What do the tags mean?

Abandoned: The 'abandoned' tag means that the author has stopped working on the map before finishing it. Abandoned maps are unfinished and will never be unfinished. It's important to note that this does not mean the map is unplayable. In some cases the maps are unbeatable but a lot of the time the maps can be beaten. Any bugs will remain unless fixed by the community and no more content will be added.

Achievements: Maps marked with 'achievements' means that the map will keep track of how many secrets (or optional areas/objectives) players have discovered. This can range from displaying a board labelled 'Achievements' complete with icons, fun names, and descriptions to a simple counter or graphic that appears briefly before the map ends. Progress in Sven typically does not carry over across maps so make sure to screenshot your completion if you wish to brag about it.

Admin Room: An 'admin room' refers to a room where any players inside have power over the other players in the server. These can be secrets or at the end of particularly difficult puzzle or platforming section. An example of an admin room power is pressing a button that creates explosions in the rest of the map, killing other players.

Adult: This map contains images that are not suitable for children. This does not always mean pornography is present but in the vast majority of cases this denotes pornography. It's also important to note that the pornography is typically not very good and is used more for shock value than pleasure.

Arena: 'Arena' maps contain an area or multiple areas where players must stay and defeat enemies. Some arena maps have specific enemies players must defeat before moving on or winning, some arena maps have infinitely respawning enemies for a neverending battle and not much else in the map. Walkthrough and arena maps can have overlap, the two are not mutually exclusive. 

Barnacle: Maps with the 'barnacle' tag not only contain the barnacle weapon, but must also use the barnacle to grapple to new areas. The map contains a barnacle and barnacle anchor points that allow players to traverse the map using the barnacle.

Boss: This map contains a boss monsters. In most cases this denotes a final boss that must be killed before the map can end but can also describe monsters that act as mini-bosses. At the very least there is a strong monster that must be defeated before moving on.

Broken: Something in this map does not work correctly. A lot of maps made for Sven Co-op are old and the game itself has undergone many revisions. Some of these older maps have mechanics that no longer work due to game updates. Many maps that are unfinished and/or abandoned have broken sections. This does not necessarily mean the map is unplayable, although it does mean the map does not play as intended. Play at your own risk.

Class Based: Maps tagged as 'class based' will force players to pick a predetermined loadout according to a kind of class as defined by the mapper. This can be done well or badly depending on the map. Sometimes class based maps do not allow players to drop or switch weapons, it can be very restrictive on the players.

Co-op Required: Even though Sven Co-op focuses on cooperative play there are plenty of maps that can be played solo. Maps with this tag can only be beaten with multiple players (or cheats). Some maps require three, four, or even more players to complete, but the vast majority of maps tagged with 'co-op required' only require two people.

Conversion: When a map is 'converted' it means taken from one game and put into Sven Co-op. These can be standalone mods ported in part or wholly to work as Sven maps or maps taken from multiplayer games like Team Fortress Classic, Counter-Strike 1.6, or Half-Life: Deathmatch. Sometimes converted maps are kept as close to the original source as possible and sometimes the maps are changed to work better in Sven Co-op. In rare cases maps are ported from games on completely different engines, although these tend to have far more bugs than any other maps. Maps tagged with conversion will always be tagged with the game they have been converted from except in the rare case that the source game does not use the goldsrc engine.

Defense: The 'defense' tag describes maps where players must defend an objective. This can be keeping an area clear of enemies or protecting breakable objects from attacks. This also describes arena type maps with enemies that are programmed to invade the player spawn area.

Experimental: There are many maps that are simple showcases or tests of mechanics for other maps. Any demonstration, test, or other display of unusual gameplay gimmicks that do not come together to form a complete playable experience are labelled as 'experimental'.

Fullbright: When a map is 'fullbright' that means the lighting is either nonexistent, broken, or the author didn't want to make the lighting look good. Fullbright maps display everything at maximum brightness, no shadows, no lights, no atmosphere, no mood. These maps tend to look very bad.

Fun: The 'fun' tag is a catch all tag for maps that do not have a focused goal. While most Sven Co-op maps fall into the 'walkthrough' category and give players focused goals and obstacles, fun maps tend to lack goals, map ends, and can even lack combat completely. There are usually mini-games, puzzles, secrets, or other diversions to entertain players. The definition of 'fun' is very open ended and the nature of these maps can vary wildly.

Func_Vehicle: This tag means the map contains the goldsrc version of vehicles, 'func_vehicle'. These things can be very finnicky and are very dangerous to players who drive them. It's important to note that this tag does not just indicate the presence of vehicles in the map but that the map has a focus on them. For better or worse, maps tagged with 'func_vehicle' require extensive use of the vehicles.

Horde: This may be the most confusing tag of them all. A map tagged with 'horde' contains enemies that will respawn forever. In most cases this means large swarms of enemies, a horde if you will, that will never stop coming. But it also includes maps that have enemies that spawn in at a slow rate. For example, a map that spawns ten vortigaunts at a time every ten seconds forever and a map that spawns in a single headcrab every minute forever are both labelled as 'horde'. If you are looking for a map where you can fight off waves of enemies forever look at either the 'arena' tag or the 'defense' tag. If you are looking for a map with swarms of enemies look at the 'zombies' tag.

Lobby: Maps tagged with 'lobby' are meant to be used in between maps before the next map is chosen. Typically lobby maps have map transitions to other maps, usually the common ones, that will call a server vote to see if players want to play on that map. These maps are great when a server is run with no admins and allows players to choose their own maps themselves. Lobby maps typically have minimal gameplay or just enough to entertain players before they inevitably change the map.

Losable: Typical maps in Sven Co-op end when players complete the objective. However, 'losable' maps can end early if players fail their objectives, usually displaying a message telling players that they have failed. Players can lose maps due to a timer running out, enemies accomplishing their objectives (usually destroying something), enemies entering an area they are not supposed to, or any other reason. Losable maps tend to be harder and can sometimes be quite frustrating, there are no save points in Sven Co-op.

Maze: This tag means the map contains a maze. There are some maps that have a long twisty hallway that doesn't actually have any branching paths. These maps are not mazes and will not be labelled as such. Additionally, maps that are not meant to be mazes but are extremely confusing to navigate may be labelled 'maze' due to their maze-like nature. If players get lost in an intricate complex of hallways with many branching paths then the map gets the 'maze' tag.

Meme: Maps with the 'meme' tag are filled with memes. Since internet culture moves fast and memes get stale almost as soon as they appear this means that 'meme' maps are usually filled with ugly nonsense that is not funny. Play these when they come out to get the full experience, play these years later to experience a time capsule of another period of internet culture.

Missing Models/Textures: Many maps use custom models and textures that are contained in files separate from the map file (the .bsp). While the vast majority of maps on the Sven Co-op Map Database are standardized to have all necessary files in the correct file folder structure to make map extraction easy there are inevitably some files that fall through the cracks. Some maps are uploaded in map packs separate from their map page and when the map is updated the version in these packs are missed. Sometimes maps are dependent on resources from other maps and mappers don't ensure that all the map's resources are packaged together. Regardless of the cause, missing textures show up as black and purple checkerboard and missing models show up as 3D block letters spelled 'ERROR' that glow red.

Monster Hunt: These maps contain monsters and the player's main goal is to kill them. Typically these maps manifest as large areas where players have to explore to find the monster before killing them. In most cases these monsters have a lot of health and have high damage output. Many of these maps overlap with 'walkthrough' and 'arena' gameplay. At its core this tag denotes maps where the goal is to hunt down specific monsters and the gameplay is focused around that mechanic.

Music: This map contains custom music. Sven Co-op does not have background music by default and the built-in tracks are short and limited. Any map that contains music other than the built-in Half-Life tracks is tagged with 'music'. This does not mean the map focuses on music, it just denotes the presence of music.

No End: Maps with the 'no end' tag do not have a level end. In most cases this means the mapper did not include a level end. This tag also fits maps that are supposed to switch to another map but fail to do so. Many 'fun' maps lack a level end. Maps that do not end must either be changed manually by an admin or players can wait for the map time to run out, unless the map has unlimited time in which case it might be best to change to another server.

Official Sven Co-op Release/Sven Co-op 1,2,3,4,5: Sven Co-op is a community driven mod that includes the maps of many different authors on first download. The 'Official' tag denotes that a map was included in the base release of a version of Sven Co-op. The 'Sven Co-op 1,2,3,4,5' tags denote which versions of Sven Co-op these official maps were included. Typically official maps have a higher overall quality than other maps but this does vary.

Open World: When a map is mostly accessible right on the start of the game it falls into the 'open world' category. In general maps that have areas that open up when certain objectives are completed are excluded from this tag. Open world maps are defined by player freedom, minimal barriers to exploration, exploration that is not tied to completing objectives, and non-linear approaches to obstacles. Because exploration is important to open world maps, maps that are too small for exploration are excluded.

Platforming: The 'platforming' tag is very self-descriptive. Platforming is when players must jump from platform to platform to progress in the map. Sven Co-op is a first-person game so the platforming is also done from a first person perspective. This tag does not describe simple necessary jumps but a sequence in which players must complete a series of jumps, a section dedicated to players jumping.

Playable Solo: Despite Sven Co-op being a cooperative game and having the word 'co-op' right in the title it is a simple fact that a large percentage of maps made for the game do not actually require cooperative play. Maps that absolutely demand the input of more than one player are labelled as 'co-op required'. One might think that this means any map that does not require more than one player would be tagged as 'playable solo' but that is not quite the case. Many maps dump enemies on the players expecting a full server load, upwards of thirty-two people. With infinite respawns these maps may technically be beaten by a single player, but the gameplay would be miserable and this single player would have to chip away at the swarm of monsters before dying and respawning. The 'playable solo' tag not only describes maps that do not require the input of more than one player, but also maps that can be comfortably played by one person. This is a highly subjective metric and because of this maps with 'playable solo' tend to be very easy.

Politics: I'm writing this in 2022 and the political scene is an absolute mess. Maps tagged with the 'political' tag are about politics, much like 'meme' maps this gets old and irrelevant real fast. Also with hindsight a lot of these maps are terrible reminders of horrible mistakes. Perhaps these maps have historical relevance and will be useful to historians, but for players looking for a good time I recommend giving maps tagged with 'political' a hard pass.

Puzzle: The holy trinity of gameplay consists of exploration, combat, and puzzles. Puzzles are very diverse and can take many forms. Maps tagged with 'puzzle' contain at least one puzzle that players must solve to progress. Jumping "puzzles" are categorized as 'platforming' and "puzzles" that consist of reading a question and choosing the correct answer are categorized as 'quiz'. Hunting for secrets or other things is also excluded from this definition.

PVP: 'PVP' stands for 'player vs. player'. Even though Sven Co-op is focused on cooperative play there are a lot of maps geared towards competitive play. Sometimes PVP can be incidental, players share goals but can still kill each other, but most times 'PVP' maps are arenas devoid of any NPCs where players are expected to kill each other. Some 'PVP' maps are not properly configured to allow players to damage other players or require mods to enable player damage, this means a lot of these maps do not play as intended without proper set up.

Quiz: Maps labelled with 'quiz' contain sections where players must choose an option by answering a question. This most commonly is done with players walking through doors labelled with an answer. These maps are easily defeated by using Google in the Steam Overlay.

Race: 'Race' maps at the very least contain a race track.

Random: This is a tag that describes mechanics and not aesthetics. This tag does not describe how wacky a map looks or how much effort the mapper put into making a map that looks like crazy nonsense. There is a feature in Sven Co-op that allows mappers to randomize certain entities in the map. This can manifest as a maze that changes the layout randomly, rooms that have different enemies that change on map restart, or even as special events that randomly occur in the middle of gameplay. A map tagged with 'random' has a mechanic that gets randomized either in-game or when the map starts. Maps tagged with 'random' will play differently, either slightly or drastically, on replay.

Rats: The 'rats' tag is a bit of Counter-Strike culture carried over to Sven Co-op. Maps tagged with 'rats' are themed around players being very small and the map being an ordinary room at a much bigger than normal scale. The 'rats' tag has very little to do with rats and the scale can differ, for example a green army man themed map where players are scaled much smaller than in typical 'rats' maps would still be labelled as a 'rats' map.

Scavenger Hunt: A map labelled as a 'scavenger hunt' is a map that requires players to search through an area to find the means of progression. The best example of this is key hunting, players are given multiple locked doors and must find the keys to unlock each door. This also can manifest as mazes filled with destructible objects, buttons, or monsters that must be dealt with before the next area opens up. The key difference between 'scavenger hunt' and 'monster hunt' is that hunting the monsters is the goal of the map, while scavenging is not the goal but instead offers a means of progression.

Secrets: This tag is very self explanatory, any map tagged with 'secrets' contains secrets. Secrets can vary in how difficult they are to find but typically are not necessary to find in order to progress the map. There are maps designed around secrets in which the secrets must be discovered to progress the map. This tag describes both cases, maps that contain secrets, and maps that focus on players discovering secrets. This may change in the future as we experience more maps and gain a better understanding of the Sven Co-op mapping meta.

Seizure Warning: Maps tagged with 'seizure warning' contain flashing lights and in some cases may even be accompanied by high pitched noises. Typically this map just denotes the presence of flashing lights as this is a very common feature in maps. It is uncommon that maps have both flashing lights and high pitched tones but it does happen. If you have epilepsy or are at risk of seizures do not, under any circumstances, play maps with this tag.

Series: Maps tagged with 'series' contain multiple maps. These maps do not necessarily have to transition to one another or act as a cohesive whole, if there are multiple maps in a zip file then the map gets tagged as a 'series'. Conversely, any map lacking the 'series' tag will have only one map file (.bsp) inside the zip file.

Space: Any map with the 'space' tag takes place somewhere in the galaxy other than Earth. This tag encompasses maps set aboard space stations and space ships, maps set on distant planets, and maps that float in the void of space itself (but excluding maps that float in voids not specifically set in space). 

Sports: The goldsrc engine doesn't really have physics, so recreating a sport in the engine is near impossible. The 'sports' tag instead identifies maps that are sports themed, including stadiums, fields, and sometimes even locker rooms. 

Standalone Mod: When a map has the 'standalone mod' tag that means the map has been extracted either in part or wholly from a fan made mod. Maps with this tag always have the 'conversion' tag as well. Converted maps that are not from standalone mods will always be tagged with the source game except in the rare case that the source game does not use the goldsrc engine.

Survival: The survival mechanic in Sven Co-op will disable respawning. Any maps tagged with 'survival' utilizes this mechanic. If you are running your own server the console command to disable survival mode is "toggle_survival_mode".

Timed: These maps have a time limit. Maps that are 'timed' are always 'losable' as well. If players do not complete the objective before time runs out, or fails to defend an objective before time runs out then the players will lose the map. 

Traps: These maps contain traps.

Troll: Not all maps made for Sven Co-op are intended to be enjoyed, some maps are made to make the players suffer. Maps tagged as 'troll' maps are, to the best that I can tell, intended to mess with the player in some capacity. The line between incompetence and 'troll' is very thin and mappers making 'troll' maps will do their best to obfuscate the line as much as possible. This means this tag is highly subjective, although in most cases it is safe to assume maps tagged with 'troll' are not the most fun maps to play.

Walkthrough: This is by far the most common tag for maps to have. Put simply, 'walkthrough' maps will spawn players and have them complete sequential obstacles before ending the map. This is usually done in a linear manner with hallways but can still describe maps with heavy backtracking. 'Walkthrough' maps overlap with many other map types including 'arena', 'puzzle', 'zombies', and 'maze'. 'Walkthrough' maps do not typically overlap with 'defense', 'experimental', and 'scavenger hunt' maps. They are mutually exclusive with 'fun' and 'open world' maps, 'fun' describes gameplay with no objectives and 'open world' describes gameplay with non-sequential objectives and non-linear paths. 

Youtube Unsafe: This map contains copyrighted music and any gameplay videos uploaded to Youtube will be censored. Videos of maps with this label will either be silent due to the Youtube bots stripping out all the audio or the uploader themselves must censor out the music. If you are a streamer or youtuber then avoid these recording gameplay on these maps or be prepared to edit your footage.

Zombies: The 'zombies' tag is used when maps feature large swarms of zombies. This tag does not simply indicate the presence of zombies in a map, large swarms of them are a must.