A little level design tips thread.

[SOSU]

Lets fill this thread with design tips for begginers and veterans that forgot their "style" :D

Edited July 31, 2017 by SOSU

[baja blast rd.]

Some stuff I have bookmarked, or in memory: 

Slaughtermap Tips - lots of non-content 'jokes', but read posts by people like Ribbiks.

A discussion about 'Run and Gun' gameplay - features advice by skillsaw himself.

Balancing Lower Difficulty Settings - I linked to a post by Alfonzo, which gets to the heart of the matter very efficiently, but there's a bunch of useful advice throughout.

Urthar, with a window into his mapping process - process posts like these are great for inspiration.

Ribbiks, a timelapse video of map design 

Esselfortium's bare layout of Ancient Aliens map22

Time lapse videos from Mechadon's Vela Pax

The Editing Tutorials Subforum - some stuff worth reading here.

Dobu Gabu Maru on building Saturnine Chapel - play the map first (most people will seriously want to play on HNTR or HMP ;)). 

Dragonfly with some cool ZDoom-specific stuff (the basics of vertex slope terrain, designing smooth archways with a specific shape in mind)

Making circles and polygons that fit textures properly - math-heavy, useful if you want something like a circle with a circumference of 256.

Skillsaw on layout design

 

Will add more as they come to mind.

 

Personally I'd recommend new mappers especially steer clear of 'mapping pet peeves' threads as a source of actual actionable steps to improve their mapping -- they can be a mess of conflicting opinions, not united under any particular ideologies, that may or may not be useful. You don't want to crowdsource your own style; it's a lot more important to be cognizant about your own likes or dislikes.

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by ‹rd›

[valkiriforce]

I always liked and mostly followed John Romero's advice as found on the Doom Wiki:

 

  Quote

While designing levels for Doom, Romero documented several rules, among them:

• always changing floor height when I wanted to change floor textures
• using special border textures between different wall segments and doorways
• being strict about texture alignment
• conscious use of contrast everywhere in a level between light and dark areas, cramped and open areas
• making sure that if a player could see outside that they should be able to somehow get there
• being strict about designing several secret areas on every level
• making my levels flow so the player will revisit areas several times so they will better understand the 3D space of the level
• creating easily recognizable landmarks in several places for easier navigation

Expand  

 

[Memfis]

If you're going for a realistic feel, you can try making all actions reversible. From a practical standpoint it doesn't make sense to have one-time triggers. If there is a button that closes the door there should be one that opens it as well. If a bridge can be lowered there must be a way to rise it back too. Imagine if you had a S1 light switch in your living room.

[scifista42]

  On 7/30/2017 at 9:51 AM, Memfis said:

If you're going for a realistic feel, ...

Expand  

... include bathrooms with sector toilets. :P

Edited July 30, 2017 by scifista42

[Jayextee]

There's a little thing I've been doing (though not exclusively -- sometimes you just can't) in my maps that I feel helps the 'readability' of them whilst playing: I like to use a darker ceiling flat than the floor flat in general. From a 'realism' point of view, it makes sense to have the underside of any structure in shadow, and a darker ceiling helps convey that illusion. But also (given the way gravity essentially binds you to the floor) it makes more sense for the floor to be more visible than the ceiling, as that's the one you'll be navigating.

 

Just a couple of images from The Becoming's E2M5 to show what I mean:

 

Cavern has a white flat for floor, grey flat for ceiling. Those upward steps continue the trend.

 

Floor is a lighter grey than the stone brick ceiling. It's also worth adding that I am inclined to use brighter flats and textures in general whenever I want to do any kind of lighting effects, as they 'pop' better when the detail's not being so readily destroyed by the DOOM colormap.

 

There was also an accidental thing I did well in The Becoming's E2M2 that I think I'm going to consciously employ in future maps; the use of colour and contrast to highlight something important:

 

 

This is a very grey area, in terms of colour. In fact the only colour I really employ is the blue on those pillars (note: this was consciously the only time I used the texture in the entire map) that act as complementary to the yellow keycard; which in itself will complement and contrast from the water this area fills with later on. I didn't really oo the "dark ceiling, light floor" thing much in this area although it is apparent in other parts of the same map.

 

I mean, these two things are just small stylistic things that barely affect gameplay. But I haven't seen them ever brought up amid all the really good advice that mappers can and have given when asked on this forum.

[(this user does not exist)]

  On 7/29/2017 at 8:03 PM, SOSU said:

Lets fill this thread with level design tips for begginers and veterans that forgot their "style" :D

Expand  

Step 1: Do the opposite of everything that I do...

[scwiba]

  On 7/30/2017 at 11:05 AM, Jayextee said:

There's a little thing I've been doing (though not exclusively -- sometimes you just can't) in my maps that I feel helps the 'readability' of them whilst playing: I like to use a darker ceiling flat than the floor flat in general. From a 'realism' point of view, it makes sense to have the underside of any structure in shadow, and a darker ceiling helps convey that illusion. But also (given the way gravity essentially binds you to the floor) it makes more sense for the floor to be more visible than the ceiling, as that's the one you'll be navigating.

Expand  

This is a smart thing I wish I'd thought of before.

[valkiriforce]

  On 7/30/2017 at 10:03 AM, scifista42 said:

... include bathrooms with sector toilets. :P

Expand  

Doom Core, Reverie and Eternally Yours all have at least one. :D

[Benjogami]

Let monsters be free. Place them such that they can travel throughout the map and show up in unexpected places, at unexpected times. If you can accomplish that, it also solves a lot of the common, boring gameplay scenarios: fighting through doors, predicable traps, forward-clear-repeat kinda stuff. It also makes for maps that are fun to replay, and fun to test.

 

Which reminds me: in the "things you hate about mapping" thread, I was surprised by the number of people that hate playtesting. Make maps that are fun for you to test!!! If you do, they will surely be fun for others to play.

[Vorpal]

  On 7/30/2017 at 11:05 AM, Jayextee said:

the use of colour and contrast to highlight something important:

 

Expand  

 

It took me way too long to realize how important contrast was. Still, realizing its importance doesn't translate to me having the skill to properly utilize it - another thing that makes me admire simple pre-'98 maps. In the absence of more advanced tools and ports and hardware, this was one of the only visual tools you had to make a scene pop.

[BadLuckBurt]

  On 7/30/2017 at 8:00 PM, Vorpal said:

 

It took me way too long to realize how important contrast was. Still, realizing its importance doesn't translate to me having the skill to properly utilize it - another thing that makes me admire simple pre-'98 maps. In the absence of more advanced tools and ports and hardware, this was one of the only visual tools you had to make a scene pop.

Expand  

Experience is key although some people just have a feel for it. It's similar to the sprite art in Metal Slug, I've marveled at the way those are animated.

 

This is a bit off-topic but I think quite a few people here will enjoy this GDC talk by Mark Ferrari which pretty much deals with doing more with less:

 

 

[SOSU]

  On 7/31/2017 at 6:19 PM, BadLuckBurt said:

Experience is key although some people just have a feel for it. It's similar to the sprite art in Metal Slug, I've marveled at the way those are animated.

 

This is a bit off-topic but I think quite a few people here will enjoy this GDC talk by Mark Ferrari which pretty much deals with doing more with less:

 

 

Expand  

I only said "design" tips and not "level design' tips so you arent off topic at all ;)

Edited July 31, 2017 by SOSU

[Major Arlene]

  On 7/30/2017 at 6:35 PM, Benjogami said:

Which reminds me: in the "things you hate about mapping" thread, I was surprised by the number of people that hate playtesting. Make maps that are fun for you to test!!! If you do, they will surely be fun for others to play.

Expand  

Having played many maps of different types and styles, one thing that I've noticed is that if there was mention of multiple playtesters in the text file, etc. then generally the map would run much more smoothly and I could really enjoy it. there are exceptions to this but in most cases maps that are playtested to tend to play better for others. ^-^

[Xaser]

  On 7/30/2017 at 1:04 AM, rdwpa said:

Personally I'd recommend new mappers especially steer clear of 'mapping pet peeves' threads as a source of actual actionable steps to improve their mapping -- they can be a mess of conflicting opinions, not united under any particular ideologies, that may or may not be useful. You don't want to crowdsource your own style; it's a lot more important to be cognizant about your own likes or dislikes.

 

Expand  

This post of rdwpa's is deservedly well-liked, but I want to +1 this part in particular. For every good thing, there are always folks out there that just don't care for it, and being able to separate useful feedback from "noise" is almost a skill of its own. Certain types of threads (e.g. "what do you think about controversial-feature-x") indeed tend to have a high signal-to-noise ratio, to continue that analogy a bit.

[NeedHealth]

Wherever it gives; For a doom level I like to think of the non incidental encounters like a string to avoid repetition. 1 pop up monster, 2 hidden compartments 3 teleportation monsters back to 1 pop up monster etc -  obviously I have yet to try my hands at completely non linear maps here. I often try to do visual cues ("show don't tell" is sacred) - orange lights means doors are non functional, then I stick to that rule in a level.

 

to be edited ad infinitum.

[Megalyth]

Step 1: Remove barons

 

Something that helped me progress with Doom level design was to forsake realism to a degree. Just let your Doom levels be Doom levels. Getting hung up on realistic details will slow you down.

[TheOrganGrinder]

I think @Jayextee and @Vorpal raise some good points here and I think those can be extended to say that, in general, an understanding of how to use light and dark textures (not just sector light levels) and how to contrast and combine them within the frame is something that's helpful to a level designer - you don't need formal artistic training, but there are definitely aspects of colour theory and lessons on how to arrange light and dark areas and different colours within, say, a painting, that are just as applicable when constructing what your players will see on their screen.  Consider the effects of changing how light and dark areas are arranged on the screen and how that can change the overall feel of navigating the space:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2017 by TheOrganGrinder
smaller images

[Vorpal]

  On 8/1/2017 at 12:50 PM, TheOrganGrinder said:

an understanding of how to use light and dark textures (not just sector light levels) and how to contrast and combine them within the frame is something that's helpful to a level designer

Expand  

Aye, it's counter-intuitive if the mapper approaches a scene with what they know about real life, "this BRICK5 stairway should have a matching brown brick floor!" will usually result in the doom engine just rendering an indistinguishable brown blob until the player is right on top of it. Give the stairway a nonsensical blue carpet flat like FLAT14 and suddenly it stands out as a stairway from a distance and isnt just a shapeless blob.

 

As a contrast (hurp da dur) to your post about texture contrast, here's one about lighting contrast that I admire:

 

In this scene and countless others in arcadia.wad, @JPL uses all dark, bland textures (with some help in the green ranges from a custom palette). There's not much in the way of geometric detail either, just a flat plane play area and some wood trim on texture changes (brown to ... brown). However, it's like he imagines light as a brush and just paints the scene with it. Note the absence of a "realistic source" like a torch or window. His light is just totally divorced from reality and exists only for the sake of contrast and lifting the scene from being a flat brown blob into a scene where the brain immediately processes the shape and doesn't have to "work" to navigate through it. It also looks attractive to weirdo fans of browntowne texturing like myself.

[JPL]

This thread is great, and thank you Vorpal for the kind words about arcadia.

 

I'm not nearly as experienced a WAD author as many folks here but here's two ideas I care about:

- Once you have the basics down, develop a personal style. No shame in borrowing stuff someone else does but if you develop an idea or technique on your own, often you'll understand it more deeply and your use of it will be both distinctive and effective.

- In most WADs, it's hard to overestimate the visual importance of your sky art. Decide on which sky to use at the start and think about how its color and texture inform the geo that will be seen in front of it. (Also consider making or borrowing a custom sky; very good bang for buck to make a WAD stand out more!)

[NeedHealth]

@Vorpal It just hit me, that if I designed a level like that I would stick to not use light textures at all. Just my 5c.

[Xaser]

  On 8/1/2017 at 3:51 PM, JPL said:

I'm not nearly as experienced a WAD author as many folks here...

Expand  

...says the actual professional level designer. :P

[Scotty]

In addition to all these useful tips -play maps. Play loads of fucking maps, and find mappers you like, then play more of their stuff, figure out exactly what it is you like about it, then get those maps open in the editor and try and figure out how they made the thing you like. That way you'll learn how to make stuff that you actually enjoyed playing yourself. There's no point knowing theoretical mapping tricks and such if you don't know how you want to apply it.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Scotty

[boris]

• Always show the players where to use a key before they get that key
• Always make it clear what a switch is doing (unless it's a secret). This can be done multiple ways. Show the players directly what a switch is doing (opening a door, lowering a floor etc.); show it indirectly, like having close and remote bars of the same style lower with one switch; through sound, although that will put players playing without sound or a hearing impairment at a disadvantage
• Teach the player idioms you're using in your map early on. For example doors that only open from the other side could have another color than regular doors.
• Try to avoid backtracking (i.e. having to go back the exactly same way you came after picking up a key or pressing a switch). If you can't avoid it try to spice it up a little with new monsters (like monster closets opening or teleporting them in). Note that this does not include revisiting areas. That's a good thing.
• Try to place doors and stairs and the likes at angles that are not aligned perfectly horizontal or vertical once in a while. That doesn't mean to use crazy angles all the time, even placing a stair at a 45° angle can work wonders in how a map feels

 

[Ichor]

We all know that aligning 64, 128, etc. unit diagonal walls can be a real pain. However, you can divide the wall into 8s (use grid 2 for it), which will turn that 136 unit wall on the left to sixteen 8 unit walls on the right, which would add up to 128.

 

 

[Spectre01]

In regards to playtesting, always do a no-monsters/iddqd test for functionality after making a change to your map. There's a high chance that something won't play out as intended and it wastes time to pistol start and play legit. After making sure everything works as intended, then test for gameplay balance.

[Psyrus]

Outdoor areas are great to add to a map.  Not only will it add contrast, but it will change an area drastically from something looking cramped to suddenly feeling open.  Be aware of your sector heights when making outdoor areas though.  Make sure your indoor structures do not exceed the height of your outdoor areas to prevent the ceiling(s) of your structures disappearing into the sky.  Basically, make your outdoor areas the tallest part of your map.

Edited August 2, 2017 by Psyrus

[NeedHealth]

Barons of Hell slows down the action(way to much hp) if they are not allowed to infight. I typically never use them in my maps, preferring Hell Knights instead. Speaking of which - I realized yesterday that a hell knight and a chaingunner is a good team, because if you are skilled you can maneuver them into infighting with each other.

[SOSU]

I recetly found this great article about map layout :)

[MarsHappyNation]

I came here to say just how much I appreciate all of the very informative posts so far. This thread has been tremendously helpful and something I check often. I regretfully don't have any tips to contribute myself as I'm still pretty inexperienced and wouldn't be of much help, but a big thank you to those who gave their thoughts on the topic.