Topic: Naming Conventions?

[vorpal86]

Hi. I just want to ask what is the best way to name our maps so that when maps are submitted, Jon or whoever else posts them don't have to rename them for the site? I noticed the first maps I sent in for Neutopia were renamed and I felt kinda bad another person had to rename them. :-/



Thanks!

[TerraEsperZ]

I don't think there's any formal way to name maps.



Personally, I make sure to include the name of the game, the number and/or name of the area and whatever other information is necessary to differentiate the map (season, day/night, secret revealed, intact/destroyed, etc).



I also like to include a numbering system in the name so that when the files are listed alphabetically, they will appear in an order close to how they are seen in the game.



For example, if I can make a map from a scene seen in a game's intro sequence, it'll probably end up being name "Game - 00 - Intro - City Street", "00" being used to indicate that it's not a *real* map. But in the end, you do whatever works best for you. I try to make the names as explicit as possible mostly for myself because I like knowing exactly what each map is about just from browsing my map directory in Windows Explorer.



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Current projects: Ristar-The Shooting Star (Gen), Sonic The Hedgehog (Gen), Sonic CD (Sega CD), Mega Man Zero (GBA), Battletoads (NES), Bucky O'Hare (NES)

[JonLeung]

As you can see, on any map, there's the name of the game, and as full a name of the area as possible.  Whenever known, the in-game name of the area is preferred.  Be sure of spelling and punctuation, mind your sequel numbers (are they "2"s and "3"s, or are they "II"s and "III"s?), and remember the subtitles.  I hate spaces and underscores.  Don't send me "FF7" maps when you should be sending in "FinalFantasyVII" maps, etc.  If maps are sequential, but don't actually have numbers, you can sneak a number in the filename, before the area name would be best, making it clear to me that they shouldn't be part of the actual filename when they're put up.



Most people are pretty good about all this.  Even if they don't name the files exactly, at least there's some logic behind the filenames.  I'm not a total idiot, so I can figure it out.



You'd be surprised, though...sometimes someone will send in multiple maps from different games without saying what they are, and the maps have non-descriptive filenames and they're of games I can't readily identify.  Just a random hodgepodge of maps.  And I'm supposed to figure these out without a clue?  Often I'd rather people treat me like a total idiot, it'd be easier if I didn't have to rename files.  Sometimes, renaming can be a large part of what holds up putting up maps.

[vorpal86]

@Terra

I myself always list with numbers at least, even on my own personal files on the HD. I love to find stuff easily. And yeah, explicit naming is an idea. It's hard to tell what's what if not.



@Jon

OK.. I've noticed the naming in most maps here and will use as reference. So I'll try and be detailed oriented about it. I also don't use spaced when I know something will be posted to the web. I only use spaces for local files. I'm just trying to make sure I name them good enough so that they do not need to be renamed. I know it's a burden, and proper naming is very helpful.



Thanks for the input.

[Will]

I usually name maps originally to their names, unless they are not indicated or unidentified. The Megaman Battle Network areas don't directly indicate their map names directly and so I always adopt them convienient titles such as the individual rooms in the Waterworks and Science Lab. There are times when I do rename maps for convenience sake. I renamed the software maps with the ending title 'System' to create an ideal list when dividing those maps between the Software and Hardware worlds in the quasi-chronological order. I'm not the guy who would call a place a furnace when its actually a dining room unless of course its Resident Evil style (In the movie of Resident Evil, the incubation chamber that contains the flesh men/lickers is called the dining room to cover Umbrella's illegal activities). Don't feel bad about it vorpal, you'll get used to matching names and identifications to the primary and secondary titles of maps. GameFAQs might help, but not always.