It is possible to use unique "tags" in the text descriptions of maps.
So if an author wants to tag a series of maps they can all have the same "hashtag", for Instance "#ConquestSeries" and then other players can filter by that hashtag.
Also possible is closer identification of maps by characteristics. eg. #Series, #hard, #small, #puzzle, #CRPL, #noCRPL, etc. are all a few of the off-the-cuff ideas.
For those of you that have already uploaded map series, after Christmas I'm sure Virgil would not mind adding the necessary hashtags to your maps.
Also, I'm thinking that there is room for innovation in that area and we may see how this idea takes off.
I've uploaded my backlog of maps, using the following tags:
#Digitalis / #NoDigitalis = Indicates whether a digitalis threat is present.
#Spores / #NoSpores = Indicates whether a threat from spores is present.
#TechLimits / #NoTechLimits = Indicates whether the map significantly restricts the player's technology. If it does, I also tag specific examples such as #NoBerthas or #NoTerps.
#CRPL = Indicates that the map includes special scripting.
#Puzzle = Indicates that the map's main challenge lies in figuring out what to do, rather than doing it.
#RealWorld = Indicates that a map is based on a real location rather than on fictional geography. I've also used more specific tags such as #Asia.
In my more recent maps, I've included tags (much as TP said) such as the following:
#Digitalis - #noDigitalis
#CRPL - #noCRPL
#Islands - indicating that the map is comprised of many 'islands' of terrain.
#Void - indicating that void comprises a significant portion of the map.
#Alpha - indicating that the map was updated to it's present state from the Alpha Sector.
More tags moved over from the less successful Colonial Space #description_tags (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=15078.0) topic
USEFUL INFORMATION
#Digitalis
#NoDigitalis
#Spores
#NoSpores
#CRPL
#NoCRPL
#CustomEnemy
#Sounds or #CustomSounds
#NoSounds or #Silent
GENRES
#puzzle
#survival
#void
#CW1
#CW2
FORMAT
#islands
#landmass
DERIVATIVES
#CannotGuaranteeSporeFree
CLAIMED
#Jmaps (J only)
#NinjaMaps (Ninjadude501 only)
#3P (ThirdParty only)
#Costarella (Clean0nion only)
#MadMag = Me
#EasterEgg = Will definitly have one, if not posted as a tag, there might be one.. search..
#Detail = Special graphics on units and terrain
If the map requires a shield key, a tag to reflect that. Something like
#RequiresShieldKey: (Map name or number)
It should probably also be up front in the description so people can tell at a glance, and without reading the entire map description first. I can envision spoilers for a map series like ETG being there, so it's good to make it a bit harder to find those by accident. Incidentally:
#Series: Map 3
#teks = me ::)
#ACassist = either AC helping you for free, or assisting AC in winning (ie powering pyramids)
#firepower = lots of PZ's either available at the start or as you go along, generally means it's a dense creeper map
I said this in another thread, but here goes:
We need a way to upvote / downvote / add hashtags to maps. This way the tag system would be more democratic, the tags would gain relevance, and there would be a uniformity of tags to use.
Quote from: burguertime on February 17, 2014, 05:29:57 PM
I said this in another thread, but here goes:
We need a way to upvote / downvote / add hashtags to maps. This way the tag system would be more democratic, the tags would gain relevance, and there would be a uniformity of tags to use.
seconded!
Thirded.
Also the ability to click on a tag and see all maps with that tag, like with the author field.
I'm not so convinced about the up/down vote but I have to agree about being able to add tags on maps, however this gives a great occasion for trolls who would add usless/wrong hastags to every map which would then need to be removed by mods... Or if normal users could also remove tags the trolls would remove all tags on the maps...
On kongregate You can also voet for and add new tags. Tag score=upvotes-downvotes. Only the best 3-5 tags are shown. For CS it it probably better to allow up to 10 tags per map and all tags with a score of at least 5 when searching for tags. (all tags are kept, but only best 10 shown outside tag voting)
What if I'm looking for a very specific tag? For example, most/all of my maps so far are tagged with #Costarella. If that tag isn't voted enough then my maps won't appear in that search.
Unless I'm horribly misinterpreting this, which is likely.
I would think any such system should augment, not override, the author's description hashtags. Author's list + 5 community tags, perhaps.
Do we really gain much with such a system though? How may good map markers are not tagging their maps in a useful way?
Rather than the 5 best I would choose to have all tags over a certain rating because there may be many tags to indicate the same thing, for example #digi #digitalis #hasdigitalis and so on, if I search for #digitalis but those in the top 5 are #digi(9.8/10) #crpl(9.6/10) #spores(9.3/10) #void(8.9/10) and #series(8.4/10) even if #digitalis is voted 7.6/10 I won't find the map because I searched for #digitalis instead of #digi.
I do think it's necessary because
a) There are some authors who don't use hashtags
b) Someone may place #digi on his map but not #digitalis, so I wont find his map if i search for #digitalis
c) An author may not use all the hashtags available, for example there could be an author who made a map consisting of some islands in a sea of creeper, similar to 3p's hawaii, but he only uses the #CRPL #digitalis #runners hashtags without using #islands and #nospores so if I search for #islands or #nospores I don't find his map.
How about a set of pre-set hashtags with a button on each hashtag that automatically places that tag in the description that authors can use? And if they want to make a series or something they can apply for it in a forum thread.
What if a mapmaker doesn't have a forum account?
Also that would be a REALLY long list...
True and that's WITHOUT the trolls adding things
I like the idea of the community being able to add and vote tags on maps. The most upvoted tags would become part of the search parameters for the maps.
However trolls could up vote #series and suchlike so tthe only options would be stuff like #planetfall and suchlike
How about just a thing that the uploader can see when they upload a map?
You get the boxes for username, email, description, then there's a load of buttons in a GUI thing that when clicked, add tags. Things like #Spores, #Digitalis and so on. And all this does is add that tag to the end of your description. Which means you can still freely add custom tags. And this also encourages people who normally don't tag to tag, and so on.
Hhhhmmm that is actually a rely good idea