/vr/ - Retro Games

>>3259203
Not the other anon, but I have suggestions based on my own experience. When I hit a wall designing a map, I switch off monsters and take a peaceful walk through a wad I've beaten, complete with noclip/console commands to change levels when I want to look at something different.

Another approach could be thinking about what your map IS. Consider Doom 1. You start off in tech bases during episode 1. Then you start seeing marble in E2. Finally you arrive in hell in E3. Doom 2 introduces city maps to this mix. Plutonia adds jungles. Any of these is a good starting point for a theme.

Examples:

First, my DUMP 2 entry was a partially excavated marble temple. Humans were there at one point, judging by the presence of electric light, but they didn't get very far in, considering how the enemy density climbs as you go deeper underground.

Second, my DUMP 3 map is a hell level, with theming that's a mix of blood rivers and wooden structures. The UAC had an observation post set above one of the blood lakes, but they're long gone. The major setpiece is working your way up the blood river to the top of a bloodfall and killing everything up there. Good luck getting the gate open to go upriver in the first place, though.

In terms of gameplay, I think of making a level as playing a game of chess that you want to lose, but at the same time don't want to make it look like you're throwing it away.

Example:

At one point in my DUMP 3 map, the player walks over a trigger that wakes up a fuckton of monsters. The rocket launcher is in the middle of the nearest group to the trigger, but it was kind of hard to reach without being punched to death. Since you really need it to fight back against an already formidable wave, I took it out of the monster closet and put it on top of the trigger that opens it instead. You still need the scrounge for ammo, but at least you can defend yourself until you get some. See the end of the webm for the old RL grab.

Here's a webbum of my DUMP 3 project. If I have time maybe I'll make a second map. Main thought I have watching it as a spectator: the area at the end of the video where I get the rocket launcher looks samey. I'm thinking of adding small rocks sticking out of the blood to break up the monotony. Maybe I could also show cracks in the ceiling and imply it's literally falling apart too. That might look interesting.

I like how it plays right now, though. It took me four attempts to not die somewhere along the way, but the deaths weren't all in the last area which I designed to be harder than the others. That means the difficulty's more even than my...backloaded DUMP 2 map "For All Kings." 90% of my testing deaths were during the final slaughter when I made that.

Overall: I don't know how much is done. It's easier for me to think of this level in terms of branches. The mandatory branch is probably 50/60% done. The optional wallbanger secret sequence/slaughter "shit" is probably 20 or 30% done.

>>3253289
I've seen two pistols before in Deus Vult 2. Three is new as far as I know. It sure isn't useless.