What I miss about mapping

[chris_in_cali]

So I came to Japan to study last September - partly because I thought it would be the best way to learn the langauge, and mostly because as a fifth-year 'super senior' I had tired a bit of college.

I've had fun, but there have been some things I've missed. Friends and family, greasy (tasty) foods, cheap movie tickets, free refills, and the convenience of having a car, to name a few. Also making a strong showing on the list (maybe to the shame of my level of 'cool') is mapping and MOHAA. Some may say it's a bit sad, at my age especially, to be willing to spend such enormous amounts of time creating something that will most likely get little use, and even then only appeal to a small group in the online gaming community; only getting praise from others who spend their nights and weekends doing the same. But there are reasons we do all of this, and I'd like to point out a pair of my own.

It's FREE!!!
Yes, it's free. You can spend six or more hours of each day feeling creative and entertaining yourself for the cost of electricity, and maybe a medical bill or two (unless you have someone patient enough about your hobby to cook for you while you work, one usually ends up eating in a less than nutritious way. High cholesterol, obesity, heart trouble, and malnutrition can all eventually hit the pocket book. What am I doing? This is about the glory of mapping).

It's challenging
Yeah, I love competition, and the best kind is against yourself. No matter how comfortable you get with scripting and texturing, in brushing out fun-to-play designs, you can always do something better - you can always do something different. This is the element that addicts people. This is what draws us into communities to show off works and get praise. This is why mapping competitions are spawned. This is why we map.

So, living in Tokyo without my computer, without my MOHAA or my Radiant for a year has been a pain. It's left me with a small hole, yearning for something to create, and it's been terrible on my wallet. I'll be home in two weeks, and, I don't know when I'll be paced and making maps again, but I'm sure I'll be on the PC feeling my way around Radiant again shortly thereafter. Expect to see me roaming the boards again and being a bother pretty soon.

That rambling dude I scant remember,
Chris... in Cali <- ;(

[lizardkid]

Chris, i'm copy/pasting that to my stepdad, he's always wondering what i see in mapping, i've told him time and time again that it's the same reason he plays guitar, he wants to be creative and have fun!

have fun in Japan mate, hang in there!!!

[Krane]

Hi and welcome back home in advance!

Yeah, you missed a lot of things. I've been in this forum for almost a year and I had the oportunity to see how things have changed...

There's a bunch of new guys here (lizardkid is one ). You'll see them often.

There was a bunch of new maps around w/ new amazing gimmicks.

I personaly changed my life and moved from VA to CA (yeah, I'm your neighbor now ).

Jv is working on a new bots version. This time, they'll not need pathnodes so using bots in stock maps is a reality now!

Bdbodger is working on a mod that makes everyone able to put bots in any map.

We even have a lady around (Kate's her name)!

Some of the guys here (including me and lizardkid) are working on building our own game. We even opened our own forum (hosted by madmapper, another new guy here).

This is life: we're always changing, looking for the best in our lifes...Hope you have found what you were looking for in Japan and have a smooth transition back to CA !

PS: I'm assuming "cali" means California, right?

[lizardkid]

don't forget to add wee now have some mapping competitions going..... ''headed'' by Blue and I.

[chris_in_cali]

don't forget to add wee now have some mapping competitions going..... ''headed'' by Blue and I.

Yeah, I saw that... been looking around. Not to steal his fire, but Axion is my real-life bud.

Yeah! Instant name-for-self

Well... it's only the AM there, but here your day has already ended and I have to wake up for my Wednesday class in about six hours. I don't have regular net access, but I'll be around in a few weeks.

Cheers

... losing lingual identity... need to return to the U.S. of A.