Gomorrah Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) I'm creating a map and am looking for some suggestions. Edited January 10, 2014 by shaungeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharp_shooter Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 It really depends on your setting. What are you aiming for the theme of the map? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomorrah Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) It really depends on your setting. What are you aiming for the theme of the map? Survival, it's not going to be an obj. I'm just asking for opinion before I actually start. Something similar to abandoned mall, a warehouse maybe? Edited January 10, 2014 by shaungeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharp_shooter Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Well personal suggestion "box factory." I've always wanted a box factory as a map. Anyways what makes a map good: Zombie spawn: multiple exits exits aren't easily blocked dynamic spawning secluded spawn so where humans can't enter or have a very hard time entering while the zombies can easily get out and attack the humans. Human spawn: Large open area few props at spawn landmark hard to defend - multiple entrances / exits Barricade spots: If it's a large room have the door reflect that so it's harder to barricade. Keep props to a moderate level. If it's a small room make the door regular sized and reduce props. Medium and large sized rooms should have multiple entrances Large rooms should have a few secondary rooms that match the small room category. You could have a medium room branch off of a large room but reduce human power in it. Try not to have one central barricading location. Look toward abandoned mall for examples on room size and rooms that branch off of it. Also note that in abandoned mall you can barricade anywhere and survive. Props: Have them based off the map design. Say if it's a box factory include more boxes around the map Like abandoned mall has benches more than anything else. Keep the small props in the minimum. Force humans to rely on the larger props. If you know how to model include a few custom ones but it's fine if you don't. Misc. optional but include a secret room just for a gag. Hard to open but has no barricade potential (example: mall of the dead) Breakable walls. Doors break off hinges when broken and can be used as props. Not too many free items scattered around the map. If you want the map on the server it has to be able to hold 90+ people. Large maps are a necessity. If you're just making a zs map for fun it can be any size you want. Abandoned mall is a good example of a map that's well sized. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irontaco Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Here's a few things from my part: Zombie team: -Keep zombies spawn a fair distance away from humans, so humans have time to cade while others try to hold out zombies. (a example of not following this is zs_viruslabs, at least 30-ish players die on wave 1. And most people who cade end up getting put into zombie teams and not being able to finish their barricades) -Make it easy for Fast Zombies to climb into areas and jump into others, this keeps the map challenging after wave 3 and makes it easier for fast zombies. Human team: -Avoid sniping-inclined map designs at all costs. All this does is ruin the game for zombies. (A example of this is obj_reactor) -Keep it challenging for runners, enough so that they can't swim forever in one spot but still be able to run around for a while. Map design: -Keep a few vents around, but make it so players can't come and put a few props in it and instantly win the game using impalers and big guns. (A example of bad vents is the mall map with the big bunker on top.), vents should be easy to navigate and lead into a few human rooms so things like headcrabs can get in. -Keep headcrab-sized holes in a few places. -Make it easy for crows to navigate, since crows can't push buttons or open doors they can get stuck in quite a few areas, the vent thing comes to mind. -Keep trigger_hurts and harmful func_rotates to a minimum, try to keep everything that can be exploited for trolling to a minimum in general. A example of troll spots are highschool_beta's "secret room" and neighborhood's garage door. Barricades: - Keep a low count of very small props. These can be abused in odd ways. - Keep a good supply of props to keep cades creative and to force players to think a while before starting the cade, this means tables, chairs and odd-shaped props. (monitors, cabinets...) -Reward creative cading, this can be indirectly done in various ways by designing the room with x-shape or x-entrance -If a room has two entrances or more, leave a few extra props in the room so this can be covered too. -Keep crates to a minimum if the map is not about crates since these are rarely used and can also be destroyed by kleiners. Weaponry: -Keep a good ammount of weak weapons in areas that make sense, this means things like keyboards and lamps, a few stones don't hurt. Never put things like boomsticks or slug rifles around. Weak weapons in certain places mean players that start out with things like sentries/detpacks/arsenals/medkits can have a secondary tool to defend themselves should the situation turn grim. Maybe keep at least one arsenal crate well hidden, in those weird cases where there's no arsenals at all for the team. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomomo Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Pretty much all been covered above. You will need the zs.fgd file which I can send you or you can find using Google. This gives hammer the ZS entities. Also, for basic aspect ratio for your map throw down a few info_player terrorists. They give you a rough idea of player size as to keep things in proportion. Obviously delete them when you compile your final map. If you having any trouble feel free to message me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomorrah Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Well personal suggestion "box factory." I've always wanted a box factory as a map. Anyways what makes a map good: Zombie spawn: multiple exits exits aren't easily blocked dynamic spawning secluded spawn so where humans can't enter or have a very hard time entering while the zombies can easily get out and attack the humans. Human spawn: Large open area few props at spawn landmark hard to defend - multiple entrances / exits Barricade spots: If it's a large room have the door reflect that so it's harder to barricade. Keep props to a moderate level. If it's a small room make the door regular sized and reduce props. Medium and large sized rooms should have multiple entrances Large rooms should have a few secondary rooms that match the small room category. You could have a medium room branch off of a large room but reduce human power in it. Try not to have one central barricading location. Look toward abandoned mall for examples on room size and rooms that branch off of it. Also note that in abandoned mall you can barricade anywhere and survive. Props: Have them based off the map design. Say if it's a box factory include more boxes around the map Like abandoned mall has benches more than anything else. Keep the small props in the minimum. Force humans to rely on the larger props. If you know how to model include a few custom ones but it's fine if you don't. Misc. optional but include a secret room just for a gag. Hard to open but has no barricade potential (example: mall of the dead) Breakable walls. Doors break off hinges when broken and can be used as props. Not too many free items scattered around the map. If you want the map on the server it has to be able to hold 90+ people. Large maps are a necessity. If you're just making a zs map for fun it can be any size you want. Abandoned mall is a good example of a map that's well sized. A factory is a brilliant idea! thanks, I will take your advice. I played around with 3dsMax and Maya and I'm not very good at modeling. Also, I might not implement a secret room in the first version of this map. Here's a few things from my part: Zombie team: -Keep zombies spawn a fair distance away from humans, so humans have time to cade while others try to hold out zombies. (a example of not following this is zs_viruslabs, at least 30-ish players die on wave 1. And most people who cade end up getting put into zombie teams and not being able to finish their barricades) -Make it easy for Fast Zombies to climb into areas and jump into others, this keeps the map challenging after wave 3 and makes it easier for fast zombies. Human team: -Avoid sniping-inclined map designs at all costs. All this does is ruin the game for zombies. (A example of this is obj_reactor) -Keep it challenging for runners, enough so that they can't swim forever in one spot but still be able to run around for a while. Map design: -Keep a few vents around, but make it so players can't come and put a few props in it and instantly win the game using impalers and big guns. (A example of bad vents is the mall map with the big bunker on top.), vents should be easy to navigate and lead into a few human rooms so things like headcrabs can get in. -Keep headcrab-sized holes in a few places. -Make it easy for crows to navigate, since crows can't push buttons or open doors they can get stuck in quite a few areas, the vent thing comes to mind. -Keep trigger_hurts and harmful func_rotates to a minimum, try to keep everything that can be exploited for trolling to a minimum in general. A example of troll spots are highschool_beta's "secret room" and neighborhood's garage door. Barricades: - Keep a low count of very small props. These can be abused in odd ways. - Keep a good supply of props to keep cades creative and to force players to think a while before starting the cade, this means tables, chairs and odd-shaped props. (monitors, cabinets...) -Reward creative cading, this can be indirectly done in various ways by designing the room with x-shape or x-entrance -If a room has two entrances or more, leave a few extra props in the room so this can be covered too. -Keep crates to a minimum if the map is not about crates since these are rarely used and can also be destroyed by kleiners. Weaponry: -Keep a good ammount of weak weapons in areas that make sense, this means things like keyboards and lamps, a few stones don't hurt. Never put things like boomsticks or slug rifles around. Weak weapons in certain places mean players that start out with things like sentries/detpacks/arsenals/medkits can have a secondary tool to defend themselves should the situation turn grim. Maybe keep at least one arsenal crate well hidden, in those weird cases where there's no arsenals at all for the team. Thanks for the suggestion! I'm going to make it so that the first 2 waves, zombies only spawn at 1 or 2 spawnpoints so it gives humans time to cade anywhere in the map without zombies spawning everywhere. I will also avoid making any sniping areas. Pretty much all been covered above. You will need the zs.fgd file which I can send you or you can find using Google. This gives hammer the ZS entities. Also, for basic aspect ratio for your map throw down a few info_player terrorists. They give you a rough idea of player size as to keep things in proportion. Obviously delete them when you compile your final map. If you having any trouble feel free to message me. Ahh yes, this has made it much easier! thanks Tomomo. I've found the link http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6184504/NoXiousNet/FGDs/zombiesurvival.fgd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camperfriend Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Oh and no secret room, theyre very annoying for both zombies and humans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharp_shooter Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 secret rooms are fine if they lack any useful features in them. If it's just for a gag (which is what they should be) it's perfect. If it's the most OP thing ever the map will not be added to the server and will most likely be removed/edited to remove the offending area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pho- Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 If your going to add a secret room, try making it a false room (like the one on mall). Its hard to find and its practically a troll secret room. You could try make it like the one on Underpass, but it would be too overpowered and if the humans find it, they could win easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharp_shooter Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 its practically a troll secret room. We don't want "troll" areas on community made maps. That will only result in problems that I simply don't want to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giotto Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 in my opinion a lots of diferent places to cade all balanced so they dont go always to the same spot with the same cade, not too big, decent amount of props but with variety and taht zombies and humans has the same chance to win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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