Chapter 4
Planning and designing a level
This chapter looks at designing a level with BUILD.EXE, the
editor supplied on the CD (in \GOODIES\BUILD).
4.1 *Installing BUILD*
An awful lot of people are having an awful lot of trouble getting
BUILD to run. So here's the beef:
* Install Duke3D to your hard drive.
* Copy everything from \GOODIES\BUILD into the Duke3D
directory (NOT into a subdirectory thereof!). As some
people have trouble understanding what I mean (Heaven
protect us if they decide to post their first levels ;),
here are the DOS commands to use (assuming your CD-ROM is
drive E):
* CD C:\GAMES\DUKE3D
COPY E:\GODIES\BUILD\*.*
* Finally, remove all read-only attributes: ATTRIB -R *.*
4.2 *Before starting*
I know you're eager to start building the level (why else are you
reading this FAQ?), but there are several things you should do
before firing up the editor and designing away:
Play the game Play the whole Duke Nukem 3D game from start to
finish. All three episodes. This will give you
lots of ideas on what is possible and what you'd
like to do.
Look critically at how things happen: doors
opening, aliens suddenly appearing, lights
changing, gears rotating...
View the maps Use the editor to have a close look at the
existing maps. How do these doors open? What kinds
of tricks were used to work around the limitations
of the Build engine? How do people actually do a
house - note how all walls are actually build out
of one-sided walls. Things like that.
Have a theme Please. Don't build yet another red light district
with a sleazy bar and some dancers. We've got one
already!
Try to think of something original and take some
time to really think about what you're trying to
do: the New York traffic? A nuclear power station?
An underwater base? A barren planetoid surface?
Also try to think what would fit into the theme
and what wouldn't - make a list.
A .TXT file with a short story setting the mood
and explaining your mission is also nice.
Draw a map Take some graph paper and draw the whole map
first. Believe me, your level is going to be lots
better this way. You'll be able to take your time
and think about everything you want to include.
Another approach is to just make a rough sketch of
the map with a good theme and create everything
'on the fly'. That's the way it usually ends up
anyway :), but the map-drawing approach does
produce nicer-looking maps.
Less is more Zen, yes. Also known as the KISS principle: Keep
It Simple, Stupid.
Remember that you have lots of tools and tricks to
create a map - don't use them all! Don't include,
for example, dancers just because you can. Don't
use the trip mines in a non-futuristic level.
Leave out the security cameras in a medieval
castle (time travel theme?).
Rather build several levels, each based on one or
two ideas.
Keep it small Beginners usually make the mistake of designing
cyclopian buildings. Massive forecourts, towering
walls, huge gloomy halls - all empty.
Rather keep the rooms small and full of detail -
they will be more interesting and the game will
run faster.
Time You'll need loads of it. Much more than you think.
Especially the shading and testing will take days.
Weeks.
Have a look at the original levels and see just
how much time and care has been spent on them.
Don't post a level which is substantially below
the niveau of 3DRealms levels - nobody will like
it.
Data It is said that you should write what you know,
and the same applies to level design. If you've
never really looked hard at a subway station,
don't try to create one.
Read this FAQ Don't jump into drawing your level half-way
through reading this FAQ - wait until you have a
good idea just what is possible with the Build
engine.
Your first level
Face it. Your first level is going to be something
you'll be ashamed of after designing your third
level. Don't post it.
4.3 Pros and cons of using real-world maps
There are lots of levels based on maps of the real world. Maps of
your campus (hello, first years!), maps of your dorm, your
apartment, your house.
The question is, should you use them?
4.3.1 *Advantages*
Real-world maps are drawn by professionals (ok, ok, I've also
seen houses designed by blind idiots) who know what they are
doing.
They don't forget to make the outer walls thicker than the inner
ones. They don't forget the kitchen or the storage space. The
halls are of the right width...in short, the whole map is
realistic and believable.
Also, it's real quick creating a level from such a map since you
don't have to think and design as much.
Finally, it's a great way to learn how the editor works as it
forces you to implement some things you might otherwise be too
lazy to work out.
4.3.2 Disadvantages
Such maps are also boring.
Believe it or not, but most architects didn't design their block
of flats for gun-toting maniacs chasing each other through the
corridors.
There are too few places to hide and the map typically has a
simple, utilitarian look.
Scale is a hassle as well. Ever looked real closely at a subway
station? It's actually very big and empty. And very boring as a
Duke level.
So you'll have to scale everything down by quite a lot anyway.
Remember that it's great fun for yourself to run through a
virtual representation of your house - but others who don't know
you might find such a map terribly boring.
And the biggest disadvantage of all: you don't think enough about
your level. The more time you spend mentally planning your world,
the better it will become.
4.4 Using DOOM maps
With the Wad2Map program (see further below), it is now possible
to convert DOOM maps to Duke3D maps.
Do everybody a favour: don't.
And here's why:
* We've _seen_ the DOOM maps already.
* They aren't designed to take advantage of the Build
engine.
* They aren't designed to work with the new monsters.
* It's a heck of a lot of work checking a level after
conversion (for example, switches won't work), and it's
easy to mess things up and even forget textures (HOM, here
we come!).
4.5 Designing the level
When designing a level, keep in mind that there is no formula
telling you how to build a fun level. Unfortunately, I can't just
tell you "Do this and that, and everybody will love your level".
But I can give you some tips and pointers.
4.5.1 Level types
There are basically four types of levels:
4.5.1.1 *Single player*
Single player maps are typically large and intricate, full of
detail and clever monster ambush points. They are aimed at people
who play them on their own.
For example, nearly everybody here in Germany plays in single-
player mode, as the telephone rates are simply shocking.
4.5.1.2 Co-op
Few levels are actually designed for co-op playing only. If they
are, they are larger versions of single-player levels, with a lot
more monsters and perhaps the odd trap which can only be passed
via teamwork.
4.5.1.3 *DukeMatch*
Since the original levels in Duke3D are very very good as both
single player and (usually, anyway) co-op, most people create
DukeMatch-only maps.
These maps are small and fast, concentrating on action instead of
the surroundings.
This doesn't mean that detail should be overlooked, though.
4.5.1.4 *My room/flat/dorm/house*
These levels attempt to copy a real-world place with as much
accuracy as possible. They are typically rather boring and only
of interest to the people who know the place well.
The only use I personally see for such levels is to learn how to
use the editor.
4.5.2 Choosing a level type
Your new level will usually be one of the above - very few maps
suceed at being good at everything.
Happily, there's an exception to the rule: JenApt (Jennies
Apartment) is an early (and great) level which excels at
combining all four level types in one. Created by Jennifer Lynn
(fragment@cyberramp.net), it's well worth looking at.
Single player levels are easy to do - all you need is a good
idea, lots of imagination and plenty of time. If you make the
level large enough, you might be able to combine it with a co-op
level.
DukeMatch levels are surprisingly difficult to create. Not only
do tastes differ (by a lot! For example, do I Hide&Snipe or
Chase&Blast?), but you have to do a lot of testing to make the
level just right.
And even then, it'll only be just right for you, and others might
not like it at all. See the section on DukeMatch level design
below.
The 'My very own room in VirtualReality MultiMedia DataHighway
CyberSpace (tm)' theme we'll leave to the VisualBasic
programmers.
4.5.3 *Random tips and thoughts*
## Feedback needed! In this section, I'd like to simply list tips
and tricks to keep in mind while designing a level.
4.5.3.1 *Working with Build*
* Build from the outside in.
When creating a house, for example, first create a huge
bonding sector, containing everything else. You can always
resize it later.
* Do the rough work first.
Build your house (or dungeon, or subway, or whatever) like
you would build it in real life: start with the outer
walls, add the rough rooms, connect everything up and only
then add the details: glass in the windows, different
textures, etc.
* Save your level a lot. Use the 'save (A)s' option to
create several versions of your level. Thus, if an idea
goes wrong, you can always return to an earlier version.
The more backups you have, the happier you'll be when (not
if) BUILD nukes your map.
* Beware the bug! BUILD is not perfect and contains some
nasty bugs capable of rending your map to pieces. See the
section on Build Bugs for more info.
* Use F12 to dump the map to disk and print it out.
4.5.3.2 *Do*
* Use F7 a lot while playing your map to make sure the scale
is all right. Remember that scale is important! Duke
levels are usually smaller that their real-world
counterparts.
* Most sprites are too large when just inserted as they are
(especially the buttons). Make sure you scale everything
right.
* Take it easy on triangle-shaped sectors, the tip can look
real bad.
* Try to make everything look as realistic as possible:
wooden ceilings are usually tilted and are held up with
massive beams. Often, corners of rooms (especially large
ones) will be held up by stone pillars. And so on.
4.5.3.3 *Don't*
* Avoid cliches: do you NEED a shark in every bathtub? Why
yet another lizard sitting on a toilet? Should this level
really contain strippers?
* Please don't overuse the effect of monsters warping in!
It's so darn unrealistic! Rather open a hidden door or
somesuch, and have the opponents boil out from there.
* 3DRealms added lots of in-jokes: the doomed space marine,
Indiana Jones, the Terminator, the alien on the toilet...
Don't reuse these; nothing worse than an old, tired joke
seen for the 100th time. Invent your own!
* Don't post half-finished levels to let others see your
'work in progress'. What for? You'll only make a bad name
for yourself if you release half-baked levels...
4.5.3.4 *General tips*
* Scare the player. Dan Benge came up with the idea of
breaking a (single player) level into scenes: lead the
player into it (lots of ambience sound), lead him to the
climax (octabrain in the face, whatever), reward him
afterwards (triumphant music, power up, keys).
Tension is very important in a level.
* Have plenty of height variations: stairs, lifts, ledges.
Force the player to jump, too.
* Make players earn bigger and better weapons. Especially,
guard the bigger ones well.
* If the player falls into nukage, give him a way out (a
button to press, stairs...). He should be punished for
moving carelessly, yes, but not killed.
* Mark secret doors - a lightly darker or mismatched texture
(forcing you to look closely) will do.
* Keep in mind that players will try _anything_ - if they
are crazy enough to try and jump to that ledge, reward
them if they make it (and punish them if they don't >:)
* Pacing! Keep the player interested. This should also stop
you from building mazes, which are plain boring to
explore.
* The Ending: make it good! When the player finally managed
to finish the level, make it worth his while.
4.5.3.5 *Posting your level*
When posting your level on the internet or anywhere else, please
adhere to the following checklist:
o I've read and understood all above thoughts.
o My level is as good or better than the original Duke
levels.
o I have included a .TXT file giving details about the level
(your address, if single play is supported, etc).
o I'm not going to brag about how very cool and awesome my
level is (sheesh, guys, how often have I heard that one?
By now I'm not downloading any level with the word
'awesome' in the description as I know that it'll be a
waste of time - again).
4.5.4 Typical mistakes to avoid
This section contains, in no particular order, common errors
which you should avoid:
4.5.4.1 Crossed lines
By this I mean bounding lines from the same sector crossing each
other. While the game will allow this, it usually looks bad.
4.5.4.2 Overlaying lines
Overlaying lines very often leads to mysterious graphics glitches
(a door texture suddenly spilling onto the floor is a typical
example).
Rather place the lines very close to each other (using Grid lock
off).
4.5.4.3 Hall Of Mirrors
The Hall Of Mirrors (HOM) is caused by a missing texture and is
only really possible if BUILD is about to crash or you converted
a DOOM map via WAD2MAP.
4.5.4.4 Door side tracks
Make sure the side tracks of doors don't move up with the door if
building a DOOM-type door. Use [O].
4.5.4.5 *Unaligned Textures*
Aaargh! Unaligned textures are one of the most ugly design errors
around, and BUILD makes it so easy to avoid them! Use [.] a lot,
and look at all the corners to make sure the textures fit.
Even Our Hero Jenny made that mistake in the JenApt map :(
4.5.4.6 Missing Player Starts
Make sure there are at least 7 co-op and 7 DukeMatch player
starts in your map (the 8th one in each case is the normal player
starting point).
4.6 DukeMatch level design
The info in this section I've shamelessly swiped from the
excellent 'Deathmatch level design guidelines v1.0' from Brian
Kidby (thekid@ornews.intel.com).
As the basis for this section was aimed at DOOM players, I
haven't included as many Duke-specific things as I should. ##
Please send me your thoughts and ideas, I'll be expanding this
section.
4.6.1 Monster placement
Pig cops are useful for supplying ammunition to the player.
Since ammunition respawns, the question is if you want your
players to fight for their ammo, especially as dead enemies don't
always drop anything (it's easy to hack the GAME.CON file for
this, though - see lines 1072/2862 and 188 in USER.CON).
Other monsters (the leaping chaingunning lizard comes to mind)
might give ammo as well, but they usually just distract from the
main aim of the game - nuke your opponent!
However, the placement of monsters can do a lot to generate the
'feel' for your level - minibosses might keep a large area clear
for a long time, as nobody will want to get close to them if they
dont have to...
4.6.2 Weapon placement
4.6.2.1 Power weapons
Power weapons are defined as the favourite DukeMatch weapons: the
chaingun and the rocket launcher.
In nearly all DukeMatches I've played, the first priority of the
players was to get one of these weapons. The second was to start
using it >:)
These weapons should be places as far apart as possible. This has
three reasons:
* Getting the gun
Placing the weapons far apart forces the players to cover
more ground. Thus they meet more opponents and monsters,
possibly trigger traps and learn the layout of the level.
* Defending the gun
Many DukeMatchers will go to a power weapon and 'sit on
it', waiting for the other players to show up. if the
weapons are far apart, the players won't see much action
during their wait, forcing them to move ot to hunt sooner
- much more exciting.
* Covering tracks
In a new DukeMatch level, players like to keep the
locations of the weapons secret for as long as possible.
If the weapons are far apart, the chances of being
followed are so much smaller.
4.6.2.2 Starting-point weapons
Every starting point should have a shotgun next to it, so the
players are not completely defenseless at the beginning. This
also gives them more confidence to go out looking for bigger toys
to use.
On the other hand, some people prefere to place the starting
points right next to 'normal' weapons - every start point next to
a different weapon. This makes respawning interesting, as the
kind of weapon available at the beginning (Shrinker vs. Trip
bombs, for example) radically changes the style of play.
4.6.3 Ammo placement
4.6.3.1 Amount and location
Place small amounts of ammo in high-traffic areas, and larger
(not too large!) stashes in secret places. Adding a sniper spot
near the bigger stashes makes life a lot more interesting, too.
4.6.3.2 Ammo Quantity Types
Easily accessible ammo should be of the 'small quantity' type, eg
single pipe bombs instead of pipe bomb boxes, as this eliminates
waste when a player picks up more than he can carry.
Also, larger amounts of ammo should be strategically placed (see
above).
4.6.4 Health placement
Rarely does health seem to be a problem in DukeMatch games.
Usually, players either die really quickly of a massive lead
overdose, or they run and hide, sniping at their opponent.
If you do place health around (and I still think you should), do
so sparingly, observing the same rules as for ammo. Also, place
toilets and water fountains only in high-traffic areas, to avoid
players disappearing for a long time to fill up their health
slowly (although, if several nice sniper spots are nearby...).
4.6.5 Architectures
First off, let me say that level layouts are always a matter of
taste.
Here are just some things which I like in DukeMatch levels:
4.6.5.1 Large, open areas
Fun! Show your aim at long-range pistol shooting, have rocket
launcher duels (have you mastered jumping over an approaching
rocket?), fight several players at once and have lots of space to
move about.
4.6.5.2 Long, wide passages
Same as for large areas applies - running towards somebody,
dodging his attacks while shooting your own is great fun.
4.6.5.3 Nooks 'n crannies
Such areas should not be too large, but it is fun as well:
* Hunting somebody through narrow, twisting passages is an
adrenaline rush in itself - is he hiding behind this
corner?
* Lots of nice sniping spots.
4.6.5.4 Balconies, bridges and towers
It's always fun watching your opponent walking under you,
completely unaware of your presence until you pull the trigger...
It's also nice blasting a sprite bridge out from under his feet
:)
4.6.5.5 Fortresses
At times, players may decide to pay a 'capture the flag' theme,
with four players defending a fortress and four others trying to
break it (perhaps with the aim of reaching/rescuing the dancer in
the middle?).
The fort should be well armed and not too large with lots of nice
sniper spots (and the odd blastable wall to enable attacks
through the back).
4.6.5.6 Obstacles
Obstacles (pillars, crates, tables, sprites) are very important
in DukeMatch, as they allow you to hide and dodge enemy fire.
4.6.5.7 Sniper spots
Sniper spots greatly add to DukeMatch levels. They should always
have an escape-route, though, just in case your first shot
missed...
One-way walls are good for this, but perhaps a bit _too_ easy.
4.7 *Once your level is done*
A finished level is far from finished - lots of things remain to
be done:
Shading Shade your level! See how efficiently 3DRealms
used light and shade in their levels? Do the same
- carefully shade every single room. Add lamps and
(colored) lights. Sunlight streaming through the
windows. Shadows behind columns and buildings.
Shade plays a major part in how realistic (and
thus, how good) a level will look. Doing it well
takes ages.
Textures Well, we won't see the HOM (Hall Of Mirrors)
effect from DOOM anymore. But make sure your
textures are aligned. It's so easy to do using
Build, please make sure they look alright! Nothing
worse than seeing the brick texture break on the
edge of a wall, clearly showing it to be fake.
Use the [.] key a lot, make sure you know how it
works (and save before you do, it crashed a couple
of times on me).
Also, don't use too many textures - the have to
fit your theme and the game runs faster on fewer
textures.
Details 'All those tiny little details...'
The TV in the corner. The discarded bottle on the
street. Blood on the walls. The camera turning by
just the right amount. The perfect ambience sound
in the perfect place.
Realism Your map must be totally convincing. As said,
shade plays a large part in this, but so does the
map itself: are the walls thick enough? Are they
too thin? Does that texture belong here? Is it too
noticable that this sprite always seem to turn to
face you? Should you really use this type of
monster here?
Testing Lots! Play the level on your own. Play in in coop.
DukeMatch it for hours (if you can't play in it
for hours, something's wrong). Fine-tune it: is
the window at just the right height? Is that
elevator positioned in the perfect place?
Testing is really important - let your friends
play with your level (without you being present)
and listen to their comments.
Difficulty If you're told that your level is too easy, don't
make it more difficult by simply adding lots more
monsters! That's a typical newbie mistake - rather
place the monsters in better positions and redo
the layout a bit.
Light Next to shading (see above), the amount of light
in a level is important. While a dark, gloomy
level can create great atmosphere, keep in mind
that few of us enjoy playing in pitch darkness.