Design Tips for a Fun Multiplayer Map
Introduction
GoodBlox has had Multiplayer support for over half a year now. Even though the veterans know how to construct a good map, it is the new people who come flooding in who really bring in the new ideas. This page is to guide a new user through the creation of a place.
Make Your Place The Right Size
When starting out with a new map, think about how many people are going to be playing it at once. Many people want to make a huge map, but this might not be necessary if all you want is a house on it. If there are going to be only 8 people on it at once, don't make it too big. If you want to have 20 at once, then make it as big as you want.
Make Things Destroyable!
People like explosions, and people like it even better when you get random bricks flying in all directions in slow-motion. While it's easy to make something with a few large bricks, make it with a bunch of small bricks. This makes it more easily destroyed when people aim a rocket at it. Also, don't just make things like a wall destroyable. Make a portion of a floor breakable too, just make sure to have an unbreakable one underneath. Warning: Having too many loose things can cause major lag within games.
Keep The Brick Count Down
If you use too many bricks in one place, the map will load for a very long time, and it will be laggy and twitchy for people. When the Developers sit down to make a multiplayer map, the rule is to keep it under 2,000 bricks. The maximum limit of bricks is not set, but anything over 10,000 bricks is a lagfest. Keep it under 3,000 if you are making something really big. For stationary object, use only a few bricks, and use more for the things you are blowing up.
Use That Space!
Empty space can be boring. If your map is mostly empty space, you should do one of two things:
- fill the place with awesome scripts.
- Or fill up the space with something interesting. At the very least, throw in some mountains or something. If it is too late to make your space smaller, then add in more things, like some trees or a brickyard. Try not too fill your place with too many things, as many veterans know, it can slow things down.
Make Different Places To Go
Imagine a multiplayer map that is just one big long hallway. This map would get dull real fast, unless it was a giant slide. When designing a level for people to fight in, you want to build the level so that your players have options and htings to do, or watch. For example, in Chaos Canyon, PilotLuke's Battlecube has at least three ways in. If I decide that I want to storm the Battlecube, I have an interesting choice to make: which way should I go? This makes a map more fun, especially for team games.
Lock And Anchor Your Terrain
It is good practice to Lock and Anchor your terrain. Locking will prevent people, or if you're in edit mode, you from moving it accidentally. Anchoring will stop big explosions from knocking off parts off of your stuff.
Use Weapons, But Not Too Many
A lot of people when they first learn how to put new weapons in their map go hog-wild and add everything. When you have ten weapons, it's a little too crazy. Using a variety of weapons from All Models makes for an interesting variety of combat. Of course, you can always leave out weapons and make a building map. Or you can have no weapons at all, and find ways to manipulate the ClickDetector.
Have People Spawn In Other Locations
If you're planning on having a fighting map, then make sure that you have several different Spawn Locations for each team. Make sure that they are spread out a bit too. If you have the enemy team's spawn right next to your team, then they are going to sit there and launch rockets at you when you spawn, giving you no time to react. This isn't fun, make sure the team is dispersed by at least two different spawn locations.
Make It Original
If you're planning on having a popular map, make sure you make it your style. Chances are, if you like something, others will too. If you want to make a different kind of map than anyone else, think "out of the box". Even if you have already thought of map, like an obstacle course, make sure you think of things that are different from other maps.
Add Atmosphere
If you want to make your Place more interesting, add atmosphere like mountains, volcanoes, etc. If there's no atmosphere, then the enthusiasm that the Players get is very low, and your place may end up being not lively or popular.
