i need advice on my first map

[yuri04]

you've probably already seen tons of threads like this. this is my first map and since i'd like to make more, i wanna know if i have any chance at mapping or i'm hopeless. please give me feedback

http://www.mediafire.com/download/545kx3rc74ig5eh/map01_try.wad

[scifista42]

This is your first map? This is a really overaverage first map then. It's even better than many people's standard maps. Trust me that you're already far from hopeless. The map looks good, plays well, is varied enough and has thought out gameplay, and if you forgive several infinitely tall corpses, it even seems PrBoom-plus compatible! I really can't say anything bad about it aside from nitpicks, which are pretty inappropriate for reviewing someone's first map. It seems you know what you do. Great job here!

(Well, if you want to hear an advice, be sure to take into account the risks connected with a vertical-like gameplay, which itself is good. I mean, be careful about placing corpses that don't have the "no blocking" attribute, and be careful about teleporters, if they're on ground, player may accidentaly step into them while jumping between tall ledges. In the case of your map however, this didn't spoil the general good feelings for me :))

[Memfis]

The visuals feel very random, maybe like in a computer generated map... Lots of different textures and various details everywhere resulting in a total mess that doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe try using fewer textures per room and making transitions between textures smoother. It's hard to explain how to do that, you just gotta practice more and eventually you'll start to feel it.

The map structure/layout is nice though, this seems to be your strong point. You have a lot of interestingly shaped rooms and they are connected well with each other. I think you have very good potential, you just need to learn more "coherent" texturing.

[scifista42]

This is interesting, there has recently been a beginner map called Daylight and while Memfis liked it, I've had the same problem with that (Daylight.wad) map that Memfis described with this one. Here (in map01_try.wad) I don't find the texturing any bad, even like many of the detail usage and texture combinations. Just saying for the author's info. Don't want any conflict.

[Lombardi]

Your first map and you did this? I'd give you a trophy if I had one. This is great work!

[mouldy]

Great map for a first map, loads of varied locations and interesting design, nice use of monsters and cool secrets. Takes you on quite a little journey too. Definitely shows a good knowledge of what makes an interesting map.

I could suggest a few minor things design-wise, a lot of this is just stuff to keep in mind for future maps rather than things to change in this one..

I'd agree with memfis that the texturing is maybe a little busy in places, I don't think its excessive, I think its just more noticable because of all the flashing lighting as well, it means theres a lot going on for your eyes to deal with and makes it harder to remember rooms and easier to get lost. The lighting effect that goes from bright to pitch black looks a bit weird when its surrounded by normally lit sectors too.

Where you have a gap between things that you can't get out of if you fall in, i think its better design to fix it so you can get out (or can't get in) rather than putting a teleport there.

There's a switch on linedef 1470 that has a barrier in front of it, but you can still press the switch from the ground. Switches can be switched no matter how high they are if you are standing near them. Also the way to lower that barrier is a bit obscure.

Bumpy floors look cool, but will annoy some people. I've found that where zdoom smooths out the bumps quite a bit as you move over them, prboom is a lot more jerky.

Your doors are quite chunky, I'd make them a bit thinner than the walls - keep the 32 pixel doorways and make the doors themselves 16 pixels. Also your exit door texture looks a bit weird, I don't think the right half of the texture is meant to be used as part of the door itself, its for the doorframe and stuff.

Impressive start.

[yuri04]

thanks everyone for their comments. and yes, i think i've used too many kinds of textures too- but i had lots of ideas in mind when i was making the map, so maybe i mixed them up a bit.

i have another question though,do you guys think the map is balanced ammo-wise and health-wise? i add that the map is supposed to be playable from pistol start.

[scifista42]

It's balanced very tightly. You may add a little more ammo on the player's main path. But not too much. Just that much so he can finish off the trio hellknights with a baron, and still have ammo to deal with following monsters ;)

[Ribbiks]

hi. here's a fda for your map. Pretty interesting, some refreshing weirdness. I'll reiterate what others have said about it being a solid for a first map.

some comments and/or bugs:

- cluttered, lots of small bitty details and bumpy things that make maneuvering around a slight pain.
- I encourage you to break away from the "rooms full of monsters connected by doors to more rooms full of monsters", it tends to encourage camping.
- I know you might not be concerned with port compatibility, but hanging corpses that block player movement are kind of annoying
- a lift was tagged as lower unpegged. (see demo for specifics, I'm too lazy to open DB right now -.-)
- a few sectors were marked as damaging that shouldn't have been
- you can hit the switch in the BK-ish area from the ground.
- you can SR50 across the gap in some nukagey room, this is actually the only reason I beat the map in my fda because I got into a nasty situation with multiple hellknights blocking a tiny damaging corridor without any radsuits. sooo... nvm.
- ammo/health balance is mostly fine. towards the end I was building up a surplus but I might've skipped a monster or two.
- textures are a bit sporadic, but others have touched on that already

[yuri04]

[QUOTE]mouldy said:

Bumpy floors look cool, but will annoy some people. I've found that where zdoom smooths out the bumps quite a bit as you move over them, prboom is a lot more jerky.

. [/QUOTE

what do you mean by "bumpy floors"?

[mouldy]

Uneven floors, floors with dips and bumps. Stuff like this



Its not a big deal really, just something to keep in mind.

[yakfak]

I wouldn't worry about bumpy floors unless you're trying to win a Cacoward. >:3 when you map you shouldn't feel the need to skirt around other player's pet hates. The one thing I'd replace in your map is the use of TEKWALL* textures, since I've always thought they looked stupid, but if you like them then keep 'em.

[mouldy]

Yeah don't feel like you have to change the way you do stuff cos someone else doesn't like it. Most of the advice i gave is my own opinion about design, and as everyone here makes maps they will all have their own ideas about what makes a good one.

[esselfortium]

Floor height changes affect player movement. An easy example of this is to compare your ability to stop quickly when you're running across a flat floor, to your ability to stop quickly when you're running down a staircase. When you're walking up and down lots of floor detail, even if it's only a 1 unit height difference, you have less control over your movement, so for gameplay's sake it's generally best to limit your use of decorative floor height changes.

[Dragonsbrethren]

Yeah, bumpy floors are really, really annoying. You can do good looking floor detail without the need for height changes. Definitely keep them to a minimum; I don't know how anyone can stand them, personally.

[Retog]

This is brilliant. It is better than anything I have ever made.
Feels very much like a doom 2 map.

[Clonehunter]

Honestly better than anything I've created ever. Also pretty good and fairly well sized for a first map. Fairly challenging, though monsters seem fairly cluttered in some aspects, and drawn out fights in predominately nukage floors (despite the number of rad suits) aren't generally that fun imo. Granted it provides a sense of urgency, but can be tedious. Otherwise, nice tech base.

And I for one don't mind bumpy floors, but for monsters they can be unsettling.