In my opinion, planing a map is much better than making it up as you go along. So, I ask you: Do you have any tips on planning maps? Where to start? What is the best way to draw a layout? How do you revise?
well for me i usually go staight into foundry and build stuff. Any stuff really, then once i have a nice single structure that i like, then i start planning. Go into sketchup or think. I find that you can not plan well unless you have some start in forge alrady, it seems to work for me. Although i suggest not revolving your map around this structure, because that usually doesnt work out. I once made this cool star pillar, and it ended up being the back wall of a base. But i would recommend starting in Forge then going to a plan. Gives you the best awareness of what you have towork with.
I sketch out my maps and use a different color for different levels. Usually I'll add an "x" or something to distinguish different types of objects also. I usually just start with a structure and then start building towards thin air then when I'm bored in 3rd hour I just doodle what the map looks like and go from there. I find that I'm more creative when I'm relaxed and not specifically going for anything.
I usually start off by either screwing around on a map and seeing what comes out of it or I ask myself one question: Symmetrical or Asymmetrical? Afterward, I gets much easier. If it is symmetrical, then I usually try to visualize or sketch out a base design that I would like to place on both sides. I usually try to incorporate different elevations into my designs so that gameplay doesn't feel stale. Once I have finished the base sketch/imagining, I then try to visualize pathways that would be interesting or conducive to gameplay between them. This includes thinking about how being in a certain place on the map influences your Line of Sight, or, in layman's terms, who you can see/shoot and vice versa. If you can visualize any areas that may become akward or be funky to fight from, try to adapt that part of the map by changing elevation, cover, pathways to it, etc. For asymmetrical maps, I honestly just draw a bunch of lines in different colors to represent paths with height differentials. After that, It really just boils down to adding cover, structures, spawns, weapons, etc. Overall thoug, just try to find a layout first. When you have found a kick-ass layout, then the rest of the map should follow through with time and testing. I hope that helped you. /Wall_of_Text