Custom Story suggestions/comments/general constructive criticism

[Russ Money]

Just some pet peeves I have when playing a custom story:

• Over using 'monsters'
  This happens a lot and for most of the time it's really out of context. If you have a monster popping out in your first or second map that is intended on being a hallucination or killing the player, what can you do to out do yourself? There are only two monsters to choose from when making a custom story based of the original Amnesia entities, not a whole lot to choose from after that. It very much so desensitizes the player.
  
• Placing the player in a locked room with the key inside said room
  I have seen this in a few custom stories and it feels pretty much useless to even do such a thing.
  
• Flickering walls/textures
  There really is no reason for this to happen. Granted that when you're in the level editor and do not move to camera when looking at a finished wall, you won't see the flickering textures. So please do us all a favor and test your damn maps before releasing anything.
  

Tips and tricks when level editing/scripting:

• Ctrl+D is your best friend.
  This makes a duplicate of the objects you have selected to move and have, well, a duplicate.
  
• Q, W, E
  These shortcuts help you move, rotate and size objects in the level editor. (Hell, just learn all the short-cuts and become a mapping wizard! )
  
• Think of every possible situation when making a map.
  People who play your custom story are your hugest variable. Some people like to rush through Amnesia, some people take it slow. Some folk will try their best to "think outside the box." A good example would be a post I saw on another forum where the person made a tower of boxes to get to one of the ceiling holes in Amnesia, to his dismay, it lead to nowhere obviously but, could have been a neat easter egg if Frictional Games were to think someone might look up there. Just assume that someone, somewhere is going to try to pour a bottle of acid on something. It gives your custom story a more immersive feel to get "If I do this, this would happen, I shouldn't do that." rather than "This item cannot be used this way!"
  
• Use lights, lots of lights.
  From my experience in making my custom story, lights are not a bad thing, nor do they ruin the environment. The engine makes anything without light, just that, complete darkness that makes the player more annoyed than scared. Now, I'm not saying you should make everything well lit, but placing a point light with a dull color gives off a more creepy feeling than pitch-black-darkness.
  

I could probably go on, but I feel like I've 'ranted' enough.

Edit: Also, throwing this thread out here because it has a lot of great points: http://www.frictionalgames.com/forum/thr...l#pid48368