Designing Duke levels

* Pre-Planning. Think about what you're going to do before you actually
  start Building. Draw your level on paper to get an idea of what your level
  is going to look like. Sometimes it's very hard to add new rooms and other
  structures at a later date due to the limitations and problems with Build.

* Save a Lot. Build does not error-check very well (and that's putting it
  mildly). Save yourself some aggravation by making lots of backups.

* Height Variations. Try adding lots of height variations in your level.
  Stairs, lifts, ledges etc. Don't forget that Duke can jump!

* Keeping it small. Big Dukematch levels are generally boring. This is
  especially true for 2-4 player Dukematches.

* Aligning Textures. Always align your textures! A level with unaligned
  textures is plain ugly.

* Texture Variations. You don't want your rooms to look the same. It's
  boring and confusing.

* Weapon Placement. Put the weapons in logical spots. If the player
  respawns you want him to be able to get some weapons immediately. Put the
  powerful weapons in hard-to-get-to spots.

* Doors. Doors can be fun in Dukematch. You never know what's behind a
  door. Doors can make a level much more exciting, but don't overdo it.
  Giving each door a different sound is a good idea.

* Sounds. Different areas should have different sounds. It makes Dukematch
  levels more hectic. The players do not have to run around endlessly without
  meeting each other.

* Lights. Light variations can greatly enhance your level. Add switches to
  improve tactical depth.

* Water areas. Water areas provide more variety to a level, and
  confrontations underwater require different tactics, and that's a good
  thing. Depending on the size of the water area, add scuba gear.

* Health. Atomic health can bring someone's health up to 200 so that he/she
  can survive a direct hit by the RPG. Personally I dislike the atomic health
  especially in big levels. If you're going to add atomic health, put it in a
  room where people frequently meet. I like the medikit, but once again put
  it in a central location.

* Breakable stuff. People like to break stuff in Duke3D. Add stuff like
  glass and monitors around the level, but don't overdo it. These things do
  nothing to enhance actual gameplay. I've seen levels with tons of women,
  bottles and other silly objects all inside one big room. This is stupid and
  ugly. Don't do it. It also brings down the framerate.

* Mirrors. Mirrors are cool, but alas very fragile. After someone breaks
  them, they're useless in Dukematch. You can add a barrier in front of the
  mirror so that the player can't break it.

* Respawn spots. Don't add starting positions in central locations. We want
  to avoid cheap frags as much as possible.

* Teleporters. Bullets go through teleporters which can add an interesting
  twist to Dukematches. But too many teleporters can be confusing and boring,
  so keep that in mind before you start making that big level with 20
  teleporters.

* Cameras. These are very usefull for those pipebomb lovers.