Tips for designing FPS levels?

[Hot_Dog]

I've played Doom before, and that's been my inspiration for placing enemies and weapons into levels for Elimination.  However, I have never designed FPS levels before, and so I don't have any ideas for how to keep a level from being too easy or too hard--or too boring.  I have no problem with walls, but I have difficulty deciding how to place enemies and ammunition to create a fun level.

So let's say that I know the power of each enemy and the power of each weapon.  I want to place ammunition, enemies and health/armor just right so that a level is challenging yet fun.  Can you guys offer me tips for how to design a decent level right off the bat so that I won't have to test it much?  If I have to I'll run some computations, but I don't think that ID software did that when they created DOOM

And sorry if this is confusing.  Please feel free to ask me to clarify.

[LincolnB]

A big thing Doom and also Quake both had were very simple design on the outside, but tons and tons of stuff available through hidden doors and secret combinations and other stuff like that. So you could go through a level in like 30 seconds if you wanted to, to just get to the exit, but you could spend like ten minutes finding all the secret stuff and figuring it out and whatnot.

[Hot_Dog]

A big thing Doom and also Quake both had were very simple design on the outside, but tons and tons of stuff available through hidden doors and secret combinations and other stuff like that. So you could go through a level in like 30 seconds if you wanted to, to just get to the exit, but you could spend like ten minutes finding all the secret stuff and figuring it out and whatnot.

True.  Actually, what I had in mind was tips for making a rough estimation that a player won't have so much ammo that enemies are pushovers or so little ammo that enemies are impossible to beat.  Again, I might have to experiment, but I was hoping that someone could give a few pointers for general design.

[Eeems]

This is basically the only tip I can give for design help

[boot2490]

I always hate what people love in FPS's. I hate it when enemies startle you. Make forks in the path, then have the enemy follow you from the other direction. Corners help. Secret doors might add some to the experience. Also, make large hordes of small enemies as common as large powerful enemies, and  at the end of a level, make bosses. (All taken from watching my friend Erik play doom)

[t0xic_kitt3n]

Also don't forget variety. Have small twisting corridors and large open areas. For ammo placement, I would make them out of the way, but plentiful, as well as have enemy drops. That way, you can either focus on conserving ammo and take the direct route, or if you're like me and *have* to have max ammo all the time, you can do so, but with increased effort.

[LincolnB]

And, I seem to recall a few places in Doom where I would get a key or step on a switch of some kind and doors to rooms would open up all around me with like 5 million+ enemies.

[DJ Omnimaga]

I lol'd at the pic Eeems. However IIRC in Halo it wasn't that bad lol, although still linear a lot. In some older FPSes you had more freedom it seems.

[Stefan Bauwens]

It should be a little mazy I think.
This is a map that maybe could help you?

[boot2490]

Is there a specific format I could make a map in? I want to help.

[Hot_Dog]

Is there a specific format I could make a map in? I want to help.

Oh, didn't you get my PM?  Maybe I didn't send it, my bad.  Please feel free to look at the topic below for more details

http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?topic=10401.0

[Art_of_camelot]

I think it's going to be a lot of trial and error to find a good balance. I doubt even professional developers just knock levels together that are perfect. I'd try not to overcomplicate the level designs, simplicity is often the best route to go. In easier levels the player should have more ammo than necessary and ammo and health should be plainly visible. In later levels there should be less ammo and health and it should be more widely scattered throughout the level. In harder levels you can even have enemies guarding health or some of the more powerful weapons. Make the player earn their items.

[boot2490]

But don't make it so that you have to fight a cyberdemon on 10 health to get a medpack
(cyberdemons are a really hard monster in doom)

[DJ Omnimaga]

I think it's going to be a lot of trial and error to find a good balance. I doubt even professional developers just knock levels together that are perfect. I'd try not to overcomplicate the level designs, simplicity is often the best route to go. In easier levels the player should have more ammo than necessary and ammo and health should be plainly visible. In later levels there should be less ammo and health and it should be more widely scattered throughout the level. In harder levels you can even have enemies guarding health or some of the more powerful weapons. Make the player earn their items.

I agree. In Starcraft 2 some maps were removed months after release, because people found them unbalanced, and that's an even bigger example considering it's multiplayer rather than single player vs AI and most maps were  tested by pros.

[LincolnB]

Lol doom was especially hard for me with stuff like cyberdemons, because I played it on a Sansa Fuze with rockbox.