6 Tips for Beginner Doom Mappers

[@DoomKid]

Dude, this video is great, and your tips are useful. I'm going to link this on my own "tips for new mappers" video.

[@MsTatakai]

For sure!! I've never posted a wad because of huge mistakes i keep doing... doing map after map trying to perfect the map ... sadly i gave up because i had no guts to continue =/ i also know no one who wanted to test my level design so that made me to really give up on creating the map on a 4-6 months of work

[@Cringyguy_81]

Hi doom kid your videos are cool, you helped me to learn .deh patches, and how to use SLADE good

[@BiodegradableYTP]

Excellent video, Joe. A really good companion piece to Doomkid's video.

[@DoomKid]

When I first saw this, I was worried I would just be repeating the stuff Joe said months earlier.. but it turns out our points were both completely different, which is great!

[@SaltyKeldion]

I _immediately_ recognized two maps you cited as mistakes. 😂 I'll keep this video on a list when I feel the urge to do some mapmaking!

[@joeilya]

Were any of the maps made by you?

[@SaltyKeldion]

@@joeilya No, those all came from TNT Evilution. I thought that wad had some outstanding levels that were, unfortunately, overshadowed by problems in 08, 22, and 27.

[@joeilya]

@@SaltyKeldion Ah, I thought you were referring to screenshots of ppl's first maps, and yeah, TNT has some gems in it, I like quite a few of the maps.

[@OblomSaratov]

Am I the only one who actually likes Administration Center?

[@mrlucas9072]

@@OblomSaratov no, I like administration centre also. It has a feeling of epicness, even if it's a little too long and tedious.

[@htidujrevalliv2298]

the reason i use zdoom instead of doom is because it has all the textures in it

[@SinCity2100]

Wow, a Decade ago when I was a beginner I aimed for a Megawad, and I ended up tiring myself out, I made the entire Megawad on ZDoom as well, I was very over-ambitious when I made my first Megawad before GMP, and I ended up botching a lot of things in it, after I was done, I submitted the game to the Archive, it didn't make it to the Archive and perhaps it was for the best, I took Haitus for about a year before finding myself back into mapping for community project and I learned a lot of things, and I made a successful attempt at making a Megawad this time..

[@JediMB]

I think I'm good with points 2 and 4. 5 should be a no-brainer, and I'm already doing 6 with with friends and family. As for 1 and 3? My first map is a lot like my "first draft" of an essay back in school. Something I iterated on and tweaked from the moment I started until was happy with it. (Although for essays it was usually all done in an evening or two, right before the deadline.) I'm also well aware of that a megawad is overdoing it for a first Doom project, but that's just the type of thing I have to do to get myself excited. If I get bored with the process before it's done, I'll just release it as-is (maybe just to my friends) or save it for later. I just know I've accomplished more with Doom Builder 2 this year than I ever did with either Deathmatch Maker 1 and 2 back in the late 90's.

[@joeilya]

An episode is just as exciting to make as a megawad and there's less of a chance you'll run yourself dry.

[@JediMB]

@@joeilya True. Now, I ended up switching from Doom to Doom 2 early in the process, because I wanted access to the Earth-based textures, but I figure I can just cap off the scenerio whenever I want. Maybe even use one of the text screens as an epilogue if the levels line up well.

[@joeilya]

​@@JediMB You can also put an ending map at the end, so that the player doesn't abruptly end up in a stock Doom II map.

[@zloboslav_]

Thank you for sharing these were very useful :)

[@melo-7904]

another thing for 3. if going for multible maps in a wad go for a episode (6 to 10 levels per episode depending on length and if you want go with a style especially if you decide to expand it into 3 or 4 episodes cause you want consistency) and not a megawad

[@computerhobbyists3070]

I have to disagree about not submitting your first map and submit your second instead. If you submit your first map, you may get feedback from gamers you can use to improve your later maps.

[@PedroSeidelSinger]

I always wanted to begin creating WADs. Such videos help a lot and motivate me to start doing it 🙂 My approach is to write a small script with the 30 og Doom II levels, like a sequenced story, and draft them first in paper. Only then, I'd start designing them for the game.

[@HexenStar]

I'd say that while these are all reasonable to suggest, most of them don't deal with mapping per se, but rather with mod-maker's personal evolution. Yet i'd mention the importance of understanding the game's and otherwise aesthetic basics: thematic design, color design, architectural design and alignment (TEXTURE A-L-I-G-N-M-E-N-T!!!). Practicing building separate structures and adding detail to make them look good. Through that, developing your personal signature style. That would come in handy, both stylistically and in creating larger projects. Next, getting an understanding of battle design: which enemy, when, where, how many, - and most importantly: why. I have seen and played too many maps which simply rain down monsters for the sake of numbers, something that imho - i find instantly boring. Megawads require planning. Yes, on paper. Conceptual designs, themes and what features, details and assets to use in each episode. Experience is pretty much a requirement here. 1) Basics ---> construct ---> cool construct ---> thematic construct ---> map ---> cool map. 2) Sector ---> complex ----> map ----> plan ----> episode ---> hub ---> plan---> mega-wad. 3) Shooting gallery ---> ambush ---> escalation ---> multi-ambush ---> trap ---> battle design. A note on secrets. Yes, "hump the walls" is an outdated concept, however - it became popular and popularized by ID Software themselves, - due to Wolfenstein 3D and the games based on ID-Tech1, as well as by the plentiful clones of these at the time. Gradually, this became more refined when the secret walls became differently textured, rewarding observation and attention. Whether it is good or not, we'll leave this open, as far more genial creators than any of us - have successfully implemented this concept. What i would like to emphasize, - is that whatever kind of approach to secrets one may choose: the time spent looking for it - should not outlast the time spent killing monsters. At least, not by much. If you clear the level in 5 minutes - and then look for secrets for 45 minutes - this is a design-disaster. Well, unless your levels look like "Plague Tale" and you take selfies next to it :-)

[@AstroooooX]

I just recorded my first gameplay of a level I built from scratch, I'm so proud of myself lol

[@Zulk_RS]

I wish I had this video when I started. Because I have made all of these except for tips 5 and 6.

[@broyOfThisGym]

Romero breaks the 4th rule over and over again in Sigil 2.😂😂

[@Bit_Crust]

In summary, start off your mapping by making a good vanilla Doom compatible *single map* WAD, and then keep it to yourself. Make a second *single map* WAD on whatever subject you please and try to apply what you can glean just from your very first effort, keeping an eye on the variance of your secrets. When it's done, publish it with a measured fanfare and screenshot, including whatever information is typical to include, and be ready to receive a whole lot more information, potentially very negative in tone. That said, I am currently working on my first WAD, nothing special as far as I have planned, it is literally my house, and also "literally MyHouse." By that I mean that I will be borrowing heavily from his technique in order to create a similar, though markedly less creepy experience. It will have a few side paths branching off of a morphing hub house until you finish the map. I want to be upfront about this because although "my real world house but in video game with a bunch of secret rooms that don't make sense" has been a dream of mine since I was young, it was MyHouse that approximated my vision before I ever gave an effort to make it so, and also revealed that making something of that sort is not at all a pipe dream. I don't mean to knock the ingenuity behind MyHouse in any way in saying all this, as without it I'd still be sitting on my hands because I would never have imagined ZDoom able to do all that. I owe him the project, whatever it will be worth. The point of making the WAD is to get my bearings, though I do want it to be something worth publishing, fun and visually interesting, maybe a tad trippy, with plenty of monsters to shoot with varied guns. I'm not sure why I'm posting this, aside from a statement of intent and defiance of the specific advice not to publish your first WAD. Everything else I thank you for, it's important meta-learning for handling your debut, and in that regard it seems very well made and it all certainly appears sound. See you when I dox myself for a WAD :P

[@HardwareFahrrad]

I can barely understand a single word...

[@Luccimatic]

Where do people submit maps?

[@Cringyguy_81]

Thanks a lot!

[@tj71520]

all the cacowards and all the babes? LOL.... :)

[@joeilya]

That's what I was thinking as a 13 year old.

[@dawidwolak4987]

Great tips, but audio quality is just bad.

[@joeilya]

Care to elaborate please? I'd love some advice.

[@dawidwolak4987]

@@joeilya Your voice isn't very clean forcing me to focus really hard and increase volume to understand what you're saying. Really good insight on making maps though.

[@joeilya]

@@dawidwolak4987 That may just be my fault and not the microphone's, I'll have to speak louder and clearer with proper pronunciation, and a little slower next time I make such videos.

[@Blitz1Blacktail1]

In general this is true. However, if you know what you're doing (either due to past experience in other map engines or experience in other fields), some of the points can be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless still points you have to keep in the back of your mind. For Megawads as an example, it may be a lot more doable for yourself to be a lot more episodic about it if you're that motivated to craft one of these beasts, as well as making your maps a lot more cohesive overall. Heck, playing Amid Evil recently made me realize I even liked shorter episodes more compared to the traditional formula as the theme was well explored after 3 well-designed maps without lack of ideas, and thinking about it, most of my favorite Doom experiences were kind of like that. It's kind of motivating for me actually, to be able to emit some short bursts of creativity without burning me down, kind of how I'm handling my art projects nowadays.

[@T3sl4]

MM2 music remix? This is sick

[@Luccimatic]

Frankly, if people are not playing your Maps because they refuse to play on Zdoom and they only want to play on the other source sports it’s like dude it doesn’t take that much room on your computer. It doesn’t interfere with the other source so why would you not be using it on purpose, and then complain that you can’t play peoples maps? I play on GZDOOM when I’m playing with mods and I use chocolate when I just wanna play regular doom. So I don’t really get why compatibility is such a weird issue. People should be getting used to multiple source sports.

[@mrcowboyzombie]

2nd point rip for me xd

[@illyay1337]

Nice Name bro

[@Hayden49]

I'm breaking rule 3

[@joeilya]

These aren't rules, I specifically said that it's tips, not everyone can make a megawad as one of their first wads, you're not going to prove me wrong by being a rare exception. EDIT: Good luck.

[@Hayden49]

@@joeilya ok thanks you seem cool

[@Hayden49]

@@joeilya yeah you are right I can't make a megawad. They were all trash and I quit when I got to map 15, but a couple maps were actually ok or alright and had a few good ideas.

[@joeilya]

@@Hayden49 That's pretty much every newbie's experience trying to make a megawad.

[@DFFilmmaker]

@@Hayden49 bruh

[@thedarkdragon1437]

actually, the reason why a lot of newbies use zdoom, not doom, is because of one stupid thing called doombuilder not opening the doom executable when testing. So using zdoom instead atleast gets you to work with something

[@joeilya]

Any source port can be used to test maps through Doom Builder, not just ZDoom, there's source ports that emulate accurate vanilla such as DSDADoom, Crispy Doom, and Chocolate Doom.

[@thedarkdragon1437]

@@joeilya none of which windows 10 launches, atleast oin my pc. i wouldn't be playing zdoom otherwise

[@joeilya]

@@thedarkdragon1437 I'm using windows 10 and I don't have that problem, have you tried copying the IWADs into the source port's folder?

[@thedarkdragon1437]

@@joeilya Same issue, the executable itself doesn't start. Also tried compability settings, the game started but the UDB couldn't use it to test things. said something along the lines of "format not supported"

[@joeilya]

@@thedarkdragon1437 That's because you're trying to play a ZDoom format map in a source port that doesn't support ZDoom format, you can only play maps that are Doom format or Boom format in DSDADoom.

[@Matzu-Music]

Jokes on you, I lose steam after the fourth map!

[@joeilya]

You'll be back ;)

[@Matzu-Music]

@@joeilya back to what

[@joeilya]

@@Matzu-Music mapping

[@Matzu-Music]

@@joeilya That's because I never stopped in the first place

[@Matzu-Music]

For basically years I've been going at it

[@MisterSpeedStacking]

6 tips for Beginner KZbinrs get a fucking mic

[@1pcfred]

It's ZDoom or bust. The other engines can just suck it up.