MegaDoom Adventures/PMWMEGADOOM.iso/doom/wadstuff/misc/wadgod20/wadgod.txt

Text File | 1994-08-04 | 8KB | 193 lines

            Welcome to WADGOD 2.0!
                Ultimate Control Over DOOM!
                 By Chuck Agne

WADGOD is a front end for id Software's DOOM game. It allows you to
launch WAD files automatically, specifying loaded games, warping, demos
and other features.

Several things drove me to write WADGOD: the pain of unzipping all
those great wads that are being written, reading the text file to see
what level to go to, fooling with the DOOM command line, then deleting
the wads, text files, etc. to keep things tidy, blah-blah-blah.
I also wanted to keep the wads in a different directory.  Okay, I'm a
tidy freak.  (Does "anal retentive" have a hyphen?)

WADGOD also lets you keep your WADs in space-saving files that have
been compressed using Phil Katz's PKZip 2.04g. You don't need to
unzip your files before running WADGOD! The program will find WAD,
LMP (demo) and TXT files in your zipped archive and list them. With
the exception of net and modem play (sorry, I have no way to test),
all DOOM command line options are supported.  You need only click
to launch.

WADGOD will zip your WAD files for you, launch your favorite WAD (map)
and game editors and you can specify a text viewer, should you choose
not to use the one that's conveniently built-in.

In fact, it's so easy to use, you don't even need documentation!
(How's THAT for a cop-out?) But for those who insist, here's how to
install WADGOD, and how the program works.

REQUIREMENTS:

I didn't worry too much about the size of WADGOD, figuring that if
you had enough memory to run DOOM you weren't going to sweat 200K of
either memory or disk space.  There are, however, a few requirements:

    ANSI.SYS must be part of your CONFIG.SYS file

    PKZIP/PKUNZIP 2.04 must be in your PATH

    You must have a mouse with a mouse driver installed.  (if there
    is any demand, I'll revise it to accept keyboard input but,
    to me, DOOM without a mouse is a ship without a rudder...like
    becoming BERSERK with no enemies around.)

    I'm also assuming that you're using a VGA monitor and hardware
    able to support up to 50 lines on the screen.  WADGOD uses the
    50 line mode but resets to 25/43 lines should you desire.


SETUP:

    1. If you want to keep your wads (except for DOOM.WAD) in a
    separate directory, first create that directory and move the
    zipped wads into it.  If you have some unzipped ones, don't worry,
    WADGOD can help you zip them, just move them into the wad
    directory now.  For instance, my directory setup looks like this:
    C:\FUN\DOOM\STUFF.  STUFF is where all the wads are kept, all of
    DOOM (including DOOM.WAD) is in the DOOM directory. If you want to
    keep everything in your DOOM directory, that's okay, too.

    NOTE: DO NOT ZIP DOOM.WAD!

    2.  Place WG.EXE, the main executable, and WADGOD.BAT into your
    main DOOM directory.

    3. Enter WADGOD.BAT (or just WADGOD) at the DOS prompt.  Make
    sure you enter WADGOD and NOT WG.EXE or things will get a little
    confused.

    4. You'll be told that WADGOD can't find a configuration file.
    That's okay,  Just click on Utilities and then Configure on the menu
    bar and fill in the blanks.  If you want to use an external text
    viewer, a saved game editor, or map editor be sure to include
    their full path if they aren't in the DOOM directory.

    5. Enter all Path names WITHOUT a trailing "\".

    6. Be sure to save your configuration right away.

UPDATING FROM VERSION 1.0 TO 2.0

    Just replace your existing wg.exe with the new one.  Enter WADGOD
    and go to the Configuration screen.

    There is an additional selection: AutoWarp. Set this as desired.
    See below for explanation.

RUNNING WADGOD:

Everything is pretty self-explanatory once you get started.  The
interface is point-and-shoot (just like DOOM).  No help is included
due primarily to my getting too tired to continue. You'll notice that
when you select a file for unzipping it puts the WAD, LMP, and text
files in the proper places.  Just play around for a while, you'll
figure it out, no sweat.  Select the things you want with the mouse
by double-clicking, click on LAUNCH and have at it.

Also, WADGOD consists of several files:

                    FILE_ID.DIZ   brief description
                    WADGOD.BAT    gets things started
                    WG.EXE        main program
                    WADGOD.TXT    this file
                    WADGOD2.BAT   finishes off the program
                    WADGOD.CFG    the configuration file

The last two files are created when you first run WADGOD.  Don't delete them,
especially WADGOD.CFG.

Once in WADGOD, there will be a window listing all the ZIP files in the
directory.  UnZipped wads won't appear, so if you need to, select
Utilities/Zip Files from the menu and zip up the wads.  I find it most
convenient to just keep everything in the zipped form the wad is
distributed in.

Caution:  There are some wads in distribution that require other related
wads to be present in the DOOM directory but not actually named in the
command line that you (or WADGOD) start DOOM with.  "ALIEN" is a good
example of this.  At present, what WADGOD unzips, it tries to load.  Those
few wads of this type will need to have the resident (but non-loaded) wad
present in its unzipped state - sorry, but it ain't no big deal. The only
one I know of that requires this kind of thing is ALIEN.  (If encouraged,
I believe WADGOD could be modified.  Lemme know what you think.)

NEW IN VERSION 2:

    Game Editor: Pretty straightforward.  Turns out that DOOM accepts higher
    values for most stuff than id lets you have. For the totally exasperated,
    there is a Go Crazy button which gives you lots of everything (except
    invisibility... Don't worry, though, with all that firepower, health,
    armor, etc., you'll WANT those suckers to see you!)

    AutoWarp: When activated, automatically determines the Episode/Mission of
    the chosen wad and sets you up to warp there. One note, however.  AutoWarp
    looks for the wad's Episode/Mission info but some wads, like those
    dealing strictly dealing with sound, etc. (i.e., non-level wads) don't
    have such info.  At least as for as I know.  With AutoWarp activated, such
    wads will cause WADGOD to report an error.  No harm done, though, just
    tell it to continue and all will be well.

    Multi-Launch: You can now launch with several wads selected.

    Level Editor: Edit the Episode/Mission of a wad. Handy if you're fond
    of Multi-Launch.

OTHER STUFF:

I've tried to include most things I thought would be useful but would
welcome any comments concerning problems/improvements (heck, even
praise).

As soon as id gets out a stable release above 1.2, I'll revise WADGOD to
take advantage of any new features. In the meantime, keep those cards and
letters coming.

Mail can be addressed to:

            Internet:      [e-mail]
            Compuserve:    73006,1610
            AOL:           chucka

I tend to be on the 'net more than the other two.  Responses to mail
sent via AOL may take a while 'cause I have a heck of a time getting
on.

Special thanks to Dwight Silverman for his incessant prodding, clever
ideas, selfless testing, the name and all the hype in the introduction.
He'd be a good person to contact if you have trouble getting my attention.
He can be reached thusly:
                [e-mail]

Oh yeah, like most defendants in high profile Los Angeles court cases
(Rodney King, the cops, the guys who trashed Reginald Denny,the Menendez
bros., etc.), I am not responsible for anything that I do - that includes
anything that happens as a result of using this program.

THIS IS FREEWARE.  Please feel free to distribute it, but only in it's
original Zipped state and with all/only the files noted above.



DOOM is a trademark of id Software.
PKZIP is a trademark of PKWARE, Inc.
WADGOD: Copyright 1994 by Chuck Agne - the name, the code, etc. is mine.