Cobra Utilities for Doom & Doom II

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Cobra Utilities for Doom & Doom II / Cobra Utilities For Doom & Doom II - Disc 2.iso / files / program / doomutil / doomutil.txt < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1994-06-25 | 44.3 KB | 1,253 lines

DOOMUTIL Version 1.00 David Poole, Jr. P.O. Box 747 Pacolet, SC. 29372 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 1 Table Of Contents Introduction and Background................................2 Disclaimer:..............................................2 Alpha testers:...........................................3 Using DOOMUTIL.............................................4 Command Line Parameters..................................4 Interactive Use..........................................4 Invoking Menu Selections................................4 Editing Information.....................................4 Hot Keys................................................6 Menu Selections............................................7 Main Menu................................................7 Begin Doom With Current Configuration...................7 Modify Current Game Configuration.......................7 Modify Serial Server Configuration......................8 Modify Network Server Configuration.....................8 WAD File Functions......................................8 Miscellaneous Functions.................................8 WAD File Functions.......................................9 Select wad files for modification.......................9 Select All wad files for maintenance...................10 Deselect All wad files for maintenance.................10 Change Sorting Order...................................10 Force Refresh of WAD list..............................10 Backup selected WAD file(s)............................11 Restore selected WAD file(s)...........................11 List WAD files.........................................11 Modify Episode & Level for PWADs.......................11 Globally Modify Episode & Level for PWADs..............11 Incrementally Modify Episode & Level for PWADs.........11 WAD THING MENU.........................................12 WAD SECTOR MENU........................................12 WAD THING MENU..........................................12 Invert selected WAD(s) things Death Match Status.......12 Remove selected WAD(s) THINGs Death Match Status.......12 Edit MODEM.CFG.........................................12 Run ID's Setup.........................................12 Randomize selected WAD(s) THINGs with computer seed....12 Replace one thing with another.........................13 WAD SECTOR MENU.........................................13 Highlight (Dim Secret, Pulse Trigger) Sectors..........13 Maximize Brightness of Sectors.........................14 Remove Damaging Sectors................................14 Miscellaneous Functions.................................14 Access Dialing Directory...............................14 Enable Speaker.........................................14 Disable Speaker........................................14 Edit Program Configuration.............................14 Edit MODEM.CFG.........................................15 Run ID's Setup.........................................15 Uses of DOOMUTIL..........................................16 Using DOOMUTIL to automate multi-player sessions........16 Using DOOMUTIL to add life to memorized missions........16 David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 2 Using DOOMUTIL to assist in using external WAD files....17 Registering DOOMUTIL......................................18 David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 3 Introduction and Background. DOOMUTIL is a utility to originally designed to facilitate using ID's DOOM when playing multi-player mode. The setup program that is supplied with DOOM requires too much effort on the part of the user, especially when playing via modem. DOOMUTIL was created to alleviate this problem. Initially, DOOMUTIL was used to create batch files, which could then be repeatedly invoked using a menu system or command history utility. As my co-players and I discovered external WAD files, DOOMUTIL was expanded to support these as well, from both a player and a developer's stand point. As DOOMUTIL grew in functionality, it was decided to share the program with the rest of the DOOMing world. I hope that you will enjoy using this program. I've enjoyed writing it. If you enjoy it, please register it by following the instructions in the registration section of this document. Please note that this program and documentation, for the purposes of multi-player mode, are slanted towards competitive, versus cooperative play. While cooperative play is interesting, it's not much more interesting than single player mode, in my opinion. Getting another player on the grid (any TRON movie fans out there?) and taking turns blowing each other's brains out added much life to a game that was about to get old (after four months...). You are also encouraged to send any comments, criticisms, or complaints regarding this program. I have other ideas to be added, and based on user support and feedback, these may be implemented and released. Since this is the first release of the program, there are likely to be problems encountered that were not encountered (or noticed) by any of the initial testers of the program. Please feel free to bring these to my attention. Disclaimer: IN NO EVENT SHALL DAVID POOLE, JR. BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF INFORMATION, OR OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PROGRAM. This program can make modifications to files used by DOOM if so instructed by the user. ID Software does David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 4 not provide technical support for DOOM if DOOM has been modified. It is advisable to make a backup of DOOM and any WAD files you've obtained for use with DOOM, before using DOOMUTIL. Alpha testers: Thanks to the following people for assistance in testing, and suggestions during the development of DOOMUTIL: Ted Lucktenburg, for the patience given for being the guinea pig with modem connections, as well as suggestions regarding program cosmetics. See you on the grid, Ted.... If it wasn't for Ted, I'd have never written this darned thing. Dave Kitch, for coming into the project at a time when Ted & I knew where the problems where, and how to avoid them. Jay Clary, for being the network guinea, providing suggestions, and asking the right questions. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 5 Using DOOMUTIL. DOOMUTIL is an interactive program. However, there are some command line parameters that speed use of the program. Command Line Parameters. RUN Causes DOOMUTIL to invoke DOOM with the parameters selected by the user via the menu system. After DOOM terminates, DOOMUTIL terminates. RESUME Effectively like the RUN parameter, with the exception that the last saved game (if any) is automatically loaded. This is handy if you're playing multi- player via modem, and the other player forgets to disable their call-waiting. After DOOM terminates, DOOMUTIL terminates. Interactive Use. All interaction with the program is done through three simple interfaces: a menuing system, a field editing system, and a hot key system. Familiarity with each of these is very helpful. Invoking Menu Selections. Desired menu functions can be selected by either of two methods. The first and fastest method is to press the key that corresponds to the highlighted character in the text describing the functions. The second method is to use the up and down arrow keys. The Home and End keys can be used to move quickly to the top or bottom of the menu list. Once the desired function is highlighted, press the Enter key to invoke it. Editing Information. Information that cannot be specified through the use of the menuing system is communicated through the use of a field editing system. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 6 For the purpose of this section, an editing session is the duration of the field editor's continual usage. For example, an editing session begins when the user selects "Modify Current Game Configuration" from the Main Menu, and the session ends when either Control & Enter, or Escape is pressed, to save or discard changes, respectively. Movement from field to field is performed with the up and down arrow, Page Up, Page Down, and Enter keys. If invalid input is made in a field, then the editor will not allow the cursor to leave the current field. To save the changes made for the current editing session, press the Control and Enter keys simultaneously. To abandon the changes made for the current editing system, press the Escape key. The insert key toggles between character insert and character overwrite mode. The backspace key deletes the character to the left of the cursor, and places the cursor in that position. The delete key deletes the character under the cursor. The tab key is used to advance the cursor to the next word in a given field. The shift tab key combination advances the cursor to the previous word. The Home key moves the cursor to the first character of the field. The End key moves the cursor to the last character of a the field. F2 erases the current contents of the field. Shift F2 erases the contents of all fields. F3 undoes any changes made to the current field, restoring the field to it's status at the beginning of the editing session. Shift F3 restores all fields to their original status. Control F3 restores the field to it's contents when the cursor last entered the selected field. F1 can be used during editing to display a brief summary of these keys. In addition, some fields allow browsing or other special functions. When the cursor enters one of these fields, a message is displayed at the bottom of the current window to inform the user of these possibilities. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 7 Hot Keys In addition to the menuing and editing system, there are "Hot Keys" within DOOMUTIL. These keys can invoke specific functions when pressed. They are available any time DOOMUTIL is waiting for keyboard input. ALT-B Begins DOOM with the current configuration. Note that if you are editing the current configuration, and have not yet saved it via the CNTL-ENTER key sequence, ALT-B will invoke the last saved configuration. Naturally, this holds true for all factors that affect game play, such as Modem Server Configuration, Network Server Configuration, or Wad file functions. The best time to use this function is when you are at a menu, but you're not limited in this respect. ALT-C Modify Current Configuration. Allows quick access to the Edit Current Configuration screen. ALT-D Launch DOS Shell. This invokes the system shell specified by the COMSPEC environment variable, which, in most cases, is COMMAND.COM. In this case, returning to DOOMUTIL is performed by entering "EXIT" at the command line. ALT-M Launch WAD editor. This allows you to invoke the wad modification utility specified in the program configuration screen. ALT-X Exit DOOMUTIL immediately. Note that any changes not saved (as discussed with the ALT- B text) are not saved for the next DOOMUTIL session. ALT-Z Exit DOOMUTIL immediately, invoking the work command as specified in the program configuration. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 8 Menu Selections Main Menu Begin Doom With Current Configuration This begins DOOM with the current configuration, as specified in the Modify Current Game Configuration. Selected WADs are automatically loaded. Modify Current Game Configuration This allows the user to specify various aspects regarding the playing of DOOM. Single player, serial or network play, episode, mission, skill, presence of monsters, monster respawning, deathmatch, and the game to load (if any) are specified here. Selection of a single player, modem, direct connect (null modem), or network game is performed with this screen. If any legitimate changes are made to the value in the episode field, the mission field is automatically changed to the first mission for the given episode. The mission field can be changed to allow skipping the earlier levels. This is handy if you're playing deathmatch, and want to skip to where some of the bigger toys are. Note that the game slot menu allows entry of values from 0 to 6, inclusive. Specifying a 0 in this field indicates that a new game is to be initiated. A 1 selects the game saved in the first slot, etc. Placing a "?" in the game slot field instructs DOOMUTIL to find the most recently saved game and use it, if any. While the cursor is in this field, the F10 key can be used to browse the saved games. While browsing the saved games, the episode, mission, skill level, and frag summary (if a network game) is displayed. If a saved game is selected, using the F9 key in this field allows the user to display the statistics of each of the players in the saved mission. If a loaded game is specified, the episode, mission, and skill level are updated to reflect the loaded game. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 9 Modify Serial Server Configuration This allows specification of the modem communication port, the direct connection serial port (for use with null modems), the number to dial, and the serial driver to use for MODOOMing. Modify Network Server Configuration. This screen allows selection of the network socket, network driver, and number of players for a network game when a saved game is not being loaded. For the network driver, IPXSETUP could be specified. If this method is used, then you must make sure the network software is loaded before DOOMUTIL is invoked. However, a much simpler way to play via the network is to create a batch file that loads the network software, then the IPX driver, and finally, terminates he network software. For example, my NETDOOM.BAT for running under Lantastic follows: LSL NE2000 IPXODI IPXSETUP %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 IPXODI U NE2000 U LSL U I've used both methods for playing DOOM over the network; I personally prefer the NETDOOM.BAT method. The NETDOOM.BAT method poses problems, however, when selecting external WAD files, all of the parameters can not be accessed through the parameter list. WAD File Functions This allows selection of WAD file modification functions, described in the WAD File Functions menu section. Miscellaneous Functions This allows selection of various functions that didn't really have a place anywhere else. These functions are elaborated upon in the Miscellaneous Functions menu section. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 10 WAD File Functions These functions allow modification of the WAD files (both DOOM and others) for various reasons. Currently, the only thing that DOOMUTIL modifies regarding the WAD files are SECTORS and THINGS. SECTORS are basically contiguous areas of floor that are of the same height, although these areas can be divided for various reasons. THINGS are various items in DOOM, such as barrels, keys, player starting locations, enemies, etc. When modifying a WAD file, DOOMUTIL will create an archive file for each WAD file that it modifies, if the archive does not already exist. These files will have the extension of WBU (Wad Back Up). NEVER ERASE A .WBU FILE UNLESS YOU HAVE RESTORED THE CORRESPONDING WAD FILE TO IT'S ORIGINAL STATUS. Doing so will result in a WAD file that is not in its state as shipped, and your only recourse is to reinstall the WAD file from its original source. Note that DOOMUTIL looks for files with the extension of ".BAK" to denote that a given WAD file is a user modified file. In this case, DOOMUTIL will not allow certain modifications, as restoring the file could be catastrophic. The archive files are typically a fraction of the size of the original file, so time (as well as disk space) is saved for restoring large files (like DOOM.WAD) to their original status, versus extraction from an archived source. When modifying wad files for multiple player usage, it's important that all players involved restore the desired WAD files to their original status, then make the same modifications in the same sequence. Failure to do so will generally result in consistency failures after DOOM starts. Select wad files for modification. This allows selection of individual WAD files for manipulation. The Up and Down arrow keys allow moving from WAD to WAD. Pressing the Space bar toggles the selection status of the highlighted WAD file. Pressing Enter exits the selection system, saving the selections you've made. Pressing Escape exits the selection system, discarding changes to the selections that you've made. WADs displayed with a red or brown background have been modified, and need to be restored in order to be David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 11 used in a multi-player game. Wad files with yellow text have been selected. For each WAD in the list, the first episode and mission encountered for the wad is displayed, followed by the number of missions found in the WAD. Finally, if there are 4 death match starts for each mission, there will be a "DM", indicating that the level is suitable for death match play[1]. This will prevent rude interruptions in your death matches when a new level is loaded where the developer overlooked this important THING. Selected WADs are used when DOOM is invoked. It's possible to select more WAD files than will fit on the command line due to the wonderful 128-character limit on command lines that the folks at MicroSoft have imposed on us. In this event, all of the selected WADs will not be loaded by DOOM. Select All wad files for maintenance. Automatically selects all of the WAD files for manipulation. Deselect All wad files for maintenance. Automatically de-selects all of the WAD files for manipulation. Change Sorting Order Allows selection of the sort method of the listed WAD files. You may choose between sorting by name, or episode/mission. Selected WADS are always first, IWADs are sorted within both selected and unselected WADs. This option selects the third level of sorting. Force Refresh of WAD list. In the event that the WAD list becomes invalid (unlikely, unless WAD files are added or deleted from the DOOM directory while shelled out of DOOMUTIL), this option must be used to recreate the WAD file list. The previous selection status for WAD files is discarded. 1 It amazed me that this had to be included. During development and playing, er, testing DOOMUTIL with selected WADs, I was astounded at the number of WADs I had that could not be played with Death Match. Is it just me, or is something wrong here? David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 12 Backup selected WAD file(s). Creates a .WBU file for each of the corresponding WAD files, if the file does not already exist. Only the THINGS & SECTORS portion of the WAD are backed up. Restore selected WAD file(s). If a selected WAD file has been modified, then the modifications are removed with this option. Only the THINGS & SECTORS portion of the WAD are restored. List WAD files. This creates a file with the extension "LST" for each WAD file, containing a dump of the various objects encountered in the WAD file. Not that this is useful to your average bear, but during the development of these functions, this information can sometimes be handy, so I left the option in due to laziness on my part. You may or may not find the information useful, depending on your own level of dementedness and curiosity. Modify Episode & Level for PWADs. This allows changing the episode and mission for individual WAD files, so that custom scenarios can be created. If a given WAD file contains more than one mission, then the episode and mission numbers are sequentially assigned. NOTE: Episode and Mission number for a WAD file are not backed up! Changes made to the episode and mission number are permanent. Globally Modify Episode & Level for PWADs. This works as Modify Episode & Level for WADs, with the exception that the specified episode and mission is used for the first episode and mission for all of the selected WAD files. NOTE: Episode and Mission number for a WAD file are not backed up! Changes made to the episode and mission number are permanent. Incrementally Modify Episode & Level for PWADs. This works as Globally Modify Episode & Level for WADs, with the exception that the specified episode and mission is used for the first episode and mission, and incremented for the remainder of the selected WAD files. This allows you to select specified WAD files, David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 13 and quickly create a sequential list of missions for play. NOTE: Episode and Mission number for a WAD file are not backed up! Changes made to the episode and mission number are permanent. WAD THING MENU Allows modification of THINGs in selected WAD files. WAD SECTOR MENU Allows modification of SECTORs in selected WAD files. WAD THING MENU Invert selected WAD(s) things Death Match Status. This modification causes THINGs that appear in death match mode ONLY to appear in normal play, and THINGS that appear in normal play to appear only in DEATHMATCH. This is handy for newcomers to the deathmatch arena to learn the location of the weapons. The status of the key cards, skull keys, and teleport exits are not modified. Remove selected WAD(s) THINGs Death Match Status. This causes all THINGS that appear only in DEATHMATCH mode to appear in normal play. Typically, this provides extra ammunition, weapons, and health. Edit MODEM.CFG This invokes the user specified editor on the MODEM.CFG file. The editor is specified in the program configuration option of the miscellaneous functions menu. Run ID's Setup. No matter what, there are still times when you have to run this thing. That's why this function is here. Randomize selected WAD(s) THINGs with computer seed. This allows for randomization of THINGS in the selected WADs. This makes playing a WAD a little more enjoyable, after you've learned the exact location of everything in a particular WAD the way it's shipped. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 14 The only THINGs that are changed are the locations of the non-boss enemies, ammo, health, weapons, death- match player starts, "passable furniture" (this includes barrels), and artifacts (super charges, armor, spheres of invisibility/invulnerability). There are some drawbacks to this. Some THINGs are place into locations that can not be accessed, such as super charges place in areas that are inaccessible, as well as death match starts where a player is trapped in a room that is sealed until the other player activates the trigger event. Also, I've noticed occasions where E1M8 could not be finished, as something is being moved that prevents the walls in the baron area from being opened when the baron(s) are killed. Still working on this one. Another problem exists when using randomized THINGs in a scenario. DOOMUTIL doesn't know the width of the various THINGs that it's moving around, so it's possible (actually, highly likely) that a wide enemy such as a Cacodemon will be placed where something small (such as shot gun shells) were. This means that the enemy is significantly handicapped, since it's usually stuck to the wall. The only time such an enemy is a threat is when you walk close enough to it to physically (virtually?) touch it. However, this is still useful, especially when all players have the weapon locations memorized. This is also useful when one of the players is a relative newcomer with respect to another. Since the weapons and deathmatch starts are in varying places, each player has a closer to equal chance. Replace one thing with another. Non-functional at this time. This feature, if and when implemented, will allow users to change various THINGs for other THINGs. This will allow in changing the ratio of weapons/monsters/ammo/health/etc. for the particular scenario. WAD SECTOR MENU Highlight (Dim Secret, Pulse Trigger) Sectors This option travels through the SECTORS in a WAD file, maximizing the brightness of each sector, so that no areas are dark. Then, any sector that is found to be David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 15 considered a secret is dimmed to half-brightness. Sectors found that trigger events are set to flashing. Note that there are some sectors that appear to be modified internally at run-time, such as the room containing the blue key in E1M3, that change when an event is triggered. Maximize Brightness of Sectors. This maximizes the brightness of all sectors in the WAD file. Read the "Highlight (Dim Secret, Pulse Trigger) Sectors" section for information regarding events that may alter brightness. Remove Damaging Sectors. This removes the aspect of areas that cause damage when you stand in them, such as areas with "slime". Miscellaneous Functions Access Dialing Directory This allows the user to maintain a list of frequently dial numbers for quick use when playing DOOM via modem. Enable Speaker. Use this to enable the various beeps that the program makes from time to time. Disable Speaker. Use this to disable the various beeps that the program makes from time to time. Edit Program Configuration. This allows for specification of the text editor for editing MODEM.CFG, and the wad editor for editing WAD files, if you are into that. This also allows for specification of the directory containing DOOM. DOOMUTIL does not have to reside in the same directory containing DOOM. This allows you to place DOOMUTIL in a directory in your path (such as C:\TOOLS), and you can use DOOM without having to change to the directory containing DOOM. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 16 Edit MODEM.CFG This invokes the user specified editor on the MODEM.CFG file. The editor is specified in the program configuration option of the miscellaneous functions menu. Run ID's Setup. No matter what, there are still times when you have to run this thing. That's why this function is here. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 17 Uses of DOOMUTIL. If you're just going to play out-of-the-box DOOM, then there is not much of a reason to use DOOMUTIL. DOOMUTIL doesn't have much to offer the casual DOOM player, but then again, I don't know too many casual DOOM players. DOOMUTIL is meant for the serious player, who wants a quick and easy way to make the most of DOOM. Using DOOMUTIL to automate multi-player sessions. This is why DOOMUTIL was written. I was tired of having to constantly select the options with SETUP supplied with DOOM. This was especially cumbersome in the beginning of my MODOOMing days, since I was having to fight both the modem configuration and the SETUP program simultaneously. That's why there is three separate configuration menus with DOOMUTIL. Once you have the serial and network configuration selected, there's no reason you should ever have to modify it again. Unless you change the communications port for your modem or null modem, the number of players in a new network game, or network or serial drivers, you don't have to modify these parameters once they are set. Selection of single player, modem play, direct connect, or network play is done along with the selection of the episode, mission, skill, monsters, and death match is all in one convenient location. My fellow doomers & I have developed a quick method of communication of the game parameters. Reading off the value for the episode, mission, skill, monsters, respawn, and deathmatch fields is quick: "Hey Ted, let's 1-1-4-Y-N-Y", and we're on the way. Using DOOMUTIL to add life to memorized missions. After you've played a mission a few times, it looses it's excitement, as you've learned where everything is. Using the randomization feature of the WAD file functions breathes a little life into tired old missions. By randomizing the THINGs in a WAD file, you change the location of all of the enemies (except for the bosses), ammunition, weapons, health, and the like. Keys are left in their original position, as are "furniture" that can not be circumnavigated, such as pillars. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 18 This is also handy for death match games. Randomization of weapons means that neither player knows the initial locations before hand. This helps to cut down on the "guard the weapons" problem encountered when one player dies and the other(s) guard the weapons that he or she needs. JUST MAKE SURE THAT ALL PLAYERS ARE USING THE SAME WAD FILES, OR CONSISTENCY FAILURES WILL OCCUR. Using DOOMUTIL to assist in using external WAD files. DOOMUTIL's handling of external WAD files makes evaluating new WAD files in either single or multiple player easier. Upon receipt of new WAD files, select the WAD functions menu, then deselect all wad files. Then, select the WAD files you want to play. Incrementally modify Episode & Mission of the selected WADs so that you can play them in order. Using the current configuration screen, set the episode & mission to be the first episode & mission of the selected WADs. Start DOOM after this. When the session is complete, go back to the WAD file functions, and globally set the episode and mission to E3M9, and then deselect all WAD files. Set sorting to episode & mission, then when you use the Select WADs function, the WADs you've tested will be at the bottom of the list. This allows you to easily keep track of which WADs you've played, and which you've not. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 19 Registering DOOMUTIL To register DOOMUTIL, please fill out the following form, and send it along with a check or money order for $15 (US funds) to: David Poole, Jr. P.O. Box 747 Pacolet, SC. 29372 Please allow 4 weeks for shipping. David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51 DOOMUTIL User's Guide Page 20 DOOMUTIL Registration Form Name: ______________________________________ Address: ______________________________________ City: ______________________________________ State: ______________________________________ Zip: ______________________________________ Media: __ 5.25" __ 3.5" Comments: Criticisms: Complaints: David Poole, Jr. 94/6/25 17:51