, but I don't think it was the only motivation and certainly not the chief motivation as you can see from 2010. Besides, there was always a pronounced bias in favor of Phil, Andrew, Pablo, etc. So if two of them entered levels, your chances for 1st and 2nd were probably over. What we also forget is that LotM was equally a failure because nobody liked to sit down and construct a review. There were also Level Competitions (which produced some great, but forgotten levels), but they were usually only contested by a select few. Plus, they always held to an established theme, and if you didn't like what it was, you couldn't compete. The system was great while it lasted, but I seriously doubt it would change anything if reinstated. I don't want to be pessimistic, but the community is clearly fading away. If PQ doesn't perk it up, I think we'll all start leaving one by one.
|
|
|
Post by Jeff on Nov 27, 2011 16:48:40 GMT
Interesting thought there marblefire, very interesting. I can agree with just about all that, especially the last part. PQ better be pushing the engine limits
|
|
|
Post by ktbold12345 on Nov 27, 2011 21:46:45 GMT
But making levels solely for LotM was rare, I think. It probably was a motivation, but I don't think it was the only motivation and certainly not the chief motivation as you can see from 2010. Besides, there was always a pronounced bias in favor of Phil, Andrew, Pablo, etc. So if two of them entered levels, your chances for 1st and 2nd were probably over. What we also forget is that LotM was equally a failure because nobody liked to sit down and construct a review. One thing that people are forgetting is PQ. It's true what you said: LotM is not the only motivation, but it is a strong motivation. I think the main reason that the quality and quantity of levels has been declining since is because all our veteran level builders (Pablo, Andrew, Oaky, PF, Matan, etc.) are busy building for PQ. Other excellent builders (Ian, Phil, Steven, etc.) are no longer with us. Also, some people are wasting their talents on noob mods. That leaves only a few level builders who are currently active (Pokko and Buzzmusic seem to be the best examples.) EDIT: Something else I wanted to mention: I don't think there was a bias toward the veteran level builders; they had better levels, end of story. And what you said about people not wanting to write a review; that's what the panel of judges is for. They asked to be a judge because they want to write reviews. Don't take this post as a flame post or anything. I'm not trying to be mean. I value your opinion, but I just want to clear up my side of the argument.
|
|
|
Post by [DWARF] RDs.empire on Nov 28, 2011 20:17:13 GMT
My thoughts about this: I think noob mods aren't only ones that actually decrease activity in level making.(I dont say that fact is wrong) There are plenty of other things we do in free time. Lot of new games have came after MBG's release (Minecraft Portal TF2 and so on) that we play more often than MB because we get bored from it plus Scool and any other things that life give us. The thing that i liked about MB the most is its way to edit it. I am creative person and i personaly like constructing and making my ideas into something awsome. Only problem is my lazyness. Actualy its huge suprize for me that so small community still exists because of one extremely addicting game with its good concept that IAC punched in a face this year but we still keep pushing it forward. I expect my said didn't made any sense lol.
|
|
|
Post by Jeff on Nov 28, 2011 20:24:42 GMT
no, it was a good post rds, thanks for commenting! I always like to hear what you have to say!
|
|
Uil
Advanced Marbler
Marble Blasting Level Creator[ss:Default Skin]
YES
Posts: 339
|
Post by Uil on Nov 28, 2011 21:28:07 GMT
I liked to watch how noob mods went on, I dunno what you would count as a noob mod, but you could tell by my noob mod later in my post. I don't now how they affected the activity, I think it varied, I'm not sure, but I did enjoy seeing how they worked out, and I don't see much of them anymore I do think the forums is slowly fading, if you know what I mean, I wanted to use a different word from dying, because in my opinion I think it's a tad too extreme yet. And a few years back, (before I had an account because I was underage) I came here and had a look around the forums, I downloaded all the custom levels I could find 'til my MBG crashed. But that's a good thing... in some ways, because it shows how many levels people were creating at the time, and I wish people made more. That's why I'm still working on custom levels for MBG, MBP, while still making levels for PR, which should be released shortly (not the PR levels the MBG and MBP levels). When I first came onto the forums, as a noob, I was so excited and I literally couldn't stop making levels, I just enjoyed it too much, I would get up on weekday mornings, before I had to school, and just keep building. So I started making a mod, which was a noob mod, and it was awful. It died within the space of a few days. R.I.P Unnamed awful mod. I don't want to see the forums fading/dying, and I hope that PR and PQ keep the forums going for a good few more years. Who knows, maybe some noob mod'll come along and turn into one of the best mods ever, that will liven the forums up a bit even more. I also thought that MBTurkey might have livened the forums up a bit, but it's sad to see that it's died, I hope that you can continue it sometime if you get more staff Kwill
|
|
|
Post by ktbold12345 on Nov 29, 2011 22:27:15 GMT
I also thought that MBTurkey might have livened the forums up a bit, but it's sad to see that it's died, I hope that you can continue it sometime if you get more staff Kwill wil u join miy mod uil? i need lvl makerrs mor mbturkey. don't worrie about pr, it ain't importint. Miy mod iz betterz.
|
|
|
Post by Pablo on Nov 30, 2011 1:12:34 GMT
Who knows, maybe some noob mod'll come along and turn into one of the best mods ever, that will liven the forums up a bit even more. It's a nice thought, but "good mods" are not determined by any process involving chance. To make a full mod for Marble Blast, a team needs to spend a minimum of a thousand hours (IMO). This total doesn't count team members acquiring the skills to become pros at their tasks. A distinguishing characteristic of noob mods is that they don't acknowledge this massive time and effort commitment.
|
|
Rtyh-12
Experienced Marbler
Yay for Windows 8-style avatar!
Posts: 154
|
Post by Rtyh-12 on Nov 30, 2011 18:47:40 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Jeff on Nov 30, 2011 20:33:55 GMT
um, no, that makes no sense at all, andy and pablo, matan, ect. are not going to join a noob, i can assure you
|
|
|
Post by marblefire on Nov 30, 2011 21:25:21 GMT
I think the main reason that the quality and quantity of levels has been declining since is because all our veteran level builders (Pablo, Andrew, Oaky, PF, Matan, etc.) are busy building for PQ. Other excellent builders (Ian, Phil, Steven, etc.) are no longer with us. Also, some people are wasting their talents on noob mods. That leaves only a few level builders who are currently active (Pokko and Buzzmusic seem to be the best examples.) The "veterans" only comprise a small amount of the total number of level makers. Perhaps people looked to them for inspiration, but inspiration alone won't finish a level. And what you said about people not wanting to write a review; that's what the panel of judges is for. They asked to be a judge because they want to write reviews. But if people wanted to write reviews, the old system wouldn't have failed in the first place. I disagree with that statement Pablo, chance is also important if you want to make a good mod. Please elaborate...? Someone may have a fluke idea that turns into an amazing feature, but the implementation of this idea, which is the important part, cannot be left to luck. I think the role of luck is negligible at best.
|
|
|
Post by Tech Warrior on Nov 30, 2011 21:43:05 GMT
*cough*Andrew had joined MBE2, but how did that turn out? No I'm kidding; I can see why. With the original MBE being overall successfull, who's to say MBE2 wouldn't have been just as good, let alone better? I'm sure they would've joined a mod based on experience of the mod leader/staff. MBE provided this "experience", and that had proved to Andrew that MBE2 would be a success, but we all know how that ended... Likewise can be said with "noob" mods. Let's say I join the forums. (Using "me" as the plot figure) I wait for Pablo to ask me if I've ever tried making levels, and this is where I say: "Of course! I've been making them for years! Here are some pics:" Pablo and others: "Wow! Awesome! Those levels look very original, replayable, and fun! And, are those custom textures? You should definitely submit those. " So now, I have found me place in the forums 5 hours after joining. My level-building skill and popularity has increased, and I'm getting into graphics. Now let's say that a few days later: "I'm going to make a new mod! It will be called Marble Blast Infinite! Here is the planned outcome: 60-85 levels New gameplay elements! (and more)" So at this point, some guy who just joined decides to make a mod, but, based on all the skills and acknowledgement I came in with, is it immediately safe to call me a noob? Alright, so now people are thinking: " " ...because yet, another mod is in session. People are giving all kinds of criticism, but at the same time, encouragement. ...Let's skip around a bit... Now we're at 6 months later, and all of a sudden I comes out of no where with this huge update on my mod: "40% complete! We have all sorts of new stuff! From levels to features, we've got it all! (Shows tons of pics)" ...And that's that. By this, more people are convinced and will most likely join, that is, if the status is good. So now, we can see that judging noobs can't be based on the fact that they just joined, but rather their inner skill.
|
|
|
Post by ktbold12345 on Nov 30, 2011 21:43:15 GMT
I think the main reason that the quality and quantity of levels has been declining since is because all our veteran level builders (Pablo, Andrew, Oaky, PF, Matan, etc.) are busy building for PQ. Other excellent builders (Ian, Phil, Steven, etc.) are no longer with us. Also, some people are wasting their talents on noob mods. That leaves only a few level builders who are currently active (Pokko and Buzzmusic seem to be the best examples.) The "veterans" only comprise a small amount of the total number of level makers. Perhaps people looked to them for inspiration, but inspiration alone won't finish a level. It's true that the majority of levels are not done by the veterans. But the veterans make better levels than anyone else; that's why they're the veterans. Quality comes over quantity here. Even though there are tons of level builders, only some of them produce levels worthy of LotM. And what you said about people not wanting to write a review; that's what the panel of judges is for. They asked to be a judge because they want to write reviews. But if people wanted to write reviews, the old system wouldn't have failed in the first place. I'm sure there were some people who wanted to write reviews; just not enough to have a decent LotM Today at 1:47pm, Rtyh-12 wrote: and some noob which happens to be a good leader starts a mod. Noob ≠ good leader. There is no random chance in mod-making. It is 0% luck, 30% skill, 15% concentrated power the will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain, and 100% reason to NOT MAKE A NEW MARBLE BLAST GAME! (give or take a few percentage points) EDIT: Fixed double-post
|
|