Looking through some of my recent submissions, I have been noticing a failure in newer mappers on one of the most important parts of any match stage: game balance. Game balance is the act of placing the objects in the stage to make sure each player has a fair chance to get control of the game and win, by minimizing the amount of luck involved in the gameplay. In SRB2, this consists of putting player starts in good locations, making sure the ring distribution is fair, and placing the weapons and monitors properly.
The player starts are something that a lot of mappers forget about when making the map, and then place as an afterthought in areas that would look good on spawn. This is a bad idea because if the player doesn’t spawn next to anything of use, he’s a sitting duck to those that did. Also, remember that sometimes players will die mid-game, and need to respawn. If they spawn without anything of use to them, they’re just cannon fodder to whoever already has most of the items on the stage. Making sure that none of the player starts are near weapons, and all of them are near rings is vital to making a good map.
It is also important to distribute rings around the stage in a mostly even manner. There should be rings easily accessible to the player no matter where they are in the stage, in case they end up in a situation where they have no rings and need them desperately. There also must be rings next to any player spawns, so the player can get rings before his temporary invincibility wears off. It is also a good idea to make sure a certain amount of the rings in the stage are contained in normal Super Ring monitors, simply to allow people to get rings if someone happens to get an Attraction Shield. Remember that some people will often end up with powerful items, so making sure the other players have the ability to fight back is vital if the level is to be fun.
Finally, the most important thing is to make sure all the weapons and monitors are placed properly. The weapon rings must be placed far away from each other, and make sure that there is at least 2 of each weapon ring except for Infinity, as otherwise one player will know when it respawn, and can keep going back to the ring over and over again to monopolize it. Also, make sure to not allow the weapons that you have placed be abusable, but don’t make them useless, either. For instance, in a map with a big open area, Rail will be incredibly good, but in a map with tiny hallways and no open areas, Rail will be nearly useless. Depending on the map, different weapon combinations will be more or less useful. Also note that some weapons combine much better than others. Homing Rail is a lot more powerful than Infinity Explosion in terms of power level. Experiment in real games to see how the different combinations affect gameplay. Also, make sure that any monitors with random effects are in an area where all the players can reach them, and don’t use more than 2-3. Random monitors are the source of two of the most powerful things in the game: Attraction Shield and Armageddon Shield. Also, make sure never to actually place normal versions of such powerful monitors, or it will become the whole point of the map. Unless you want to make the level overpowered, it’s a very bad idea to make such powerful items readily available.
Basically, most things about game balance can be learned by looking at the official maps, but some must be learned from experimentation. Actually playing some rounds of the official maps and finding out why they work is the best way to learn the way game balance works. Noticing the flaws in someone else’s work is a wonderful way to figure out how to make sure not to repeat the flaws for yourself. Above all, make sure that your object layout has as much time into it as the sector layout. Your map will praise you later for it.
The player starts are something that a lot of mappers forget about when making the map, and then place as an afterthought in areas that would look good on spawn. This is a bad idea because if the player doesn’t spawn next to anything of use, he’s a sitting duck to those that did. Also, remember that sometimes players will die mid-game, and need to respawn. If they spawn without anything of use to them, they’re just cannon fodder to whoever already has most of the items on the stage. Making sure that none of the player starts are near weapons, and all of them are near rings is vital to making a good map.
It is also important to distribute rings around the stage in a mostly even manner. There should be rings easily accessible to the player no matter where they are in the stage, in case they end up in a situation where they have no rings and need them desperately. There also must be rings next to any player spawns, so the player can get rings before his temporary invincibility wears off. It is also a good idea to make sure a certain amount of the rings in the stage are contained in normal Super Ring monitors, simply to allow people to get rings if someone happens to get an Attraction Shield. Remember that some people will often end up with powerful items, so making sure the other players have the ability to fight back is vital if the level is to be fun.
Finally, the most important thing is to make sure all the weapons and monitors are placed properly. The weapon rings must be placed far away from each other, and make sure that there is at least 2 of each weapon ring except for Infinity, as otherwise one player will know when it respawn, and can keep going back to the ring over and over again to monopolize it. Also, make sure to not allow the weapons that you have placed be abusable, but don’t make them useless, either. For instance, in a map with a big open area, Rail will be incredibly good, but in a map with tiny hallways and no open areas, Rail will be nearly useless. Depending on the map, different weapon combinations will be more or less useful. Also note that some weapons combine much better than others. Homing Rail is a lot more powerful than Infinity Explosion in terms of power level. Experiment in real games to see how the different combinations affect gameplay. Also, make sure that any monitors with random effects are in an area where all the players can reach them, and don’t use more than 2-3. Random monitors are the source of two of the most powerful things in the game: Attraction Shield and Armageddon Shield. Also, make sure never to actually place normal versions of such powerful monitors, or it will become the whole point of the map. Unless you want to make the level overpowered, it’s a very bad idea to make such powerful items readily available.
Basically, most things about game balance can be learned by looking at the official maps, but some must be learned from experimentation. Actually playing some rounds of the official maps and finding out why they work is the best way to learn the way game balance works. Noticing the flaws in someone else’s work is a wonderful way to figure out how to make sure not to repeat the flaws for yourself. Above all, make sure that your object layout has as much time into it as the sector layout. Your map will praise you later for it.
