Mapmaking FAQ

This page is for Frequently Asked Questions regarding mapmaking on Minr. For questions about the server itself, see Server FAQ.

Basics

How do I start building a map?

Firstly, reach Green Rank. Once you are Green, you can warp to Theta or Epsilon and find an unclaimed area to begin building from there. Most greens request regions, or areas where other players can't destroy or build blocks, to be created for their maps once they have made some progress on building.

Where are good mapmaking resources?

Mapmaking has several locations which contain helpful resources for creators. One place which contains many of these resources is the Greenie Resources page on this wiki in the Mapmaking section. The Greenies Only and Map Submission sections of the Forums also contain mapmaking information, and the #mapmaking Discord channel contains pinned links and information about mapmaking in it.

What are some general guidelines for making maps?

A general overview of map characteristics Board members like and dislike for published maps to have can be read about in this guide. A general overview of the page is as follows:

A certain level of aesthetic quality is expected of all maps. Typically, mapmakers should avoid cubic rooms, monopalettes, dark rooms, and confusing directions.
Parkour gameplay should have a smooth difficulty curve, be integrated into the environment, have directional cues, and be free of unintended skips.
Mazes should avoid allowing players to follow the left or right wall to reach the end and have hallways larger than the player's collision box of 2 blocks tall and 1 block wide.
Puzzles should be playtested, be self contained, and not have exploits.

Is there a list of requirements for maps?

All FFA published maps share two characteristics.

All maps are contained in regions, preventing players from breaking blocks or otherwise modifying the map in unintended ways.
All maps have Map Signs for the starting checkpoint and the finish sign.

In addition to these, submitted maps must follow The Map Model. This adds a few points.

Maps are always completable.
Maps cannot block players from leaving to spawn or elsewhere.
Maps are self-contained (i.e. they don't require other maps or outside entities to make progress).
Maps interface nicely with the server plugin (i.e. they don't circumvent the plugin or use loopholes in it).
Maps follow the Server Rules.

What does the map submission process look like?

Players can submit maps by going to this link on the Forums. Once the form has been filled out, the map will go through a Board process where a reviewer will post or privately send a review about the map. These reviews are color coded which typically indicates how the reviewer felt about a particular aspect of the map: green means great, yellow is typically a suggestion to improve the map, and red is a required change the map needs. You then need to update the map with, at minimum, required changes completed, and then need to post a changelog stating what is different about the map. This process repeats for two reviewers.

For more information about the Board process, see the The Board Protocol section of the Board Master Post or the Publishing a Map wiki page.

Map Creation

What's the best place to get mapmaking help?

The Discord channel #mapmaking is a good place to ask questions about mapmaking related questions.

What ways do players find inspiration for maps?

Map inspiration comes from a variety of sources, mainly other pieces of media or other maps on the server. It is common to see map inspiration credits at the end of maps for this reason.

How do I avoid burnout or scope creep?

Working on a single map for extended periods of time can lead to creative burnout. There are a few common suggestions to avoid this.

Have multiple kinds of projects.
Take breaks to do other things like play maps and participate in other forms of entertainment.
Reach out for help. A large number of maps on Minr were made by multiple players with different areas of expertise.

Scope creep is a common map issue where the list of things a creator wants to add to a map gets longer over time. This can also cause creative burnout. Score creep can be alleviated somewhat with a few common strategies.

Have a checklist of what needs to be done.
Cut non-essential aspects from the map until you are left with the core elements the map needs.
Outsource parts of the map to other players.

Is there a way to request work that requires staff if none are online?

Yes, and there are two options. The first and most common is to post in the #staff_requests channel in Discord outlining what work you'd like to have completed for your map. The second option is to post in the helpdesk on the Forums, though this is much less common and typically leads to slower responses.

What are regions?

Regions are defined 3D spaces in the world. These are typically used to create areas where only a list of players can modify blocks and other aspects about the world within it. These come from the WorldGuard plugin, which has online documentation here.

Regions serve purposes besides preventing other players from modifying builds. One of the most common requests is to add saturation and maptools (i.e. setting the parent region as saturation_maptools). This gives the region automatic saturation and allows players to use debug sticks.

What is WorldEdit?

WorldEdit is a plugin which allows staff members to help players remove tedious tasks from map building. This is done by modifying large areas or by using the copy and paste feature to create several copies of the same build. Some common uses of WorldEdit are to fill in a large floor or wall, copy and paste decorative trees, stack up walls, or to change one block into a palette of several blocks.

For documentation about all of the WorldEdit commands, visit this documentation link.

Can Greens modify their own regions?

Greens cannot modify the shape of regions nor the members/owners of a region. They can, however, modify a list of flags which change aspects of the region, such as locking the day and night cycle to a specific time or by preventing buttons from being pressed. The list of normal plugin flags and custom server flags can be found in this forum thread.

What map building tools can Greens use?

Greens have several tools for mapmaking.

Greens can test some aspects of maps (mainly Scripts) by using the Test Server which functions the same as the main server.
Greens can use debug sticks. However, these are limited to regions with saturation_maptools set as a parent.
Greens can use different sites to generate Minecraft commands. Two of the most popular sites for this purpose are MCStacker and Minecraft Tools.
Greens can use the Minecraft Heads website to get player heads. Since Minr uses the Head Database Server Plugin that comes from this site, Greens can run /hdb commands, including those that appear on playerhead pages.
Greens can get the head of a specific player by running /phead Insert Username Here.
Greens can hold flint in their mainhand and use it to modify armorstands.
Greens can use a block geometry creator site to generate the build shape for different large shapes in Minecraft.
Greens can get inspiration for or use palettes from the Block Palettes website.
Greens can create gradients between two blocks to use as palettes from HueBlocks.
Greens can create complicated block display creations using the Block Display Engine website.
Greens can create their own textures or 3D assets to use in map resource packs with Blockbench.

Alongside general tools, there are several warps on the server which exist to give players more tools to work with.

akmaphub is a warp for converting images into filled maps that can be used in item frames as decorations. The Void, as an example, uses these.
chillshop is a warp for generating and obtaining items that would typically need complicated commands to give to the player.
custom_models is a warp full of complex decorations made using armorstands. These can be copy pasted into your own map.
mapmaking is a warp for new mapmakers to receive tutorials on how to build common areas like trees, buildings, and so on.
palette is a warp with a few palettes for different common map locations.
slyplaza is a warp with several complex features like choosing a specific leather armor color to use in maps or giving armorstands animations.
tools is a warp with a large amount of Minecraft items used for mapmaking that would need complex commands to obtain otherwise.

Are there any restrictions on map codes or map names?

Map names need to be kept under 32 characters. Map codes are also generally meant to be between 3 and 5 letters characters long (inclusive), but there are some exceptions like City Commute with "cc" and The Exit with "the-exit". Avoiding special characters in map codes and map names is also desirable, including "&" as it leads to funky workarounds plugin-wise like needing apostrophes to reference any map codes with ampersands (e.g. for Fire & Ice Maze, /map info f&i fails, but /map info 'f&i' works).

Is there a formal way to call for playtesters?

Mapmakers can use the map submission form on the Forums and ask for the map to be set for Testing. This is a public way to call for testers for your map. One example of this process can be seen in this thread for Cliffs of Mayhem.

Another option is to ping the @Tester role in Discord to have players test your map. This role is seldom used, however.

Are there limits to listing creators for a map?

No. Who is listed as a creator typically comes down to the preference of the people who worked on the project. In some cases, especially community projects, Minr is listed as a creator to symbolize excess creators for a map. This is not a requirement, especially in recent times with the list of map creators being stored in the plugin instead of solely on signs. Kino Horror, for example, lists eight creators.

Do maps support resource packs?

Maps do support resource packs. The file must be hosted on a website, with two common methods being on MCPacks and GitHub.

Scripts

What are Scripts?

Scripts are a server made system that allows players to implement rudimentary code into maps. Scripts allows for everything from running Minecraft commands to complex logic systems seen in Bomb Squad and Skullerful. Scripts can be triggered in several ways: by clicking a block, walking over a block, entering an invisible region, and so on.

Where can I ask about scripts?

Script questions are best asked in the #scripting channel in Discord or in the Minr Scripts subforum on the Forums.

How can I learn scripts?

The #scripting channel in the Discord is a good place to ask for help regarding scripts. There is also script documentation here which lists everything about scripts and includes an appendix for all built-in types and methods in scripts. There are also several resources in Greenie Resources, including the ones below.

Scripts with rman! (Beginner Introduction)

Tutorial (beginner) -- a tutorial included in the documentation. Slightly broader than Scripts with rman! but not as deep.

Functions! A How-To Guide (intermediate) -- what functions are and how to create your own.

Custom Types - A Comprehensive Guide (advanced) -- what custom types are and how to create your own.

Guide to yeroc% -- what yeroc% skips are and how to fix them.

Are there any scripting tools?

There are several scripting tools available. Exporting and importing scripts use paste.minr.org, a script website that works similar to notepad. There is also a Visual Studio Code extension linked here for Minr Scripts.

Map Events and Awards

How do Map Competitions and Jams work?

Mapjams and map competitions work by having players build a map over a period of time (usually within a week for jams and over several months for competitions). These competitions typically have a type of map or theme that all maps submitted must follow. Maps are then judged by a panel of around five judges and graded on several criteria to determine a winner.

Are there any awards maps can receive?

Maps can receive awards in two ways: by being voted as a high quality map by FFA+ / Map of the Year, or by placing well in map competition events. FFA+ maps receive special boxes, and maps that place well in competitions or Map of the Year receive notes about it above the FFA+ box entrances.

What is White Map Tag?

White Map Tag is an event headed by Board to encourage players to create White difficulty maps. Tagged players create a map and then tag up to three other players to continue the chain. Specific event details and currently tagged players can be viewed in this forum thread. Players that publish a map for White Map Tag receive a cosmetic trail.