My first ever map... ServerRoomOfDoom.wad

The Server Room... of DooM!

• Tested it with GZDoom & Zandronum but it should work with any source port as it was created in UDB (Doom 2 Doom format) with no additional resources.
• This is a MAP01 replacement for doom2.wad
• No mouselooking or jumping please
• Very easy (no change in difficulty yet) should be a breeze but I feel the secrets are okay.

You could say that it is stupidly early for me to start uploading maps.  This is my first attempt (which only took a few days) and I'm still finding my feet with textures.  However, I don't know anyone to look at, and criticise, what I have done so far so if anyone has the time to do so it would be greatly appreciated. 

It would be great if you guys could rip this map (and me) apart with mockery and the like as this is how I work best.  And if I'm going to be stuck in the house, what better thing to do than learn to make DooM maps?

ServerRoomOfDoom.zip

Many thanks!! 

On my first try I died in acid. I don't like this kind of rooms, but I'm sure someone does. Maybe put radiation suit there.

On 2 conseqent tries, attachment happened, as of this moment I'm not sure why.

Update: I have an idea why, now. Linedef 173 (Door to lost soul) has tag zero which means it tries to do door things to the entire level when shot. Only D-actions work without tags, to my knowledge. This might be prevented in GZDoom which is why you didn't notice.

Update 2: It actually works in GZDoom, but you should still probably tag it for the sake of compatibility.

Blue door is hidden behind a wall which opens once I reach blue key. Is there really a point to having a key?

Ambush is positioned in such a way they look away from me, which kinda defeats the point of ambush.

I have fallen into acid before crossing the linedef that lowers the bridge and I think this broke the game.

Walls have all sorts of texture alignment issues, but I cant quite advise on that. Not quite sure why you unpegged linedef 445. I don't think Startan is that great of a texture to be on tall walls, but what do I know.

Difficulty curve is weird, since you just dropped me among high-tier monsters with no warning.

So, I've played your wad.

From a novice map maker myself, there's barely anything fundamentally wrong with your map and design skills.

You seem to be grasping the concept of a good Doom map layout, with hubs and such. If I were you, I'd add a little bit more complexity with "hyper hubs", which are smaller hubs connected to a bigger hub.

You have some ideas on how to make an interesting map; the Cacodemon part was a great idea and well executed at the beginning. When the platform totally lowers, there's a myriad of problems. The player had no way to know that he needed to go on those little platforms, and the player lacks options to effectively deal with the situation as a whole.

And you have an idea of what difficulty progression looks like, where you give the right guns and ammo at the right time

But as expected from a beginner, you don't do any of it well, but you're in a good direction and all you need is practice.

Quote

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.

- Stephen King

This applies to doom mapping as well. Play a lot of Doom maps and make a lot of Doom maps.

The Cacowards are a good place to find wads to study.

Also, reading the Doom Map Tips will help you, it's a short read.

And now to the technical side of things. Your map doesn't work in Chocolate Doom, which isn't Boom compatible

So I just gave up and went to try it on GZDoom. Worked fine, except for some unpegged and ugly textures.

And now, up to the bullshit parts of the map

How was I supposed to know that the elevator was there ?

Why put a teleporter texture when it doesn't teleport ?

And this as the exit is just mean. (used cheat codes to get that screenshot. I finished the map legitimately the first time)

So that's about it! Nothing really wrong, but nothing outstanding. You are on the right path and I'm excited to see where you will be in a couple of months. If you don't stop improving, it can only be great, keep going!

This map feels very much half-baked. For one, there's a lot of bad design choices like walls being gun-activation walls which is unnecessary. A huge chunk of this map uses the default DooM Builder texture combo which has become a stereotype of bad maps. You CAN use them well together if you do it competently but even than it's hard to pull off well.

Now for some problems I noticed:

This map is completely incompatible with vanilla/chocolate DooM. One big issue is the tutti-frutti error in the cyberdemon room. NEVER USE STEP TEXTURES AS A WALL TEXTURE. Vanilla WILL bug out!

Is there anything positive to say? Maybe? The map is easy but that's all I can positively say... sorry :l

Played it, and I have pretty much the same complaints as the other guys already mentioned. Misaligned textures here and there, non-obvious exits from rooms, and the final exit button was a bit too well hidden. I don't know if anyone mentioned that you can get stuck in the room with the computer-map though. I did the first time, and had to re-start because of it. I didn't have that much of an issue finishing this on UV.

That said, I think that the starting room is well made, the ambushes are okay, and the infighting in the big room was pretty fun. It's not bad for a first map, but nothing to write home about either. Don't get discouraged by the criticism, everyone started out at some point, and if you stick with it, you'll get better. There are some nice ideas here, even if execution is somewhat lacking.

In the first room, the trap with zombiemen and imps, the enemies are placed too close together and some of them get stuck on each other. This also happens in the big infighting room, I noticed a Heck Knight and a Mancubus stuck on each other. I also couldn't open the yellow door for some reason, like it wasn't pegged as a door.

I thought this map had no exit until I saw the thread replys, pretty bullshit if you ask me. The hidden elevator with a teleporter texture that should not be there was also BS, but I found that with some automap use. As always, I have to point out some petty gripes I have:

• D_RUNNIN
• STARTAN
• Unpegged doors
• Misaligned textures
• Misused textures (teleporter thing/step textures as walls)
• Probably some other things I missed

Anyways, I rate this WAD a 2.4/10. (Oh yeah, the map is completely busted in vanilla.)

Thanks so much for the feedback guys!

With regards to compatibility, is it that you guys want to use a vanilla style port (Crispy/Chocolate) or is it because I stated it was vanilla compatible when it really wasn't.  Another way of putting that, should I be ensuring that my maps work with ALL ports by testing them in one of the vanilla style ports?

14 hours ago, ViolentBeetle said:

Blue door is hidden behind a wall which opens once I reach blue key. Is there really a point to having a key?

Ambush is positioned in such a way they look away from me, which kinda defeats the point of ambush.

I have fallen into acid before crossing the linedef that lowers the bridge and I think this broke the game.

Clearly I need to ensure that everything has a purpose, get those ambushes right and make sure not to break my own level!

13 hours ago, Spowmtom said:

If I were you, I'd add a little bit more complexity with "hyper hubs", which are smaller hubs connected to a bigger hub.

Love this idea, will be sure to try this on my next map.

13 hours ago, Spowmtom said:

The player had no way to know that he needed to go on those little platforms, and the player lacks options to effectively deal with the situation as a whole.

Clearly an issue across the map, too often it isn't clear what is available, where the player needs to go or what their goal is.

13 hours ago, Spowmtom said:

Play a lot of Doom maps and make a lot of Doom maps.

Will do!  Whilst reading through the 25 years of Doom article I realised I've never played through Alien Vendetta alone (or even co-op for many years) and actually looked closely at map layouts/design etc.  Going to start work on my next map while taking breaks to play through some of the classics that I missed.

13 hours ago, Spowmtom said:

So, I've played your wad.

Thanks - I've played though yours (Wrong Mistake) and love the design and clear progression!  Great inspiration for the next one.

13 hours ago, DynamiteKaitorn said:

Is there anything positive to say?

Happy for negative feedback.  I now know what the tutti-frutti effect is and where to use textures so positive to me.

13 hours ago, mmww said:

you can get stuck in the room with the computer-map though

This was me using the wall shooting again... clearly no one is looking for this in maps so I'm going to stop doing them unless I can make it really obvious .

13 hours ago, Sir Hattington said:

D_RUNNIN

Agree with all your points.  This one though, is it just that it is boring to use the standard music or have I missed the point?

11 hours ago, Clippy said:

 

This was super useful thank you!  Sorry for the missing monster and lack of direction.  Watch this space, I will be working on a new map but take my time and put the work in next time. 

14 hours ago, DynamiteKaitorn said:

This map feels very much half-baked.

I agree.  I didn't put the time into it that was needed, using standard textures and some bits I can see retrospectively that I rushed through.

Thanks again guys.  On to the next one!!

10 hours ago, HappySword said:

Agree with all your points.  This one though, is it just that it is boring to use the standard music or have I missed the point? 

I never thought D_RUNNIN was particularly good to begin with, but after listening to it so many times over and over again, it gets on my nerves every time I hear it in a WAD. Good music can make a map feel a lot better. Just grab a random MIDI of the internet, rename it to D_RUNNIN (or whatever song you're trying to replace) and slap it into your WAD with Slade. It will make your map feel less newbish feeling and stale.