So You Want To Be A Nali City Reviewer?

So you've followed a link here thinking, "hey, it would be fun to review for Nali City," the most visited Unreal/UT map and review site on the Net. Maybe you do. Maybe you don't. Nali City v3.0 reviewers are going to be expected to be able to review at least one map a week; this entails not only playing the map through with bots, but also opening the map up in UnrealED and scouting things out, in addition to understanding what you see there at least a bit. You don't have to be a first-rate mapper or even a second-rate mapper, but if you've never even opened UEd, are wondering "what the heck is UnrealEd?" or don't know the difference between a semi-solid or a non-solid, sorry, you should pass. There's several sites out there which we like and enjoy that review maps strictly for players to have fun, and others that concern themselves with the technical. Nali City has to concern itself with both, and to that end we've constructed a great review schema. Note: We don't wanna discourage anyone; by all means, if you feel that you know a good map when you see one and can relate what makes that map good, go ahead and apply. UnrealEd experience is always a bonus. But first, here's a couple of things to keep in mind:

1.) How busy are you with Real Life(tm)? All too often, we've seen excited new reviewers fizzle out and vanish within a few months. Do you really have the time to extensively test at least one map a week and write a well thought-out review?

2.) Have you read enough of our reviews as well as other review sites' reviews, in addition to having played enough maps to know what makes a map "good"? Sure, rotating rainbow dynamic lights or fullbright, misaligned rooms may seem "cool" to you, but, quite frankly, those suck.

3.) Do you have a thick skin and sense of humor? Hate to say it cause it's been said, but opinions are like asses: Everyone has one, and all of 'em stink. Everyone will never agree, so you should expect to get criticism for your reviews, both good and bad. Can you take bad criticism and separate the content from the flame? Or will your ego be crushed if someone attacks you on the NC forum? Keep this in mind.

I could go on, but you get the general idea. Are you smart enough, tough enough, and have you got the guts to WIN BEN STEIN'S MON...er, REVIEW FOR NALI CITY? If so, here's what you should do!

A.) Read up on our review schema. This shows you what categories we grade on, and EXACTLY how we'd like our reviewers to evaluate maps from now on. We're trying to take as much personal taste out of reviewing as possible and strip maps down to their substance.

B.) Choose THREE (3) maps that are as-of-yet-unreviewed. Pick your favorite gametype, if you want. At least one should be an above average map.

C.) Write a review for those three maps, including either one or two screenshots at 800x600 (WidthxHeight) pixels for each map. Use our scoring schema, but don't worry about calculating the final score. Just give us the scores for each category.

D.) Fill out this application. You need to be registered with NaliCity, it speeds up the process. All that stands between you and a position as reviewer is the opinion of current reviewers and admins about your application. Our currently reviewers and admins will review your application and you'll get an email about the verdict.

-OR-

You can email your application to MassChAoS. Include your three reviews, screenshots, and some information about past non-personal history (such as favorite maps, editing experience, or review experience). My e-mail address is masschaos@beyondunreal.com. The subject should be: "Nali City Review Application" so I can auto-filter your application into the separate folder. Can you follow directions? =)

E.) From this point on, be patient! It may take some time before the application is reviewed.

If this all seems like a long process just to recruit reviewers, it is. We want to ensure that all of Nali City's future reviewers will continue to be the best combination of "fun" and "technical" that we can have. And above all, we want to be damn sure you love this game and you love exploring third-party maps, and don't just play CTF-Face and DM-Deck16 exclusively. :)

Now, get writing! And good luck.