I saw this post and it really started jogging my mind, so i'm gonna write a whole ass essay if you don't mind. I think I can talk about this subject by now because I hit double digits in maps created a few days ago (flex)
For reference, i'm only gonna talk about insanes because making parkour for easy-hard and expert for the most part is a different experience. Im also gonna use
El Ateneo and
SaturnV for reference because they both encompass what I want to say
There are multiple factors that go into making a good pk. Im gonna talk about all of the ones I can think of, starting with the build.
BUILD: This may seem strange because the build and pk are generally separate in peoples minds (probably because they are very different and the map requirements talk about both of them separately), but a good build is important for good pk. Path progression is a major part of pk and can really hurt the pk if it isnt good. For example, in
El Ateneo I made a big mistake with the path progression because the ceiling for most of the pk is too low, which forces a lot of 2bc-3bc jumps, which isnt very fun. Make sure the path incorporates the whole build and doesnt restrict space (another reason why floating pk is so good; it can be built easily without taking up big space. Please give us floating pk mods i beg of you).
Difficulty: Difficulty is the first thing that comes to mind with insane maps, and the top ten easiest and hardest insanes are popular because they are in those lists. Its very important having difficulty, and there are three criteria I think of when making difficulty in insanes: checkpoints (im gonna call them cps), pk and length. cps are mentally difficult and can ruin a map if they are placed poorly, pk is the actual difficulty of the pk and length is both mental and physical. Im gonna talk more about these in the next part, so dont worry. I have noticed that most easier insanes have 0-1 of lengthy cps, hard pk or lengthy total map (around 120+ is my go to). Harder insanes have 2-3 of these things.
El Ateneo is an easier insane because it has easier pk and more cps, but is a longer map.
SaturnV is a harder insane because it has hard pk and is a lengthy map but has more cps. Follow these rules for making difficulty in maps.
PK, CPS AND LENGTH IN MORE DETAIL: About the pk, there are two main types of difficulty: actual difficulty and artificial difficulty. Actual difficulty is very rare on mana because of the skill cap of mana, such as no bwmm or 45 strafes. You have to find other ways of making actual difficulty without movements like those. Artificial pk is a lot more common, and I define it as pk that is very easy with proper setup. Many "hard" jumps on mana are actually very easy with proper coords and/or facing, and you can beat every insane on mana (apart from skiresort maybe) with just semi hh, c4.5, hh timing and pessi. Actual pk is much more fun so I recommend trying to create that, although its difficult with the rules.
The cps are pretty simple; harder pk should have more cps, and easier pk can have less cps. Harder pk can have less cps but its difficult to pull off successfully. Also, dont put the hardest jumps at the end of long cps, this is bad and nobody likes it
Length is another thing; longer maps are just harder to pull off. The pk has to be really fun for longer maps to be enjoyable. Something like
Valley is way too long for the quality of its pk which makes it unfun, while
2B pulls off length really well.
BLOCK VARIATION: This is a fun one. I'm just gonna say it here: random block spam =/= fun pk. You absolutely should not choose jumps based on specific block usage. You can actually get away with little block variation if you use lots of real variation (different movements and jump types, neo spam is no bueno but using neos every now and then is fun) and mix things correctly. Just dont spam random shit and you should be fine. What pyro said is also right and important; mixing blocks to make new things is cool
DISLIKED BLOCKS: Some blocks are more enjoyable than others, and after 900 hours of time here I can say what people dont like.
-brewing stands and piston heads (similar bounding boxes - look it up on
https://www.mcpk.wiki/wiki/Blocks if you dont know what I mean - unenjoyable blocks)
-enchantment tables (usually clash with the build and allow for 1.9+ skips)
-soulsand (more of a personal grudge, annoying and glitchy)
-lava (literally never use lava oh my god it is so bad)
-snow (actually a nice block and should be used but be aware of glitches)
-stairs (same as snow)
-landmines (awful pk design; should work like the ones on ibis but are instead stupid and annoying)
THE NUMBER ONE TRICK TO GOOD PK: The absolute best advice I wish I got before making my insanes is this: actually test them. Dont just test the individual jumps, you should play the whole map in chall mode following the cps. zzy does a good job at this on his yt channel (
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTbl5AFU269ocUU8LJcvppA <--- yw buddy) so you can do that. Really testing your map will help you determine the annoying, inconsistent and overall enjoyability of the jumps and map. Remember there will be mental pressure when playing the map if it gets accepted so account for that.
IN CONCLUSION: Follow the long cps, hard pk and length of the map closely, you can adjust the difficulty by changing these things (I recommend more cps for enjoyable pk, the mental aspect isnt really fun unless youre doing rankups). Have movement and (some) block variation but not in excess, and make things mix well (dont just have sections of panes or whatever). Inconsistent and more "luck based" pk is bullshit and try to avoid it. Also, really test the map yourself and get other people to tell you what they think (testers with mapper is good; testers with mapper and who are good at pk are way better).
That's my say on the question, im sorry for writing a massive essay of a response but theres a lot that goes into good pk. I also didnt cover everything, only the basics. Im sure I forgot some shit so if you have a question, ask me or anyone with mapper thats trustworthy.
Ok have fun and please dont make bad pk
