Tips for making good, balanced mega wads?

[Murderous Owl]

I'm working on a 32 map mega wad (although depending on how the project goes I may decrease the amount of maps) for Doom 2, since I thought it'd be fun, and I wanted to have a way to get lots of practice for making maps. However, I've never made a wad with more than 1 map, so while I have the basics of making individual maps, I am not as experienced with multilevel wads. What are some tips for making sure the gameplay is balanced throughout the wad?

[kalensar]

A simple story line progression that can be shown as you progress does wonders in my opinion. Makes a megawad so much more enjoyable as a silent story. You don't need fancy text blocks or anything to do it. Linearity can be a strong ally for holding people's attention. This tactic goes clear back into the 90s with Team TNT with Icarus Alien Vanguard. Other titles like Hell 2 Pay, Mars War, and many more. It is cliche but it works!

 

Plan weapon progression accordingly. Doom 2 is an excellent reference model for this imo. Same can go for monster introduction as well.

Edited September 19, 2023 by kalensar

[baja blast rd.]

One person's "balanced" is another's "dull" and another's "still too hard." (Mostly "dull" based on how it's used, especially if it's preceded by "fair and"...) It's not a useful descriptor without reference points.

[valkiriforce]

Think about what it is you enjoy about megawads, and study everything you can about it - layouts, monster encounters, how certain enemies/weapons are introduced (gradually or all at once). Also, consider what source port you'd like to target for the project, as it can give you more of a specific goal and it helps to shape the personality of the gameplay experience. The 'vanilla' experience can be more lightweight in terms of visual work and map size, while limit-removing can lead to bigger vistas and larger group encounters. That's not to say either experience is exclusive, though - it all comes down to your personal preference and what makes you most excited about it. You'll have to convince yourself before anyone else when working on a large project.

 

Another good practice is to keep a notepad/document and make a list of potential map names, finished maps and any other useful notes to remember. It could be music tracks, texture packs, sky boxes or anything else you'd like to play around with. Just don't confine yourself too much with a specific rule set, as you should be allowed to experiment and keep the fun of it going in any way that works for you.

[Alfredo]

When it comes to balancing maps (at least in my experience) I tend to start with the UV experience first. Then i playtest  that difficulty until it feels both fair and challenging to me. 

 

Then i follow up by decrementing problematic monsters in the map, such as archviles, pain elementals, and cyberdemons such that fights are easier without them, but still pose some threat to less experienced players. 

 

Another way you could go about balancing difficulties is to leave monster placement the same across all difficulties, and add more resources and powerups on lower difficulties. 

 

When it comes to making a multi level wad, there should be a sense of escalating threat in subsequent levels. Not to say that every level needs to be harder than the last by a clear margin, but a noticable increase in threat density and magnitude should be progressively apparent as the set goes on. How you choose to progress your difficulty is up to you as a mapper and your particular taste and style. 

 

Ultimately though, its going to come down to a lot of personal playtesting and asking yourself. "Does this feel good?". At the end of the day. A balanced wad is a well tested and thought out wad.

[erzboesewicht]

Maybe a controversial opinion, but anyway: Don't make MAP01/E1M1 too easy. I like it when it's slightly below the average difficulty of the set, just like in Plutonia, and when it really shows what you have to expect in later levels. It's a showcase and should not necessarily be beginner friendly if the rest of your mapset is not. I have often quit mapsets because MAP01 and MAP02 were boring, only to retake them later and realizing they weren't that bad.

 

For example, I loved Ancient Aliens' cyberdemon in the first map, even if you don't have to fight it. Kama Sutra, Three's a Crowd and Adonis also have very good MAP01's. You can introduce breather maps later, then they're more necessary as otherwise players will become exhausted, above all in wads with more than 20 levels. For me it's also perfectly ok if you introduce breathers in the last stretch of the mapset, although then it's a good idea to offer something special, like a special kind of gameplay, puzzles, or a great atmosphere.

 

That's just my 2 cents as a player who does map sometimes but isn't experienced at all.

Edited September 19, 2023 by erzboesewicht

[DNSKILL5]

@erzboesewicht that's why I'd suggest for a megawad doing the first two maps last, because it seems a common occurrence is people will redo those levels anyways once they get deeper into the 30 other maps they're designing. The first two maps need to hook the player in.

[RataUnderground]

Put more ammunition than you think is strictly necessary. The vast majority of maps do not benefit at all from being short of ammunition.