So i was wondering if there is like specific rules most mappers or even including treyarch that they follow to like make a zombie map look good and not plain. I found out terrian adds more variety or detail to an area instead of leaving the ground flat and having the area look plain. Im looking through treyarch maps to see what other things they do to "add variety" to their map. Do you guys know other little things like that that make a huge difference as so? Also is it just me, or when you like design your map in Radiant with a certain layout you end up not liking it and you want to change it but you get stuck on what route to add in to make the flow feel fluent? Just curious.

I dont know what treyarch think of but a good map in my opinion is not rooms that are like 2048x2048 units but more narrow rooms or hallways/alleys also make sure the map is not linear to give the players different options each gameplay so not a door leading to a door leading to a door in a straight manner but more like each room have 3 entrances 1 way in 2 way out 1 way in 2 way out nomatter where you came from there is always a way to get out or explore rather than taking the same path 50 games in a row resulting in repetitive gameplay. i feel like making doors buyable from both sides will help the in this case since that allows even more possibilities but then again drop down spots adds variety like in call of the dead so find what works best in each situation. Just make sure its all well connected when designing it. Simple layouts are good for planning it all out so get some friends in a lobby and ask what could be added for better gameplay before going heavy on all the details.

(it goes without saying anything that looks like a square or box even if based on real life room will look shitty so stay away from the 4 walls concept even if there is windows, pillars, debris and other interesting things breaking up the obvious boxiness)



Doors are point of interest will have players going trough in order to survive, adding details around them or near mystery boxes / Packapunch / vending machines can be a great idea since doing it to a massive map can be long and painstaking process so picking key locations to give that extra effort will enhance the overall feeling of the map since it will be noticed litterally every gameplay, even by the least adventurous players.

I dont know what treyarch think of but a good map in my opinion is not rooms that are like 2048x2048 units but more narrow rooms or hallways/alleys also make sure the map is not linear to give the players different options each gameplay so not a door leading to a door leading to a door in a straight manner but more like each room have 3 entrances 1 way in 2 way out 1 way in 2 way out nomatter where you came from there is always a way to get out or explore rather than taking the same path 50 games in a row resulting in repetitive gameplay. i feel like making doors buyable from both sides will help the in this case since that allows even more possibilities but then again drop down spots adds variety like in call of the dead so find what works best in each situation. Just make sure its all well connected when designing it. Simple layouts are good for planning it all out so get some friends in a lobby and ask what could be added for better gameplay before going heavy on all the details.

(it goes without saying anything that looks like a square or box even if based on real life room will look shitty so stay away from the 4 walls concept even if there is windows, pillars, debris and other interesting things breaking up the obvious boxiness)

(Image removed from quote.)

Doors are point of interest will have players going trough in order to survive, adding details around them or near mystery boxes / Packapunch / vending machines can be a great idea since doing it to a massive map can be long and painstaking process so picking key locations to give that extra effort will enhance the overall feeling of the map since it will be noticed litterally every gameplay, even by the least adventurous players.

Detailing with Radi 101

You made alot of good points! Thanks guys! And thats a good idea to have people play in the map

There are also Gameplay standards that are a good idea to follow in order to keep your map consistant in scale and make it more realistic. 

http://wiki.modsrepository.com/index.php?title=Call_of_Duty_5:_Gameplay_standards

There are also Gameplay standards that are a good idea to follow in order to keep your map consistant in scale and make it more realistic.

http://wiki.modsrepository.com/index.php?title=Call_of_Duty_5:_Gameplay_standards

on top of this, search for articles about level design theory in general

Just make sure that the player always has more than 1 exit in an area and it will be fine.