Figure 8 - quick deathmatch map

I don't know how many deathmatchers there still are out there. Besides, I don't normally make deathmatch only maps. If there are any players who find this map interesting enough to keep cultivating, drop me a line with feedback. I'm considering ditching the outside area altogether to keep the action inside the 3D "8" loop.

I'm particularly interested in whether there are any gameplay glitches due to the few 3D bridges in there, which would likely kill the map outright, or at the very least force a heavy redesign.

I know its a bit dark and monochrome, but unless that's a showstopper I'd like to keep it in that ilk.

Link

Some suggestions from my own perspective:

- I think there should be more entrances to the building from outside. I know that I can enter the building to the window by crouching, but it would be better if could access the area without crouching or jumping. Only one access point makes the circulation simple, while I think DM maps should have some complex circulation; many possibilities to enter from room to room.

- Double lifts at the entrance slows the action. I must stuck at between two lifts while my opponents can kill me easily. Maybe a single fast lift, or an insta-lift, of simply stairs would be a better idea than the current one.

- I don't mind the dark atmosphere since there are well-designed lightning effects. But too much darkness that players can't distinguish the wall as solid wall or dark corridor from the distance is not a good choice for me. I personally set the minimum brightness to 128 for DM maps to prevent this issue.

- There are so few weapons to grab; there are only two weapons at huge outside area. Placing some more weapons, such as shotguns or chainguns and one more SSG, would be a good thing.


Anyway, best of luck with your deathmatch level creation. :)

What map is replaced? I tried map01, map02, map08, e1m1 etc and can't actually find what slot it's in.

What source port(s) is this intended for? I'm a total deathmatch fanatic so I'm pretty keen to give this a play and some feedback.

Doomkid said:

What map is replaced? I tried map01, map02, map08, e1m1 etc and can't actually find what slot it's in.

What source port(s) is this intended for? I'm a total deathmatch fanatic so I'm pretty keen to give this a play and some feedback.

MAP10 is included, and you need a source port that supports 3D bridge(not a fake bridge with things, but a tagged one)

I think the brightness of the map is just fine, the only thing I personally would change is replacing at least one those two little lifts with stairs. I know the player is meant to wait so the opponent has the chance to frag them, but I think one lift would achieve the same outcome and be a little less frustrating.

If your map uses 3D floors, the only place it will ever get played is Zandronum, and in that case it will still never get played unless it has relatively high detail and meets a fairly specific gameplay standard. For the way the DM community currently is laid out, I honestly recommend mapping in Boom format, or only using fairly basic ZDoom features so it will also play in Zdaemon and Odamex. Your wad will reach a wider audience and wider set of tastes to boot. This is my opinion as an active DM mapper/player in the community.

Regardless of what you decide to do, I'm eager to see more! Come join my IRC channel if you want us to playtest anything you make - irc.quakenet.org #dmstuff. We play here almost every day, assuming people aren't at work/school. I'd be happy to test your wads out on the Odamex WSC servers where I have administrative control, though naturally a map with 3D floors won't work, but just in case you make anything more.

Doomkid said:

I know the player is meant to wait so the opponent has the chance to frag them

Yeah, the basic idea was that the outdoor area would be mostly a no-go (which is why I was considering ditching it altogether) but I know from some experience that dm maps don't necessarily play out as designed. Its honestly not my strong side as a mapper (I love dm as a player, but its been years and years).

Thanks then, for some very valuable input for an aspiring deathmatch mapper in today's rugged Doom engine landscape!