====== Scene Guidelines ======

This is a list of qualities we are looking for in our scenes.  It is not a "you must follow every bullet point to the letter" sort of thing but please keep them in mind to increase the chances of your scene getting into the game.

===== Things to Avoid =====

  * Long, straight distances that players can pick off Nords from.
  * Kill zones that let players mindlessly kill bots with low risk.
  * Wide open areas with no cover.
  * Needlessly large maps.
  * Small rooms.
  * Positions where bots have an unfair advantage (shooting through trees).
  * Camps that people never need to leave.
    * Having a few stragglers outside the camp that force players to leave is fine.
    * Stragglers should not be too inconvenient to reach.
    * The goal is to make players move without dragging out the run too much.
  * Bot positions that only one or two Swadians can attack.
    * This mostly happens when cleaning up stragglers but it applies everywhere.
    * One way to prevent this would be having two paths out of the camp so that stragglers can be cleaned up from two sides.
    * Having it safe for only one or two ranged to clean up stragglers is an example of something to avoid.
  * Unnatural grid-like layouts.  There is such a thing as too much symmetry.
  * Styles that don’t fit the Swadian / Nord theme.
  * Including un-released items (such as legendaries) as props.
  * Areas of the map that only bots can reach but not players (particularly spawn points).

===== Things to Look For =====

  * Maps where players need to move around a bit.
  * Layouts that give players choices.
    * Having multiple camp options would be ideal but not necessary.
    * Having multiple paths to take to clean up stragglers is more important.
    * There should not be bot positions vulnerable to only one or two players at a time.
  * A natural layout with a certain amount of haphazardness (not perfectly symmetrical).
  * A certain level of realism (no exposed walls ending abruptly or not lining up properly).

===== Closing Notes =====

  * Many existing scenes in the game do not yet follow these guidelines.  As time goes on, they will gradually be reworked.
  * These guidelines will probably be modified as time goes on based on discussion and how well they work in practice.
  * You are welcome to discuss the guidelines [[https://forum.nordinvasion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=79 | on our forum]].