How much detail is.. too much?

[Doom'd Marine]

i was wondering whats the right amount of detail for levels, without going overboard ( ie having 1000+ sector levels.. which isnt a bad thing but it seems a bit much imo)

[Ichor]

A good example of too much detail is Gothic99.

[Dutch Doomer]

Heh almost all my levels are above 1000+ sectors, some of them are above 3000+ sectors.
I have absolutely no problem with huge ammounts of detail, as long it doesn't stand in the way of gameplay.
But I enjoy an map with low ammounts of detail just the same, I prefer to make my maps very detailed though.

[Belial]

Ichor said:

A good example of too much detail is Gothic99.

And Hedrox.

[Doom'd Marine]

o_o ouch; i could never concentrate enough to put 3000 sectors into a single level >.< i think the highest sector number in a level i made was 300+... but then again it was an out doorlevel and it looked pretty empty....

[Scuba Steve]

Ooo HedRox, that was a good level. Top 10 last year!

[Doom'd Marine]

looking at SS's name i just got reminded of the movie big daddy o_o; is that normal?

[myk]

I'd say "too much detail" would be any small scale designs in the map that mess the map up, either by making play awkward or perhaps by appearing inconsistent with the rest of the layout (if one room is pretty bare and another full of small details, one should think about making up his mind.) It's not a matter of quantity in the strict sense (although in the end each designer and player may prefer certain amounts of details, but that just goes with practice and preference.) Also, any details that abuse the resources in a way that they look dumb is generally pointless, like stuff that is too thin of too small to look good in a map with low-res textures.

Finally, you can't please everybody. Some will say "uh, why all this pointless detail?" while others will say "hey, you coulda smacked some more detail in this corner!" Thus, while input doesn't hurt and can help, its best to just please yourself; if it suits you, go with it.

[JadedLexi]

Too much detail = above Tormentor667 level
:P

[Doom'd Marine]

lol; keep the posts coming, this isnt a quesiton; but an opinion thread, i want peoples opinions =P

[Linguica]

Any time you're mapping with a grid below 8, you're probably using too much detail.

[Ezxariarch]

it all epends on how big your map is and how you use it. I thyin ktoo much is when the background becomes so detailed that you can't tell the monsters from the environment.

[Khorus]

When Doom lags on a 3200+ :P

[SyntherAugustus]

Too much detail is when doom maps will end up like new games, where the geometry is barebones and the levels will be made with md3s.

I'm speaking of this because it's sorta happening with jdoom and it can soon happen with Gzdoom's model support.

[Nautilus]

Ichor said:

A good example of too much detail is Gothic99.

Excellent map for deathmatch.

[Enjay]

Too much detail is the detail that gets in the way of gameplay. It's the detail that gets you stuck on something that you should be able to walk past easily or unintentionally gets in the way when you are dodging. Everything else is down to the mapper and player's tastes.

[Ismaele]

Too much detail = (when editing) you are focusing excessively on architecture instead of gameplay and difficulty!

[Hobbs]

When detail in any way hinders movement, attacking (both you and the monster) or any sort of gameplay mechanics, theres too much of it.

[Enjay]

Ismaele said:

Too much detail = (when editing) you are focusing excessively on architecture instead of gameplay and difficulty!

Define excessively. Excessive = too much. So too much detail is too much? Well, it makes sense anyway. ;)

If you take the word "excessively" out of your statement, I disagree. Focusing on architecture instead of gameplay and difficulty is not necessarily a problem. What if you know you've got the gameplay sorted, but you really want to put some work into making an eye-popping level? Also, is it not possible to focus on them all equally?

[Doom'd Marine]

As i seen in the wads ive played so far; The Limit of detail with me is when i open the map and there is a room with two solid white bars going about three inches across and its filled nothing but small sectors o_o;