How to request stuff the "better' way...

[Finnuval]

So recently I have been requesting resources again both public and in PM and both free and payed.
However I am amazed at the responces I have been getting all over the place...

creators apologizing for taking 2 days before responding.. (WTF?)
creators being relieved and grateful for my 'understanding'...(You kidding me right!)
creators telling me they wished more ppl would behave like me... (Oh boy...)

It amazes me and it appals me... The latter because that means a lot of folk are being total idiots when requesting stuff appearantly! They behave entitled and impatient and/or they are unclear in their request and put the blame of "not getting it" at the feet of the person they are asking.

It also means they are being very counter-productive because let's face it, who's gonna want to make stuff for someone that's behaving like a total tool?! I know I wouldn't!

So at th risk of coming across like Im waving my finger a bit Im just going to share how I approach making a request in the hope that ppl will pick up a thing or two from it, creators being more happy with getting requests again and all of you to have a better chance at actually getting what you want when making requests! (and to get this of my chest xD)


So, let's start with the most obvious thing :

- You are requesting someone to do something for you. You are dependant on them, not the other way around. No creator is spending their days waiting for some random stranger to ask them to make a floortile for them. period. So dont act like you are doing them a favor.
- Creators are real ppl and real ppl have real lives! They have jobs, families, happy times, illnes, bad days, etc. They do not spend their day waiting for a virtual message from a total stranger so guess what? They might take a while to respond to you. This is normal, logical and natural!
- lso realize you are on a site that has various ppl from all over the world. Timezones are a thing!!! when its day at your place it could well be 3am where I live!
- It doesn't matter if you are willing to pay them or are asking for a freebie. They need to be the ones wanting to do something for you. If you behave like a tool you are shooting yourself in the foot! I have had instances myself where I wanted to help someone until they acted like an idiot and I was like - even if you payed me a million bucks I wouldnt anymore. So keep that in mind folks.
- There is no shame or harm in asking - even for free stuff - BUT realize and accept that NO is a valid answer and needs no further explanation. It is NOT some personal attack on you either.
The creator might not have the time, confidence or simply has better more fun things to do. If I can spend a day making a battler for you or spend it with my son at the county fair...Guess what, you loose xD Accept that and move on! Simple as that.
- Be polite, don't act entitled and have patience... it will go a long way in getting you what you want. And even if it doesn't that is no reason to act like a fool!


Now that the basics are down let's talk on actually making a request and how to get what it is you want and not have to spend 3 days going back and forth getting something else completly...

- Be clear in your description of what it is you want.
- if there are variations you want, specify! Be detailed and clear.
- Look for and provide reference material. If you cant make your own... well there is Google and you can find EVERYTHINg on google! So you want a bench in a certain way... send a reference pic and expolain
what bits you like and what bits you dont so the creator can easier understand what you are going for.
- Give a brief desciption of your game's setting (timeperiod and style) so the creator knows in what style they should think. There is a HUGE difference between a car (2128) and a car (1887) if you don't specify - thats your mistake not that of the creator!
- DON'T write 20 pages of game synopsis tho - there is a thing as too much info!
- If the creator bombards you with additional questions - answer them. They are asking because they want to get as close to what you want as possible.
Don't be "I dont care" cause if YOU don't care - why should they care?

But most importantly do NOT flood their inbox or thread or your own request thread with message after message!

Start with your first PM by asking if they want to do something for you with a breif desciption of what it is. If they say yes follow the above tips.

And for the love of... Do NOT go and send every creator out there a message in the hopes someone will repsond. NO!!!
Keep it sparse, stay humble and once in a while you can try to go the PM route (unless you are directly commissioning ofcourse) but accept that NO is an answer at all times!


And that's it. Just don't be a tool basically...

It still amazes me I had to write this stuff down but... here we are.

 

[Sir_Vinny]

It's surprising how entitled some people can be and it's saddening, hopefully, they'll simmer down from that toxic behavior

 

[PixeLockeT]

Some tools are fine to be. Like the tool called RPG Maker. u wu

But in all seriousness, I've been yelled at repeatedly before for being too slow, even though I am up front about my health issues from the jump. I had some person "commission" me, take the thing, then not pay me anything even after they took it because I "took too long". lol

 

[Finnuval]

@Sir_Vinny yeah you can say that again.
@PixeLockeT See, that just pisses me off!

 

[QuexpRPG]

I see the "everybody owes me something for nothing" mentality a lot, especially in online yard sale sites. I've had people get mad at me for not dropping my price when they lowball me, or for not being willing to deliver to the next town. Thankfully, I have not dealt with it personally in the forums but have seen people do it to others. Mods have been good about helping people tone it down a bit though.

This unwarranted sense of entitlement is incredibly annoying. People are just plain RUDE. Even pre-COVID, my employer treated us to a day at an amusement park and people complained about the meal that was served. "The least they could have done was [blah blah blah]." Are you frickin' kidding me?!? Work just spent a ton of money for us to have a fun day with our families and people got mad about the company being "cheap". Give me a break!

 

[Finnuval]

@Quexp yeah it doesn't Just hold true for online things, sadly.

 

[PixeLockeT]

I purposely make my services cheaper than what I see others do, to offset for my poor turnaround time. I thought that'd fix any problems. XD' But I think these types would have an issue no matter what luxury they have, kinda of how it was pointed out up above.

 

[The Stranger]

I think that sometimes we apologise as a matter of courtesy if we take too long to respond. Now, maybe there are people who genuinely verbally abuse others if they don't respond for two days, but I think a lot of it is just being polite; like saying please and thank you. I don't know, maybe it's just a British thing to say sorry for everything. xD

I also think some people forget that most of the classifieds here aren't made by professionals, but by passionate individuals. Sure, some do this for a living (I've worked with one or two who do so), but from what I can see, most do it because they want to, not because they really need to. Keeping this in mind is important. They have no standards beyond their own moral compass to adhere to, so there's none of that bs "the customer is always right" ideology that still exists in this day and age.

Just be polite and civil. Speak to them how you'd like to be spoken to, and remember that for many this isn't their job, so they might take longer to respond than someone doing this for a living.

 

[ShadowDragon]

nice topic, and there should be more with patient, not just like you,
I am patient too and also have a real live, but there is a slight error
you made

- Look for and provide reference material. If you cant make your own... well there is Google and you can find EVERYTHINg on google!

Google doesn't know "anyhting".

there is also a shirt with similair print,
"I don't need google, I got my mom" (which know everything, but isn't true either).

but I can say, you cann find 90% of the stuff online or close to it.
so I totally agree with all the other stuff.

be patient is probably the most important a person need to have, if they have
a deadline to make, they should ask in the classified section or elsewhere

 

[Finnuval]

Google doesn't know "anyhting".

Google might not know anything however what I ment with that is in regard to reference material.

There isnt a subject out there you can not find An image of on Google. You might not know what to search for exactly or where which can be more of An issue then it not being there, especially with more obscure things.
However...
I cant draw or i cant find a good picture isnt a real excuse not to be able to give reference.
Even if you can not find exactly what you are looking for there are enough pictures of all sorts that you can pick to say this part from this picture and this bit from that picture is what i want.

That is what i ment by that anyway, sorry if that might have been unclear or ill-explained in any way.

 

[ShadowDragon]

I knew what you ment, but if you combine 2-5 pictures into one,
you also have a close reference to it for a tile.

I can draw, not pixel art or peoples, those arent my thing as well.
so I combine RTP with other free stuff, edit to look nicely as far as
I can go and I do it what I got.

However, for my menu for example, the images arent RTP or pixel, but more
graphics and it looks nice, even if it doesn't fit, but that make the menu
or art in your game unique, something that is "truly" yours.

Noone is perfect, if you cannot draw or create art, and ask or commision,
you MUST respect him/her in any way, if he is late because of a deadline
and not paying, it would be also illigal to use.

Most creators that made tiles should send a license for the art "when paid",
without this license, they are illigal using tiles "theft and piracy".

 

[The Stranger]

Most creators that made tiles should send a license for the art "when paid",
without this license, they are illigal using tiles "theft and piracy".

I've never once been given a license for any commission from here. The only time I've gotten licenses was when buying resource packs from the RM store, or when buying non-exclusive resources from elsewhere.

I'm guessing the vast majority don't consider commissions worth writing a license for. I keep all email exchanges, however, but that's mostly because they often contain links to the commissions themselves. lol.

 

[bgillisp]

Most art I've ordered is watermarked or incomplete (like I'll see 1 frame of 3 or something) until I pay for it.

 

[Finnuval]

Most art I've ordered is watermarked or incomplete (like I'll see 1 frame of 3 or something) until I pay for it.

That's Just good and smart business sense I say. More creators should do that xD

 

[ShadowDragon]

license dont have to be big, but also some "proof" that you paid for them
in the commission, or dont give out unless it's paid.

if it's specific for his game, and he dont pay for it, why not just throw it in public?
if he dont like that that and want it removed, others cannot use it unless the
commissioner paid and ask for removal.

there is a plugin by KageDesu (picklock plugin) for plugin someone commissioned,
and desided to remove for public, so anyone having the "basic" cannot use that
plugin either anymore unless it's public again

so I respect the wished of him and the commissioner to do so

 

[The Stranger]

there is a plugin by KageDesu (picklock plugin) for plugin someone commissioned,
and desided to remove for public, so anyone having the "basic" cannot use that
plugin either anymore unless it's public again

I'm no solicitor, but I don't think licenses can be revoked once given. So, if people already have that script under the public license, the creator can't just turn around and tell them they can't use it anymore. You can choose not to use it out of a respect, as you said, but it's not something they can compel you to do.

I could be wrong, though.

 

[bgillisp]

Also on the licenses, my faceset artist started using licenses late on in our working together. I was gradnfathered in so not required to get it or show it (they told me that in email) but they did add it in over time. Sometimes these are things you learn as you go too.

And I've also yet to work with an artist that doesn't at least require half up front. Most require full pay before we start. My faceset artist and most spriters were that way. My composer didn't require payment up front but only sent small samples until payment arrived. Well at least until I got to the point we'd been working together for 2 years (as by then they figured they could send full track then the invoice).

 

[Finnuval]

I'm no solicitor, but I don't think licenses can be revoked once given. So, if people already have that script under the public license, the creator can't just turn around and tell them they can't use it anymore. You can choose not to use it out of a respect, as you said, but it's not something they can compel you to do.

I could be wrong, though.

Well its the same as what happend with yanfly in a sense.
Those ppl who already got IT you cant touch. You can prohibit further spread and set a license for future users tho

 

[ShadowDragon]

yanfly told the one that they have it, dont need too, but they cannot get the
newest for free because loads use the plugins before paidwall.

I respect the creator, and the commissioner though, they do awesome work
js isn't easy either, I keep learning, but I got some plugins not for public
but some can be shared, some are specific for my games use.

but each choose their own rules and terms on their tileset, plugins, etc.
some can request, and can decline whenever they want or dont see use
for it so you have to respect that

whatever you do and the authors, respect them in any way
respect is not given as well, but you MUST earn it.

it works 2 ways.

 

[Shaz]

Moving to Resource Requests.
Pinning.