My first two maps

[PhoenixFlare]

Hello, I just recently got into Doom mapping. These will be the first complete levels I made. I recommend using ZDL, a Doom wad/mod launcher. You may need to set up a source port of your choice and the IWADs needed for these maps. I'll link a tutorial on how to use and set up ZDL here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfeLFlR5RQ0).

Map03 requires the Doom 2 wad; this map cannot be opened using only Doom 1. Map03 is in Boom format.

Map04 requires Freedoom Phase 2, a second installment of a libre Doom title. I'll link the Freedoom website here: (https://freedoom.github.io/download.html). Map04 is in Doom 2 format.

I tested both of these maps using the UZDoom source port. These maps have no specific difficulty differences. No matter the difficulty, they all have the same layout.

I uploaded my maps as a zip file it should be attached to this post.

To access the levels quicker in-game, use the backtick key, usually located to the left of the "1" key, and then type "map" followed by the map's ID, like "map map03," which accesses the third level. Map03 is the third level in Doom 2, and Map04 is the fourth level in Freedoom Phase 2.

I appreciate any feedback given, and I'll incorporate that feedback in future levels I create.

Thank you for reading and/or downloading .

[the_darknut_rises]

I gave MAP04.wad a go. The first thing to note is that the map in the wad is saved as MAP01, so if you load the wad you need to go to map01 to play it, not map04.

That out of the way, having played it, it's basically solid but with several rough edges. Here's my feedback:

The starting area has lots of the same brown textures, which is dull to look at and not helpful for navigation. A bit of variation in height might have helped as well.
I also think it would have made sense to use more rigidly straight lines here. The more free-form shape seems more interesting on paper, but it actually ends up doing the opposite. If the techbase section was more artificial and boxy it would create a greater contrast with the looser shapes of the natural outdoor environments.

The outdoor areas look much nicer. The nukage area has the much better enemy placement - it seemed like the imps and the spectre (or serpents and spectre-flesh-worm-thing... I'm not up on the Freedoom lore) were chosen and placed with intent for how they would act as an obstacle for the player. Many of the other encounters seemed to be just big groups of single enemy types in open areas.
Where you positioned the radsuit for the nukage area was a good idea but I completely missed seeing the nukage area on my first pass. I recommend making it a bit more obvious. Some ideas would be make the entrance to it bigger, put some decorations that haven't appeared in the map before around it, use different lighting or lighting effects. Any or all of these could work. The easiest option would be to layout the map so the player has to walk directly toward the enterance to the nukage area before turning off to the room with the radsuit. Just make sure they then don't miss that turning.

Where the inside areas meet the outside areas the ceilings are at the same height, so it looks like the door disappears into the sky and it gives away that the "sky" is just a ceiling. Just push the outside sector's ceiling up a bit and the problem goes away.

The bit where you get the chaingun and trigger a big encounter is a good idea but it's very easy to just grab the chaingun and run away. Also I didn't have enough chaingun ammo for the encounter so running was really the only option. Easy to fix the ammo thing, just have a few more clips available in the map prior to this point and/or put more zombiemen (who drop clips) in the encounter in place of some of the lost souls.
As for the easy running away just make the trap more directly between the layer and the exit. You can always move the chaingun deeper in if that helps.

Generally when you have a locked door you put the appropriate textures either side, or somewhere nearby, to indicate what key is needed. This is just convention, you don't have to do it, but there is a reason the convention exists. It just makes the layout of the map that bit easier to learn as you play. And if your map has key hunts that's generally because you want the player to spend more time exploring and learning about the space.
On the same note it's usually a good idea to indicate the exit switch is the exit.

Hopefully that all makes sense and encourage you to make more and better maps! And hey, welcome to Doom mapping!