minimalist fidelity

hey,

just came up with this idea... i'm interested to see what you can come up with.

the idea is to create visually pleasing architecture but only using as little lines/sectors as possible. basically almost using vanilla rules but making it look better.

to give a rough example, i took a screenshot from my current map (https://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/74570-small-deathmatch-map/):



you see, it's a pretty simple room with a tiny bit of details. but i think it looks pretty cool. i also simulated the lighting if you look very closely. the computers are not just flat textures but actual blocks if you will. i think this will add some depth to the scene. there are also curved walls which always look nice. the thing on the top almost adds too much complexity to the idea of keeping it as minimalist as possible but i didn't want to remove it for this screenshot. it may still fit to the scheme if you're a bit tolerant.

so, do you have some examples of minimalist architecture that still looks good? maybe put something new together and show it. maybe you have a particularly good looking wall design. or a special way to make a floor/ceiling look cool. plz, share it here.

Absolutely :)

minimalist architecture with strong attention to texture alignment can go a long way. I can't think of any ideal examples off hand, but I can think of a few mappers who are crazy with texture alignment, though they usually go crazy with sectors too so idk.

still yet, keeping it simple is a good way to go I think :P

a good minimalistic style the way you intended that comes in mind are the Paul Corfiatis maps...

Anyway this sounds like a nice idea... i'll maybe do something...

zzzornbringer said:

so, do you have some examples of minimalist architecture that still looks good?

The entirety of "Suspended in Dusk" and "Back to Basics". Heck, even the entirety of "BTSX" would qualify.

I might be one of those mappers 40oz is talking about. :P I'd probably add a bit of light variation though.

Digging this hard. Less is more.

However, I think for some people, me included, it's easier to sector the bejeezus out of a map than creatively use fewer sectors. It's certainly tough for me to evoke a certain atmosphere without feeling like I have to go hog wild on detail.

Matt Tropiano's Coffee Break Episode 1 comes to mind:

http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/a-c/cafebrk1

I assume a part of the minimalism zzzornbringer is talking about means using minimal resources as well, restricting to the default textures.

I've always been a minimalist man, this is right up my alley! Contrary to common opinion, it's possible to make a very sleek, even atmospheric map only using very few sectors and linedefs.