How do you make a large level that plays good even with 2-4 players?

Uh.........
Can you be a bit more specific about your wants?

For example, a 80x60 level that isn't really hard to find the other players in, which would make it unsuitable for things like duels.

Humorous answer:
Make most of it wall, with a small space in the inside.

Serious answer:
Study other levels which you think have achieved this. See if you can figure out any pattern.

I mean a level thats large, so a lot of people can play it, but it isn't a pain finding other players, so it still plays well when there are only a few people.

That's kinda hard I'd think, but nt impssible. A way you can do this is first fill the level up totally with masked tiles, and then cut out passages where you want people to go. Most of the space will then be used up with masked areas where ppl cant go, and they can only move where you made the passsages. I've made a few levels like this, and they do turn out to be bigger than the ones where you paste platforms in. It's a more complex idea of Unknown Rabbit's humorous idea

That's about all the advice I gan give, good luck!!!

I've never really been a good "big-lvl" creator but I think I know how to make a good one.

First of all, how large do you want it to be? I could make you a lvl 100x70 (without weapons and eyecandy, only the platforms/springs/tunnels) if you want to see how it's done.

If you don't want to see my lvl, here's a couple basic things you should do:

1. Look at other large lvl's like ForceDraw and Smog. They might not be very good one's but at least they show you how you can make a large lvl and still find ppl relatively easy.

2. As Dishguise said, put more tunnels and less platforms in your lvl. Make the open spaces masked but make sure you put a lot of eyecandy/stuff in there or else the lvl might look boring.

3. If you are gonna make lots of tunnels, don't make them too thight or the lvl's gonna turn kind of "one-way". Make them BIG and you could perhaps put smaller tunnels or platforms in them.

4. Suckertubes, warps, float ups and springs are all good examples of how you can get from one area to the other fast. Put a warp on each of the four corners of the lvl so players can move from one side to the other. Float ups and springs are primarily to move the player up so if it's a high lvl, you might want to add some (or lots). Suckertubes are more interesting although it does ruin gameplay cause the player can't control him/herself. Make the suckertubes short and fast (but make the end of the sucker-tubes slow if you don't want ppl to crash into the roofs).

5. Oh, I almost forgot, look at Blade's lvls. They are HUGE (most of them ) but you can still find the other players (and in my case they can find me ) very easily.

6. When building large lvls, ALWAYS remember to mention my name. (just kidding)

Alright, I guess this is all. Good luck on yer lvl and PM me if you want the lvl...

Cheers,

White Rabbit.

*I'm beginning to write replies as if they were reviews...*

Darn!! I saved the lvl in TSF...
Do you have TSF?

Er...
Do you mind if the lvl's a bit messy? Btw, you can edit the lvl as much as you like and call it your lvl and upload it on J2o and whatever if you want.

Just don't make large levels. Smaller levels (80x60 ie) are fun, even with lots of players. If you really want something big, add many seekers and gun 9, so ppl can hit eachother easily. Also, don't add too many carrots.

Make it easy to know where you are and get to where you want to go.

stripe

The art of bottlenecks. Study for a while Battle 1 and how players find themselves there. It's big, but there are some areas where people tend to battle more than others. Use bottlenacks.

It's sometimes good to seperate the level into 'areas'. Then you make most of the tunnels and tubes and stuff lead you into these main areas. Thus you can find people fairly easy.

Do you mean area in general or playable area?

Well. I guess I mean like places where there is open spaces, a power-up or something. Like attractions. Like Battle1 could be seperated into areas. Like The main complex on the bottom (Where the warp to the seeker power-up is) would be one. The seeker power-up /carrot would be another. And the copter/bouncer power-up would probably be the last. So similar to your previous post, where most battles take place.

Yes. Also where the water shield is and the bouncey area, though battles there tend to end in the seeker/carrot area due to the warp.