How do you use armor/health bonuses?

I've only ever seen them as decorative really, it feels like not many people actually implement them for their original purpose (Though there are usually too few of them placed to be of much effect anyway)

the same way I would use pointless coin pickups and treasure if Doom had those. As fun little things to run around collecting.

To blind the player.

I try to only pick them up when I'm above 100% armor/health because I feel like they're wasted otherwise.

Sometimes I leave them around when I'm at 200%/200% but expect to lose some health and armor soon.

They fall into the category of "not worth actively searching for". That said, if I do find them, I just pick them up immediately. It's rarely the case that they make any difference to my chances of survival though.

I put health bonuses in maps to try and direct players attention to certain things or make them go places they normally wouldn't. You could do that with any pick up really, but health bonuses are useful in that they don't effect gameplay much.

Like some (most?) of you, I really don't care too much about them, except on those rare occasions when I decide to 100/100/100. But even then, there have been a few notable cases when that 1-2 extra armor/health saved my ass. So maybe they're not that useless.

About collecting them, if I find them I just go get them, but if I don't, I really don't care and just keep going.

What about stacking 5s or 10s of them, to make them worthwhile? Doesn't really apply to health bonuses since you can just put small medikits instead but armour bonuses would be made more useful if you did that. Of course the two big snags are players are used to ignoring them already, and the light flash would be pretty severe.

It varies by what the map is, IMO. In a classic-style map they will be bonuses to reward exploration without giving away anything major, but in a more modern map I'd tend to cluster them in corners or around landmarks to provide a slow but constant boost to health in order to combat the "filler" opposition I tend to scatter around maps between big encounters. For those rare survival maps, they're to be prized as minor and fragile relief.

Using them as breadcrumbs or hints is always a nice gimmick too, I think, as the player tends to gravitate towards pickups and these don't really give too much away by being used in that way.

yeah i like to stack them 5, 10, even 50 deep depending on how big the bonus i want to be, i think they can be used pretty effectively as literally a health/armour bonus

I usually put them in corners, especially in large secret open areas, just to force the player to wander every place of the map, and for decorative purpose as well. Anyway when I have very low health / armor they can really help against hitscaners.

Every little blue bottle is sacred. Those little helmets though, can go die in an unfortunate smelting accident for all I care.

I place them in stacks of 2, so they don't feel too useless, don't blind player too much and doesn't look like every corner is filled with them.

Then I try to place the health bonuses in places player might get them when health is 100 or more, but less than 200.

I'll usually give some armor bonuses at level starts, so player gets some 10-20% armor, which should last until player finds the first green/mega armor.

nicolas monti said:

I usually put them in corners, especially in large secret open areas, just to force the player to wander every place of the map, and for decorative purpose as well. Anyway when I have very low health / armor they can really help against hitscaners.

Pretty much what I do. I like to line rooms with them. Usually at least three, often more. For my zdoom project I made versions of both bonuses that give +2 and +3, even though they're honestly absolutely useless, it's amazingly refreshing to throw in a couple of these "upgraded" bonuses instead of the regular ones every so often. Same with collecting them, it's just more fun for no reason.

I don't usually pick up armor/health bonuses unless I'm in dire need.

I like putting them in 'runs' along the sides of rooms or in hallways - it feels more satisfying to pick up ten-twenty health/armour bonuses than forcing completionists to trek to corners just to pick up single bonus. I like to make them optional, even thought there's no downside to picking them up that I know of, other than the screen flash.

Sometimes I use them to subtly point to secrets or areas of progression.

From a player perspective, I value/respect every resource a map provides me, however small it may be (with the possible and unfortunately common exception of misused blur spheres). So, I do take armor/health bonuses seriously, and I try to use them to their maximum effect, e.g. to extend me past 100% health or to prolong the lifespan of a combat armor or whatnot. I suppose I'm more likely to pick up the helmets on first sight, since they're often a useful (if ephemeral) buffer against hitscans early in maps where a proper armor vest is not immediately forthcoming.

That's all assuming the mapper seems to be placing the items with a mind towards having them impact battle in a significant way. Some mappers prefer to treat them as guideposts or props or, as Tarnsman said, as little collectible pretenses for running around in/exploring the farflung corners of the map. In most cases, it's usually obvious that this is what the mapper is doing, and when confronted with these cases I'll generally pay much less attention to using them in the most efficient way, although the completionist in my nature generally compels me to still try to take them all before I leave.

It would be funny to stack 100 health potions and put it in a slightly inconvenient but not at all secret place. Talk about hiding a soul sphere in plain sight

^ Awesome, I'm so doing this. :)

and I'm going to hate you for blinding me :)

Destroylio said:

yeah i like to stack them 5, 10, even 50 deep depending on how big the bonus i want to be, i think they can be used pretty effectively as literally a health/armour bonus

I've never stacked them that deep, any example wads where this is done?

purist said:

It would be funny to stack 100 health potions and put it in a slightly inconvenient but not at all secret place. Talk about hiding a soul sphere in plain sight

Probably reason why I pick up blue bottles and green helmets. Y'know, there's some good chance to get least 20% health or armor back, not a thing to scoff, if you have mega armor remnants or capped health to 100%...

I love that temporary blinding effect of picking up a stack of goodies (even ammo), it's like taking a delicious deep swig of cold beer.

I think the health bonuses are one of the most interesting features in the game. The bonuses can be used to guide the player where to go in a subtle manner and to explore every nook and cranny. They are also awesome for decoration. I really think they are leftovers from sidescrolles, where they had pretty much the same function. In Mario for instance, coins are used for INDICATING where to move/jump in order to make it to the goal in the fastest and most efficient way. I have used this principle in my Doom map and it's great! I might post screens.

invictius said:

I've never stacked them that deep, any example wads where this is done?

Not to promote my own work, but a few of the maps from UAC Enterprsies do this. Sometimes, simply as a way to save make a small room with bonuses look more clean (not needing to have the bonuses littering the entire floor.)

But more often, these "stacks" are hidden in small, non-secret portions of a map as sort of hidden bonuses for perceptive players.

Often, players who are fresh from the heat of battle or are actively searching out secrets don't notice the huge bonuses granted to their health or armor, because they don't expect to get that much out of (seemingly) one blue bottle or helmet.

The maps I remember doing this in: Maps 06, 25, and 26. I hope this helps.

I think that when Doomguy goes over 200%, he keeps picking up the powerups to sell later at his lemonade stand.

First, I use it as a "hey, I want the player to come over here; this will indicate it's an area worth visiting that they haven't yet gone to". Like, if it involves visiting several similar-looking areas that open up one at a time, I'd put these near the start of each area so the player can easily assume "hey, this path is open and has bonuses still in it, clearly I haven't been here yet". Or, if the way forward requires triggering a wall-lowering trap in what'd otherwise seem like a dead-end, I'll probably put some health bonuses there so that the player will trigger it while collecting them (although thinking harder about it, I'm wondering if putting a switch on the wall would've been a better idea; ah, well).

After that, I find large walls with not a whole lot on them and put rows of bonuses against them. Pretty sure that's not the ideal use for them, but hell, it makes the area look nicer upon your first visit.

Stick them any place that seems empty. I don't think I've ever really used them to intentionally give you health or armor.

Armor bonuses can significantly extend the lifespan of armour suits, though health bonuses aren't quite as useful due to the presence of stimpacks and medikits. Health bonuses are usually only good for getting more than 100% health before a tough fight, where every hitpoint counts. (To anyone who says one health bonus never makes a difference, see DEMO3 of Doom 2.)

Well I guess if you have an odd number of health or armor they can even it out.