Level design tropes you use

[Grain of Salt]

Automap cleaning is dumb. It'll just confuse the player because the geometry they know exists won't be appearing on the map.

[Spectre01]

I will echo the above points regarding automap cleaning. I remember finding a Computer Map in a level and it literally showed nothing new because all the secret areas have been wiped off the automap.

[Remilia Scarlet]

Hmm...

 

- "Needs more intensely colored lights"
- "Man this room looks dull... I know, I'll add a grated floor!"

- "Man, I like Quake.  I think I'll make this more Quake-like.  Yeah.  Like super-hurting lava."

- "Needs some more intensely colored lights."

- "I love colored lighting."

 

Spoiler

- "Needs more colored point lights."

 

[Nine Inch Heels]

8 minutes ago, YukiRaven said:

Hmm...

You could alternatively add some more coloured lights and such ;-)

[Marcaek]

Automap cleaning is great because it keeps important lines and not shit like ceiling detail and stuff outside the map when done right. P much objectively true lol

[Steve D]

I try to clean the automap as I go. I only clean things like lines for gradient lighting, trigger lines and such. I'd never remove detail like cliffsides. Oddly enough, I never clean up skywalls on the map periphery. It never occurred to me and I think they look kinda cool on the automap. ;)

[PeterMoro]

Too often i use doors for environmental decoration ie. There's a door that can't be opened and there's actually nothing behind it but it makes the map seem bigger than it is. 

I'm trying to cut down on that but I'm a sucker for 'epic maps'. 

 

Also i overdo monster closets because actually i hate spawning enemies. Something about it feels unfair. My new map will have spawning enemies though. They'll spawn on the opposite side of the map so that you'll encounter them randomly later on. 

[how to delete account]

Nice thread again. Tho i usually try to diversify my maps as best as possible, there are some tropes i like to follow.

 

-I usually make map with a few selection of around 25 textures, using mainly 2 colour or just 1, and if i use only 1 colour, it's brown

-I like to make smooth corners. That is making a 45/23/91agled corner like this (did i say that right? I think i did)

-Can't think of something involving gameplay, so eh :/

[Grain of Salt]

3 hours ago, Steve D said:

I only clean things like lines for gradient lighting, trigger lines and such

 

Those don't show up anyway

[Capellan]

18 minutes ago, Grain of Salt said:

Those don't show up anyway

 

They do with the computer map power-up.  I clean them up if there's any chance I'll be placing one of those.

[d-Illasera]

13 hours ago, Pegleg said:

• Again, one just needs to be reasonable. And 3 seconds is a LONG time, probably longer than is necessary to get your bearings.

 

Correction, Its not too much and not too little, i did want to use a variable but i have decided to make it a number for simplicity sake.

 

For starter : Hardware, There is monitor lag and input lag of multiple frames, in doom with LOGICAL 35 fps, it can span from 1 to even 10 frames (Depends on your monitor and input devices).

 

Visual/Audio response time changes from person to person, depends on their hobbies, GENDER, RACE, age, health.

 

with females being slower than males and Europeans are slower than Asians (ON AVERAGE).

 

Correction to the argument : Teleporting, Make sure the player won't get INSTANTLY attacked as soon as he teleports to a new place (give him X second(s) to process new information, depends on amount of new information AND field testing (keep testing it and ask OTHERS to test as well).

 

-References : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4456887/

https://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/

Edited October 9, 2018 by d-Illasera

[Spectre01]

2 hours ago, Grain of Salt said:

 

Those don't show up anyway

GZDoom can show trigger lines if you don't hide them too.

[DynamiteKaitorn]

A level design trope I use (and probably too often) is making levels that are linear... I seem to suck at making non-linear maps that are interesting :l

[d-Illasera]

1 hour ago, DynamiteKaitorn said:

A level design trope I use (and probably too often) is making levels that are linear... I seem to suck at making non-linear maps that are interesting :l

Well , Activision is always hiring, They pay well, with benefits.

[Marlamir]

Hmm not sure but maybe:

-comp and light textures, they are cheap and effective way to enhance look of room so why don't use it more often?

[DynamiteKaitorn]

36 minutes ago, d-Illasera said:

Well , Activision is always hiring, They pay well, with benefits.

I'd rather keep my dignity.

[Empyre]

I seem to be in love with octagons. You'll find them all over the place in my maps. The very first Doom sector I ever drew, the room where you spawn in EMP02 in  Empyrion, is an octagon.

No damaging floors. Damaging the player is the monsters' job.

No inescapable pit traps.

Lots of wide-open spaces, but also too many hallways.

If it looks like it would be a nice shortcut if the top stair was a lift, it is.

My doorways almost always have diagonal supports in the top corners, and the doors almost always stay open.

Most of my lifts are manual: press use to go back up. It is faster once you get used to it.

[SOSU]

I can't seem to get out of the "vanilla-train" :(

[hella knight]

@SOSU I don't know how long you've been on it, but you can just get off once you've had enough...

Though projects like BTSX always remind me the ol' vanilla train still has something to offer

[yakfak]

23 hours ago, Memfis said:

Perhaps players would be less likely to quit if you demonstrated a bit more confidence in your output. This constant "I'm an outcast, my maps won't please anyone, just ignore me" certainly can make them less interested in your works. I think people generally dislike seeing so much self-deprecation, it's just unpleasant.

 

giggle thanks

nah I'd rather stay self-effacing and aware of my own idiosyncracies than sell myself and my work as something it aint

i hate reading comments from overly confident people so each to their own

[SOSU]

51 minutes ago, hella knight said:

@SOSU I don't know how long you've been on it, but you can just get off once you've had enough...

Though projects like BTSX always remind me the ol' vanilla train still has something to offer

I always start with a grand idea of making something for ZDoom with custom stuff but lazyness kicks in and i just make it for vanilla :(

[Grain of Salt]

12 hours ago, Capellan said:

I clean them up

 

Not you too.

[Capellan]

1 hour ago, Grain of Salt said:

 

Not you too.

 

Yes indeedy.  I implement difficulty settings too.  Doomers gonna Doom how they like to Doom.

 

edit to add: I don't remove the lines for visible geometry, though, other than secret areas (and generally not even them when they are clearly visible from a non-secret part of the map).

Edited October 9, 2018 by Capellan

[Zanieon]

Well, if i'm not mapping Quake 3 in Doom, then i'm mapping Industron in Doom.

 

An extreme easy way to know when a map is made by me is the moment you find some light strips à la Tron Legacy as detailing somewhere.
Also huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge rooms and architeture overall, i used to create small places in the past but i dropped in favor of this kind of mapping.

[Skeletonpatch]

I haven't released many maps yet, but I think I've already got some 'tropes' (arguably, I don't consider them tropes).

• Every map I've make has a radically different feel and it's own set of motifs. When making maps I tend to come up with a central idea, and expand that idea in random directions once I open the editor.
• I often try to start/end my maps with an entrance/exit teleporter inspired by those from Plutionia.
• I try to establish a consistent set of motifs to set apart the various kinds of doors I use in my maps (normal, requires key, switch, inaccessible, etc.).
• I use a lot of teleporter closets. I rarely build my geometry with space included for monster closets, so I just teleport monsters in when I need an ambush/repopulation.
• I try to make man/demon-built structures look like they may serve some kind of purpose, whilst not conforming to strict realism.
• I try to strike a healthy balance between symmetry and asymmetry. I don't think it's necessary to favour one over the other.
• I am a perfectionist and will clean up my automaps as much as possible. If a linedef/sector isn't normally visible, it's flagged as hidden.
• I often add details to my automaps that serve no gameplay purpose and are only there for aesthetic reasons.
• Environmental storytelling. I try to make it possible for you to piece together what happened just by paying attention to how an area is decorated. A corpse with a shotgun and brains behind it? That guy wasn't letting the demons get to him. A dead marine at the end of a trail of blood in front of a springboard? Comical training accident.
• I try to make my texturework look natural, I don't like wallpaper in real life so I don't want my maps to feel like they've just been wallpapered on.

[⇛Marnetmar⇛]

I tend to forget that I know exactly where everything in my map is, but the player doesn't. That on top of my love for exploration makes it so I end up making something that's an adventure for me but is a total slog for a player who hasn't played the map before.

[Pinchy]

Always

• Automap cleaned
• Careful midi choice from something I haven't used yet

Common

• Clean, professional look
• Sandbox
• Good opening shot that sets the scene
• Full use of the beastiary
• As little as possible shotgun grind
• Significant outdoor space
• Very few doors if any, doors open with greater ease rather than direct use
• Minimised lift time unless I need it intentionally slow
• Two word map names
• Building map ideas from music
• Taking risks

Uncommon (possibly unique)

• Monsters placed entirely for decoration or ambience
• Unexpected use of "bad" textures that makes them good

[Jaska]

On 10/10/2018 at 4:06 AM, Pinchy said:

Always

• Automap cleaned
• Careful midi choice from something I haven't used yet

Common

• Clean, professional look
• Sandbox
• Good opening shot that sets the scene
• Full use of the beastiary
• As little as possible shotgun grind
• Significant outdoor space
• Very few doors if any, doors open with greater ease rather than direct use
• Minimised lift time unless I need it intentionally slow
• Two word map names
• Building map ideas from music
• Taking risks

Uncommon (possibly unique)

• Monsters placed entirely for decoration or ambience
• Unexpected use of "bad" textures that makes them good

Well, I have to check your maps!

 

My tropes:

 -I have a visual view in my mind which I try to mimick

 -I play the map

 -gameplay sucks

 -I change the geometry, add monsters

 -I think it may be too easy for everyone else, I add monsters

 -add download link to DW-people for feedback

 -gameplay has some problems

 -I change the geometry, add monsters

 -I think it may still be too easy for some, I add monsters (revs, and suitepee doesn't approve)

 -add more details

 -add more monsters

 -maybe there are too much low tier monsters and too less high tier...

 - (endless cycle of removing and adding monsters)

 

Random

 -early rocket launcher for gibbing

 -barrels for gibbing

 -height difference so you can gibn'drop

 -trying to build a fun experience

 -multiple paths

 -lots of secrets

 -lots of exploration

 -maybe some "wow" experiences

 -nice architecture

 -believable locations, seamless continuation of the maps..

 -kind of a story to tell (not yet accomplished)

 

 

[whirledtsar]

On 10/8/2018 at 10:10 PM, PeterMoro said:

Too often i use doors for environmental decoration ie. There's a door that can't be opened and there's actually nothing behind it but it makes the map seem bigger than it is. 

I'm trying to cut down on that but I'm a sucker for 'epic maps'. 

 

Also i overdo monster closets because actually i hate spawning enemies. Something about it feels unfair. My new map will have spawning enemies though. They'll spawn on the opposite side of the map so that you'll encounter them randomly later on. 

That's fine if there's an established texture that's never used on real doors, so players don't waste time trying to open them.

[Xaser]

Towers and circles.

 

Also, I do this support3-litered1-support3 pattern so dang much that I've added it to my personal texture resource wad as "LITEXASR":