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- DMapEdit v2.1 - a doom map editor!
-
- -------------
-
- DMapEdit is my trademark
- Doom is a trademark of id Software Inc.
- Vesa.bgi is copyright (C) 1991 Jordan Hargraphix
- UniVesa - Universal VESA TSR is copyright (C) 1993 Kendall Bennett.
- Ms-window is a trademark of Microsoft
-
- Copyright (C) 1994 Jason Hoffoss. All rights reserved.
-
- You may freely distribute this program, as long as it is distributed
- intact (all 8 original files) and unmodified. You may not sell this
- program, for profit or any other purpose.
-
- This Editor is not a product of id Software and id Software cannot and
- will not provide support it, nor for maps created with it, nor for DOOM
- itself if you modify the DOOM.WAD (IWAD) file.
-
- -------------
-
- Welcome to DMapEdit. DMapEdit is a true, full-featured map editor, and
- not just a thing editor. DMapEdit can now generate Nodes, Sectors and
- Blockmaps.
-
- I've decided to make this product shareware. Therefore, this is the
- shareware 'demo' version. The registered version can be obtained from
- me by sending a $5 check, money order or whatever to my address.
-
- My address is:
-
- Jason Hoffoss
- 10321 110th st. N.
- Stillwater, MN 55082
-
- When later versions become available, I will distribute patch files
- electronically through the Internet and Bulletin Board systems. If you
- can't get the patches through these methods, you can register for $10
- and I will send you the next 2 upgrades by postal mail. If you want me
- to send it by some special method (Express Overnight or whatever), then
- make sure you send me enough money to cover such mailing methods. I
- will send it to your e-mail account, if you wish. Be sure to tell me so
- if that what you want, since I will assume normal postal mail. And
- hey, send me a letter if you want. Tell me you love/hate this editor,
- or whatever. I don't have unlimited ideas, and many improvements and
- idea for DMapEdit come from the users. Tell me how to make it better
- for you! E-Mail can be send to me on these BBSs:
-
- The Death Cookie: (612) 773-0646 (In wildcat part)
- The Express Lane: (612) 422-3707 or 422-1585
-
- At the moment, I beleive I have an Internet account, but I don't yet
- know what the password for my account is (it's being sent to me in the
- (postal) mail). The account is actually set up, though, so you should
- all be able to send me mail there. The address is hoffo002@gold.tc.umn.edu
- and I'll read it as soon as I get the password. (should have it next
- week, April 4-8).
-
- --------------------
- New stuff since v2.0
- --------------------
-
- * Shareware version will allow you to save maps of limited size now. A
- map such as E1M1 is too big. In fact, all the original maps are too
- big. This has been done so that people can test it out and verify
- that it does actually work (with the distrust of current node
- generations lately, I needed to provide this save ability)
-
- * Bug fixes. Ok, so I guess I didn't get all the bugs. I planned to,
- but forgot to do so with everything else on my mind. Sorry. Got
- them now, though. I'm sure this time, because unlike last time, I
- fixed them before I am writting this. :)
-
- * Ability to flip lines now, (and flip line & sidedefs). Because of
- dooms pickyness with a sidedef on the right side, you can do this. I
- really don't think it will be needed anymore, though. DMapEdit will
- automatically handle these problems for you, but in case I'm wrong (I
- didn't write Doom, so I can't be sure what will and will not cause
- problems), this options is here.
-
- Note: Be sure to line error-check any map from other editors or previous
- versions of DMapEdit. Can't hurt anything, and it will fix any
- minor problems a map may have. (such as a map causing doom to
- hang or reboot when it loads the map, which happened to me, and
- thus I was able to fix DMapEdit to repair them)
-
- --------------------
- New stuff since v1.1
- --------------------
-
- * Fix of all know bugs! If there's still any around, then let me know,
- since I can only fix bugs I know about, and if there still are any
- in there, I don't know about them.
-
- * Sector edit mode has been improved. You can add/delete sectors with
- the proper add/delete mouse buttons (or ins/del keys). There is also
- a sector blend/copy function now (requested by Rod McCabe, in the
- first postal letter I have received of 2 total to date :) For
- information about this function, see below under 'sector editing'.
-
- * A new misc/advanced functions menu (F9 key), with several options:
-
- * Error checking options: Use these to check over a new map to
- identify any errors that might exist (and fix some of them). If
- you get a new PWAD from somewhere, you should error check it before
- you start messing around with it in DMapEdit. Strange thing might
- happen if you start editing a map with errors.
-
- * Line Fixer: This option will correct any errors or inconsistancies
- it detects with the lines/sidedefs. It may change things that
- are meant to be the way they are (the less common special effect
- type things), so it should probably be used mainly for a major
- overhaul, or to setup sidedefs for a new map that you have laid out
- the lines for (easier than doing it by hand!)
-
- * Sector generator: This options will reconstruct, from scratch, all
- the sectors. This should really only be used for a major overhaul,
- or on a new map without any sectors yet, since any existing sector
- information will be lost, replaced with a standard sector definition.
-
- * Fix sectors: Not yet available, this will attempt to correct any
- problems with existing sectors, and create new sectors in any
- empty polygons. The result will be pretty much the same as with
- the sector generator, except the current sector info will not be
- trashed, but incorperated.
-
- * Node generator: Before a new or line changed map can be played, a
- node structure must be generated. That is what this option will
- do. I have fixed all the bugs in it, and tested it out on several
- maps, and it has worked fine on them all.
-
- * Blockmap generator: When you complete a new map, or finish changing
- an existing map around, the last two steps are to create a Node BSP
- tree, and a blockmap, before you can play it. The blockmap
- generator works flawlessly, but the node generator..you know..
-
- * Working PWAD/datafile name and editing mode is now displayed at the
- bottom of the screen.
-
- * Picklist now is scrollable in 2 directions. The old selection is also
- in the middle of the displayed list now, instead of the top. (for
- example, the current thing is an ammo clip, and you select picklist,
- then the ammo clip will be in the center of the displayed list).
-
- ----------------
- Future expansion
- ----------------
-
- What can you expect from future versions of DMapEdit? I plan to add in
- the rest of the routines that are currently not available in the
- advanced/misc options menu.
-
- I plan to add texture picklists, to help you decide what textures to use
- where. It should be much faster than DEU's texture displaying routines,
- too. I'm not sure how he got it to be as slow as he did..
-
- I plan to add template support, so you can add standardized wall
- formations (doors, columns, staircase, etc.) easily, without having to
- make them all yourself.
-
- I plan to add help information to explain whatever you are dealing with
- at any perticular time. Thus, if you come across something you don't
- understand, you can request help about it.
-
- I plan to add 'ini' file support (a file that lists your default setting
- for DMapEdit to use whenever you edit a map)
-
- I plan to add the ability to mark items (an item being a thing, line,
- sidedef, vertex or sector) and delete them as a group, change them all
- as a group (for example, make all the sidedefs middle texture 'startan3'),
- etc. Because of the strong relation this has with templates, both will
- be available at once. Another way of thinking about this is the
- cut/copy/paste options of a clipboard in ms-windows. You will be able
- to such things with marking.
-
- And if anyone has any other great ideas for anything to put in, go ahead
- and send me your ideas. Just make sure you explain it good. Try to be
- specific. Sometimes I just can't figure out what you mean when you
- explain something to me.
-
- ------------
- Introduction
- ------------
-
- So, what all can you do with this editor? Well, you can edit Things,
- vertexes, lines and sectors. You can also generate the internal
- structures that doom needs to operate (Nodes, Sub Sectors, Segments and
- a Blockmap). You can edit (or just examine) existing maps (from doom,
- or from PWADs created by other people), or make a new map from scratch
- to play with doom.
-
- Map making is rather a complex task. There is a lot that goes into
- making a map, and being able to just 'slap a few lines down, make the
- nodes and run' really isn't possible. All any editor really does is
- make the task of creating maps easier, by doing a lot of the stuff for
- you. This can cut down on what the user is required to know, but there
- will still be much that he/she will still need to know. Furthermore,
- the more you know about making maps, the better your maps will tend to
- be. My goal in writting DMapEdit is to make map generation as simple as
- possible, while still having the potential to do everything you could
- possible want to do. Having the ability to do exactly what you want is
- the main goal. If you think you can't do something, you probably can,
- but just don't know exactly how to go about it. In such a case, read
- through this file, and if you can't find it here, contact me and I will
- help you. Please check this file first, though. If it's not in here,
- and you need to contact me, I will add it to this file (correcting the
- oversite). At present, I feel that this editor is easier to use than
- any other out there, while still being nearly equally powerful. If you
- disagree, and have ideas on how I can make it better (or can just point
- out what some other editor does better), please let me know.
-
- So, just what do all these technical terms mean?
-
- Things:
-
- Things are all objects in the game, such as barrels, dead bodies,
- guns, ammo, monsters, player starting points, etc. Walls, doors,
- elevators, windows, etc are not objects. They are lines..
-
- Lines:
-
- Lines are straight line segments from one point to another. They are
- usually walls, or semi-walls, but not always. Sometimes they represent
- the edge of a lighted area, or a trigger to activate something elsewhere
- when crossed by a player. A line is always present where ceiling or
- floor heights change, such as stairs, windows, etc.
-
- Vertexes:
-
- All lines run between 2 vertexes. A vertexes is simply a point.
-
- Sidedefs:
-
- All lines have 2 sides to them, a left and a right side (even though
- they have no width). A sidedef determines what you will see when you
- look at the line from that side. It also tells the sector it's facing.
-
- Sectors:
-
- A sector is the open area between the (lines). You can think
- of this as a room, too. Sectors describe the floor and ceiling
- heights and textures, and the lighting conditions of the space. Anytime
- any of these characteristics changes, a new sector must be created
- for it to describe it. All sectors must form a closed polygon, and the
- "outside" area of a map can't be a sector.
-
- Blockmap:
-
- This is an internal structure that Doom uses to detect wall
- collisions. Once you make a new map, a blockmap must be generated
- before it can be played.
-
- Nodes:
-
- This is another internal structure (a Binary Space Partition tree) used
- by Doom to figure out what walls are behind what walls, so it knows it
- doesn't have to draw them. I have no idea how anyone could use such a
- structure for this purpose, but Doom does seem to work.. :)
-
- Segments:
-
- A segment is simply a piece of a line (because nodelines often cut a
- line). This is also internal, and something you don't need to worry about.
-
- Sub Sectors:
-
- Again, an internal structure of a piece of a sector, in the shape of
- a convex polygon (less then or equal to 180 degrees bend between all lines,
- measured on the inside of the shape).
-
- PWAD:
-
- A PWAD (also known as a 'working wad file'), is a collection of data
- files all combined into one file, with extention WAD. The file DOOM.WAD
- is an IWAD file, however. IWAD probably stands for Initial WAD, while
- PWAD stands for Patched WAD. The first 4 bytes of a WAD file will be
- IWAD or PWAD, thus identifying it's WAD type. Basically, when you play
- doom with a PWAD file, it will try to get any data it need from the
- PWAD, and if it can't find it, it will then load it from the IWAD.
-
- E1M1:
-
- This is just map notation for the episode and mission numbers.
- (episode 1, mission 1 in this case). This happens to be the way a
- header looks in the wad file, and is just an abbriviation, really.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Ok, running this program is pretty easy. All the files that DMapEdit
- comes with should all be in the same place. You can run it without it
- being in the current directory, if you wish. If Doom.wad or Doom1.wad
- isn't in the current directory, you will need to tell DMapEdit where it
- can find this file. This is done by giving the path to it as the first
- command line parameter, like so:
-
- dmapedit \doom
-
- or
-
- c:\wherever\it\is\dmapedit c:\and\doom\is\here\
-
- Dmapedit defaults to VESA SVGA 640x480x256 colors. If you don't have a
- VESA card but you do have SVGA, run univesa to create a VESA interface
- for your card. If you don't even have SVGA, why not? A 386+ without a
- SVGA card? If you want to use a different graphics interface, or
- resolution, read about the -v switch at the end of this file.
-
- Once the program is up and running, you should see a map of episode 1,
- mission 1. The program defaults to thing edit mode at startup. At this
- point, you can move things around by pressing the left mouse button on a
- thing and dragging it to it's new location. Pressing the left mouse
- button while not on a thing will add a new thing (using the defaults)
- and placing it when you releast the button. The right mouse button is
- used to delete a thing. The middle button (if you have one) is used to
- change the information about a thing, or the default thing if you are
- not on a thing at the time you press the button. This is the standard
- mouse interface I use for this program, and editing vertexes and lines
- works the same way.
-
- ---------------------------
- How do I play a map I made?
- ---------------------------
-
- Once you have made a map, you must save it to a PWAD file. Then you
- start doom from dos like so:
-
- doom -file pwad1.wad [pwad2.wad] [pwad3.wad] [...]
-
- In this example, you would have saved your PWAD with the name 'pwad1'.
- If you used the name 'new', you would type:
-
- doom -file new.wad
-
- Another thing to note about the first example, you can use more than one
- PWAD file at once. This would be done for files that have different
- information in them. If they both use the same information (like both
- having E1M1 in them), you probably shouldn't do it this way, and really
- don't have any reason to. You would use this for something like pwad1
- having E1M1, pwad2 having E1M2, and pwad3 having new sound effects. (by
- the way, files is [] are optional, if you havn't figure this out yet.
- You wouldn't actually type the '[' or ']')
-
- ----------------
-
- These are all the keyboard commands:
-
- (global commands - available in all edit modes)
-
- ?: display key commands
-
- Arrow keys,
- home, end,
- page up,
- page down: These keys will scroll the map around..
-
- +: zoom in
-
- -: zoom out
-
- alt-q,
- alt-x,
- esc: quit and exit editor
-
- ins: add (same as left mouse)
-
- del: delete (same as right mouse button)
-
- space: change/edit (same as middle mouse button)
-
- 1 - 5: change displayed vertex point size
-
- 0: turn off vertex point display
-
- t: change displayed things icon size: big, small, off (see note1)
-
- \: change displayed lines size (thickness)
-
- F1: select thing edit mode
-
- F2: select vertex edit mode
-
- F3: select line edit mode
-
- F4: select sector edit mode
-
- F9: misc/advanced options (build nodes, error check, etc)
-
- s: save map to a data file
-
- l: load map from a data file
-
- alt-s: save map to a working WAD file (PWAD)
-
- alt-l: load map from a working WAD file (PWAD)
-
- alt-w: write map to original Doom WAD file
-
- alt-r: reload map from original Doom WAD file
-
- c: change episode and mission
-
- m: change thing display filter (see below)
-
- r: change roundoff level: 1, 8, 16 (default), 32. (see note2)
-
- g: change grid display intensity level
-
- n: start a new map from scratch (erase currently displayed map)
-
- z: show current statistics (totals, and memory usage)
-
- Note1: Thing icons can't be turned off while in thing edit mode.
-
- Note2: This is used to round off all map coordinates, so things can be
- placed with a more symetrical feel.
-
- (Thing edit mode)
-
- enter: Copy selected Thing to default Thing
-
- (Line edit mode)
-
- f: flip line (swap left and right sides. see note3)
-
- alt-f: flip line and sidedefs (see note3)
-
- Note3: In actuality, the sidedefs are swapped too, so that they seem to
- be where they were before. In other words, since the left side
- of the line is now the right side, (and the sidedef hasn't been
- swapped yet) it will look like, from the users perspective, that
- the sidedef switched sides, though it didn't really. Thus, alt-f
- will not swap the sidedefs, but only the vertexes it runs between.
-
- (Inside of a window)
-
- enter: same as clicking big button (if only one. see note4)
-
- alt-q,
- alt-x,
- esc: exit out of window (same as clicking outside window. see note5)
-
- page-up,
- page-down: in windows with 2-way scroll buttons, scrolls list
-
- Note4: A big button is one with a work inside of it. The smaller round
- buttons are called 'radio buttons'
-
- Note5: Escaping out of a window really isn't a 'cancel' operation, but
- rather just an 'exit the window' operation, like an 'ok' button
- to proceed on a mac or in ms-window (tm). It will not cancel
- changes you have made in the window.
-
- --------------------
- Thing display filter
- --------------------
-
- Things are not always on every difficulty level. Generally, harder
- difficulty levels tend to have more monsters running around. The thing
- display filter is to allow you to display only what you want to display,
- such as only level 1 things. Using this filter is a little tricky,
- however.
-
- There are 5 different flags used by all things in doom:
-
- flag 1: skill level 1 & 2
- flag 2: skill level 3
- flag 3: skill level 4 & 5
- flag 4: deathmatch mode
- flag 5: deaf monster
-
- Skill level 1 being "don't hurt me" and 5 being "Nightmare". If a skill
- level flag is set, then this thing will appear to a player playing on
- that skill level. If the deathmatch mode flag is set, then this thing
- will only appear when playing a deathmatch mode game. Note that this
- flag is in addition to the skill level flag. If you just set the
- deathmatch mode flag and leave all three skill level flags cleared, then
- the thing will never appear in any deathmatch mode game.
-
- The deaf monster flag is only useful with monsters. If it is set, then
- monster will only "activate" (come alive) upon spoting a player or being
- attacked. If the monster isn't deaf, then it will also "activate" whenever
- it hears a players weapon being used (even punching air will do it).
-
- There are 2 switches for each of these flags in the filter. There are a
- total of 4 possible combinations for these 2 switches. The first switch
- is used as a matching state. The second switch is set if you want to
- force the first switch to match a flag exactly. This may be confusing,
- so I will detail the 4 possible switch combinations..
-
- Combination 1: both switches off (O O)
-
- With this combination, the flag is ignored and not displayed. If all 4
- flags have this combination, nothing will be displayed.
-
- Combination 2: first switch on, second off (* O)
-
- This will display the thing if the flag is set. If the flag isn't
- set, the thing may still be displayed if another flag with this
- combination is set. This is a basic OR situation between flags.
-
- Combination 3: first switch off, second on (O *)
-
- For a thing to be displayed with this combination, the flag must be
- off. If the flag is on, the thing will not be displayed, regardless of
- the other flag settings. This is used to hide what you don't want
- displayed.
-
- combination 4: both switches on (* *)
-
- With this combination, similar to combination 3, the flag must be on to
- display this thing. Unlike combination 2, a thing will not be displayed
- if the flag is off, period. Other flags have no effect on it.
-
- Common filter settings:
-
- O = off, * = on
-
-
- Display level 1 & 2 things:
-
- Skill level 1 & 2: * O
- Skill level 3: O O
- Skill level 4: O O
- Deathmatch mode: O O
-
-
- Display only level 4 things, non-deathmatch mode:
-
- Skill level 1 & 2: O O
- Skill level 3: O O
- Skill level 4: * O
- Deathmatch mode: O *
-
-
- Display all things:
-
- Skill level 1 & 2: * O
- Skill level 3: * O
- Skill level 4: * O
- Deathmatch mode: * O
-
-
- Display only Deathmatch mode things:
-
- Skill level 1 & 2: O *
- Skill level 3: O *
- Skill level 4: O *
- Deathmatch mode: * O
-
- Display only things unique to level 4:
-
- Skill level 1 & 2: O *
- Skill level 3: O *
- Skill level 4: * O
- Deathmatch mode: O O
-
- Personal note: I think it would be an excellent idea for id to have made
- another flag for 'respawn'. This way you could make certain monsters
- respawn (appearing at their original starting location), instead of
- either all monster respawn or none. It would also avoid such things
- as a second cyber-demon appearing, which really ruins the whole idea
- behind having respawn in the first place. You could also have different
- amounts of monsters respawn at different difficulty levels. (for
- example, 5 at ultra-violence and 15 at nightmare). I can't beleive that
- adding this would be very hard programming-wise. You have a bunch of
- empty flags, you have already written the respawn routines.. Wish I
- knew how to get this idea to id <sigh>.
-
- -------------
- Thing editing
- -------------
-
- Editing things is very easy. If you want to move a thing to somewhere
- else on the map, just click on it with the left mouse button, and drag
- it to it's new location while holding the button down. To delete
- something from the map, click on it with the right mouse button. And,
- to add a new thing to the map, click the left mouse button while the
- mouse isn't on a thing. (it will be placed when you release the button,
- so you can drag it around too.) You can tell if you are on a thing by a
- box around the thing. If you see this box around it, then that is the
- thing currently selected. Information about this currently selected
- thing is displayed at the top of the screen.
-
- To change the currently selected thing, press the middle button (or the
- spacebar). This will bring up all information about the thing. To
- change any of this information, simply select the proper button. If you
- press the middle button (or the spacebar) while a thing isn't selected,
- then you can change the default thing's information. The default thing
- is used whenever you add a new thing to the map. Lastly, pressing the
- Enter key will scan the selected thing's information into the default
- thing.
-
- ------------
- Line editing
- ------------
-
- I have tried to make the line editing mode as useful and intuative as
- possible. I have also tried to put as many abilities in this one mode
- as I could. As a result, you shouldn't need to use vertex edit mode
- very much, if at all. To use this mode effectively, however, you need
- to know how to use it properly. So, here goes..
-
- When you move the mouse cursor around the screen, it will lock onto the
- closest line, and the closest vertex, if it's not too far away. If you
- have a line selected, you can use the spacebar (middle mouse button) to
- edit that line's characteristics, and it's sidedefs. Also, when a line
- is selected, information about it is displayed at the top of the screen.
- Sidedef info is also displayed. Each line has 2 sidedefs (or possible
- sidedefs, anyway), a left sidedef and a right sidedef. Whichever side
- of the line the mouse cursor is on is the sidedef that is displayed.
- When editing the selected line, a small dot will mark this sidedef as
- well.
-
- Note: When a linedef that triggers an event is hilighted, the effected
- sector(s) are also hilighted, using a dotted lines.
-
- Adding a line (left mouse button):
-
- A line is added by pressing the left mouse button at the starting point,
- and releasing the button at the ending point. Pressing the button when a
- vertex is selected (hilighted) will start the line at this vertex. If a
- vertex is not selected, a new vertex is added, and becomes the starting
- point for the line. Releasing the button when a second vertex is
- selected will make that vertex the ending point. Otherwise, a vertex is
- added and is used for the ending point.
-
- One last possible situation is having a line selected, but not a
- vertex. When you press the left mouse button here, a vertex is added,
- spliting the line into two parts.
-
- Deleting a line (right mouse button):
-
- Simply select the line you wish to delete, and press the button. Doing
- this will leave a gap where the line was. If you use the vertex edit
- mode to delete a vertex, it will reroute all the line that went to that
- vertex to the closest vertex along that vertexes lines (deleting a line
- in the process).
-
- Please note that lines may switch sides from time to time. This is
- because Doom is very picky about having the 'important sidedef' on the
- right side. This means that if you only have one sidedef, it must be on
- the right side, so DMapEdit will flip the line around if needed to make
- it so. Also, if a line has two sidedefs, and only one sidedef has any
- textures, it must be on the right side. Again, DMapEdit will make this
- so. You don't have to worry about these details, just edit your map
- however you want to, and DMapEdit will make these changes as needed.
-
- --------------
- Sector editing
- --------------
-
- Once you have all your lines in place, all forming closed polygon
- shapes, you need to make sectors. Any location (polygon) a player or
- monster is allowed to be in needs to be a sector. A sector definition
- tells doom what heights the floor and ceiling is at for the polygon, as
- well as how much light there is there. If you are making a new map, and
- have put in all the lines, but have done nothing with the sectors yet,
- select "generate sectors" from the advanced options menu. This will
- examine your map and automatically assign a sector to every polygon that
- needs one. (be sure your lines are set up correctly, however. Use "fix
- lines" or "error check lines" first) Then, you can simply edit the
- various sectors to your liking.
-
- Sector edit mode is selected with the F4 key. In this mode, the mouse
- will hilight whatever sector the mouse is in (if the sectors aren't
- damaged). Information about the sector is displayed at the top of the
- screen. The spacebar or middle mouse button will let you edit this
- sector information.
-
- Note: When you hilight a sector that is triggered with a linedef(s), the
- linedef(s) will be hilighted too, using a dotted line.
-
- If you want to make a new sector where there currently isn't one
- (no lines hilight), or want to fix a damaged sector (only some lines
- hilight), simply press the left mouse button (or insert key) to create a
- new sector there. It will remove whatever sector(s) were there, if
- any. The sector will have the characteristics of whatever sector most
- of the lines seemed to be linked to. If it was totally empty, it will
- assume the standard sector definition.
-
- If you want to remove a sector (making a pillar solid, for example, so a
- player can't be inside it) simply press the left mouse button (or delete
- key) while the sector is hilighted. If a sector is damaged for some
- reason, you should remake it first (left mouse button) and then remove it.
-
- In order for a player or monster to fit inside the sector, there must be
- a different of 7 between the floor and the ceiling. This is the
- minimum. A difference of 6 will make it impossable to enter the sector.
- Also, a floor height difference of 3 can be climbed, but a difference of
- 4 is too high a step to climb. The player can fall down a step of any
- height.
-
- Another option available in sector edit mode is the blend/copy
- function. You press "B" while in sector edit mode to get the blend/copy
- setup screen. Information from the hilighted sector is used to fill in
- information on this screen. You can change the initial sector
- information to be used, though, on this screen. You will also see
- adjustment factors to the right. This is how much it will change the
- initial values by each time. For example, having a floor height of 4,
- and an adjustment factor of +2 will make the first sector floor height
- 4, the next 6, the next 8, etc.. Using an adjustment factor of zero
- will basically perform a copy operation (the initial value never
- changes). This can be useful to set a bunch of sectors to one light
- value, or ceiling height, or whatever. If you select the button that's
- already on, you will turn it off, so that no adjustment factor is
- selected. When you do this, this Sector characteristic is ignored, and
- thus not changed when you blend/copy. This can let you change only the
- floor heights, for example, and not the light or ceiling levels. Or,
- you can simple change the ceiling to the sky texture for a group of
- sectors without changing anything else about the sectors. As you can
- see, this can be quite handy.
-
- Once you have the setup set properly, select the Engage button. You
- will now be in blend mode. The top line will display what values you
- are currently at. To set a sector to these values, simply click on the
- sector, and the sector will be updated. This will also adjust each
- value by it's adjustment factor, and you are now ready to update the
- next sector. This is very useful for making stairs. Simply click on
- each stair, in order, until you are done. To get out of blend mode,
- simply press escape, or the right mouse button (or delete key). To get
- back to the blend mode setup screen, press "B" again, or the middle
- mouse button (or spacebar).
-
- --------------
- Map generation
- --------------
-
- Map generation starts with putting vertexes and lines where you want
- them. This lays the foundation for everything else. Once all the lines
- are in place, you need to make sidedefs for these lines (unless you do
- so along the way while you are creating the lines). The easiest way to
- do this is to select the "Fix Lines" options from the advanced options
- menu (F9). If you already have sidedefs setup, then you should at least
- error check the lines, just to make sure it's all ok. Once this is
- done, you need to make all the Sectors. If you have all the sidedefs
- where you need them, you can use the "Generate Sectors" option from the
- advanced options menu. This will put make sectors for every polygon on
- the map. Another method you can use is to simply enter sector edit mode
- and add sectors manually to each polygon. One advantage to this method
- is that you don't need to have the sidedefs in place. It will create
- the sidedefs if it needs to for lines as it goes along.
-
- At this point, you have the vertexes, lines, sidedefs, and sectors all
- created. However, they are all most likely set to standard values
- (walls are all brown1 texture, sectors are all the same heights and
- textures, etc), so you will need to go in and set them to the values
- you want them to be at. By the way, Things can be added at any time
- along the process of making a new map. It's usually better to do so
- after the lines are drawn, though, so you know where to put them, but
- you are the boss.
-
- When you have everything set the way you want it, it's time to generate
- Nodes, and a Blockmap. Making a Blockmap is fairly quick, so you might
- want to do this first. I also recommend you save your map before you
- generate these two structure. In fact, I recomment you save your map
- often! Anyway, once you have made your Blockmap and Nodes, save your
- map, and enjoy playing your new map!
-
- Notes:
-
- Maps must have all areas enclosed by lines, forming a polygon. A map with
- only 3 lines, for example, in an open ended box shape, isn't complete.
- Keep in mind that a line doesn't have to be a wall. Lines are required
- anywhere you wish to:
-
- change floor or ceiling height
- change lines angle
- change wall, floor, or ceiling patterns
- change lighting
- change floor hurt-player damage
-
- Also, every map should have a starting point for all four possible
- players. You should also have, minimum, 4 deathmatch mode starting
- points. And, of course, you should have an exit.
-
- -----------
- Misc. notes
- -----------
-
- Changing a map's episode and mission number:
-
- Suppose you want to change a map from E1M1 to E2M2. How does one do
- this? Simple. Just press 'C' to 'change map'. Now, select the
- episode/mission you want it to be. Once you do this, just click outside
- the window (or press Esc) and now your map has a new episode/mission
- value. At this point you can save it to a PWAD or whatever. This can
- be useful for taking several one-map PWADs and putting them all into one
- big PWAD.
-
- ---------------------
- Alternate video modes
- ---------------------
-
- DMapEdit defaults to 640x480x256 colors, vesa svga. If this is a
- problem, you can try setting up another video mode and/or driver. This
- is all done with the -v switch.
-
- dmapedit -v[driver,]mode
-
- Driver: This data is optional. With it, you can tell DMapEdit you want
- to use another bgi driver, if you have one. Be sure to use only a 256
- color mode driver, as this program will not work with any other amount
- of colors. Also, 640x480 is the recommended minimum resolution. Though
- you can use lower resolutions (such as 320x200), doing so will have the
- side effect of everything not fitting on the screen, and it will look
- very stupid indeed. If you can live with that, however, then knock
- yourself out.
-
- Mode: This is a number, from 0 to however many modes the driver selected
- has. With vesa.bgi, the following modes are available:
-
- 0: 320x200 (VGA/MCGA)
- 1: 640x400
- 2: 640x480 (default)
- 3: 800x600
- 4: 1024x768
-
- All modes are in 256 colors, since this is required for DMapEdit to work.
-
- * vesa.bgi is copyright (c) 1991 Jordan Hargraphix.
-
- ------
- Thanks
- ------
-
- I'd just like to say thanx to the following people:
-
- Paul Hagstrom: for being my internet contact for this product. Now go
- try it out and see what it's like!
-
- James Sterrett: For the first and so far only check I have received.
- Too bad more people haven't followed your example.
-
- Alistair Brown: For finding that insanity-causing bug in the node
- generator. I'm recovering quite nicely now..
-
- Rod McCabe: For his letter and ideas.
-
- Pierre Fournier: For tracking down that intermittent bug in the picklist
- so well for me. I'd see it from time to time, but couldn't figure
- out how to re-create it, until Pierre came along.
-
- id: For creating Doom in the first place. Great game guys. :)
-
-