New map from me and I search criticism again

[Misty]

Hello,it's me again. This time I built small map for boom(not that large as "northofhell'). I took my first mapping scraps and polished them in something playable. It doesn't have much monsters(only 102 instead of 400-500) or details which could annoy people. If you found errors or have ideas what could I change here,write in comments. 

 

Compatible ports: prboom and boom compatible ports

Textures: Stock

Build time: One week

Skills: I didn't add them,but I consider ultra-violence skill as main one

Requered iwad: Doom II mapslot 01 

Download link:http://www.mediafire.com/file/t6hg9kdyehic6u0/nameless+map.wad

Edited April 10, 2017 by MysteriousHaruko

[NecrumWarrior]

What iwad and mapslot is it? 

[Misty]

8 minutes ago, NecrumWarrior said:

What iwad and mapslot is it? 

Doom II map 01

[Fonze]

20 minutes ago, NecrumWarrior said:

What iwad and mapslot is it? 

If nothing is listed, assume Doom 2 MAP01

[NecrumWarrior]

Well i tried that and it came up with the original MAP01 so yeah. 

[Reisal]

Music source?

[NecrumWarrior]

Okay, I got it working. Turns out that DTouch doesn't like wads with spaces in their name. (don't have access to my computer right now) I'll test it more later but so far I like it. 

[Misty]

10 hours ago, Glaice said:

Music source?

I tried find original midi creator of that midi before I used that track in my map. I couldn't find it,so these videos are best what I found it. I'm still searching original source(I mean midi creator),so I'm not sure if I use this midi in final product. 

Edited April 11, 2017 by MysteriousHaruko

[baja blast rd.]

Glad to see you've made a smaller map. Since I suggested the idea, I'm obligated to respond. :) 

 

- As a whole, the smaller scale makes this a lot more playable than North of Hell, and that was very appealing to me. 

 

- I think the map still has a couple too many scenarios like these. Here, the player goes forward, opens a 64-wide door, sees a bunch of revenants and chaingunners inside, and at that point should camp the doorway and fight monsters as they approach from one direction, which isn't exciting. A lot of the combat in this map is either fought through doorways or from a single direction, or both. Facing opposition from multiple angles tends to be more interesting. Doorways are usually best kept to a minimum in the middle of active combat spaces: they make the flow of maps choppier and generally just get in the way. I think that the layout of this map in general is not especially well suited to smooth gameplay. It would be a good idea for you to experiment more with slightly more open design -- not necessarily a full sandbox, but rooms connected at 'wider' points for example, instead of lots of 128-wide openings and passages. 

 

- I'd say the most interesting scenarios in the map were the two fights (cacos/HKs and revs/arachnorons) leading up to the switch lowering the yellow key. No doorways, and multidirectional action. I also was a fan of the archvile guarding the soulsphere. It's a suitable payoff for the monodirectional combat leading up to it, because it's fun trying to kill it before it can revive too many revenants and hell knights. 

 

- It seems like there are spots where monsters are used in clever ways, which is good. I liked the arachnotron that could fire down the hallway, just after the teleporter, and the pain elemental that floated through the window nearby. On that count, this group of pinkies is completely ineffective, because they can't get down the stairs. Using this sort of monster placement very occasionally isn't the worst thing, but in this map it contributes to the impression that monsters are often slapped into the map haphazardly, just to be there. Also there are some infinite height issues with the low-tier monsters along the drop to the yellow key.

 

- The secret: it's a nondescript pushwall containing a plasma rifle and three bulk cells, which radically changes the experience of the map (the player can just effortlessly bulldoze everything). I think that whenever you use such secrets, a lot more care and effort should be put into them -- something like a creative puzzle, a cool sidequest, etc. A basic pushwall is not good enough for such a powerful secret. I think this secret also makes the map a lot more fun to play, and whenever that's the case it's often the best option to put the regular balance halfway in the middle: give away the plasma rifle and a bulk cell for free, make only the additional cells secret. 

 

- Having the player backtrack across the entire length of the map after finding the yellow key isn't so good. In a map this short it isn't really offensive, but it would be better if the exit were located somewhere closer to the key. 

 

Edited April 11, 2017 by rdwpa

[40oz]

if doorway camping is a common playstyle, you might want to focus less on incidental combat, where monsters are placed in the rooms you want to fight them. Try to work more with linedef triggers, so the player can trip lines that reveal monster closets, pop up out of the floor, teleport monsters in, or shut doors behind the player. This way you, as the mapper are more in control of how the scene works.

 

in the book Masters of Doom, John Romero described his mapping like being a movie director. You want to use monsters during points of interest, such as when the player gets a new weapon, presses an important switch, or gets a key. You don't really want the monsters to just be standing around in places where the player gets to casually pick them off. Hope that helps :)