Gameplay and map flow. These are some of the terms that describe how players fight and move through a map. This is a guide to making that better in a map. For all the people who will probably never read this first paragraph here it is. This is a guide to improve the gameplay in your map Requirements Firstly im going to start this off with what puts me in a position to tell you how to make a map. I'm in the testers guild, and i test maps at the begginging, before they become the polished gems they are when they leave us. One of the first things i look at when i start testing a map is the map flow. Sometimes its one of the only things i look at. Reasoning A map that looks amazing and has poor map flow will always be a terrible map. The other way around, however, seems to never be true. Game play can make or break a map and it really is something you have to consider during or after you slap a map together. Stratagy There are some major points here and i doubt that i will be able to hit them all so im completely willing to change it if something good is suggested. Points of Interest PoI's are the major points of the maps. These can be made through weapons and major structures. PoI's will be the center of play. A single major PoI can be good in single sided objective games and a little weaker in games you want it to be a fair fight. Some of the best maps are with a symmetrical weapon layout with power weapons in the middle or spread out to both spawn ends. But now i'll be getting further away from weapon placement. Thats for another point. Movement and Free Roam Movement will almost always be guided to points of interest. The spots that will be the most adventagous and most frequently traveled should have as many access points (ap), or ways to get there, as possible. Ap's can be bridges, stairs, gravity modifiers, or just open ground. One map i tested recently had two sniper towers across the map. How you got to it was so limited that you would get picked off every single time you went to get that way. You could never make it to the place and kill him. Free roam is what i'm calling what you're doing with no pressing conflict. This is very bad. This means that your map layout itself is confusing or too big for the game you're playing on. Note that this will only happen on maps with no points of interest. It takes more then one game to see if this is even happening, even so, keep a look out. You might want to change the weapons, spawns, or objects in your map. Free roam is something that is the sign of terrible gamplay and is normally accompanied by sporadic spouts of fighting. Cover and Weapon Altitude This is the last point for this night, i might add some later on weaponry and weapon placement but for now this has to be it. Cover; its those crates and dumpsters you threw around on foundry and the blocks on sandbox. Movable objects--or not are the objects that block the los (line of sight). They are one of the bigger parts of gameplay in any given map. The amount of cover on a map should be directly related to what type of weapons you should use. For example, dual wields and grenades--close quarters; rockets, lasers, and snipers--long range; classic br--mid to long range; and assault rifles--close to midrange. You should not make a map specifically to a weapon set but a combination is necessary if it is not too outrageous. Weapon altitude is the level of weapons that players have. The only necessary thing to remember about this is that one must not have rockets shooting at a high place. IE, in very unsymmetrical maps. Thats all for now if you made it to here congrats. Post if you want to change or add something, or you just want to keep this thread alive.
good guide, very useful. you did really good describing the key map information to make a map playable.