Run And Gun

[Cynical]

The thing I'm surprised to see no mention of that I think totally sucks is lifts.

Man, lifts suck. You stand still while it comes down, you get on it, and then you passively go up. LAAAAAAME. Especially since the alternative, stairs, are so cool; they feel awesome to run up and down, because the player's position changes on all three axes.

Less lifts; more stairs.

(That said, I don't like Run and Gun nearly as much as what Scifista calls "evasion". That feeling of running around like crazy, not just becase you're Mr. Toughguy Doom Marine but because you have to, because the monsters are threatening to rip you a new one is where it's at.)

[Steve D]

^^^Agreed, stairs are a million times better than lifts, though I do use lifts sometimes as a means to an end, especially when working on vanilla projects. I like to use 8-unit stairs that are wide and deep front-to-back, so that monsters can easily pursue you and not get stuck. Because of this, I can end-up with way too many 2s lines in a vanilla room, forcing the use of lifts unless I want to abandon all detail.

As for evading because you have no alternative, well, that essentially sums up Golachab and Impure Offering. ;)

Get to work on another one!!!!

[kb1]

I think I know what you mean by "run & gun". For me, it's something that a mapper can aspire to, but I don't know if someone can pull it off on demand.

It's almost a predictability, a bit of security. It's a feeling that "I can jump into this room and find a good place to attack from, and know I'll be all right. I just know that there'll be that health and ammo around the corner that I need just in time, or, I know there will be a good place to retreat, or attack from." I don't mean that each room is the same, and each fight has corresponding health and ammo. It's more like, in each fight, there will be a good vantage point or two, and enough health and ammo without having to skimp.

In a nutshell, for me, "run & gun" means a map that doesn't get in your way, and doesn't cramp your style. Not necessarily easy, but loose enough to allow more than one strategy. Did I nail it?

These are my absolute favorite maps.

[Deleted_Account]

When making Doom maps, are we still allowed to make doors and elevators though?

[scifista42]

Piper Maru said:

When making Doom maps, are we still allowed to make doors and elevators though?

Of course that we are! We only need to keep in mind that they're generally inferior design choices from gameplay perspective (at least according to skillsaw's tips), and take it into account. But for the sake of variety, realistic-like non-abstract theme, gameplay ideas and inventions... Let nothing restrict your creativity! ;)

Lifts are still great to let the player climb steep height differences. And doors are great to obscure view into new areas with monsters that shouldn't wake up prematurely.

[40oz]

You can preserve the run and gun gameplay if the player is always descending from lifts, and has to ride them up to return to previously visited areas. I'd argue that lifts speed up gameplay for that reason. (that final room before the exit in E1M2 for reference)

[Jaxxoon R]

I don't know what type of map it is called, but you know Map 30 of Nova: The Birth? That is exactly what I hate. Huge areas with a crapton of monsters from every direction, then thin corridors filled with monsters where all you do is walk sideways back and forth and shoot until they're out of your way. I hate it. It's so boring.

That's why I don't like games like Hyrule Warriors, so what if you can kill a million monsters with one swing, if there's about fifty trillion times more running around just over there?

[TheOrganGrinder]

Shotgun vs. Imp is where run and gun is at for me. Close in, move quickly, blam, it doesn't matter how big the pack is, one of them's going down with every pull of the trigger. For me, run and gun gameplay is about the feeling that every shot matters, not in the sense that you need to count shells, but more in the sense that every time you pull the trigger, you feel you're making a difference against the opposition you're facing. If you can fire a salvo of rockets, a spray of bullets, or a burst of plasma and not feel that you've thinned the crowd or stymied the monsters effectively, I think the "run" part of run and gun starts to get lost.