RedDash16

I usually work on, or at least pre-plan, any setpiece/gimmick encounters first.  Then, coat the map with broad strokes of filler.  Then, I try to go over it and see if there are any places that benefit from more detailed monster use, like sometimes even arbitrarily saying "this area will have like a dense wall of zombiemen cuz I feel like it"; eventually the monster composition in the map will crisp up and have more contrast each time you go over it.  Bob Ross it up.

Filler: I like having sneaky shotgunners behind pillars and in nooks and crannies.  then fill in some imps in the center of rooms or on ledges to bait the player.  If there is an ssg in the map, revenants are good to throw in close/medium quarters; feel free to group multiples together at a time even.

Other random notes: pinkies can be mixed into fights as obstacle monsters that would otherwise be just a trivial circlestrafe, but can otherwise be just an unnecessary ammo tax if they are just incidentially sprinkled in (spectres in the dark, tho, can fuck people up gud).  Mancubus and arachnotrons seem to be good turrets in large areas or long hallways; arachnotrons can also be good off their post as prowling monsters in a larger sandbox, like in a city map

Also, halfway through the map make sure you teleport in like 17 archviles that the person has to fight when they backtrack.  This is the most important point in mapping trust me.

Chaingunners everywhere.

Thank you all very much, I've been trying to work on my maps game-play lately. this is all so very useful^^