MegaDoom Add-On 3/MEGADOOM3.iso/dm1wads/tutor4/tutor.txt

Text File | 1994-10-26 | 24KB | 553 lines

TUTOR.TXT, a DEU Tutorial by Jeff Cochran

Additional files include:

        TUTOR1.WAD
        TUTOR2.WAD
        TUTOR3.WAD
        TUTOR4.WAD

All files in this archive are totally free, and delivered into
the public domain by their author, Jeff Cochran.  This is a
supplementary help file for using DEU, and has no connection with
the authors of DEU, or id Software.  Any trademarks or copyrights
mentioned in here are the property of their respectful owners.  As
usual, there is no warranty, express or implied in this material, use
it at your own risk.  Do not use your original DOOM.WAD file, even
nothing in here should damage it (Basically, use your head, man!)

------------------------------------------------------------------

This document is a step-by-step tutorial to get you acquainted with
Doom Editor Utilities (DEU) version 5.  These are the techniques it
took me about eight or ten hours to figure out, and I hope I save
you some time.  If you follow these TO THE LETTER, you *should* get
the same results.  The tutorial will start you with creating a
basic level of two sectors, then move to creating a door with door
frame, another sector beyond that (you gotta have something to go
through the door into...), and eventually working with light
levels, placing things and matching textures.  If you're really
good little boys and girls, I might continue the series with
building lifts, stairs and teleporters.

First off, create a directory exclusively for DEU, unzip it into
that directory, and then copy everything from your DOOM directory
into it (No, you don't need it all, but you need a lot of it and I
haven't got the space to list the files you do need...).  Also copy
the .WAD files that were with these docs (TUTOR1.WAD to TUTOR4.WAD)
into the DEU directory.  If you don't know how to copy these files
around, grab a copy of DOS for Dummies by Dan Gookin and go sit by
the window and read it.  If you're working under Windows or on a
Mac, go sit by the window and have a cookie.

Start DEU by typing:

     DEU [ENTER]

At the prompt on the screen (yes DEU is running...), type:

     C 1 1 [ENTER]  (There are spaces between the C and 1's)

This starts you off with a new level (Specifically Episode 1, Level
1) and a completely blank canvas to paint your DEU masterpiece. Now
press the + key (that's the plus sign) until you hear a beep.  This
puts DEU in maximum magnification, for what we're going to create
it's a pretty good size to work at.  Press the G key five times to
give yourself a grid that DEU will snap to, it'll keep your rooms
neat and square.  Each of these squares is a multiple of four, and
all the textures in DEU are also measured in multiples of four.
This makes it easier to match textures later.

Now press the V key to put yourself into Vertice mode.  Move the
mouse pointer to the top left of the screen (I'll be using cardinal
directions like North, South, etc from now on, this is the NW
corner area) about 3 boxes down from the top.  Press the INSERT key
and a vertice will appear.  (It looks like an X in a box...).  Move
the mouse pointer 16 squares (yes, count them, it's important) to
the east, and press INSERT again.  Then move 16 squares south,
press INSERT, and 16 more back to the west and press INSERT a
fourth time.  You now have four vertices on the screen in a square,
16 boxes to a side.  Like this:



          X                   X





          X                   X

(Or thereabouts, depending on your printer...).  I'll number these
as 1 - NW, 2 - NE, 3 - SE, and 4 - SW.  Now click on the vertices
with the left mouse button in this order:

     1, 2, 3, 4  (NW, NE, SE, SW)

Once these are highlighted (In that order!), press INSERT and DEU
will create three Linedefs between them.  You'll notice lines
sticking out of one of the sides of each linedef, sorta like this:

     X--------------------X
               |
               |
               |

(At least if your printer is handling this file...).  These lines
mark the First Sidedef of each linedef.  These are *extremely*
important, so pay attention to them.  For now, they should all
point inward (if not, reboot the system and start at the beginning
again, you *have* to get this down).

Now, press V to get to Vertice mode again, highlight vertices 4 and
1 (In that order - SW then NW) by clicking with the left mouse
button (last time I tell you how to highlight, from now on when you
read "highlight" you'll automatically click with the left mouse
button).  Now press INSERT and a fourth linedef will be created,
with the first sidedef pointing inward.  This is why you click on
the vertices in the right order, so the linedefs are in the right
order.  Now highlight each linedef (all the first sidedefs will
show up) and press INSERT again.  You've just created your first
sector!

Now we need a second sector (a one sector level is pretty boring
and may not work...), so press V to get back to Vertice mode.Count
sixteen squares to the east of vertice 2 (NE) and put your cursor
there and press INSERT.  Now count south sixteen squares and INSERT
another vertice.  Let's call these 5 and 6, thusly:


     1                      2                    5
     X----------------------X                    X
     |                      |
     |                      |
     |                      |
     |                      |
     |                      |
     |                      |
     X----------------------X                    X
     4                      3                    6


No click on vertices 2, 5, 6, and 3, in that order.  Press INSERT
to create three new linedefs, and while they are highlighted,
position the mouse pointer over the linedef that completes the new
sector, already running from vertice 2 to vertice 3.  When all four
are highlighted, press INSERT to create a new sector.  Press L to
go back to Linedef mode again, highlight that same linedef from 2
to 3 again, and press ENTER to edit it.  Select Add Second Sidedef,
and you'll have a pass-through line created automatically for you.
When this line is highlighted, you should notice in the display
below that the linedef is 2 Sided  (There's a ------2s--- in the
flags section) and also is passable (It's not marked Impassable in
the flags area, if you highlight another linedef on the outside
walls it'll show -----------Im in the flags area for Impassable).

At this point, if you press S to go to Sector mode, you'll see two
sectors highlightable as Sector 0 and Sector 1.  If sector 1 (The
eastern one) doesn't light or won't light fully (all four linedefs
turn yellow), it may simply be a problem with DEU.  The sector
really exists, but DEU hasn't caught on yet.  The way to correct
this is to press Q now, for quit and save, select E1L1.WAD as the
name (default), and press Y to recalculate the nodes.  If there are
no beeps or warnings, press E 1 1 (Those are spaces...) at the
prompt, and you'll be back editing the level you created.  Press +
until it beeps, the G five times and you'll be about where you
started.

Let's take a look at your creation.  Press T to go to Thing mode,
move the cursor somewhere in the NW corner of the first sector you
created (sector 0), and press INSERT to create a new thing.  With
it highlighted, press ENTER to edit it, then select Type, Player,
Player 1 Start and you have a spot to beam into your new level.
Press Q to quit and save, answer with the name E1L1.WAD if it asks,
as well as Y to rebuild nodes if it asks.  Let's load your level
and play it (boring as it is...)

Press Q to quit DEU, then type:

          DOOM -File E1L1.WAD  [ENTER]

Doom will run after it announces that this is a modified .WAD file,
select Episode 1, and choose Hurt Me Plenty (we haven't gotten into
levels of play and there's no enemies yet so it really doesn't
matter...).  When the game starts, you'll be in a smallish room,
facing the long end, and you can move around and look at it.  At
this point you won't even see the ceiling (it's there, just really
high...), but as long as you did everything correctly it'll look
fine.  If it doesn't run, doesn't look right, or DEU gave you an
error when you chose Q to quit editing and saved your level, it's
because either you didn't get the linedefs bound to the right
sector, or somehow you managed to get no texture on a linedef or a
2 sided linedef where there's only one side.  If this isn't a
rectangular room that you can look around and see no errors, go
back to the start and try it again.  There are *NO* bugs in DEU
that create this, only incorrect use of the editor.  Your level
should match (or at least be close to) the TUTOR1.WAD file included
with this tutorial.

Now, on to more fun...

What good is a level with two sectors comprising one room with four
walls, a ceiling and a floor?  Not much.  Heck, we at least need a
door!

First, fire up DEU again and at the prompt type:

     R E1L1.WAD  [ENTER]

to load your level into DEU for more editing.  Then type:

     E 1 1  [ENTER]

to edit your level.  Press the + key until you hear a beep and are
at maximum magnification, and then press G five times to bring your
grid back up (when you press the + sign, the magnification centers
on your mouse cursor, so put it over your map where you want to
be).

We're going to move quicker through the vertices, linedef and
sector creation, if you paid attention through the first part you
shouldn't have any trouble.  We're going to create a door between
this room and the next, complete with a recessed doorway, and we'll
need to create four more sectors to do it.

First we need a starting point, and while we could make the door
the whole width of the wall, that's an awfully big door.  Let's
break the wall down some first.  We'll use the following line
diagram for reference:

     1         A         2         B        3
     X-------------------X------------------X
     |                   |                  |
     |                   |                  |
     |                   |                  |
     | F                 | G                | C
     |                   |                  |
     |                   |                  |
     |                   |                  |
     |                   |                  |
     X-------------------X------------------X
     6        E          5         D        4

First position your cursor over the easternmost linedef (C) and
press L to go into Linedef mode.  With linedef C still highlighted,
press [F10], then [4] to split the linedef.  Select the southern
half of this split, like this:


     X
     |
     |  C
     |
     |
     X
     |
     |  H   <--  This one!
     |
     |
     X

With that line highlighted, press [F10] and [4] again, to split it
again, thusly:


     X
     |
     |  C
     |
     |
     X
     |  H
     |
     X
     |
     |  I
     X

You're going to use linedef H as your door, and if you did
everything right you should have an 8 box long C, and a four box H
and I.  If not, try it again.

Now press V for Vertice mode, and INSERT a new vertice one square
east from the northern vertice of H, and another one, one square
east of the southernmost vertice of H.  Like this:

     X
     |
     |
     |
     |
   1 X  X 2
     |
     |
   4 X  X 3
     |
     |
     X

Click on the vertices in this order:  1, 2, 3, 4, then press INSERT
to create the new linedefs.  With those linedefs still highlighted,
position the cursor over the fourth linedef of this new sector (H
a couple diagrams ago...) and press INSERT again to create the new
sector.  Now repeat this process twice more to create a pattern
like this:


     X
     |
     |
     |
     |
     X--X--X--X
     |  |  |  |
     |  |  |  |
     X--X--X--X
     |
     |
     X

(God it's tough to draw with these characters...).  Once you've got
those down, create another 16 x 16 square sector on the east end of
this, with the vertices like this:


              2                3
     X        X----------------X
     |        |                |
     |        |                |
     |        |                |
     |        |                |
     X--X--X--X 1              |
     |  |  |  |                |
     |  |  |  |                |
     X--X--X--X 6              |
     |        |                |
     |        |                |
     X        X----------------X
              5                4

Make sure you click on the vertices in a clockwise direction,
starting with the vertice shared by the last sector, and you'll
always get the first sidedef indicators pointing inward.  The last
sector should have the vertices clicked on in numerical order (1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6) to create the linedefs and then the sector.  We now
have the basis for the door and doorway.  But first let's alter
some sectors.

Consider the sectors from left to right (west to east) as 0, 1, 2,
3, 4, and 5.  (If you press S to go to sector mode, as you
highlight each, you'll see the sector number in the information
box.  It should match this order.)  To highlight a sector, or a
linedef or vertice, just position the cursor over it.  If you're
having strange problems, remember that clicking on an item will
keep it highlighted until you click on it again, or change modes.
To un-highlight everything you've been working on just change modes
and then back again.  Leaving a stray linedef highlighted while
you're changing another changes both, something you don't usually
want.

Okay, so you've got the sectors like this:


   ----------------------        ------------
   |         |          |        |          |
   |         |          |        |          |
   |         |          |        |          |
   |         |          |--|--|--|          |
   |         |          |  |  |  |          |
   |         |          |--|--|--|          |
   |         |          |        |          |
   ----------------------        ------------
       0          1       2  3  4     5

Press S to get into Sector mode, then highlight sector 0.  Press
ENTER to edit the sector, then choose Ceiling Height and set it to
128.  (All the measurements in DEU are in multiples of four,
remember?  And most of the patterns are 8, 16, 64 or 128 high
and/or wide.  Therefor, 128 high ceilings are a decent looking
ceiling level.)  Do the same for sectors 1 and 5.  The set the
ceiling height for sectors 2 and 4 at 85 (not a multiple of four,
but looks right when you're done...), and sector 3 at 0.  That's
right, ZERO, after all, when the door (a door is a sector too, and
sector 3 is our door...) is closed the ceiling and floor are the
same height.  Now let's take a look at just the smaller section
where the doorway is.  Press L for Linedef mode and we'll designate
the linedefs as so:


   |    5          6         7     |
   |-------------------------------|
   |         |          |          |
   |         |          |          |
   |         |          |          |
   | 1       | 2        | 3        | 4
   |         |          |          |
   |         |          |          |
   |         |          |          |
   |-------------------------------|
   |    8          9         10    |

Select linedef #1 and press enter to edit it.  Select Edit First
Sidedef, and then Upper Texture, and type in STARTAN3.  Select
linedef 4 and set the Second Sidedef, Upper Texture to STARTAN3 as
well.  These are the textures that appear above the doorway, the
lower texture is left as -, or none, so that you can see into the
doorway.

The first sidedef indicator for line 1 should face west, as with
line 2.  Line 3 and 4 also have the first sidedef currently facing
west, and line 4 will stay that way, but we want line 3 to have the
first sidedef facing east (it's the eastern face of our door sector
and if the first linedef doesn't face out, then the door can't
open).  Highlight line 3 and press [F10], then press [5] to flip
the linedefs.  Keep line 3 highlighted, and press [ENTER] to edit
the linedef, then edit linedef, type, doors, and select 1 - DR Open
Door.  While line 3 is still highlighted, press [ENTER] again,
choose edit first sidedef, and set the upper texture to BIGDOOR2.
Now select line 2, and go through the same steps for it, setting
its type as 1 - DR Open Door, and its upper texture for first
sidedef as BIGDOOR2.  (You can set both sides of a door to be any
texture, so a hidden door on one side could be obvious on the
other, but usually you'll want the same texture on both sides.)  On
both lines 2 and 3, the second sidedef should have a texture of -,
or no texture at all.

Lines 6 and 9 are the door tracks, so let's set them as such.
Highlight line 6 and press [ENTER].  Select edit first sidedef, and
set the texture to DOORTRAK.  The highlight the line, press [ENTER]
and choose edit linedef.  Choose flags and set the flags as Im for
impassable and Lo for lower texture unpegged.  This will keep the
door tracks from moving up and down with the door.  Pay attention
to the flags, they are actually toggles and each time you choose it
you will flip the state of that flag.  If you choose Impassable
when the flag is already set, that linedef becomes passable.
Generally you'll want a linedef that's passable to be 2 sided also,
and that requires a sector on the other side.  Just having one
linedef flag off can really screw up a level, as can not having a
texture where one is needed.

For now, let's save this level by pressing Q, then choosing
E1L1.WAD for the name and pressing Y to rebuild the nodes.  If all
is well, there will be no errors, if you get one, press E 1 1
[ENTER] to re-edit the level, and check every linedef flag, sidedef
texture and linedef type and make sure they are as we wanted them.
Believe me, it'll all compile with no errors if it's right.

Exit DEU by typing Q, and then load your level by typing:

     DOOM -FILE E1L1.WAD  [ENTER]

Select your settings, start the level and go open your new door.
Your level should look like the file TUTOR2.WAD included with this
tutorial file.

By now, you've noticed that your level is pretty complete as far as
the small section we're going to make, but it doesn't look quite
right.  Let's go in and clean it up, basically "professionalize" it
and not be stuck with a level that's not ready for prime time.
First off, let's get rid of the default wall textures.

Start DEU, load the level by pressing:

     R E1L1.WAD  [ENTER]

and then press E 1 1 [ENTER] to edit your level.  Press the + key
until the beep, and again bring up the grid by pressing G five
times.

We'll identify your lines and sectors like this:


        2         5                   20
   ----------------------        ------------
   |         |          |        |          |
   |         |        6 |        | 19       |
   |         |          |10 13 16|          |
1  |         | 3        |--|--|--|          | 21
   |         |        7 |  |12|15| 18       |
   |         |          |--|--|--|          |
   |         |        8 |11 14 17| 23       |
   ----------------------        ------------
        4         9                   22

             |          |  |  |  |
Sector  0    |     1    | 2| 3| 4|    5

To start, click the left mouse button on lines 1, 2, 5, 6, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 8, 9, and 4.  When they are all highlighted, press
[ENTER] and edit the first sidedef to have the texture STONE2.
Press S to go to sector mode, then L to get back to line mode and
the lines won't be highlighted (easier than re-clicking them to un-
highlight them...).

Now highlight line 7, and edit the upper texture of sidedef 1 to be
STONE2.  Highlight line 18 and edit the second sidedef to have an
upper texture of STONE2 as well.  Now your rooms are all stone
block, but let's change the door (BIGDOOR2 looked chopped off,
remember?) and the doorway look.

Select lines 10, 11, 16, and 17 and edit their first sidedef to a
texture of LITE3.  Then select each side of the door, line 12 and
line 15, and edit the upper texture to be DOORHI.  Remember to un-
highlight any lines before you select the new batch, the easiest
way is to switch out of Line mode and back in again (Press S then
L).

Now switch to sector mode and highlight sector 0 (the westernmost
sector) and press [ENTER].  Set the light level in this sector to
130.  Now do the same for sectors 1 and 5 (the other big sectors).
Highlight sector 3 (the door itself) and edit the ceiling and floor
textures to both be FLAT5_5.  This pretty much takes care of the
mood of the level, now let's add some interest.

Press T to get to Thing mode (no, it's not an Addams Family
editor...), and position the cursor near the NE corner of sector 1
(the NE corner of the big room).  Press [INSERT] to put a new thing
there, and press [ENTER] to edit it.  Change the type to Weapon,
and choose a shotgun.  Now we need something to shoot with it.

Move the cursor to the center of sector 5 (the easternmost sector)
and press [INSERT].  With this new thing highlighted, press [ENTER]
to edit it, and change the type to Enemy, and make it a Trooper.
With the trooper still highlighted, press [ENTER] again, and edit
the direction to be West so the trooper is facing the door.  Now
press Q to save your work, which should match TUTOR3.WAD, exit DEU
and load your level by typing:

     DOOM -FILE E1L1.WAD  [ENTER]

Grab the shotgun, open the door and blast your freshly created
enemy trooper.  While you're there, take a look back at the door
and notice how strange the texture above the door looks since it
doesn't line up with the walls.  Let's fix that final little
inconsistency.

Reload DEU, press the + key and G keys until you're ready to edit,
and go to line mode.  Highlight line 7, and edit the first linedef,
and set the Texture Y Offset to 43.  (Sector 1 has a ceiling height
of 128 and sector 2 has a height of 85.  128 minus 85 equals 43.
This works as long as you keep the sectors at heights similar to
the dimensions of the textures, but you'll be close this way.
Every once in a while you'll need to eyeball the texture, but math
can take care of a lot of problems.)  We kept the walls of our
layout to multiples of four (at the grid level we've been using
each square works out to be 16 units wide), so the texture has been
an even map.  We can use the same math trick to align the X axis of
the textures as well, or we can pull the walls out a little to make
the textures fit.

While we're here, let's go ahead and change the Shotgun thing to be
a BFG9000, and to make it fair, the Trooper to be a Demon.  Then
save your work, load it up in Doom, and blast that pink sucker!

Your work should match TUTOR4.WAD at this point, and until the next
installment, you're on your own in creating your levels.  Practice
a lot, and carefully dissect all the id Software levels for hints
and tricks.

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Comments and questions may be directed to:  [e-mail]