I'm making a symetrical map and was wondering about power weapons. Should I put one for each side or try to put them in the middle? Ethier way its going to be symetrical which is a must
Depends on which weapons you want, how big the map is... lots of variables. Some weapons work pretty well as a "contestable" (meaning one weapon in a neutral area - usually somewhere dangerous and vulnerable to fire from various places). Some weapons work well when there are two of them offsetting. The real heavy hitters like rocket launchers (or most explosive weapons), you probably don't want more than one, although occasionally someone will get creative by having two with lower ammo. Snipers generally work better in offsetting pairs but again, you'll see a map once in a while with one neutral sniper. Close range weapons can go either way, and you can also have offsetting different weapons (one sword and one shotgun, for instance).
For small maps, I suggest having one neutral power weapon in the middle, like a sword or shotgun (like Asylum and Countdown). If it's a medium or large sized map, I think it's generally safe to give each team a power weapon of their own (like a sniper) then put one neutral power weapon in the middle (like rockets).
If you have two power weapons, like rockets and sniper, you want them far apart so that one person cannot collect them all. That way each player has to choose what they want to compete for in the way of trying to get a power weapon. Also, it is not important if the map is symmetrical in layout. What is important is that both teams have the same walking distance to each power weapon. A symmetrical map helps determine this, but the key is walking distance. ---- I agree with nutduster. There is no way to tell you how many you should use without seeing the map. On my map Flight Deck, I have three rocket launchers with very limited ammo. One for each team and one in the middle. The purpose was to offset the aircraft, not to use so much on each other. I had three to provide lots of fire power, but more importantly to distribute that fire power amongst several players so that one person was not the rocket king of the map.
Practice and testing is the key. Beforehand, there is only your best guess, some are good at that and others are not as good. Its a skill that comes over many maps made. My general rule is this (with varying max and minimums due to map size): multiple DMRs and/or Needle Rifles, six maximum total No more than two explosive weapons, unless you have for instance two Grenade Launcers spaced far apart with less than 3 clips. Either one sniper that doesnt have too much power on a map, or two with one at each base. Never one sniper tower, it is no fun for those who are not up there. Never more than 4 shots in a Rocket Launcher unless your map is very large and supports many vehicles, often no more than 2 shots for FFA or infantry maps. Swords must be countered by either a shotgun or concussion rifle. This can also be helped with long halls. No more than 2 needlers, and they should have at least a 45 second spawn and no more than 2 clips, maybe less. Plasma Pistols always have a place in a map, they are just useful as EMP launchers and fun to shoot, same goes for Plasma Rifles or Repeaters, but pistols are most versitile. Spikers are another weapon that is fun to shoot. No lasers unless there are 2 or more vehicles and large openings. But in the end it all comes down to maps, and how they are structured. A map can be good and have an awful weapon set, or be terrible and then the weapons dont matter. Don't go into a map thinking about what guns you want on it ever, just amke something, then you will feel what needs to be there. For instance I recently made a map and I looked at it after and thought "This just screams Needle weapons." so I put two needlers and two needle rifles. I hope something here has helped.