SteveRock

i guess you can't tether your computer (if it's a laptop) to your phone? can you at least transfer files, like a zip archive?

wow this is really cool. you've made a lot of progress already! so eureka and doom builder (variants) are fully open source on github.

what are people's thoughts on obscured switches these days? for example, non-secret switches that are hard to find or use a non-standard texture. or, their effects are obscured, where they activate some door/lift that is far away and not that memorable. do some players still enjoy hunting around for them? i personally feel it really kills the pacing of a map, and it's my least favorite thing about DOOM wads. it's never satisfying to "figure out" - and i love puzzle games. with keys, sometimes they can be obscured too much, but at least they can't be disguised and it's obvious where to use them thanks to the automap. on the other hand, i don't want everything to be handed to me either. i don't need every switch to be right next to the thing they activate. but i think the solution there is to make the targeted thing memorable, like maybe a large gate entrance into a castle or a bridge over a gap. not some random door or lift. obviously this is a bit subjective. please be civil in your replies :)

I can't find a link to FCFF...anyone got one?

yeah that's a good point. i would guess most "self-contained" maps tend to be in the middle of a mega wad or episode. so yeah, good pt to not ignore mega-wads, even if i never intend on making one. i actually found Nevermore because i really enjoyed "metal mothers" in BTSX1, so i looked up other maps by the author.

just played Emerald Ambush - really enjoyed it! short and sweet. large weapon and monster variety. maybe even a bit too short for my taste. got any more recs?

wow thanks for all the great advice here! yeah i think @Daytime Waitress summarized it best: play a bunch, find what you like, and try to make that. so i guess i don't like super huge and ornate single-levels, like Remnant or Deus Vult or Supply Depot. those are the ones that are typically recommended and win awards tho. i only recently discovered smaller ones, like Nevermore, through more specific digging. what i like about it: about mid-size, large weapon variety (you almost immediately get the SSG), and large monster variety (Baron in the third room). so basically, a map that would fit more in the second half of an episode.

i enjoy some doom mapping, but making a whole mega-WAD is very daunting. at this stage in life, i don't think i'd have the time to undertake such a project. i'll probably only ever make single maps. so i was wondering, what are the community's expectations around single map WADs? i'm guessing it shouldn't just be like E1M1: only pistol and shotgun, grunts/args/imps, playable in 5-10 minutes. this is probably too basic of an experience for the community and people wouldn't really enjoy it. this kind of experience makes sense as the first map of a mega wad, but for a single level, too basic. so what are people's general expectations? and what are some good examples? a recent one i played and enjoyed is castle nevermore - what are others like that? i guess the DVs are examples, tho they seem to be actually several maps squished into one.

@LadyMistDragon @StodgyAyatollah thanks for the great feedback! i've decided to do another pass on textures. i wanted to stick to IWAD textures mostly, but having done that exercise already, i realized SP_ROCK1 just kinda sucks for what i'm doing. time to use good ol' CC4 rock textures. a preview:

RELEASED! please see OP for WAD link, new screenies, etc.

it's awesome using voxels for WADs - like playing DTWID with them. but some WADs come with their own sprites, like Pirate! Doom, and i'd rather not have voxels override those - i tried modifying the argument order, but voxels always seem to override...any way around this?

Wow @Omniarch thanks so much for those detailed recs! i will be working through them all :)

sweeet lots for me to dig into! not really into combat puzzles, but i'll keep an open mind.

I’m looking for maps that are interesting to explore, and/or have interesting (not just obscure) puzzles. What are some ones I should try?

we can't always be at our computers playing DOOM. sometimes we're commuting or traveling, and it's good to get some action gaming in on our phones. what are some mobile games ya'll like? games that offer some fast, satisfying, frenetic action? to start, i'll recommend Kero Blaster. it's pretty cutesy, but the action is solid. made by the guy who made Cave Story.