[D2] dumb tiny map i made to get at least one thing finished

[Ambureon]

November 2017 - I start building my first DOOM map--or, at least, the first one I put any amount of effort into.

January 2019 - After over a year of on-and-off detailing this map, I realise... This ain't even fun, dude. So I try to make some other bullshit.

May 2019 - what do you mean this is five months of progress this is so tiny

 

Spoiler

Started a map with the basic concept of the player spawn being in some secret area "backyard" to the main facility, and the exit being the front. You can beat it in, like, two minutes. I tried making it compatible with most ports, but I think something got corrupted, and it only works with GZDoom now. No jumping, no crouching, Doom II, MAP01, you know the drill. Hope at least one person gets some enjoyment out of this. I'm satisfied having just finished something for once.

 

backyard.zip

[Tango]

1 hour ago, Ambureon said:

I'm satisfied having just finished something for once.

 

as you should be! I think that making smaller, less ambitious things and making yourself release them even in a non-perfect state is the secret to not going 5 years without releasing something despite countless hours spent in doom builder. I think your skills will progress a lot more quickly this way, and you'll probably have a ton more fun doing it, too.

 

anyway, the map looks neat from the screenshots :D congrats on releasing it mate!

 

EDIT: just gave it a whirl, neat little map! I really like the exit and the hellish stuff around it, and I liked the way the map started with the player running through a vent. here are some things I think would be solid changes:

 

• a new midi and a new sky would be nice to have; I think both of those go a long way toward establishing the identity of a map. I'm happy to help if you would need any pointers on how to do either of these things
• I think it would be nice if the keys stood out a little more. I ran over both of them without even realizing it at first, as it seemed like they're just kind of sitting on the floor. although maybe this was intentional and they're supposed to look like keys dropped by dead marines? I can't remember if there are dead marine decorations near them, so apologies if I missed those haha
• you could I think safely make a lot of the monsters in the final outdoor area deaf (or "Ambush player" or whatever it's called in Doom Builder these days), so that they're not active and roaming around before the player gets to the end. I think also making some pillars in that area and placing monsters on there as turrets would help the gameplay a lot, even if those turrets are just imps or something

 

cool map mate, thanks for sharing :D

Edited May 24, 2019 by Tango

[Ambureon]

Thanks for the feedback!!

 

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a new midi and a new sky would be nice to have; I think both of those go a long way toward establishing the identity of a map. I'm happy to help if you would need any pointers on how to do either of these things

Yeah, I was trying to find another song, but couldn't decide on one, and just wanted to get this out the door. A new sky would be neat, but, like, not priority, either.

 

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I think it would be nice if the keys stood out a little more. I ran over both of them without even realizing it at first, as it seemed like they're just kind of sitting on the floor. although maybe this was intentional and they're supposed to look like keys dropped by dead marines? I can't remember if there are dead marine decorations near them, so apologies if I missed those haha

There were zombieman corpses there, but I could probably make them stand out better, yeah.

 

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you could I think safely make a lot of the monsters in the final outdoor area deaf (or "Ambush player" or whatever it's called in Doom Builder these days), so that they're not active and roaming around before the player gets to the end. I think also making some pillars in that area and placing monsters on there as turrets would help the gameplay a lot, even if those turrets are just imps or something

I'll admit I rushed through the entire finale section a bit, just kinda tossing in whatever high-tier enemies I felt fit. Making them deaf would be a good tweak, but I'm not gonna make any other major changes to this map, I think. Just gonna move on to whatever next map I make. Appreciate all the feedback still, though!

[Tango]

haha I respect it, ultimately a good decision to just move on. cheers mate :D

[xvertigox]

Hey man, this is solid as fuck. Good work on releasing this. The detailing and texture work makes the map a lot more interesting. The white light decoration was pretty cool. There are a few things I would have a look at:

 

- Combat is quite flat, adding some teleporting monsters or monster closets would spice it up.

 

- The map itself is actually fairly flat. Some more height variation would be nice.

 

- I'm not a fan of blocking linedefs where it looks like you should be able to go. I do like the idea of seeing over to the back to see the hellish influence but I think the dividing wall should be higher and you should see the redrock peaking (or even towering) above it.

 

- Your secrets show up on the automap, you can mark them to show as a regular 1 sided linedef in GZDB/DBX so as not to give away their position.

 

- The map is very easy, especially with the secrets. Being easy isn't necessarily a bad thing but when coupled with one dimensional combat encounters it doesn't make the gameplay overly engaging.

 

- The keys were hard to spot in the gibbed corpses, I ran right past the red key without realizing.

 

The mechanics of building the map and the creative flairs were solid, the next things to look at (IMO) are more varied/fun combat and maybe more height variation (that includes floors).

 

 

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I'm not gonna make any other major changes to this map, I think. Just gonna move on to whatever next map I make.

 

100% do this IMO. If you try to change the map around you'll find more and more stuff you'll want to change when you could just make a new map that's creatively different with those same ideas applied.

 

Here's my playthrough:

 

Spoiler

 

 

[HAK3180]

I was gonna say some stuff, but most of it is basically the same as what xvertigox said. The only thing I'll add is I really like the atmosphere of the very beginning. It could maybe be a little darker outside, but it kinda has the Solid Snake thing going on. Perhaps something of a cliche, but it definitely could get one intrigued if this were the opener of a set, for example. As far as spicing up the combat, the inside is better than the outside. The outside combat is easily the most amateur part of this map.

 

Thanks for sharing. I hope to see more.

[Ambureon]

Thanks for all the feedback! Let me just...

 

See y'all in, like, five months. Or whenever the fuck I manage to squeeze out another dumb tiny map.

[Tango]

47 minutes ago, Ambureon said:

See y'all in, like, five months. Or whenever the fuck I manage to squeeze out another dumb tiny map.

 

if you do it in a week i'll give you a cookie

[Suitepee]

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/431244378

 

I play this at 1:40:45 into this playtest livestream. Not bad for a "tiny map".