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Most of my blame goes on the community, it always has and probably always will treat new members like shit over at Duke4 and even if you have been there for years, don't you dare have an opinion to offer unless it coincides with the in-crowd.

Truthfully, I started badly there too. You can track my first posts, but this was a long time ago, and you and I had sort of a fight

Still duke4 reflects homo sapience in it's full spectrum. The are ready to crucify you and turn around and pamper you silly. That's why I love this forum, because it is not moderated. But above all, I doubt anyone there is taking it serious, it's just a hang out, where you can be silly, troll a bit or get down to business.
Since I am there, I've got two free legit games from new found friends, (never mind all those 'borrowed' one's); they've got me hooked into 3D modelling and believe it or not Unity 3d.

Here is what I do, ignore shit posts, and upvote randomly whenever I feel like.

@Forge - I know you guys won't turn people away, but I think a link should be at Steam Duke Megaton, so potential new mappers can get into it.

@ no one specifically

I remember a thread on 3D Realms web site, asking if anyone actually still uses Build to make maps, because ... now fifteen years later, I still see actual new people on duke4. Moloch posted newbie questions there (3D Realms site) and it ended up as the SST TC. I say just keep the door open to the new people, you never know what will come out of it.

Yep, it's old all right.
Quote from map template, Predators:
"Known Bugs/Problems    : I have no sound card. The sounds in this map may sound incorrectly." 

Nah, this had nothing to do when the map was done; 2002/3. At home, all I had then was my old Pentium II, no sound card because it was originally bought just for drafting and not for gaming.

@ Forge, yeah, technically I am long gone. You know the song Puff the Magic Dragon?  Mapster is a super toy, it will always be in my good books, but it needs, like Puff, someone to play with. 

I can see from the visitors statistics on this site that Germany is on the top 5 list.
Peculiar that it is so few mappers and even fewer forum members around from that country.

Well, I am German living in Canada - cheap plug, thanks for showing my map on the front page (Predator) - still, after all those years, made my day. 

Since I hardly show up here; I used to be Phoenix, switched to Taamalus and ended up with my real nick Hank.

congrats to Mikko for being selected as Mapper of the Month. A key player in the history of collecting, distributing, and making maps.

+1

+ 1000000 , well, ehmm 

I don't think the high tag does anything, unless it differentiates one set of cyclers from another. Afaik, you can't turn cyclers on/off.

Ah, it's my English. Yes, you can. As I said, wiki is being validated (by me) so I check the source code of Eduke32 and test things in Mapster32.
Set the hitag of a cycler to a specific value. Set a lowtag of a switch or touchplate to the hitag of the cycler, it works off/on the first time it is used. That is what I meant, the only use of the hitag is the interaction of a switch, nothing else. But if Puritan or you know of something else, lemme know. 

There is no need for Speed sprites at all.
Just give the Cyclers a unique hitag and the lowtag is the "speed" of the cycle effect.
Soon you can open Alien Resurrection in Mapster and have a look. 

Yeah, this I want to see. In your map, what happens if you set the hitag to 0?

I think the hitag is effective only with a switch, i.e. you can turn the light-show on/off.

Forge beat me to it, still I will not delete my original post 
http://wiki.eduke32.com/wiki/Category:Editing_Lighting_Effects
(This wiki is being upgraded to Mapster32 for 2012)
The bottom chapter is not yet validated, but will give you a head start.

The math? Make a circle with as many sectors as you can handle, and choose your highest number, the sector adjacent to it is set to 0. Then divide by as many sectors you have and give each subsequent cycler a progressive number.
Say you have 12 sectors. the highest number is 1100.
first is 0, and last is 1100, the others get 100, 200 etc.
If my gibberish makes no sense, just look at the E2L1 map near the end is a circular lighting effect.

game play = aliens, weapons, supplies - ratios, placements, variety. Puzzles, spawns or lack thereof (also when backtracking), behind the back spawns, unfair explosions, etc.

I think I've got the gist.
BUT!!!!!!!!!!
What is an unfair explosion? Yes, I am asking. I am reusing my maps with modern cons, I can do stuff now I only dreamed about, but if parts of it are unfair – no point.

Example, you should have a lot of guns collected by now. There is a gorgeous shot gun resting on an altar, contrary to your previous finds, in plain sight and visible for the proverbial miles. Would you be surprised said gun to be booby trapped?

I always use nasty traps. You either get a visual or audible hints, so watch your step and keep your ears and eyes open, you snooze, you loose, yet, what is fair? 

In this instance design encompasses aspects of the construction that can effect game play. Technically I can remove the word "design" from that part of the rating breakdown, but I keep it around because other "physical" aspects of the map also affect game play. The layout and architecture are the two usual apsects that are considered when thinking about how the design affects game play. i.e.  Are the corridors really narrow making it difficult to move around or have a fair chance at fighting enemies? Narrow corridors are by themselves not a problem, but when you surround the player with fat commanders in narrow corridors, then it becomes a design issue by the definition I'm using.

edit: another way to think about it. If the architecture is oversized. Then the architecture score is affected. But if the oversizing affects the players ability to move around and messes up the flow of the game, then the architecture score is affected as well as the gameplay score because of the design.

What about narrow corridors intended to be a player's challenge, with Commanders? If you have the Shrinker I gave you, use it. If you did not find the Shrinker, well, entering those corridors, armed with only a shot gun are deadly.

I think it should not be just the layout but also how the layout challenges the player with actors and accessories, or as Trooper Dan mentioned.

Keep in mind I am just mouthing off.

Now it should be obvious where the new posts are 

Yes.