Cobra Utilities for Doom & Doom II

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Text File | 1994-02-28 | 16.0 KB | 338 lines

Viewer/Editor for Registered Doom Addicts VERDA v0.20 -- 28 Feb 94 VERDA is an add-on utility to work with DOOM by id software. It can be used to view various pieces of map information on WAD files, both shareware and registered versions, as well as PWAD files. You can choose to use VERDA to modify your primary WAD file, or you can edit PWAD files instead. However, in keeping with the wishes of id software, it will not modify a shareware WAD file, and in order to edit a PWAD file you must have access to a registered WAD file. System Requirements ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ VERDA requires a VGA screen, a mouse(for graphic related things), and enough memory to read in map info. It has been compiled to run on a 80286 with no math co-processor. It should work with v1.1 or v1.2 of DOOM. What exactly does it do? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In short, VERDA can be used to examine and modify map information in the WAD file. A dump and patch capability exists that lets you dump certain information from the WAD file to an ascii file, modify it, then patch the new info back into the WAD file. This is handy for distributing edited versions of the WAD file by only distributing changes you made. The primary mode, however is a graphical map mode and requires a mouse. Currently, you can edit the following: THINGS - These include barrels, imps, radiation suits, light posts, etc. VERDA has a fairly complete thing editor. You can change anything to anything else, change skill levels the item appears at, and of course move them around. You cannot add or delete items, but that should be in the next VERDA release. LINES - These connect two vertices in the map. They can be used to trigger various actions when walking across the line, or throwing a switch that is attached to that line. These include raising and lowering sectors, teleporting, etc. You can change the action that is triggered and change which sector is trigger by the line. The map display shows which sectors are triggered by the selected line and vice-versa. Lines also have paramters such as: Block sound, block monsters, etc. These can be edited as well. SIDES - These contain information about the images that appear on the walls. You can edit which image appears on which wall. SECTORS - These are bounded areas on the map that have a constant floor height and ceiling height. You can select a sector and see which lines can trigger that sector. You can change the following information for a sector: Floor Image, Floor Height Ceiling Image, Ceiling Height Light Level, Sector Properties: Blinking lights, go dark, acid sector, etc. You can also change which line(s) trigger the sector action given above. NODES - These can be displayed, but not edited. Using VERDA ^^^^^^^^^^^ VERDA(with no command line arguments) looks for DOOM.WAD in the directory it is run from. A different WAD file can be specified with the -w option. VERDA -? gives a list of possible options, also listed below: Usage: verda [options] [-w] wadfilename :specify wad file (doom.wad default) ('-w' is only optional if first arg) -pw PWADfile :Uses PWAD file for all editing, only one maplevel per PWAD supported. With this option, original IWAD file is not modified -e Episode_Num :specify an initial episode -m Map_Num :specify an initial map number -p patchfilename :specify a patch file to modify WAD/PWAD file (operates in batch mode) -d <descr> fname :dumps (in patch file format) to file fname <descr> first three chars significant, things, sects, etc. (operates in batch mode) VERDA comes up in a textmode main menu. Following are the main menu choices: <E> key -- cycle current episode number up with <Shift>, cycle down <M> key -- cycle current map number up with <Shift>, cycle down key -- read an ascii patch file and apply patch to WAD or PWAD file, as appropriate. <D> key -- dump an ascii patch file, or a binary PWAD file. Prompts for what kind of file to dump and for filename. The ascii patch file can be edited and used to patch WAD or PWAD files. <L> key -- Gives a list of all items in the current level, and displays the x,y pos and skill flags, in text mode. Use key to back up in list, <SPACE> to go forward. <O> key -- Similar to <L> but gives a sorted list, of unique things, and how many of each one. <H> key -- Displays header information with starting address, and cnt for THINGS, LINES, SIDES, etc. in the WAD file. <V> key -- Enter the Map viewing/editing mode. This is where you or will spend most of your time in VERDA. That is why <RETURN> the <RETURN> key is provided as a quick way to get to map mode. The current Episode/Map level is shown at the bottom of the screen and all other commands will only relate to that particular level. The options to specify what kind of info to dump are not case sensitive and are given here: T - Things - Things are weapons, enemies, barrels, etc. L - Lines - Lines connect the vertices, and draw the maps I - sIdes - Sides are associated with lines provide images for them V - Verts - Vertexes are the points where lines end G - seGs - Not fully understood S - Ssects - SubSectors. N - Nodes - Not fully understood C - seCts - Defines an area with a specific height, floor & ceil image, etc. A - All - Dumps all of the above into one file (for given Episode/Map) P - PWADfile - this one option does not dump an ascii file, as do the rest, but instead dumps a binary PWAD file from the current episode/map of the IWAD file. This PWAD file can then be edited separately. Some notes about PWAD files: PWAD files are like mini-WAD files that can be loaded into DOOM using the -file option. It appears that they must have the extension .WAD to work properly. When DOOM reads in a PWAD file, it looks to see what is in that file and uses anything that is in the PWAD file instead of the corresponding information in the original IWAD file. So if you have a PWAD file with a new map for Episode 2/Map 3, DOOM will play using the original IWAD file until you get to Episode 2/ Map 3 and then it will use the PWAD data. Therefore PWAD files provide an easy way to play around with editing a level, without changing the original IWAD file. Also note that if you use the -wart command line parameter of doom to specify an episode and map to jump to, doom automatically looks for EaMb.WAD, where 'a' is the specified episode and 'b' is the specified map. VERDA lets you decide if you want to edit your original WAD file, or use PWAD files. If you decide to edit your original file, it is recommended that you dump "all" to a file for a particular map before you edit anything in the original IWAD file. This will let you patch the WAD file back to its original configuration, without having to have a backup of the whole WAD file. Of course it is also comforting to know that you have those original distribution diskettes around somewhere... The dump file contains information about what Episode/Map and type of information was dumped. Therefore, to patch in a file use the key and the only response required is the filename -- the correct items will be patched. Map Mode Description ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The map mode of VERDA is entered by using either the <V> key or <RETURN> from the main menu to view the map. Hopefully the interface here is fairly intuitive. You can use the <PageUp>/<PageDn> keys to zoom the map in and out -- centered on the mouse cursor. The <left>/<right>/<up>/<down> arrow keys are used to pan around in the map. VERDA v0.20 supports the following editing modes: things, lines, sides, sectors, and nodes. The specifics of these modes are given below, but first some information about VERDA editing that is mode independent. The lower right had window of the screen is the DATA area. Information about the currently selected object is displayed here. This includes object type and number, and other information that is specific to the object type(e.g., wall description for SIDES, skill level bits for THINGS, etc). You can use the keypad +/- keys to step up/down to the next/previous object number (except in THING mode). When you have selected the object that you want to edit and the DATA area is displaying information for that object, use the <SPACE> bar to enter edit mode. Your options will appear in the upper right hand window, which is the MENU area. Move the mouse cursor over the action you want to perform and click the left mouse button. You may get a window full of options to pick from if you select change wall type for example. All of the choices may not fit in the window, so use PgUp/PgDn to scroll through the list, then click the mouse on the one you want to select. When you have completed editing that object, use the <SPACE> bar (or <ESC>) to leave the editing mode for that object. You can then select the next object that you want to change and repeat the above. THING Mode -- Toggle on/off with <T> key. When you first enter the map, this is the default mode. Things are displayed on the map, with different symbols for different types of things. Arrows are used for any thing where the angle is meaningful, player starts and enemies. Player starts are shown in white, to make them easier to find. Special items (ammo, bonus items, etc) are shown as circles. Weapons are shown as stars. Other items appear as squares. As you move the pointer over a "thing" the relevant information is displayed in the lower right hand window: what it is, orientation, skill level flags, etc. To move a "thing", simply put the pointer over it, hold down the left mouse button and drag the item to its new location. When you release the item, it is drawn at its new position. There are no checks for illegal options, such as putting things in a wall, or on top of another thing -- so feel free to experiment if you are curious. You can rotate an item by pressing <R> or <Shift-R> while the mouse pointer is over the item. To change thing characteristics other than position and orientation, move the mouse pointer over the item and press the <SPACE> bar to bring up the editing menu. Use the mouse to select the desired action. LINE Mode -- Toggle on/off with <L> key You select the current line by either using the keypad +/- key to step through the lines, or by moving the mouse over a line and clicking the left mouse button. The current line is highlighted in white on the map. A line may have one or two SIDES associated with it. The side indices are displayed in the DATA area in line mode. There is also a flag field with bits that define whether the line blocks enemies, sounds or you, whether or not the line should show up in the automap, and whether or not it should show up as a door. These fields can be toggled, and when the <SPACE> bar is used to go into line edit mode, the toggle actions appear in the MENU area of the screen. The line may have an action flag associated with it. If so, there is a tag field with a number that matches the tag field in one or more sectors. This indicates that this line can trigger a certain action for those sectors. The action is listed in the DATA area of the screen, and the tagged sectors are highlighted in yellow. Actions are normally triggered by walking over the line. If the action requires a <SPACE> bar to throw a switch, this action has a <-> symbol in front of the action description. This is a useful feature for seeing how certain actions are triggered. We have not seen this in any other editor yet. You can also modify the action or the sector tag number. SIDE Mode -- Toggle on/off with the key (sIdes) Sides can be selected with the mouse similar to lines (described above). Since there are possibly two-sides associated with a given line, the mouse click selects the first side for that line. Use the <TAB> key to select the other side (if present). The sides are what describe the images seen on the walls. There are three image description fields associated with each side: An upper side, a full side, and a lower side. If the side describes a normal wall, the full description is used. If the side describes an area with a window, then the upper and lower descriptions are used for the area above and below the window, i.e., they may have different images. The images for a certain SIDE can be changed by using the <SPACE> bar to enter edit mode, then selecting the appropriate field. A list of Wall descriptions will appear to select from. SECTOR Mode -- Toggle on/off with <C> key (seCtor) You can highlight a specific sector by clicking the mouse while the pointer is on a line of the desired sector. Since each line could have two sectors associated with it, use the <TAB> key to move to the other sector for the selected line. When the current sector is highlighted, if the line tag field is non-zero then that sector can be triggered from a line somewhere. The line(s) that trigger that sector are highlighted in yellow on the map display. This is the logical converse of the action in LINE mode described above. Each sector has a ceiling and floor description, and a ceiling and floor height, all of which are displayed for the current sector and which can be edited. Additionally there is a sector property field which is used to make the sector act like acid (health hit), or count as a secret in the end tally, or have blinking lights. This field is displayed and can also be edited. There is also a static light level that can be set anywhere from 0 -> 0xff. NODE Mode -- Toggle on/off with <N> key We still haven't fully deciphered the purpose of the NODE fields. However, you can step through and display them with the Keypad +/- keys and maybe you can figure them out.... Map Mode Command Summary ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Left Mouse Button - Select line/side/sector under current mouse pointer <TAB> - Move to next object associated with this line (mostly for sides and sectors) <SPACE> - Toggle edit mode for currently selected object <ESC> - Exit whatever you are doing -- will prompt you if you need to save changes <PgDn/PgUp> - Zoom In/Out - Also used to page through a list of selectable items <Arrow Keys> - Pan around <HOME> - Return Map to original zoom, recentered <Keypad-5> - Center Map with current zoom <R> - Rotate a "thing" +45 degrees if mouse over thing <Shift-R> - Rotate -45 degrees <T> - Toggle Thing mode <L> - Toggle Line mode - Toggle sIde mode <C> - Toggle seCtor mode <N> - Toggle Node mode <+/-> - Step Up/Down through lines, sides, sectors, and nodes <Shift> - with above to step through faster <Alt-S> - Save changes to the current WAD or PWAD file Future Versions ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Vaporware is never very popular to talk about, but we do it anyway. This version of VERDA is greatly improved over the previous release, and we expect future releases to add new features as well. We expect that the next release will include the ability to add and delete objects, instead of just changing them. And of course, we are working to decipher the rest of the information (primarily NODES) needed to be able to build a workable level from scratch. Authors ^^^^^^^ VERDA is being developed as a team effort by Mike Carter, Robert Fenske, and Bob Robison. We are very interested in feedback on this program. Send comments, complaints, suggestions, words of encouragement, etc. to the authors. Our email address is verda@swri.edu.