Automap editing?

[Memfis]

Let's say I want to make automap users happy and show/hide some lines for better gameplay experience, what should I do? I almost never use the automap so I don't really know much about it. One thing I've heard is that apparently monster closets can be seen on the automap, so you have to put a secret flag on them to hide them. What else?

[Enjay]

I think that you may be confusing the terminology slightly. There are two important flags here; secret and invisible/hidden (different editors may name them slightly differently).

"secret" doesn't hide the line. In fact, it kind of does the opposite; it makes the line look like an impassable line when it isn't. This is useful for hiding doors that the player isn't supposed to be able to see on the automap. This could be the door to a secret or something like a monster cupboard. These are 2 sided lines and so would not look like a 1S wall on the automap. The flag "fixes" this thereby making the fact that the wall can open more secret/surprising than if the automap was giving the game away.

"invisible" is more like what you describe. It prevents the line from appearing on the automap. Use with caution. If you start hiding lines that players want/need to help them navigate, you will end up annoying people. They can be used to hide some of the lines used for detail in the map to reduce clutter on the automap. They can also be used to hide how special effects have been done or to just hide control sectors outside the play area etc.

And finally, there is a third automap relevant flag "automap" or "initially shown on automap". Lines with this flag are drawn on the automap as if the player has seen them right from the start regardless of whether they have actually been seen or not. Probably not what you are looking for but it can come in handy now and again.

[scifista42]

"Hidden" flag to all decorative detail, specially if it's extensively used over floors, and also to unreachable structures outside the map + dummy sectors.

I personally don't mind unpolished automap and usually don't bother with this work in my maps too (but well, sometimes I do, a little).

[tourniquet]

Usually i only flag monster closets and dummy sectors as hidden, just to avoid that the player might consider them as a Secret.

[Gez]

Enjay said:

And finally, there is a third automap relevant flag "automap" or "initially shown on automap". Lines with this flag are drawn on the automap as if the player has seen them right from the start regardless of whether they have actually been seen or not. Probably not what you are looking for but it can come in handy now and again.

One thing that sometimes trip people: this flag does not guarantee the line will actually be shown. It needs to be a one-sided wall, or if it is a two-sided line it needs to have a sector height difference. The automap will not show two-sided lines with no height differences, even if they have that flag set.

[Enjay]

Gez said:

One thing that sometimes trip people: this flag does not guarantee the line will actually be shown. It needs to be a one-sided wall, or if it is a two-sided line it needs to have a sector height difference. The automap will not show two-sided lines with no height differences, even if they have that flag set.

Ah yes, thanks, I forgot that detail.

There is another way to get 2S lines show up though. If you flag the line using the "secret" flag and the "automap" flag, a 2S line will appear on the automap looking like a 1S line when the game starts regardless of what is on either side of the line (even a 2S line with both sides in the same sector will show up using this method).

[Memfis]

Thanks for the tips. It seems like just adding a "secret" flag here and there to hide the presence of the secrets and monster closets (or not closets... how do you call it if a door opens and the monsters just walk out?) doesn't take much time, so I can at least do that to improve the playing experience for other people a bit.