i am in desperate need of some ideas for my map...

[LuVo]

Hello Everybody!
So, about 2-3 months ago, i started making my first doom map. everything went really well, and the map turned out really well for being my first work both in doom mapping and mapping in general. when it all came to the second room, i ran absolutely out of ideas. i was letting the time sink, for about a month, and i still have no idea what to put in there.

°I was first thinking about putting a Maze in there, and this is still an option. but i have to admit, i suck at making mazes, i tried it and yeah it failed miserably
°I was thinking about putting another "fighting" room in there, but this is not really an option, because this would make the map really boring, because it then only contains   "fighting" rooms
°I was thinking about putting a "puzzle-like game" in there, where you have to find a way forward, but i have to say that i haven't tried this, and i don't know how well it would work out.

what should i put in there?

Here is a Playthrough of my map, and this is exactly how it is now:

Also, i am really sorry if this is the false forum to post that in!

thanks in advance, greetings from germany!

[Stabbey]

The best way to get ideas is to play more maps. There's usually something in a mapset which can pique your imagination.

[General Rainbow Bacon]

This looks like a 'first map' effort.  I would advise trying to get away from making rectangles and squares.  Also, maybe give the player something to look at.  It doesn't have to be some super detailed sculpture though.  And I agree with Stabbey that you should play some maps to get inspiration for yours.  Don't worry about trying to come up with a unique idea or some detailed masterpiece as those take a very long time to come up with, and of course, have fun!  

[DavidN]

Where you've got plain walls just now, add zig-zags to make them look like natural outdoor crags, put a sector behind them and pull the floor upwards to make nooks where you can put monsters that throw fireballs at you from afar... the room at the end looks good, experimenting more with angles!

[erkyp3rky]

• play other wads for inspiration! as long as youre not outright stealing theres no shame in copying some great ideas (like a warehouse of crates in hell, or a submarine infiltration mission, ect) and putting your own twist on them
• move away from blocky rooms as others have stated. play around with height variation, cover and texture use! have different layers to your areas to give them more depth
• use traps and ambushes to create interesting or at the very least intense combat scenarios. could be anything from a bunch of monster closets opening when picking up a key or a door locking behind a player forcing them to think on their feet and survive a room. locking doors/trapping players is an especially good one because believe it or not one of doom guy's greatest weapons is his ability to open and close doors and thereby leave the room.

and heres some criticisms for the level depicted in the video that will hopefully help you out:

• dont use teleporter textures as a floor texture unless its actually a teleporter. the teleporter texture is a bit of a sacred thing really and the fact it is used solely as a teleporter texture and nothing else is so that players can easily "read" a level while running around. if i see that texture while sprinting across the level trying to escape archviles, i know its a teleporter.
• to me your level kind of feels like paintball arenas. like you built a big big room and then added cover and walls in the middle.

[The BMFG]

playing other wads for inspiration is a great way to go about it

hell ive used obsidian maps for inspiration.

[Kor]

When I have no ideas for what to do next, I just start adding some random thing.  That leads to one idea and that idea leads to another.  And my thought on mazes is just don't.  I know I've done a maze in one of my maps (e4m6 of Vengeance), but now I see them as the most uninteresting thing you can do in Doom.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Kor

[URROVA]

10 hours ago, erkyp3rky said:

dont use teleporter textures as a floor texture unless its actually a teleporter. the teleporter texture is a bit of a sacred thing really and the fact it is used solely as a teleporter texture and nothing else is so that players can easily "read" a level while running around. if i see that texture while sprinting across the level trying to escape archviles, i know its a teleporter.

To continue this, this is part of the visual language doom has. Some textures are for specific mechanics in the game, for example, door textures are for doors that could be opened somehow, switch textures should be switches that can activate something, nukage floor textures should be a damaging floor. The game tells you what something does by its textures.

 

Besides playing other maps, i should recommend analyzing original doom mechanics, making a list of what mechanics do you have available and could be used. Maybe you find a mechanic you never used and could be used for continuing your map.

[RataUnderground]

Put you in youtube a "Dean of doom" episode, close your eyes and try to imagine how looks the map MtPain27 is describing.

[Sonikkumania]

Try to go to R667 to do some "window shopping" and maybe you will gain inspiration there.