so what's the plan? 

why don't you do this session? 

Deadline: This weekend.

Theme: Improve Safety

However you interpret that.

Send maps to me (mail in profile).
I'll zip them and upload to quaketastic on Monday.

Get mapping. 

but its too much of a pain for me to make right now.

instead I'll make a shitty unthemed map. I think I'll have one for you. 

is unthemed map allowed? 

AFAIK. 

Improve Unthemed Map Safety

go map ;) 

I just want to make something simple, cause my last speedmap got out of control and I wasn't able to really finish it properly. won't happen this time. 

Unthemed would have been my theme choice #2, since I feel much like Drew and basically just want to do something quick...

throw in some protection for the monsters :-P or for the player. One of my ideas was to take House of Chthon and correct those pesky buttons. :-)) 

Drew, how's it going?

My map is practically finished, brushwork, monsters, items etc., just need to do a few triggers and a lift, and blammo.

Mine's pretty small, usual gameplay, but hopefully nicer looks and needs Quoth (or any mod that supports SPAWNED, heh). Can't be arsed to build spawnboxes anymore. I'll upload the pack tomorrow if you send me one. 

mine is done. 

I started mine but only put about 20 minutes into it. I'll do a quick retool tomorrow morning before work and send that off to you.
I don't think anyone else is taking part this time.
pussies. 

Sure, that's fine.

If you'd like more time, we could simply skip this one.

Where are all the others? 

there never will be.
because they are all big 'real map' making manginas.
i'm sending you some mail right now. 

Oh if we could at least make a 33 speedmap megawad. Megapak I mean.

Not going to happen, huh.

How about that 512x512x512 contest? Would the people be more inclined to participate? 

"Speedrun" - set your map up with the possibility of multiple routes for speed runners in addition to regular gameplay. 

I probably won't be able to make the next event. Won't rule it out completely but I seriously doubt it.

Zwiffle - there was a speedrun session years ago, and it was pretty good.

I personally don't think I'd stay on theme with that one. I just never speedrun, so it would be hard to map for. Also, isn't the fun of speedrunning finding ways to work around the 'rules' of the map? 

 

I don't really have an idea how to make a map enjoyable to speedrun. It often seems speedrunners just like the simpler, cruder, or weirder maps. Plainly for trickability. Actually making a map with that in mind would be quite a challenge for me.

It should have several possible routes? Be relatively open? 

? 

 

o/ 

 

The trick is, I think, to make a map that is fun and has lots of running possibilities, but without overdesigning it for specific tricks and obvious routes. It's much more rewarding as a running to have possibilities to play around with and options to try and work it out for oneself, rather than having shortcuts and routes handed on a plate. Thus:

Dos:
Open mapping with space to move.
Normal map progress made by moving upwards or over gaps or similar.
Variety of useful monsters (ogres, vores, fiends, blers, spawn).
Some "trickier" explosives, gl or barrels.
Slopes if they fit in naturally.
Clean mapping with not much to snag a player.
A reasonable amount of health.
Plenty of monsters but not in cramped spaces.

Don't:
Too much health/armour/pent/eyes to make infinite boosts or general running too easy.
Really obvious "go this way" shortcuts.
RL, too easy.
GL too early unless lots of hard trick potential.
Quad. 

Yeah. I think the hard part is to build shortcuts without serving them on a plate.

If the theme is "speedrunning", well, hmm, there goes my disguise already, as a mapper :-P

I can't do it this time unless we have Saturday as the total deadline, since I'll be travelling from Sunday on.