do and dont?

[Spitfire]

just out of opinion, what would you guys think are the 'do's and dont's' of making maps and missions in operation flashpoint. what makes a good map?

[Gcfungus]

Some quick things which I would count as important.
Do s:
Make sure your mission is cohesive.
-Make your mission and story consistent throughout. A story that randomly changes can make it less credible.
Have a good story
-Even if the play isn't great, then the story can still make a mission good. If it's good it can pull you in, and make you want to play on.
Check your mission
-Always do run throughs. Check any possibility. Can the player cheat, if he isn't meant to? Is there a glitch which could be exploited? This can also be done through public testing.

Don't s:
Make programming errors
-When you release a map (as a final version) make sure there are no programming errors. Even if the game is great, error messages or scripts not working can ruin a map. Even if it's not the most interesting map, make sure it's written correctly.
Make it too hard or easy
-A game which is too easy will probably only be played once. A game too difficult may bore the player. It can be frustrating trying to win but losing every time.
Make it too long or short
-Similar to the previous. Short games have no replayability, long games can bore the player. Long games may not be a problem if the gameplay/story is good enough.

Just some private thoughts - I'm sure there are many more hints/tips that designers/players have.
-=GC=-Fungus1999

[bedges]

OFPEC used to have a number of these "How to Make A Good Mission" guides, sadly they were lost in 'That Which Must Not Be Named'. If any enterprising members would like to put together a new guide, here's your chance.

My main bit of advice would be to search the forum here for similar threads - there have been quite a few over the years - especially on the mission discussion board. Most of the conversation revolves around the realism vs gameplay debate, well worth a read.

[RolsRois]

Do's

[/u]
-Make the map as fun and interactive as the map's difficulty level, don't make the player walk for miles without a chance of getting to a vehacile on the way.
-Give the player the freedom of choice, i think it's very important to have more then one possible ending (i dont mean the second one as dying)
-Always look to improve, let other scripters whice are better then you, try to improve your scripts, if you agree on the changes.
-an important story line.
-good dialogs, it gets boring to play for hours without "Talking" to anyone.

Dont's

[/u]
-Make the mission too easy to pass trough, and not challanging.

That's all i figured.

[NightJay0044]

A good map editor knows what he can and can't do.  Meaning he knows what skills he has, from inserting simple units to very complicated scripts.  Your mission will depened on what your knowledge is. 

As mentioned before, the story or the theme of the mission is a huge part.  What fun is it to have a story of;

"You'll start here, go and kill this guy and return to base"

It's dull as you can see. Obviously.  The more knowledge you know the more boundries you can press in OFP and "A LOT" more you can do.  So to make a good mission my point is improve yourself constently in mission editing. 

Also it has been said, ensure if it's to the meaning or point of your mission, have some place or something the player can heal by, there's no sense in having to crawl 1 mile to your extraction when your hurt.   

Use your imagination to create missions you feel are in your array of interests. Do you like night operations, well you can use a wide variety of Speicial forces missions to behind enemy lines.  If you like battles then you can create your biggest scenario you want.

A good map has a good story and a good plot, it's much like making a movie, keep the player on edge, i love missions where i can't always predict what's going to happen.  Make it hard, but not too hard but intersting to keep the player wanting to play more.

Keep the suspence going just like your favorite movie.  Also very simple missions are intersting to, as long as they work, like the ones BIS made in their official Single Player missions.  I hope this helps, good luck.