What level themes should I make?

Unlike my last wad, where I attempted to have each level flow into the next, I want to have each level of my new wad have it's own general theme.
I already have a Base-Type thing here.




(not final images)

And by the way, I am using OTEX, if that makes any decisions easier.

- a technogothic Neptune base: a large onyx fortress with opulent architecture floating around, with with blue and green fog and clouds of gas in the air around it

- inside a cursed whale's belly (there are pentagrams you can step on to open chambers, which of course comes with monsters. the whale also swallowed a big batch of UAC crates, so there are supplies. to win, you have to make it out of its butt.)

- a city in the cloud map, but there is a large asteroid heading towards it and you have to turn on the large liquifier beam at the heart and destroy the asteroid (which is more implied at the end, since dramatizing that might be difficult.) 

- techbase

- an Arby's, staffed by you and coworkers, which gets invaded by mancubi who are hungry and trying to illegally redeem expired coupons

I hope these are useful. 

16 minutes ago, ‹rd› said:

- techbase

I love how everything else has details but this doesn't lmao

to OP, Otex has some bright textures that could work for a heavenly theme, and we've been through a lot of demon techbases, what about an angelical one? Basically the same concept except with brighter colours and maybe taller structures

somewhat nonlinear map: an average town located in Hell on an isle surrounded with sea of blood and dark brown-red sky and fog on horison. The buildings have many windows that can be walked thru and many stairs of both low and high steepness leading to lower and higher floors respectively; all the doors are on turbo speed and lifts' waiting time is 1 second; natural structures such as boulders prevent player from going out of bonds (to the sea of blood) but the sea still can be seen either thru barbed wires (that were placed where necessary) or when the player is at buildings (thru windows); the keys (e.g. blue and yellow cards and a red skull) are not hidden or blocked by something like bars/doors and you have only to find red skull to finish the level at someplace like docks but the cards give access to some optional places containing powerful weapons such as Plasmagun or BFG or even powerups to reward the player for his exploration skills. Place some health near the end of the level so that player won't start the next level being almost dead and frustrated :)

OTEX texture? How about using the pink / magenta textures present in the pack for a psychedelic level?

Abstract hellish void map with orange-green lights and corresponding liquid flats/textures as highlights. Plenty platforming and turrets to enforce player to move, they can be crushed or telefragged after player leaves area. Only one corridor is allowed and it shouldn't be 64x64 wide and not really long(make it part of bigger encounter or room). No mazes too. Doors can be used only for key locks. Bars can used for blocking other places. Use sky textures on the floor too. 

- techbase corrupted by hell xD

- computer software level like in mandrill.wad MAP02 (im making some of these for impscape)

- parkour map? Like jumping from building to building, or something

- submarine maps, like a techbase but below the ocean, with its kraken and all xD

One basde on a good science fiction movie you like.
Cyberpunk would be cool.
Steampunk, too!

We need to diversify the themes to have new ideas.

There's another way to make levels unique and memorable without necessarily having their own visual themes, and that's to have a unique gimmick to the layout instead. Have a big central setpiece that the level revolves around. Levels which are just disconnected room after disconnected room get very forgettable no matter what their visual theme is. The maps that tend to leave the biggest impression on me personally are ones that feel like one big coherent place. It might limit the length of the level, but I think a 5 minute memorable level is preferrable to a 30 minute forgettable one.

All great ideas! I'll see if I can do a few after the first two maps (which I had ideas for, but after it, I didn't have many.)

Also, I thought 3d Floors would be really hard, but look!



I did one!

54 minutes ago, forgettablepyromaniac said:

All great ideas! I'll see if I can do a few after the first two maps (which I had ideas for, but after it, I didn't have many.)

Also, I thought 3d Floors would be really hard, but look!



I did one!

making 3D floors isnt too hard. Just make a dummy sector with a line special 160 that points another sector and resize the sector for the heights of the 3D floor.

its more, Ultimate Doom Builder's enhaced renderer makes a preview of how a 3D floor will look, and you can resize it without having to go to the place where the dummy sector is.

and udb haves the 3D sector plugin too, i haved it but on an actualiation it dissapeared xD

On 11/21/2020 at 5:07 PM, URROVA said:

- parkour map? Like jumping from building to building, or something

This Gave me an Idea: An alley! You jump from two seperate buildings, ocasionally intersecting by going over a wire with clothes, or a fence, or something, and if you fall from it, you end up dying.

46 minutes ago, forgettablepyromaniac said:

This Gave me an Idea: An alley! You jump from two seperate buildings, ocasionally intersecting by going over a wire with clothes, or a fence, or something, and if you fall from it, you end up dying.