Questions about doom mapping

[Sneezy McGlassFace]

Make maps you'd like to play. Nothing more to it. 

[whybmonotacrab]

 

7 minutes ago, Sneezy McGlassFace said:

Make maps you'd like to play. Nothing more to it. 

This. If you enjoy your map, people with similar tastes will also enjoy it. Make something you find fun, and don't worry about anything else. When you're playing other maps take note of things you like and things you don't like and try to incorporate the things you like into your maps and avoid the things you don't like. What makes a map good is subjective. Some people like hard maps, some people don't. Some people like massive maps, some people only like short maps. Make what makes you happy.

[Pechudin]

Crates in the first 5 seconds.

[Amaruψ]

7 hours ago, RDETalus said:

I like a lot of switches, platforms, doors, etc... anything that moves in a level.

 

I've at last found the fan of Habitat.

[rita remton]

umm... my 2 cents worth:

1. good map flow, such that the player does not even need to refer to the automap to know where they should be going. the map's layout guides the player, not the automap. it does not have to be a linear map though, and the main pathway could have branches, but the pathways that branches off should loop back to the main pathway. note: this is very challenging to make in non-linear aka open-world maps.
2. on the same note as above, never force the player to retrace the player's steps. for instance, the player enters a room through the door, then the player should exit the room not by the same door, but via another door or through the window.
3. avoid making rooms too large except for nice slaughtery encounters. the bigger the room, the more detailing the mapper has to make. also, the intensity of battles are affected by room size to an extent. for example, fighting 4 hellknights in 320x320mu room is much more intense then fighting them in a 960x960mu room.
4. lights and shadows, please.

that's all i can think of off my head. good luck :)

Edited April 9 by rita remton

[roadworx]

6 minutes ago, rita remton said:

never force the player to retrace the player's steps. for instance, the player enters a room through the door, then the player should exit the room not by the same door, but via another door or through the window.

nah, this isn't great advice. dead ends are fine as long as the branching path is either very short or you're repopulating the area behind the player, though even then there's exceptions to that. besides, they give a great opportunity to pressure the player with enemies coming in from behind :)

 

trying to make zero dead ends at all times, especially when you're starting out, is just gonna make things way more difficult than necessary

[rita remton]

2 minutes ago, roadworx said:

dead ends are fine as long as the branching path is either very short or you're repopulating the area behind the player, though even then there's exceptions to that. besides, they give a great opportunity to pressure the player with enemies coming in from behind :)

 

good points! i agree. thanks :)

[Artinum]

A map should tell a story.

 

I don't mean in the RPG sense (though you certainly can do that). It should have a reason behind it, a purpose that you're trying to achieve. The player should have a clear objective.

 

It's perfectly fine to have a story as simple as "here is an insane number of demons and all the weapons. Slaughter them all!" But those stories can get quite dull unless you can tell them a little differently with some gimmick or stylistic choices. A slaughter map in an artistic setting is more interesting than one in a huge Startan2 arena.

 

In essence, don't just have a map where you're going from A to B and maybe killing some monsters on the way. Give the map a sense of purpose - what is it? A haunted house? A base under siege? A spooky temple? An underground cave? A region of Hell? Lean into that.

 

There's also the art of the story teller to consider - give the player consistency and familiarity (such as making doors and switches work consistently and falling back on commonly used motifs - if you want shootable switches, for instance, introduce them early so players learn that they are being used and think to use them). But also surprise them - take common tropes and subvert them. ("Oh no, there's a key in the middle of an empty arena... the monsters are going to strike when I pick it up... oh, that's odd. Nothing happened." And then you get back to the starting room and the monsters are waiting...)

 

[TheHambourgeois]

i'm a stress free kind of guy so i like to have a bit of a challenge, but nothing too crazy, and I like when mappers include some environmental storytelling. Bonus points if you have a condensed map with intuitive retreading.

[Drago]

I really like walls, and stairs too, stairs are sexy.

[MisterLivers]

i personally like monster closets, and giving the player a beserk