Deathday Collection/dday.bin/edit/dtedit/dtedit.txt

Text File | 1994-02-19 | 13KB | 279 lines

Welcome to Doom Thing Edit(DTEdit) Version 2.0 Major Upgrade!!
--------------------------------------------------------------

BE SURE TO USE THE HELP FEATURE THE FIRST TIME YOU USE DTEDIT!!  I'M TOO
LAZY TO UPDATE ALL THE HELP INFORMATION IN THIS TEXT FILE!!!

Features
========
Alrighty, what you've all been waiting for.. A doom editor!  Of course, this
thing can't edit everything.. In fact, all it can edit is the items laying
around.  But you can do lots of things with those items such as:

1. move them around; place the boss guy right in front of the entrance!
2. change items; change that BFG 9000 into a big brain.
3. Insert and Delete items; Put as many things as you want on a level!
4. change angle; make those rifle guys ambush!
5. save it all to your .wad file WITHOUT rewriting the WHOLE thing!
6. Save and Load to individual .DTE files (very small.. Perfect for modem
transmission and making backups of your .wad)
7. New cursors, so you know when you're over an item, and when you're moving
an item.
8. Mirror Bug FIXED!
9. New Configuration File!  Set colors, default items, etc.
10. Select angles, items, and skills with the keyboard! (still REQUIRES mouse
however for moving and selecting)
11. Change skill!! Change the skill level that an item appears on.
12. Have default items!  No more selecting items by hand on each item, with
a touch of a key, pick 1 of 10 default items!
13. Replicate Feature - Replicate your last created item!
14. Import save files created by Deuedit 2.0!
15. View the graphics as you select them!
16. Fix for save to .wad bug!
17. Tremendously faster screen writes!  You have to see it to believe it.
18. Fix for Delete bug!
19. Goto feature while changing an item to make for easier and faster
changes!
20. Improved and more flexible DTEDIT.CFG file!
21. Complete list of items! (not all of the picture info though)
22. DTEDIT Random(1.00)!  Randomize the items!  Almost fully
configurable from the DTEDIT.CFG file!
23. ** Change the brightness of SECTORS!
24. ** Change the attributes of SECTORS to make them flash, blink, take away
energy, and more!!
25. ** Change the Altitude of the floor and ceiling!
26. ** Change attributes of lines such as impassible or transparent (great for
making illusionary walls)
27. ** More additions to the config file to allow for the color defining of
walls!!
28. ** Enhancement of .DTE files to store changes made in Sectors, Lines, and
textures (when available)
29. ** Compression of .DTE files to make them smaller
30. ** Option to turn on and off auto-saving feature
31. ** Episode, Level, and a description are now saved into the .DTE and
can be viewed upon loading the .DTE file!

** New for Version 2.00!!
To see how to activate these features, use the '?' key while in the editor

Future
------
1. Better Randomness; Define the ratio of items to enemies
enemies to powerups, etc
2. Import/Export item graphics
3. Save entire episodes to .dte files
4. A new GUI interface COMING SOON!!

Directions
==========
All you gotta do is place doomedit in the DOOM directory or any other directory,run doomedit filename;
Where filename is the name of the doom .wad file you wish to edit.
**Once you're in the mapeditor, press '?' for a list of available commands.
Menus available for almost EVERYTHING so press '?' if you need help.

Keep in mind however, all changes are *PERMENANT* when saved to disk. A backup
of your last saved .dte is saved to BACKUP.DTE. Just to be on the safe side,
use the -b switch(explained below) to make backups of the different episodes.

At startup, current level is saved to START.DTE
When saving, current level is saved to BACKUP.DTE
When quitting, current level is saved to QUIT.DTE

Switches
--------
dtedit [-switches] .wad file name
Switches:
-b Create a backup .dte for each and all episodes.
        Restore using 'l' in map editor
-v View mode.
        Look through the graphics to find out what their numbers are
        Left and Right arrows selects graphic one forward or one backward
        Up and Down arrows selects graphics 10 ahead or behind
-s Super VGA 256 mode
        Totally experimental.  Doesn't really work yet.

In Game Commands
----------------
You can get a quick list of all the commands listed here by tapping the '?'
key while in the editor.

**Editing functions
-------------------
C Change item
        Move over an item and press 'c'.  Change away by moving the mouse
        left and right.  All items undefined in the items.lst file will be
        skipped over.  You can override this option by holding down the
        middle button and moving the mouse left and right as normal.  Current
        item is displayed on the status bar.
A Change Angle
        Move over an item and press 'a'.  Change the angle of an object.
        Only really matters for enemies since objects always face the same
        way.  The angle and direction (N,S,E,W,etc) are displayed on the
        status bar.
K Change Skill level
        Move over an item and press 'k'.  Use the numbers (1-4) to select
        what level this item will appear on.
I Insert (create) item
        Move over the desired position and press 'i'.  A new object will
        appear at this location which can be edited using any of the editing
        commands.  Default item is defined in config file.
D Delete item
        Move over an item and press 'd'.  The object underneath will be
        permenantly erased.  No warning.. No nothing.  Be careful!
F4 Randomize items
        An OK randomizer.  Items that stay put are defined in the DTEDIT.CFG
        file.  Required number of items are in DTEDIT.CFG.  It lets you
        define the enemy:ammo ratio.  Always gives you a playable level but
        may not give you a non-cheating playable level. :)  There usually
        is plenty of ammo, but health things are usually not.  The randomizer
        also seems to enjoy making lots of those big round monsters.  For me,
        a ratio of .5 for ammo usually does the trick.
Right mouse click and drag on an item
        Move over an item, hold down the right mouse button, and drag to
        a new position.  Everything stays as before, except for the position.
        You can tell when you're moving an item when there is a little 'M'
        under the cursor.

** You can always tell whether you're over an object because a little 'I' will
appear under the cursor.

I/O Functions
-------------
S Save to .WAD file
        Save the current level to the doom .wad file.  Before it saves
        however the program will create a backup of the current level.  The
        .dte file is named BACKUP.DTE and can be loaded using the 'l'
        command.
L Load .DTE file
        Loads a level from a .dte file (things only).  Will totally wipe out
        the things that are currently on your map.  Very useful for trading
        levels with friends or sending over the modem.  When loading, be sure
W Save to .DTE file
        Saves a level to a .dte file.  Save all the current objects on the
        current map to a file that can be sent over the modem and traded
        with friends.  When saving, be sure to exclude the .dte ending.
        It also may be a good idea to name the file a name that includes
        Episode and Level.  DTEDIT does no checking to see if the .DTE is
        loaded to the right level.
M Load DEU file
        Loads a DEUEDIT 2.0 file.  You can usually find these in the same
        directory as deuedit.  They usually begin with THINGS. and then
        end in the episode# followed by the level#.  So, for instance episode
        1, Level 1 would most likely be named THINGS.11.  I'm offering this
        feature as a service to those who have been working with DEUEDIT
        for some time and wish to switch over to DTEDIT.  This is not a
        put down for DEUEDIT.  I cherish DEUEDIT's fast screen updating!

Other Functions
---------------
Right Click and drag on map to move map around
        As long as you're not on an item, this function will work.  Simply
        place the cursor over an area which does NOT have an item, hold down
        the right mouse button and drag.  HOLD IT DOWN UNTIL YOU REACH THE
        DESIRED POSITION!!
Center Click and drag on map to zoom
        Anywhere on the map, hold down the middle button and drag SLOWLY
        to zoom in an out of the map
Left Click to see object
        Display what the object looks like
Q Exit!
        Exit the program.  Be sure to save!  Using the command will create
        a .dte file containing the current things.  It is named EXIT.DTE

While doing things
--------------------
Press '?' for a list of the functions available in each editing function

ID
==
Finally, this program is adhering to IDs request that ALL editors only work
with the registered versions of games.  So in other words, it won't work with
the shareware version (if you somehow hack the .wad file to look like a
registered .wad file, it won't work anyway because of the way doomedit is
structured).

Registration
============
Last thing.. Registration.. This program is NOT free but NOT shareware.
I call it Collegeware.  All I request is that you send a college
recommendation to me at one of my email accounts displayed at the end
doomedit when you exit.

All right.. I think that's it!  CYA next version!

Items.lst file
==============
Here's an example:
p,1,Player 1 start,293
^ ^ ^              ^
| | |              |---> Graphics number.  -1 if I (or you) don't know
| | |
| | |------------------> Item description.. Don't make it too long or DTEDIT
| |                      will crash
| |
| ---------------------> Item number.  Try not to fool with these
|
| ---------------------> Item association.  Associates a group of items to
                         a letter.  Important to the DTEDIT.CFG file.  You
                         can change,add, delete letters to define different
                         associations.

All these parts MUST BE PRESENT.  If not, the program may not work properly
or just freeze (big ironic grin)

Dtedit.cfg file
===============
The structure can also be seen just by looking at the file.  The file contains
some instructions within it as well.  The '#' sign is used for commenting.
Place it in front of EVERY LINE that you want to be seen as a comment.

Special Special Special Thanks to RoggerF for supplying the DOOM specs!
======= ======= ======= ======    -------                   ==========

DOOM is registered or whatever to ID software (what great people)
DTEdit(tm) was created by Jeff Lee(Carrot Games)
DEUEDIT(TM) was created by Brendon W.

DISCLAIMER
==========
Jeff Lee (Carrot Games) takes no responsibility for any damages this program
may inflict on your Computer System.  This program has been tested on my
system several times and almost all bugs are worked out.  If your system
blows up or starts having intelligient converesations with you, hey, its
not my problem.  MAKE BACKUPS JUST IN CASE! (I never did though)

Troubleshooting
===============
1. When I move my cursor over an item, I don't see an item description or
it locks up
        What's probably wrong is either you don't have the ITEMS.LST file
        in the same directory as DTEDIT.EXE or the ITEMS.LST is currupt.
        Move ITEMS.LST to the same directory as DTEDIT.EXE.  If that doesn't
        work, EMAIL me and tell me the situation.
2. I can't quit the program!!
        Press 'q' to quit. A whole list of commands can be seen by pressing
        the '?' key.
3. There is no sound coming from the program
        Good.  There shouldn't be.. If there is, EMAIL me!! :)
4. When I run DOOM, errors occur as a result of using DTEDIT
        If you have used a Doom Editor previously, you may want to try
        starting with a clean .wad file and try your changes again (use the
        l function and load up BACKUP.DTE).  If that doesn't work, EMAIL me
        your .DTE and I'll try to find the problem in the program.  Remember,
        if you don't want to install the .wad file over again, you can always
        restore a backup episode if you used the -b option to create them.
5. The program freezes while loading up.  It says "Loading Config File" or
something to that nature
        Most likely you didn't finish a line or something.  Something went
        wrong.  If you can't figure it out, email it to me.
6. The program states "Heap not in good shape" and exits
        This is a pretty serious error.  Email me telling what you were doing
        and if its happened before.  Most likely, it won't damage your
        computer, but it shows how sloppy of a programmer I am.
7. The word ".DTE" appears a lot
        For some reason, it just does.  I'm working on it.
8. My video card is not working properly
        Now that's a problem.  I'm looking into other drivers and will be
        releasing a short test program later.  Hold tight guys.. I'm working
        on it!