This is a reference article written for Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault. However many of the points can be applied to other war games.
This article was written for Medal Of Honor: Allied assault. This game is more or less dead with the release of Pacific Assault and Call Of Duty. However the following points are probably still valid and can be applied to these other war games.
The MoH Style
Medal Of Honor is different to old skool deathmatching because as it aims to be realistic, you can die so much more easily so quick reactions, good accuracy and intelligent movement are key (rather like Counterstrike). Thus your maps need to offer lots of cover (bunkers, ruined buildings etc) and in the case of buildings have lots of little rooms to duck into during firefights. For instance the Stalingrad map has lots of small side rooms which initially might look pointless but actually serve to provide cover in what would otherwise be wide open rooms.
Designing For The Weapons
There should be mixtures of open spaces and small spaces, short and long corridors etc to accommodate all weapons and yes, that does include the rocket.
Shotguns are most effective in smaller, compact areas like corridors and small rooms, Sniper rifles obviously require large open spaces preferably with areas where you can get high up. Rocket launchers should have medium length corridors etc because they stray off course over long distances and they will hurt their owner in confined areas. The machine guns are more general weapons, effective wherever.
Gameflow
No particular place should be easily defendable. For instance a player cannot just camp in a room, put their back to the wall and be safe from everything. This can generally be achieved by avoiding having dead ends in areas and making it quite open. This will also encourage players to move around.
Multiplayer MOH isnt as pacey as other games so as a result small linear maps rarely work. Players should not have to run into each other head on all the time. You need to give them plenty of choice in where they can travel. This not only makes things more interesting but it also allows for a variety of tactics. Pincer movements, charges up the centre it may sound sad but your map should allow people to play in those terms. You are dealing with a greater level of realism after all.
Visuals
Its World War 2 and your maps should obviously relate to that. Planes flying overhead, shells blasting down, etc. The more atmospheric and the stronger a war theme you have, the better. Dont make some generic, boxy, town map. You want to be able to feel like you are in the middle of a battle zone.
Warnings
This point mainly applies to town settings. Though you are encouraged to make realistic settings and have plenty of corridors/rooms/cover of varying size, dont go overboard and build entire towns with each building having detailed interiors. It makes the map overly complicated and maze-like. Each section should serve a purpose and lead to key areas. If you have a house tucked into the corner of your town and its not going to see any action dont bother adding an interior.
