1 ALL MAPS

These guidelines are as close as this document gets to laws. These are guidelines that should be followed almost without question as their inclusion or exclusion, whichever the case may be, can be seriously detrimental to your map.

1.1 Do not design “no-win” situations.

No win situations occur when the player is trapped and has no choice but to kill himself or quit the game. Do not include these. Do not gamble as to whether the player has saved recently or not. If they have, the least damage done is they are irritated at stopping the game in such fashion. If they didn’t save, all of their work after the last save is lost. No win situations don’t add to the difficulty of a map, just the frustration with it.

1.2 Do not use the limitations of the game engine to challenge players.

Some methods are merely cheesy while others are frustrating. For example, in Marathon, the player can't jump. Forcing the player to negotiate platform “hops” that require extreme precision is ridiculous. The game simply wasn't designed for such.

1.3 Use lighting and shading consistently in your maps.

If you have an area that is realistically shaded and lit, but then have an area that calls for the same, but have nothing — that’s unrealistic. If you’re drawing complex lighting and shading in your map, use it throughout. If you’re lighting and shading are simplistic, fine, use consistency.

1.3.1 Since complex lighting can lead to a high numbers of polygons in view, you should consider making two versions of a net map one simple for people with slow computers and the other complex.

Draw the simple version first, make a copy, then light and shade it.

1.4 Thoroughly test maps before release to the public.

Test maps with as many people as possible. This will garner opinions from different perspectives, catch the mistakes, and make suggestions where possible.

1.5 Learn from others’ maps.

This is important. Study the maps that came with the game. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Don’t repeat mistakes others have made.