I've been watching the SD forum with silent dissent for a while. It's been a combination of things, but high on the list is the several very basic flaws with many sceanrios out there, that could be easily fixed. So please, read these:

1. When debugging your scenario, always test it as if the player is purposely trying to screw the triggers up. Go ahead, delete units to see if you forgot to make the player lose. Please, search for unwanted holes in your barriers. And never assume a unit is going to die just because it seems like it is in an insurmoutable position. You'd be surprised what some creative people could do to win battles...

2. Never underestimate the power of elevation. It can help align map copied buildings. It adds much needed strategy to single unit RPGs. And it looks nice, and adds realism.

3. Terrain mix. A Grass 1 map never looked good.

4. Don't put 3000 units on the map. For all our sakes.

5. Don't loop Display Instructions trigger without a Timer. It floods the Chat Window, making it impossible to read past events/dialogues. Not to mention it takes minimal effort on the designer's part.

6. As irresistable as it is, try to avoid having your name appear in the scenario as a chat message every 3 minutes. This only really happens in some multiplayer maps, but is annoying nonetheless.

7. Never assume the player automatically knows something. Pretend the player knows nothing of the map, and give him directions to every place he has to go. Similarly, keep each character in its "intelligence line." Don't have a character talking about something it never would have been able to find out of the story were real.

8. Name your triggers. It will save your skin countless times whenever you have to fix a bug.

9. Be a little lighthearted. Humor goes far in a scenario. Make allusions to yourself in idle chat. Add strange characters or cutscenes in marco polo territory. Have townsfolk talk about each other in strange context. Or have the main characters crack the occasional joke or insult in a cutscene.

10. Keep the town in perspective when creating it. Is it supposed to be a rich town? Then add Imperial Age buildings. It is going to be a newly renovated area? Then add regular roads. Keep in mind that most Medieval towns were crowded. Not only is it realistic to fill your towns with buildings (not too much...), but it is visually pleasing too.

11. Random maps guarantee a 3.0 rating in map design, but not in player disposition. I far admire more the designer who attempted to create his own map than one who simply clicked and had one pop up for him. Random maps can also look very out of place if you have 1 or 2 huge towns and nothing else. With custom maps it is much easier to create the same feel across the map. And if you actually put work into your custom map, it shows.

12. The player should never have an 8000 attack Harold Hardraade killing helpless hoards of Champions. It's not really fun.

13. Long walks with no action tend to bore the player. When creating paths, allow for more interaction, such as bandits or sidequests. Consider giving the player a faster unit, too, or researching techs like Husbandry or Squires for him.

14. Tricks like the taunt system to equip items can be nice, but do not add it for the pleasure of adding it. Please do not put a taunt system in your scenario if there are no penalties for using it. For example, a non-removable shield that gives a permanent 80 HP increase should not have to be taunted to be added, but instead should simply be equipped as soon as the player finds it.

15. Reward the player for going off the beaten path every now and then. Put upgrades or laughable characters in obscure parts of the map.

More to be added.

[This message has been edited by zyxomma100 (edited 02-16-2004 @ 01:26 PM).]