Health item placement

[40oz]

In general, most reality-demo recordings have proven that many levels can be done without taking any damage at all. With enough skill, precision, (and in most cases, tool assistance) you don't really need to have health in a map at all. The point of having health is to make the map fun in a map where taking damage is likely to happen.

That said, when creating a map, how do you justify when or when not to heal your player? Do you playtest your own maps and give health when you think it's necessary? Do you just wing it, and hope the player gets what he needs when he needs it? Can you estimate how much damage an average player would normally take given the circumstances of your level design? Are you generous with health? How much is too much? Are you stingy with health items? Do you care if people get frustrated because of it? What do you think?

[jmickle66666666]

i put health in places it'd look nice

[Dave The Daring]

One good thing about making UDMF maps is that I could just write a regenerating health ACS script and not worry about health distribution at all.

[scifista42]

I initially place health somewhat proportionately around the map, or by guessing where the player would need it. Then I playtest multiple times and adjust the placement in this fashion: If I approach a health item while having more than approximately 50-75% HP in most attempts, I will usually remove the health item (I keep some, but infrequently, and only in places that seem fitting to put pickups in). If I approach a place where I fall below approximately 50-75% HP in most attempts, I will usually add health items there (sometimes not, but only if justified by a gameplay purpose, like that I want the player to struggle for his life here).

[purist]

I've got into some habits with health items that is not necessarily a good thing but it's often along these lines:

A couple of medikits at the start and end of the map to help out continuous players.

A stim pack for each routine encounter.

Larger health stashes for tougher fights or setpieces depending on playtesting.

Medikits and larger health items in secret areas, optional areas and special cases.

A medikit near any damaging floors I expect the player to go into

Health potions spammed everywhere as breadcrumbs, decoration and item vomit.

[schwerpunk]

I like to pepper stimpacks around every other room, but not more than a handfull in one place. I reserve giving over 25hp for breathing-room areas (between encounters), secrets, and quasi-secret off-the-main-path type areas.

I'll almost never put medikits out in the open.

[Megamur]

Excessive playtesting, both by myself and with feedback from other players. If it seems like the playtesters are getting smacked around hard in certain sections, I'll throw in a medikit or a couple of stimpacks to ease the pain.

I also often like to place health as a reward for exploring the nooks and crannies of a map, like on tables or behind structures that seemingly have no purpose beyond appearance. This encourages players to further analyze and absorb the visual details and layout of the locations I create, and let them feel satisfied that they found some little hidden trinkets for their efforts. Think of them as mini-secrets. This also means that the map might have more health than it really needs, but the tougher, less cautious, speedrunner type players that don't bother to explore won't notice it. It makes the difficulty level more modular that way.

And never underestimate the awesomeness of stimpacks. Medikits might heal more, but stimpacks are more "flexible." Don't be afraid to group them together in place of medikits. If I'm knocked down to 85% health, I'd rather pick up a stimpack and boost myself up to 95%, rather than grab a medikit and waste 10% health.

[Jaws In Space]

When I do thing placement I save health and armor for last. I basically start up my map with no health in it & play until I die. Once I'm dead I'll open up the editor & place health in areas where I took the most damage, I usually will only place health & armor to keep the player around 40% just to keep them on their toes while still giving them some breathing room. Then I start the map over & go until I die & repeat the process until I can make it to the exit.

[baja blast rd.]

Yeah, when I design fights I usually leave out health that isn't playing a specialized role beyond "being a source of healing". Common specialized roles include 1) bait to trigger a trap or set piece; 2) a protected resource that a "guardian monster" is watching over; 3) reward for winning a tough fight or finding a secret; 4) breadcrumbs, usually in the form of the 1% items, to direct the player's movement and attention.

All of these end up being placeholders to some extent until I playtest. When I playtest I'll refine the existing items and add incidental health, and all the health constantly gets tweaked as I test more and more.