I'm curious, what effective ways do other mappers have of planning and executing a map? do you draw out every detail of every area and then start work, or do you just get a general concept and go where it takes you? what habbits do you have for forming a map idea, do you go with visual concept or gameplay concept? and what are your general 'avoid this at all costs' rules, like high-moderate r_speeds, etc.

also, what is your opinion of high r_speeds? 6 ms or so? i'm a little confused as to what i should be aiming for on that :P

also could you go into detail of how you set up for a map and how effective it's been for you, i'm working on two disasters right now and could use some guidance as to how to effectively work a map from concept to finish. (but didn't we all when we started? hehe)

eh? no one has any helpful habbits or anything to help people out? :(

Eh, for me, I sometimes draw some stuff out on graph paper to plan out a level and once I have what fits on the graph page done I just use my imagination, or draw more pictures. Pictures really help. I often just draw them on regular paper too if Im just trying to get a general idea.

Well, i would think "to each his own"

but heres what I do, i figure out the basics before i start on a txt file:

possible names?
where is the map?
ruined city? intact? countryside? woods? bunker?
is it raining or snowing?
is it night or day? dark or light?
is there a map that is similar to what I want to make?
what do I like/dislike about current maps?
what can i do to change those dislikes?
how large do I want it?
ctf, obj, para style?
how many ppl max do I see in this map?
british or americans?
who owns the flags/obj at start?

etc etc.

I find myself drawing the areas down all the time for my maps. graph paper is great, scratch works for those ideas that pop in your head.

hope that helps.

ive got many ideas in my head, some i would draw on paper, map the basic layout and see where it takes me. when it comes to lighting, weather, sky etc. i go what i think looks cool/good.

i cant draw to save my life

i just do it as it comes to mind

When planing out a map, I usually sketch out individual areas on graph paper. Once I have a bunch of cool small areas that follow the same general theme, then I'll work on fitting them all together.

alright, now that some feedback has been posted i guess i'm a little more confident in my abilities as that is roughly what i do.

hmm. thanks for the input guys :)

I just get an idea for a location, like a bombed plaza or a tall gothic church. I build that, then I see what happens with the rest, if I get that far.

My mapping habits are so abstract there is no real way to list them. Some maps are started from scratch and built without plans, others have full drawings, others are built around a nice texture set I got and many are maps I had a basic "goal" to work around mapping wise...such as my current goal is as high detail as I can pump without breaking down old machines. It's tough goings, but if you know the engine and how it behaves you can map well enough.