Tricks of the DOOM Gurus/TricksOfTheDoomGurus.iso/bonus/linux/deulinux/tutorial/tutor.doc

Text File | 1994-08-05 | 19KB | 444 lines

  DEU TUTORIAL v1.5

  Making your first original level.

  This document and the accompanying .wad files should help
  you to see what you need to do to build a level.  It's a
  sort of touch-and-see how it works thing.  (sounds like
  fun!)

  This tutorial works best it you print out the TUTOR.DOC
  and then follow along with DEU on the computer.

  Items appearing in braces {} indicate that there is a file
  that you can load to follow along and see how to do things.
  load the file by typing  "R wadfilename.WAD" at the DEU Main Menu.
  After the file is loaded type "E 2 1" to go into the editor.
  then select the editing mode(s) indicated in the braces
  and move the pointer around to touch things and look at how
  they are structured.


  Now we begin our journey...

   1. First create the new map with the Create command from the
      main menu (C 2 1).  Go into vertices mode (hit tab) and
      create some vertices by positioning the cursor where you
      want the vertex and then press "Ins" to place a vertex
      there.  Using the Grid mode (press G) is helpful if you
      want to line up the vertices.  You will need a minimum of
      three to create an enclosed polygon.  (Don't be afraid
      of running out until you're really good at this,
      many doom maps contain well over 800 vertices.)

   2. Group the vertices by marking them (highlight them and left click the
      mouse or press "M") and add linedefs by pressing insert.  It is best
      to mark them in CLOCKWISE order.

   3. Mark all of the lines for the sector (you will want to mark the ones
      that aren't already marked) and press "Ins" to add a sector.

   4. Repeat steps 1 - 3.
      (You'll want more than 1 sector, unless you are very dull).
      {S1.WAD - vertices, linedefs}
      Load up this wad and see a very basic 2 sector map.

   5. (This step is made mostly obsolete by DEU5.0 and above since
      it now does these things automatically, but you can verify it
      anyway.)

      If you have any lines that are shared by 2 sectors and are meant
      to be the place where you cross from room to room set the Flags
      to 2S (two-sided and shoot thru) and turn off the Impassable Flag.
      You will probably want to get rid of any of the Normal/Upper/Lower
      Textures that are on lines that you walk across (usually, unless
      you want to create the illusion of walking through a wall.).

      {S2.WAD - Linedef} Check out Linedef # 1.


   6. To change the way the walls look, select a line or a group of lines
      and change the Normal texture on some of the Sidedefs. (To go to
      line editing mode, press L).

      {S3.WAD - Linedef} Take a look at Linedefs #0,2, and 3.


   7. Change the Floor and Ceiling Textures in a sector. (To go to sector
      editing mode press S).

      {s4.wad -Sector}  Look at Sector #1, compare to the default in
      sector 0.


   8. Add a Player1 Start thing. If you want to play cooperatively you
      will also want to add a Player2, Player3 and Player4 start thing
      and if you want to play in deathmatch mode you must have a MINIMUM
      of 4 deathmatch start things)

      {s5.wad -Things}  That's were you start and the direction you're
      facing.

   9. Change the type of one of the lines to
         "Special - Ends level goes to next level."
      If you want to be able to leave the level you will need an exit.
      (Even if just to see the deathmatch frag counts!).

      {S6.WAD - Linedefs} Check out Line 5.  Oh yeah, the texture was
      changed to one of the SW1xxxx textures so that it looks like a
      switch too.  Nice touch eh?


  10. Use Q to quit and save your changes.  Answer Y to the question
      about building the nodes, etc. (unless you use expert mode,
      in which case... Why are you reading the tutorial?? ;-)

  11. Use Q to quit DEU.

  12. Fire up doom and try it out!

   DOOM -FILE yourfile.WAD

        If you are working on a level higher than E1L1 you can
        go straight there by using IDCLEVxy  where x is the episode
        and y is the mission #.

  13. To record a demo of your level (a .LMP file) type this:

   DOOM -DEVPARM -WARP e m -SKILL s -RECORD demofile -FILE yourfile.WAD

        You must NOT type the .LMP extention and you MUST type the .WAD
        extension. 'e' is for Episode (1, 2 or 3), 'm' is for mission
        (1 to 9) and 's' is for skill level (1 to 5). If you die before
        the end, press SPACE to end the recording and go back to DOS.

  14. To play back your demo, type this:

   DOOM -PLAYDEMO demofile -FILE yourfile.WAD




  CHAPTER 2:  The Adventure Continues...



  Now that we have a level, let's put some cool stuff in it.  What
  we will do here is to show ONE possible way to construct some
  special sectors like doors, stairs and lifts.  Please note that
  there ARE other ways to do them because there are many different
  types of doors & lifts, etc.  Also, you're a little more experienced
  at making vertices, lines and sectors already so we are not going
  to have as many WAD files to demonstrate the structures, just one
  or two to show each structure.




  Adding a *DOOR*.  We'll open it for you...

  1. The split linedef feature can be used to add a vertex which
     can then be dragged to where you want the edge of the door
     to be.  This is helpful if you decide after you build the
     sector that you want to have a door.  If you planned ahead
     you won't need this.

     Add some vertices & lines to build a new sector which will
     later become the door.

     You may want to add some more vertices and lines to build a sector
     on the other side of the door so you've got somewhere to go once
     the door is open.

  {s7.wad - linedefs and sectors}

     There's no door here yet, but it'll be coming soon.
     Split line 0 into lines 0 & 8.
     Added lines 9,10,11.  Used lines 0,9,10,& 11 to add sector 2
     (Sector 2 will become the door in the next file.)
     Added lines 12,13,14.  Added sector 3 on lines 10,12,13,& 14.
     Sector 3 is the room on the other side.

  2. The "Normal" vector of the lines (The side of the arrow with the
     line sticking out of it) must be on the 'outside' of the door.

     Change the type of the linedefs on the front and back of the door
     to a DOOR type.  1 DR Open door - closes after 5 seconds is the
     best one for beginners, you'll figure out other types of doors later.

     Change the first sidedef of the front & back of the door to have
     an Upper Texture only (NO Normal or Lower Texture).  If you want it
     to be obvious, make it a texture that looks like a door.

     Change the ceiling height of the door sector to the same level
     as it's floor.  It will rise until it's just below the height
     of the lowest adjacent ceiling.

     Change the ceiling texture of the door sector to something that looks
     like the bottom of the door.

     On the linedefs on the sides of the door that are the door frame,
     set the flags to Lo (lower texture unpegged.) This will keep them
     from moving when the door goes up.  Also, you should set the
     Normal texture to something that looks like a door frame.

     {s8.wad - linedefs and sectors}

     Linedefs 0 & 10, changed type to Door - DR open door
     Changed first sidedefs upper texture (BIGDOOR2).
     Set sector #2 Ceiling height to the same as its' floor.
     Changed ceiling texture (FLAT20).
     Changed lines 9 & 11 texture (DOORTRAK).
     Set 9 & 11 to type Lower Unpegged.
     Tada!  A working door!


  Perhaps you can buy a Stairway to Heaven, but you'll have to
  build the *STAIRWAY* to Hell!


  1. Add the linedefs and sectors that will become the stairs.

  2. Individually change the floor heights of each stair sector.
     Change them in units of 8 or 16 for best results (24 is the
     maximum for a stair you can climb, but it looks pretty tall).
     Increment for stairs going up, decrement for stairs going
     down. (obviously)

  3. For sidedefs facing a sector that has a floor height lower
     than its floor, set the lower texture to something that looks
     like a stair.

  4. If the ceiling height is changed set the upper texture of sidedefs
     facing sectors with higher cielings.

  {s9.wad - linedefs, sectors}

     Set individual floor heights on sectors 4,5,6,7,8
     Set ceiling height on sectors 4,5,6,7,8,9
     Set first sidedef lower texture on lines 13,16,19, & 22.
     Set seconds sidedef upper texture on line 13.

     Also, for demonstration set the floor height on sector 9
     lower so that you could 'fall' down into it and not be able
     to get out because 64 units is too tall to climb.
     Because sector 9 is lower, set a lower texture on the second
     sidedef of line 28.




  Hey buddy!  Need a *LIFT*?


  1.  It's best to make the linedefs on the sides of the lift that
      you can walk across have their "Normal" sides (the one with the
      little line sticking out) on the outside of the lift.

  2.  Change the TYPE of the linedef facing the sector with the lower
      floor height to "Raise lift & switch to lower...".

  3.  Set the TYPE of the linedef facing the sector with the same floor
      height to "WR - lower lift...".

  4.  Verify or set the floor height of the lift sector to its maximum
      height.

  5.  Set the FLAGS for linedefs on the side (that you don't cross) to
      Upper texture unpegged.

  6.  Set a lower texture on the sidedef of the linedef which will be
      higher than the lift when it is down.

  7.  Set a floor texture on the lift sector to something that looks
      like a lift floor. (optional, but it looks good).

  8.  Assign the lift sector a linedef TAG number.  Use the lowest
      available tag number.

  9.  Assign the linedefs with the Lift TYPES the sector TAG number
      that you assigned to the lift sector.

  {s10.wad - linedefs, sectors)

     Flipped linedef 28.
     Set linedef 28 type to Raise lift...
     Set linedef 25 type to Lower lift...
     Set linedefs 26 & 27 flags to upper texture unpegged.
     Set floor height of sector 9 to it's up position.
     Set floor texture of sector 9 to STEP2.
     Set lower texture of linedef 25 second sidedef.
     Assigned TAG #1 to sector 9.
     Assigned TAG #1 to linedefs 25 & 28.



  * TRANSPORTER pad, 1 to beam up! *


  {for the next few examples you will want to also try out the WADs to
   see how they look in DOOM}

  1. First create two sectors. One has to be a multiple of 64x64 units.
     It will be the 'pad' and has to be aligned on a vertex with a
     multiple of 64 (use G for grid to align the vertex points) or else
     the texture for the pad will be offset and will look bad. {T1.WAD}

  2. Make sure the lines on the side of the pad are the right way, the
     player will transport when he travels from side 1 to side 2 of the
     line.

  3. Edit the line type and change it to 97 WR Transport to other sector
     (Go to line type, then special) or 91 W1 if you want it to work
     only once.

  4. Set the Sector tag number of the lines to an unused number.

  5. Next, you'll need to decide where you want to transport. Select a
     sector and set the linedef tag to the same as above.

  6. Lastly, add a transporter exit thing somewhere in the destination
     sector.



  Ok, now we're cooking!  Let's make everything look good!


  1. {T2.WAD} is the same as above, but with textures aligned. Now
     you know why I took that weird texture!

  2. Look at Sidedef #2 & #5 (first sidedefs of lindedefs #2 & #5).
     You'll see that they have a texture X alignment.

  3. Here's how to figure it out: go to maximum zoom (press = a few
     times), then display the smallest grid (press SHIFT-G once). Each
     square of the grid is 8 alignment points. To move a texture to
     the left, X needs to be positive and to move it to the right,
     X has to be negative. The way you have to look at it is taking
     the wall itself and moving it over (or behind) the other one
     as to blend the two together.

  4. So, if you look at sidedefs #2 and #5, you'll see that #2 has an
     X offset of -64 and #5 of +64.



  Line up!  (Texture Alignment)

  Now, we do some heavy math stuff! Aligning vertically for stairs and
  more complex horizontal alignments.


  1. {A1.WAD} is a test WAD with two stairs in it. One has varying
     ceiling heights and the other has the same ceiling. This one
     needs a LOT of work!

  2. {A2.WAD} is the aligned one. Looks a lot better hey! Here's how
     it's done. NOTE that this is only for NORMAL textures, not
     UPPER or LOWER textures, they are aligned in a different way.

  3. For starters, go back to A1, you'll notice that when the ceiling
     is the same height, the textures align (vertically that is!) and
     that's because DOOM displays a texture starting from the top left
     of the panel. So, to align a texture vertically all you need to
     know is the difference in ceiling height. {In A2.WAD look at the
     Y offset of linedefs #5, #13, #12 and #3}.

  4. There's a problem with aligning all these linedefs because you'd
     need to be able to align beyond the -100 to 100 limit. The trick
     is to do a little math (I know, yuck!). If you need to align a
     texture by 128 points, then you'll need to move one 100 points
     one way and the other -28 the other. {In A2.WAD look at the X
     offsets of linedefs #14 and #0}.

  5. Another problem is when the linedef is longer than the size of
     a given wall. In the case of SKY2, it's 256 points wide and the
     length of the wall composed of linedefs #2, #4, #11 and #10 is a
     total of 464 points, so SKY1 fits almost twice. If you look at
     the X offsets for the above lines, you'll probably say: "How the
     heck did he get those!?!?" It's really elementary math skills!

  6. Here's how it's done; first, lines #2, #4 and #11 together are
     256 points long, so lines #2 and # 10 will have the exact same
     offset. Next, if you left line #2 with an offset of 0, you would
     need to move line #4 by 128 (or -128 which is the same because
     the texture is 256) and line #4 by 128+64=192 (or -64 which is
     192-256). You can't do that! Remember, you have a limit of -100
     to 100, so 128 (or -128) will not do, so we need to use two
     lines to do it. If you move line #2 by -100, then you only need
     to move line #4 by 28 (-100 - 28 = -128) and line #11 by 92 (28
     + 64 = 92). Then all you do is set line #10 the same as line
     #2 which is -100.

  7. I know it looks really complicated, but it really is simple once
     you know how to do it (I know, I sound like your fifth grade math
     teacher!). Anyways, DEU may eventually have an align texture
     feature, so you can wait until then, but if you want to be in the
     hall of fame of WADs, you'll need to align those textures NOW!



  Wow! I want more! OK, here's the best you can do to align the
  textures for windows and secret doors...

  1. Look at W1.WAD (run DOOM with it, type 'doom -file w1.wad', and
     start a new Episode 2 game). Go to each side of the window one
     side is aligned and the other is not. Now look at each of the
     secret doors, one is aligned vertically and the other is not. Can
     you figure out how to align UPPER textures? OK, I'll tell you,
     but I won't explain the X offset alignement, I just did in the
     last few paragraphs!

     {Check the MAP (press TAB) when running DOOM with W1.WAD, you
     can only see a door (yellow line) on the WEST side. The Secret
     bit is set for that Linedef, also the Sector behind the EAST
     door is also of type "secret".}

  2. First, for windows, you'll just need to set the flag "Upper
     Texture is Unpegged" because normally an UPPER texture is drawn
     from the bottom left corner up (remember a NORMAL texture is
     drawn from the TOP left corner down) and changing this flag will
     make it drawn just like a NORMAL texture. This will align the
     texture vertically (assuming the ceiling height is the same as
     the adjoining walls).

  3. Second, for doors, you don't want to set the "unpegged" flag
     because the door would not look right when oppening, so you want
     to adjust the texture with an offset. In W1, the ceiling is 100
     high and STARTAN3 is 128 high, so you want the Y offset to be
     -28 (128 - 100 = -28).

  4. Third, you'll want to know how to align the bottom part of a
     window. Well, unless somebody proves otherwise, it can't be
     done. Sure, you can use textures that LOOK aligned (because
     of the Window height and texture type) but you can't REALLY
     do it. Here's why: LOWER textures are drawn the exact same way
     as NORMAL textures (from TOP left corner down) unless you set
     the "Lower texture is unpegged" flag in which case it starts
     from wherever the upper texture ended. Look at the WEST side
     of the window in W1.WAD (the side that isn't aligned). I set
     the upper and lower textures to unpegged. See the difference?
     The LOWER texture of the "aligned" side is the same as the
     UPPER texture there, but on the "un-aligned" side, it is the
     continuty of the UPPER texture.



  Well that's all for now...

  The rest you can probably figure out from looking at the original
  levels from id software.  (Really, we figured it out and we're
  stupid. You should have much less trouble.)

  If you're not registered yet, call 1-800-IDGAMES and register now.

  And don't forget, DOOM: Hell on Earth, coming soon! (September 1994)
  [Possessed humans with chain-guns, new bad-ass bosses, more
  wicked enemies, more grim-n-gory death sequences.]


  The DEUTUTOR was compiled by Steve Bareman and Jean-Serge Gagnon
  with guidance from Raphael Quinet and numerous helpful suggestions
  from DEU users and alt.games.doom.