What are some good map tropes?

[Breezeep]

After seeing yet another thread where people post stuff they don't like about wads, I thought I'd make something similar, but on a more positive note.

 

To kick this off, I really enjoy maps that use even the default textures to create goofy doomcute stuff like this:

 

^{(From Bellatrix E1)}

Edited January 31, 2023 by Breezeep

[Clippy]

SECRETS PLEASE

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

I like maps where you get to abuse the cyberdemon's buttcheeks.

[Ozcar]

2 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

I like maps where you get to abuse the cyberdemon's buttcheeks.

If they have imp encounter and mancubus encounter.
We need to have cyberdemon encounter.

[Shepardus]

52 minutes ago, Ozcar said:

If they have imp encounter and mancubus encounter.
We need to have cyberdemon encounter.

 

 

[heliumlamb]

Inescapable Death Pits™

[cannonball]

Maps that go out of their way to maximise the freedom of movement of both player and monster. There are a lot of notable staged/Arena fights that are awesome to play through, but that organic element of fluid incidental combat generates a feeling and rush that can’t be beaten in my opinion. Maps like Violence Map03, quite a few maps from Overvoard have this element to (Map06).

[DMPhobos]

I've always appreciate maps that encourage movement for both monsters and players, which leads to unplanned suprise encounters and incidental combat

 

And dunno if it counts as a mapping trope or not, but i've always found it dope when you open the automap and you see a signature or a cool automap art. It's like a really small slice of the mapper personality on a really small thing

[xScavengerWolfx]

Good map tropes? Now this post i can get behind.

 

Jokes aside for me i try to make environment decorations and underground caves / caverns. For some weird reason i can't make cool looking badass tech bases but i can make cool looking caves / caverns for doom maps. 

 

Also this is more of Plutoina style mapping but being a dick with Arch-Vile placements with chaingunners is so brutal but fun at the same time. Oh and throw in some boners and you got a raging fun time

 

[TheMightyWhoosh]

Habitat showcases all possible great map tropes. 

[Residue]

I am a sucker for weapon pickups that open monster ambushes

 

My doctor says it's not healthy

[jerk-o]

43 minutes ago, TheMightyWhoosh said:

Habitat showcases all possible great map tropes. 

Chasm has better map tropes than Habitat.

[Bri]

I've always enjoyed levels that intertwine or loop around on itself, reusing space, backtracking in interesting ways, etc. It's great for making an otherwise linear level feel more open and non-linear.

[mrthejoshmon]

Not much of a gameplay thing but I wish there were more maps that showed off previous battles that you weren't there for:

 

 

[Roofi]

A lot of people find this controversial due to some tragic events of the late 90's but recreating real-life places in Doom was a fun trope. Those were often messy and exploration-heavy and I like to search the place on google in order to compare.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Roofi

[Somniac]

26 minutes ago, Roofi said:

A lot of people find this controversial due to some tragic events of the late 90's but recreating real-life places in Doom was a fun trope. Those were often messy and exploration-heavy and I like to search the place on google in order to compare.

 

The Trinity College wad is still really cool IMO, I think a bunch of the textures were made from actual photographs of the place too.

 

Also, not a gameplay trope, but I like seeing little sector computers. Even better if they have tiny buttons. 

[Jacek Bourne]

Platforming

Ammo and Health Famine

Complex Layouts

Complex Fights

Platforming Fights

Gimmick maps and fights

Curvy Terrain

Extreme Detail

Inescapable Pits 

Platforming over inescapable pits

Edited February 1, 2023 by Jacek Bourne

[Dusty_Rhodes]

8 hours ago, jerk-o said:

Chasm has better map tropes than Habitat.

This but unironically; The Chasm kicks ass.

 

Anyway, my personal favorites:

 

Large and impressive macro - architecture (for me, think the French speedmap megawads, some of the CChest maps, some Ribbiks [maps I'm not good enough to play heh], Eternal Doom, stuff by my friend @Stupid Bunny, stuff by my friend @Kyka, etc.)

Floors lowering to show off impressive monster counts (best if you have lots of big guns and ammo to gib them)

Floors lowering to show off impressive vistas - the "Exiting the Vault in Fallout 3" effect (New Vegas and the first Fallout are better tho)

Nature - sand, flowers, trees, GRASS2, WFALL1-4, FWATER1-4, etc. (my own wads usually use this but others do it much better, see Epic 2, Eternal Doom, Lost Civilization, etc.)

A combination of small fights that build momentum and larger scale arenas 

Plutonia - styled jungle bases

TNT - styled tech bases

Shores of Hell - styled castles / bases

Doomcute

Maps that are fun on Nightmare! (lots of health, good mix of enemies, more than just a shotgun)

Community Chest - styled bases, outdoor areas, Hell castles, etc.

Archvile teleports to keep things lively

Rocket Launcher and BFG heavy maps (not necessarily high difficulty, I just love gibs. If you've played my Mayhem 2022 map, you understand what I like - just ignore that that map kinda sucks) 

METAL2

METAL5

Colormaps, Tranmaps, ceilings and floors with different light values, anything Boom cosmetic

Faked colormaps with recolored textures (I never get tired of this, I always find it cool)

Vanilla hacks that work in DOS

 

That's all I can think of now. Doom is great, love positivity threads.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Dusty_Rhodes

[kwc]

I really like when there are a couple of medikits right next to the level exit.

[Endless]

I really enjoy fantasy-slaughter mini arenas where there's dozens or hundreds of tightly packed Imps or Zombiemen. Easy to kill, satisfying to gib.

 

Continuous exits that connect with the next map are great.

 

Secrets inside secrets are always fun to find.

 

Maps that make heavy use of gore textures and sprites.

 

Secret areas to explore, not just small rooms with items, but actually large extra areas.

 

Endless horizons.

 

90s skyboxes.

 

Natural landscapes or outdoors.

 

Easter eggs to community knowledge or happenings.

 

Ruins or abandoned stuff.

[slowfade]

Allowing a possibility, however theoretical, for pacifist completion.

I imagine this might divide opinions, with some seeing pacifist completion as an achievement that should be invented by players only against all odds using bizarre strategies. While I totally love all that, I still want to give some of my maps a fair chance. Just yesterday I went through additional trouble to add some stuff that enabled a theoretical stroller route in one of my maps. A nightmare to execute, but should be possible with the right luck and skill.

Edited February 1, 2023 by slowfade
typo

[LadyMistDragon]

Ancient ruins are always a win, Egyptian or otherwise.

 

Also, the purple and blue of Ancient ALien-esque maps.

 

Doomcute, mostly :D)

 

Macroarchitecture.   I really like what certain difficult maps convey with their scale

 

E3 Hell themes.

[Ozcar]

I actually like gothic/medieval map.

[Stupid Bunny]

Big secret areas. Little closety secrets are whatever, secrets giving access to tantalizing windows and ledges and blocking midtextures, good fun, but there's nothing like a whole sub-level of secret area with its own mini-secrets, its own encounters and battle scenarios, whole different views and visuals, doors using keys mysteriously dropped elsewhere...God I love it. One of the first levels I ever made, ever, was going to be like 90% secret areas, and of all the dumb concepts I explored in those early days that's the only one I should seriously revisit.

 

I've also gotten to putting secret light-amp goggles near the end of maps as a fun thing to find and an excuse to use Doom's most forgotten item. I even like finding secrets that just have a couple blue juices or something stupid like that, not everything needs to have an essential balancing role to be fun.

 

Switches that don't do have any gameplay impact whatsoever but do some cute environmental thing always tickle me hard.

 

Wide open outdoor spaces are awesome, but more love always to wide open dark cavernous interior spaces with bottomless drops and no visible sky whatsoever. @Dusty_Rhodes is right that The Chasm is unironically great and inspiring partly for this reason. (Glad you like my big maps btw)

[MemeMind]

I like short and punchy maps. I have ADHD so its difficult for me to care about long and vast maps. Pair that with an addictive midi and thats what im looking for.

[Noiser]

- Crushers!
- Weird use of textures, especially on hellish maps
- Scrolling textures
- Literal mazes (i.e. E1M4 or E3M7)
- Blinky lights that fullfill an entire room (i.e. E1M2 or E1M5)
- Floors moving up and down
- Weird gimmicks and puzzle-solving
- Non-linearity\interconnected layout
- Secrets inside secrets

[Xaser]

Dioramas.

 

 

Gameplay-wise, an ample supply of rockets vs. a pile of zombiemen or imps never gets old. Gimme gibs!

[Dusty_Rhodes]

1 hour ago, kwc said:

I really like when there are a couple of medikits right next to the level exit.

This is the best answer honestly. Little practical bits like that are ones I forget to add to my own maps, since I test them from pistol start. It's funny, I intend them to be played in continuous.

 

1 hour ago, Endless said:

Continuous exits that connect with the next map are great.

 

Secrets inside secrets are always fun to find.

These are some of my favorites. Really fleshed out secrets with more to discover is always satisfying. And as someone who loves narrative (written and unwritten) in Doom, the flowing exits and entrances are incredible.

 

1 hour ago, Endless said:

 

Secret areas to explore, not just small rooms with items, but actually large extra areas.

 

Endless horizons.

 

90s skyboxes.

 

Natural landscapes or outdoors.

 

Easter eggs to community knowledge or happenings.

 

Ruins or abandoned stuff.

All of this stuff too. Love it.

 

43 minutes ago, Stupid Bunny said:

I've also gotten to putting secret light-amp goggles near the end of maps as a fun thing to find and an excuse to use Doom's most forgotten item.

Now that you mention it, I've never placed a light amp gog in any of the maps I've ever made. Released or otherwise. Weird

[purist]

I'm going to interpret this as "things that are done all the time in Doom but never get old". Possibly my favourite are zombiemen placed tactically to be exploded by barrels. I don't think I will ever lose appreciation for this.

[dististik]

Continous exits are always cool, but I think my favorite "trope" is weird/unusual/overused uses of liquid textures and flats. Toilet of the Gods map01 is a really good example but even stuff like putting a liquid texture on the ceiling like e1m8 is weirdly aesthetically appealing to me.