How do you map?

magicsofa said:

I playtest constantly.

Concurred, I usually just play until I find a medium issue, quit prboom, and fix it. If you do this with tiny issues, you go insane. If you just look for big problems, you also go insane, as it may take 5 minutes to find one, which adds up.

I suddenly have a brilliant idea for one room, then realize there is absolutely no reason to continue working on it because either the concept doesn't work well enough to justify the effort being put into it, or I cannot get something to look exactly right. And by "exactly right", I mean absolutely NOTHING wrong with it. No textures even a pixel misaligned for any reason (even if it benefits some other more important feature), no flats out of alignment whatsoever, a consistent standard for detail applied throughout the whole room (e.g. no blank spaces left to put cool looking shit), and all the textures must work exactly right with one another. I am incredibly obsessive about getting the smallest details that nobody will probably notice to look right from all possible angles.

In short, I end up exhausting myself over ideas that don't play out as well as I'd like them to, and I lose interest in the map because I feel stupid for trying in the first place. And I am far too much of a perfectionist at times.

I get a picture in my mind of a specific portion or area of my map, and proceed to work on it. After the area is complete, I then ponder how the hell I am going to connect it with the rest of the level.

If that doesn't happen, then I either A. run into some small road block and get distracted by something else, or B. I get ideas for a different type of map, and begin working on that instead, thus abandoning my original goal.

As you could imagine, this means that progress for me goes quite slowly. I have been trying to improve this problem though. Why do you think I have contributed to so many YEDS projects?

Kagemaru_H said:

Kagemaru's mapping process:

Step 1) Create basic architecture for the level

Step 2) Generate detail and doors

Step 3) Test for errors

Step 4) Add monsters (or Deathmatch starts) and weapons.

Step 5) Test to see how well the gameplay is executed.

Step 6) ????

Step 7) PROFIT!!

LOL ----- where did I see that before?!

magicsofa said:

LOL ----- where did I see that before?!

Uhhh...the Internet4chan?

I think I saw it somewhere before I knew about 4chan / it wasn't there. I believe it was a video or a stupid flash animation with voice-over

???? PROFIT is a meme.

The way I map varies. Sometimes I'll block off a quick section and go from there, or I'll draw a complex map on paper and transfer it digitally, or make a rough sketch on paper and just base it off of that or ideas and stuff. usually I'll incorporate texture and sprite changes while i'm mapping (or in some cases, before :P)

So far, the only maps I've gotten close to completing were drawn out in MSPAINT first, then blasted out in Doom Builder, and improved, improved, and so on until I think it's good enough.

I've never publicly submitted my maps because frankly, there's only one which i put a lot of effort into and I don't know if it meets standards for a good map.

I'll have to see

I:

1) run OBLIGE
2) invert map with favourite map editor
3) Enjoy.

In school i get easily ideas about cool rooms or traps (like sudden shootouts or crushing cielings) and then if i decide that this is something to keep, then i paint it down on a squared paper, with the scale: 1 square 64 suare pixels. and which line that is which is individual from person to person, but i just never build theese maps beacuse i play too much quakelive. ( one frag a day keeps the doctor away, you know)
but currently, when it comes to mapping, i just keep improving my modifications to E1.

I have a map editing idea, then I just open some editor and start making the map. Then after creating the map, I wonder why it's so small.

I develop a basic idea / theme in my brain and then proceed.

Sometimes I'll just be really random and go into the editor and start drawing shit to see what I can come up with.

Very rarely will I draw anything on paper beforehand.

My main issue is the fact that I get bored easily and tend to stop work on a level and then start something new.

I just open Doombulder and start drawing ideas. I playtest lots, and change the map around many many times. It takes me forever to choose the right textures and get comfortable with my choice.

I will sometimes draw up a basic idea, but it always looks better on paper, and ends up being changed around.

To me, a map is never complete. There is always some way to make it better. I have a hard time handing someone a finished map, because I always discover a problem or an area that needs improvment at the last freaking second!

Oh well, i just think to some places in my mind for creating a map, and trying keep it nice looking. Sometimes i will did it and sometimes not.

A little bit of thread necromancy here...

I`ve just started drawing ideas and areas on paper before I even open Doombuilder, and I have to say: this is the way to go for me from now on!

When I draw on paper, the ideas just comes to me one after another. When I`m messing around in DB without any general idea I`m totally blank, and RARELY anything comes out of it.

When I was bored at work the other day, I drew several areas (including monster placement and traps and everything) on a piece of paper, took me about 10-15 minutes, and when I got home I mapped it out in DB in like...1-1,5 hours. Fully functional (incl. monsters, items etc) and textured areas the size of...maye something like slot 2-4 somewhere in a megawad.

Also I just drew another area a few minutes ago, and I cant wait to get back home and start working on it! :)