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* GLADIATOR v2.2 * DRAGONHAWK PRODUCTIONS WAD Template v1.4 filled in/modified by Paul Pollack Title : GLADIATR.WAD Main author : Paul Pollack Playtester/co-author : Andy Stevens Release date : 02/26/95 Email Address : No Internet account as of yet, but I can be reached as Paul Pollack on the Board of Trade BBS (813) 862-4772 Misc. Author Info : (Paul Pollack) President of DragonHawk Productions, main author of GamePlay Magazine Story (yep, there actually is one) ---------------------------------- You've done your job -- you saved mankind for what seems like the millionth time, and for what? Sure, you get a few thousand dollars, but the thing you need right now is some good old fashioned R & R. With your money, you purchase a room at the Holiday Hotel and pay the clerk. You take your key, go to your room, and right as you're about to insert it, you're not at the hotel anymore. You've been teleported, but where? There's no time to think about it. Cacodemons, demons, imps, and even your old friend Mancubus are all going to make you feel sorry you ever came here, even if it was against your will. You look around; a double barreled shotgun. A big grin creeps across your face. You grab it, put on the radiation suit nearby and show those imps who's boss. You turn around and walk forward, until you come to the end. You keep going, fall, run to escape the fiery coals, and find yourself looking at a giant arena surrounded by red torches where cyber demons and spider bosses fight it out to the death. It is the year 2012, and where these guys come from, that's when their `Olympics' are held. Only these aren't the usual Olympics; this is an all-out war where the populous send out their finest warriors to battle it out in a vicious fight to the death. You've intruded on their little game, and now they're sending their body guards to make sure it doesn't happen again. Additional Credits to : -ADMiRAL and SONiC (the Un-Naturals) for DEU2C -The creators of DeeP, a DEU-based level editor -Clint Russell for the T2 theme (from !CSRE2M1.WAD) -The creators of DDT, the Doom Development Toolkit -The contributors to the Doom Level Design FAQ, -Olivier Montanuy and HevKev for DEUTEX 3.1 -The author of the Beginner's Guide to DEU -The original team behind the original DEU -Ben Morris, for the Doom Construction Kit -Steve McCrea, for tips from Trinity WAD -Colin Reed, for his wonderful BSP 1.2x -Bill Neisius for the Doom Music Editor -Other Doom WAD authors for inspiration -ID software for such an awesome game ================================================================ * Play Information * Required Doom version : Doom ][: Hell on Earth v1.666+ Recommended system : 486 DX2-66 or better with VLB/PCI for single-player 486 DX-33 or better for DeathMatch with no monsters 14,400 BPS modem for modem play Includes PWAD runner : Yes, GLADIATR.EXE v2.2 (single-player mode only) Level size : Small - Medium Estimated par time : Four-five minutes Difficulty (estimate) : Hard, but depends on which setting you play on Episode and Level # : Mission #1 Single Player : Yes Cooperative 2-4 Player : Yes (untested), but made for single player mode DeathMatch 2-4 Player : Yes (untested), but made for single player mode Difficulty Settings : Yes (Easy -- I'm too young to die. Medium -- Hey, not too rough. Hard -- Hurt me plenty/ Ultra Violence. Nightmare) New Music : Yes, from Terminator II (courtesy of Clint Russell) New Sounds : No New Graphics : Yes (FIREBLU1 redesigned from old/new patches) New title screen and menu picture of Doom ][ logo Demos Replaced : None * Miscellaneous play information * Believe it or not, GLADIATOR was originally designed with God mode in mind; yeah, I put in a bunch of medkits and bonuses lying around for people who wanted to play it fair and square, but the level was really quite difficult, even with all these bonuses. While refining the level at Andy's house, we realized it would be pretty neat to let you, the player, watch as cyber demons and spider bosses fought it out in an all out war before eventually coming after you. After toying with ideas and tring several experiments to see what would look best, we came up with this finished product. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Gladiator is a pretty small WAD file, and it's main attraction is the ring where the cyber demons and spider bosses fight. Sure, there's a little bit more, but that's exactly what it is, a little bit. I tried to add textures, monsters, and linedefs specific to Doom ][, but since I wasn't too sure what textures were in the original Doom, I'm not sure how successful I was. The level took a lot of my time -- I'd say at least a good 55-75 hours when you count playtesting and learning the basic DEU engine. The actual arena where the cyber demons and spider bosses fight in was finished long before the PWAD's completion. What took so long was the playtesting and learning the DEU2/DDT/DEU2C/DEU 5.21 engine. After going through the level for what seems like a million times, this is the finished product; tell me what you think. Enjoy! -- Version 2.0 Notes -- Before release v2.0, I could not make a door (you may have noticed the absence of any in previous versions), so it was very difficult to create secrets. For version 2.0, however, I got my act together, downloaded a few documentation files, and created some nifty secrets throughout the level (four altogether). One of the other major changes that occurred in this version is a way to teleport back to the beginning of each part. In previous versions, after teleporting you were simply stuck where you ended up. This also gave me the opportunity to distribute some more DeathMatch starting points. Other things that I improved include the level layout, the music (now from Terminator ][), the difficulty settings, and the multiplayer options. Also note that saved games from previous versions of the PWAD will not work with the current version. Note: At the very end of my level, you'll notice that there's a nice pit with an exit switch on one of the walls. Please note that you should not, I repeat, should not enter there unless you intend to beat the level, as you cannot get out (without using IDCLIP). -- Version 2.1 Notes -- Version 2.1 is basically a minor update of version 2.0, adding a single room near the end of the level (I moved a DeathMatch starting point there, and this helped spread things out). (Note: check out the animated monster on the back wall). This issue I also learned some more things (like how to create lifts, stairs, etc.) about both Doom and the Doom Developers Toolkit. I was thinking about running a copy of Reject Map Builder 1.0 (RMB) on my PWAD, but I thought it conflicted with the copy of DEUTEX I was running for reasons too long & boring to explain here. It didn't really seem to do much anyway, so it's nothing lost. -- Version 2.2 Notes -- After playing the level, you'll notice that version 2.2 is really just a cosmetic update of version 2.1, with hardly any improvements. And you're essentially correct: I fixed some textures that I felt were downright ugly (especially the cement rooms which are now changed to the beautiful rock patterns you see on the title screen). I added a couple of monsters on easy setting by the end pool, and added a very small amount of DeathMatch specific items. There were also a few changes to ceilings/floors in the Wolfenstein sectors, but for the most part, the level's the same. I welcome suggestions for future editions of the PWAD, although I may not have enough time to implement them. * Running the PWAD * For those of you unfamiliar with running external PWAD's, I've included an EXE file compiled in QuickBASIC v4.5 that lets you choose which difficulty setting you want for the level and then proceeds to run the PWAD in single player mode. Just go to the Doom ][ directory, type GLADIATR at the DOS prompt and press enter. This too has been improved, and now includes an option to run the PWAD with no monsters, and the ability to toggle monster respawn on and off for all you people who think the level isn't already hard enough. This assumes that all the GLADIATOR files are in your basic Doom ][ directory. If they are not, you may run the WAD by switching to your Doom ][ directory and typing the following: DOOM2 -FILE x:\directory\GLADIATR.WAD -WARP 1 -SKILL y In that example, x:\directory is the directory you would use, and y is the skill level you wish to play the level on. For example, typing the following would tell Doom ][ you wished to run C:\WADS\GLADIATR.WAD at difficulty setting three (it sets the difficulty at one less than what you specify at the command line). DOOM2 -FILE C:\WADS\GLADIATR.WAD -WARP 1 -SKILL 4 After that, you should see a notice saying something to the effect that this version of Doom is modified, and that you won't receive tech support for modified games. Well, press enter and get ready to fight. Playing in DeathMatch and cooperative modes is a little more complicated, and all I can recommend is that you read the Doom FAQ, up to version 6.66 at press time. It's chock full of interesting information and you'll be blasting your friends in no time flat. I guess that about wraps it up for this area. Let's move on. Version 2.2 note: Since I replaced the title screen, using the supplied runner won't give you the full effect, since it automatically starts you at the level. So I recommend you run it from the command line at least once to see the nifty new screen. Trust me. * Modem/Network Play * This level, while designed around single-player mode, could actually work out quite nicely in cooperative or DeathMatch modes. I've positioned the starting points strategically, and made lots of nice items available for those using multi-player modes. Why, you may ask, would I want to use this PWAD to play DeathMatch when there are tons of PWAD's out there that are directly made for DeathMatch? The answer: it's still pretty darn fun. Imagine grabbing that BFG in front of you and chasing down your friend as he runs through the fiery coals. He's right in front of you, and one swift depression of your Ctrl key and he'll be gone. Suddenly he turns, and approaches the 1st teleportation area. You guys are the only two characters left, and you have no choice but to follow him there if you hope to win. You walk through the darkness, and suddenly you're someplace else. You look around the dark corridor; nothing but a slight outline is visible. You move ahead; bingo. You take out your BFG 9000, try to fire, but find out you're out of ammo. Right then your friend spots you. He turns around, but before he can shoot you, you've whipped out your double-barreled shotgun and he's history. See what I mean? Email me on the Board of Trade BBS and let me know how it plays. Once again, thanks for trying this great new PWAD. V2.0 update: Since the level's a lot (as in a whole lot) larger than in previous versions, you may think that the potential for good DeathMatch play has shrunk. However, that's not the case. I've tried to add more zones that would be fun for DeathMatch play (check out the room with four teleporters, each teleporting you someplace else in the room) and added more multi-player only items. All of this should make for a fairly well-rounded level. As I said earlier, Email me on the Board of Trade BBS with some feedback. * Construction * Base : New level from scratch/previous Gladiator versions Build Time : Hours upon hours (somewhere around 80-110) Editor(s) used : DEU2C (by the ADMiRAL and SONiC, the Un-Naturals), The Doom Developers Toolkit v1.0 BETA, BSP 1.2x, DeeP (and DeePBSP) v6.13a, DCK 2.0, The Doom Music Editor v1.0 by Bill Neisius, DEUTEX v3.1 (Doom Editor Utility Texture Editor) by Olivier Montanuy/docs by HevKev (Kevin McGrail) Known Bugs : Occasionally torches don't show up until you're very close; ceiling anomalies; minor TFE. Clipping problems (aka HOM -- Hall of Mirrors) are now virtually nonexistant; it took a while, but they seem to be gone everywhere but occasionally by the 1st teleport zone. Nothing really major. * Copyright / Permissions * Authors may use this level as a base to build additional levels, provided I am contacted by the author of the new PWAD. If I am not contacted, this level may NOT be used as a base. You MAY distribute this WAD, provided you include this file, with no modifications. You may distribute this file in any electronic format (BBS, Diskette, CD, etc) as long as you include this file intact. * Other WAD's by Paul Pollack * None as of yet, but there is a good chance that I'll attempt making a head-to-head DeathMatch WAD for four players in the near future. As for more single player WAD's, I really don't know. Write to me on the Board of Trade for feedback on this one first. * Where to get this WAD * BBS's: Board of Trade BBS (two high speed 28.8 modems) -- (813) 862-4772 Other (possible): GamePlay issue 9.0 (available on the Board of Trade BBS): BONUS directory ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── -- THE GLADIATOR FAQ -- (F)requently (A)sked (Q)uestions As a new edition to this version of the PWAD, the Gladiator FAQ should assist in answering any questions you may have about the level (how it was made, how long it took, who exactly made it, etc.) Obviously, I can't answer all your questions, so you should feel free to write to me on the Board of Trade BBS at (813) 862-4772. Call today. That said, let's get started. AREA #1: GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT DRAGONHAWK PRODUCTIONS Q: What exactly is DragonHawk Productions? A: DragonHawk Productions is an entity devoted to creating the ultimate gaming experience for all of you gamers out there. As gamers ourselves, we decided to write a magazine `by gamers, for gamers' and that ended up becoming GamePlay. GamePlay magazine is available as a free download on the Board of Trade BBS! Q: OK, now I know what it is, but who's on the team? A: The primary two contributors for DragonHawk Productions are Paul Pollack (myself) and Alex Thomas. An intermittent contributor, Andy Stevens, also occasionally takes part, and without his help, this PWAD might never have been created. Q: Where can I get software from DragonHawk Productions? A: The Board of Trade BBS is THE official distribution sight for DragonHawk Productions. Yes, you may be able to find a few of our products elsewhere, but for the latest releases, look no further than the Board of Trade. And while you're there, you may want to check out some of there other fine features, like the extensive file library or the well-written Pasco BBS Magazine. AREA #2: QUESTIONS ABOUT GENERAL PWAD EDITING/CREATION Q: How long did it take you to make Gladiator? A: Hmmmmm. That's a toughy. Not counting the time it took to write the documentation, I'd estimate around 100-120 hours (no joke). Much of my free time was spent daily on this PWAD, and I'm fairly happy with the results. As for the documentation, that went by pretty fast (largely because of the premade PWAD template): I'd estimate around two hours. Q: What editors did you use? What's your favorite? A: To create Gladiator, I used a whole lot of editors, ranging from pure map-makers like the Doom Construction Kit and DoomCAD v5.1 to replacement processors like DeuTex by Olivier Montanuy. (A pretty complete list can be found in the template). Toward the start, I used a nice little editor created by ADMiRAL AND SONiC, the UN-Naturals, called DEU2C (or the new DEU for Doom II). But as the level grew larger, the time it took to rebuild the linedef/reject/blockmap grew also, and I realized it was time I looked for a faster editor. A little before my level grew to that size, I came across a nifty little program called DDT, or the Doom Developers Toolkit. The program boasted the ability to use all your memory, so that it could edit practically any-sized PWAD and rebuild its data quite quickly. This I used for quite a while, even though it did have a few bugs that managed to really screw up the vertex placement. Toward version 2.0, I downloaded DeuTex, and it proved to be essential in creating the custom graphics that appear in this version of the PWAD. (Download a copy today). After that, I downloaded a copy of DeeP (Doom Enhanced Editor Program) and a copy of the Doom Construction Kit (DCK) by Ben Morris. Both of these programs were very well constructed. Q: That's all very well and good but you didn't answer the second part. What's your favorite PWAD editor and what would you recommend to new Doom PWAD authors? A: Another toughy... Some of them are just plain different; it's pretty hard to compare DeuTex and something like the Doom Construction Kit, since they serve different purposes. Even if you narrow it down to level design, it's still a tough question, but I can narrow the choice down to two excellent editors that new PWAD editors should be sure to try. One of them is DeeP (Doom Enhanced Editor Program), and the other is the Doom Construction Kit by Ben Morris. Another great tool, but one that falls into a different category, is DeuTex by Olivier Montanuy. Q: What features make these editors stand out? A: Most of the editors I've seen out there for Doom ][ were based on Brendon Wyber and Raphael Quinet's excellent DEU 5.21. While this in itself made for a pretty sophisticated editor, many authors could have greatly enhanced it, by changing a few features and adding more prefab structures. That's where DeeP comes in. DeeP's based on the familiar DEU 5.21, but adds a few neat twists when it comes to prefab objects, viewing things, and adjusting textures. Viewing objects in DeeP is easy. Just move the cursor over it and press enter to get info; a nice, color picutre of the object comes right up on your screen. Even if you decide not to press the enter key, the way the object looks shows up right at the bottom of the screen. With sectors it's just as easy; just move the cursor over a sector while in "sector mode" and it automatically displays the floor and ceiling textures at the bottom of the screen. And if you've spent any time editing Doom levels at all, you know how much of a timesaver this can be. And DeeP has its own node builder, aptly titled DeePBSP, and while most of these node builders aren't that acurate, DeePBSP can hold it's own against Colin Reed's famous node builder. (It builds nodes just as accurately, and probably a little faster; I didn't time it, though.) The Doom Construction Kit, a program NOT based on DEU, also offers some pretty nifty features. While moving the cursor over a sector doesn't immediately bring up what the textures look like, just a single press of the enter key does. And the object viewing is also very good; after going into thing mode, pressing T again loads up several sprite files, which give you a graphical representation of the objects on the Doom MAP (sorry, it doesn't show the enemies.) And if you really need to see it any clearer, just a press of the enter key on an object brings up a great picture. And unlike DeeP, which sometimes cuts off the image of some sprites (like the big tree), DCK doesn't. As for the node builder, DCK has Colin Reed's famous BSP 1.2x built right in. Get it today! DeuTex, by Oliver Montanuy and docs by Kevin McGrail, was actually originally derived from DEU 5.21. But yet it's not a level editor, a nodes builder, or a reject data builder. What exactly is it? DeuTex, like the previously mentioned DeeP and DCK offers support for both Doom, Doom ][, and Heretic. But unlike those others, DCK supports the shareware version of Heretic (because the author hadn't received the registered version at the time of release). Anyway, DeuTex is a replacement processor. You create text files telling it what to replace, and then you can simply run the program and compile your changes into a finished PWAD. It has a somewhat steep learning curve if you're a newbie, but after you get used to it, you'll wonder how you ever got along without. DeuTex is definitely THE tool to have when you want to replace graphics, sound, or music for your PWAD. Q: What's your favorite PWAD, besides Gladiator? A: I spent a lot of time with a neat little episode for the original Doom, called Return to Phobos. The construction was great, and everything just seemed perfect. It served as inspiration for one part of my level, although my imitation was a mere shadow of the original. But I digress. AREA #3: SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT DOOM LEVEL/GLADIATOR DESIGN Q: How do you make stairs? A: Look below; I created mine simply by messing with sectors with a higher floor height and equal ceiling height. I made mine a generic wooden texture because I didn't want to spend time getting the stair textures to line up properly. Each step in my stairs is a separate sector, and that allows each to have different light levels (like one of the secrets in the Wolfenstein part). Q: How do you make doors? A: This is covered in almost any tutorial you find, but just in case, here's the gist of it. You want an intermediate sector to serve as the door connecting two sectors adjacent to it. The height of this sector should be 0, as the floor height should equal the ceiling height for the door to start off in a closed position. The first sidedef of the door lines should always face the sectors they are connecting; neither of them should ever point toward the connecting sector. Each of these lines should be a type like "1 DR door," a standard Doom door type. The lines not connecting the sectors (the "door jamb" lines) should have a texture like DOORSTOP and carry the flag "unpeg lower." That's basically it; more detail can be found later. Q: How do you make crossing a line turn off lights in a specific area? Whenever I tried to make mine, it turned off lights in almost all of my level. What gives? A: This is actually easier than you might think. Use one of the linedef types your editor has built in (something like `lower light level to 0') and change the sector tag of the linedef to match the linedef tag of the sector. If the line's sector tag is 0, the lights will go off in all sectors which have sector tag 0 (which is the default). The moral is: just don't do that. Q: How do you make a teleporter? A: First of all, you should decide what textures you want to use (most users stick with the generic hexagram floor and ceiling combo). Secondly, you should insert a 64x64 rectangular sector where you want the teleporter to be created. This new sector should have a raised floor and a lowered ceiling (probably around 6-12 units each), and this can be obtained by following the instructions in the next section ("GLADIATOR: WHO, WHY, AND HOW"). Users of DeeP can simply press F9 and insert a rectangular object, with each dimension having measure 64 units. When you have that done, actually put in your ceiling and floor textures you decided upon in the first step. You'll also notice you need some upper and lower textures; this is because Doom needs to know what to put when the floor height is higher and the ceiling height lower (I use textures like GRAY1 and GRAY4 for Gladiator). If you ran your PWAD right now, and went to the area where the unfinished teleporter was located, you'd see exactly what it will look like when you're done; in fact, the only major difference is that what you have now won't function. To get it working, you need to set the linedefs (there are four, for each side of the rectangular teleporter) to one of the "Teleport to another sector" types. Now you have a teleporter, so you need an exit. Insert your exit at the location you want. Then select the original four linedefs, and give them a free sector tag number. Select the sector the teleport exit is in, and give that sector the same tag number. Q: How do you make a lift? A: For the end room of the level, you call down a lift, which brings you to the top of the sector, and allows an impressive view of the cyber demon animations. For this example, I'll assume you're using DeeP, or one of the many variations on DEU. First off, we want to create a sector between two other sectors to serve as our lift. Once this is done (you should know how to do this; it's almost the same as creating a door), you should be left with three sectors, which should look approximately like this (ASCII art strikes again): Legend: X= Vertex, - or | or / or \ = line X---------X / a \ X-X---------X-X | b | X-X---------X-X / c \ X-----------------X In the diagram, sector "b" is the middle, connecting sector between the two other sectors (each with its own floor and ceiling height). Make sure that one sector is substantially higher than the other, else a lift serves no purpose. Enter sector mode by pressing S, and then go to the top menu and select "Make lift from sector." This will cause the middle sector to serve as a lift and to go as high as the higher sector's floor height, allowing you to get off at the right spot. All the hard work's done; all that's left is selecting the textures (I recommend the SILVER* series or SHAWN*). Another thing that's interesting to note is that if you have a sector like a pool (one that's raised to a specific height, and stands as a separate sector inside another; like the ones talked about in the next section), you can simply select that entire sector and then run the option "Make lift from sector." All that's left is finish texture selection. Q: I've played Trinity WAD, and I've seen the cyber demon movie. I shrugged it off as some genius PWAD editor creating a nifty level, and thought that he's probably the only one who knew how. Then I got hold of your PWAD and saw almost the same thing, and since I know you're not a genius, it can't be that hard to do. So, how's it done? A: Like "Trinity: How I made it," by Steve McCrea, I too will quote the same passage of Matt Fell's Unofficial Doom Specs. In it, he states the following (don't worry if you don't quite understand it at first; I didn't either). "It is possible to change the walls and floors that are animated, like the green blocks with a sewer-like grate that's spewing green slime (SLADRIPx). The game engine sets up as many as 8 animation cycles for walls based on the entries in the TEXTURE resources, and up to 5 based on what's between F_START and F_END. The entries in FirstTexture and LastTexture, below, and all the entries between them (in the order that they occur in a TEXTURE list), are linked. If one of them is called by a sidedef, that sidedef will change texture to the next in the cycle about 5 times a second, going back to First after Last. Note that the entries between First and Last need not be the same in number as in the original, nor do they have to follow the same naming pattern, though that would probably be wise. E.g. one could set up ROCKRED1, ROCKREDA, ROCKREDB, ROCKREDC, ROCKREDD, ROCKREDE, ROCKRED3 for a 7-frame animated wall!" (He sounds pretty excited about it, doesn't he?) What that basically says is that if there's an animated wall, like FIREBLU1, you can change it and create a number of intermediate frames for the animation. Doom will go through the original frame, all of the intermediate frames, and finally the ending frame (FIREBLU2, in my PWAD). But to get a good animation, you'll need to redefine some textures, and I recommend DeuTex (an EXCELLENT program!!). First of all, you'll need to make an entry in your WADINFO.TXT file for textures, with a heading called [TEXTURE1]. (For Doom ][, for Doom I it can be either TEXTURE1 or TEXTURE2). Under the heading, you should put the name of the texture definition file (it's assumed it's in the TEXTURES subdirectory), containing the changes you want made. So under my WADINFO.TXT file, it has a nice heading of [TEXTURE1] with the filename TEXTURES under it, since TEXTURES (which resides in the subdirectory TEXTURES) is the definition file. Well, now that you've referred the program to the file, you need to create it. Here's what the one from Gladiator looks like. ; Same texture definition file for my Gladiator documentation. ; The stuff after a semi-colon is a mere comment. ; FIREBLU1 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRE1 0 10 ZZZA 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRE2 0 10 ZZZB 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRE3 0 10 ZZZC 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRE4 0 10 ZZZD 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRE5 0 10 ZZZE 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRE6 0 10 ZZZF 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRE7 0 10 ZZZG 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRE8 0 10 ZZZH 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRF1 0 10 ZZZI 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRF2 0 10 ZZZJ 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRF3 0 10 ZZZK 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRF4 0 10 ZZZL 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRF5 0 10 ZZZM 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRF6 0 10 ZZZN 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRF7 0 10 ZZZO 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRF8 0 10 FIREBLU2 128 128 * BLANK 0 0 * CYBRE1 0 10 ; ; End of file Each of the intermediate frames contains two patches (actually CYBR* is a patch, but I'll get to that later). BLANK, a patch I created from a blank 320x200 screen, is the background for the CYBR* series, while each of those CYBR* files are different frames from the cyber demon's actual animation. Notice the numbers to the right of the patches. Those numbers signify the x and y offsets, respectively. Use this to get a patch properly alligned. As I said earlier, those cyber demon frames are actually sprites, but Doom has no problem treating them as patches for the sake of these animations. Download DeuTex (available at the awesome Board of Trade BBS) and check it out for yourself. -- GLADIATOR: WHO, WHY and HOW -- A look at Doom & Doom ][ level design ------------------------------------- Unchanged from version 2.1 Part I: Doors/Pits (see GamePlay magazine for further continuations) Disclaimer: I, Paul Pollack, take no responsiblity for any destruction or Doom PWAD disasters that may befall your computer from following any of this advice. This is not meant to be a tutorial; more accurate information on Doom level design can be obtained by writing to me via the Board of Trade BBS or by downloading the Beginners' Guide to DEU (not written by me) or the Doom Level Design FAQ (also not by me). (Don't get too concerned about the previous disclaimer. It probably won't cause any damage to any parts of your computer, but I put it in just to be safe) (Hey, I'm a magazine writer; you should have expected this editorial piece.) The way I see it, there are basically three main types of players: the guys at id (obviously), the general public, and the craved lunatics who dabble with Doom modifications. As a member of the latter group, I know what it's level creation is like; frustrating. There are literally thousands of Doom PWAD files floating around on BBS's out there, ranging from excellent to utter #@$!. Some replace graphics, others music, and even sounds, but the vast majority of these PWAD's center around one aspect: levels. Most of the PWAD's out there are actually pretty decent, some of them even approaching id's lofty standards, but ones that go beyond that are pretty rare. But I digress. Gladiator is essentially a new level for id's Doom ][ v1.666 or above; yes, I did modify a texture via Olivier Montanuy's DEUTEX V3.1, but that was only with already-existing patches. If you're reading this, and you're already familiar with Doom level design, you'll probably know the techniques I'm describing. Aspiring Doom authors may find this an invaluable source; I know I would've when I first started creating PWAD's. It's incredible how much I've learned about PWAD creation; from the old myths and assumptions I took with me from Wolfenstein designs to the linedefs, uppers, lowers, and flags that are so essential to every single level. I've learned stairs, doors, lifts, pits, and even the ability to redefine textures via a program like DEUTEX (an AWESOME program). I'd like to share some of these steps in the creative process with you now. First off, in the beginning, I had a very big problem with doors. The problem lay in the fact that I simply, no matter what I did, could figure out how exactly doors worked; this is apparent from the beginning parts of my level. Since I used to be a self-titled Wolfenstein level designer (I created a set of nine levels for the shareware version), I immediately thought back to that experience, and came up with a bunch of wrong ideas. Doors in Wolfenstein were pretty darn simple. All that was necessary were two rooms and a tiny object called a door to fit between two of the blocks. But in Doom, you simply can't do that, and that's where I messed up. What I'd been trying to do was to simply lay down a line that connected two sectors, and then make it one of the door types that my editor (at first DEU2 by Adler, then DEU2C by the Un-Naturals, then DDT (Doom Developers Toolkit), and finally, DoomEnhancedEditorProgram, and finally DCK (Doom Construction Kit)) listed. (I'm a former Wolfenstein level creator, and if you've done into Doom editing at all, you know that they're worlds [closer to universes] apart). Unfortunately, that's not the correct way to go about creating doors. To create a door in Doom you need three things: two sectors to be connected, and a sector between them to serve as the door. For example, let's say you have two rectangular sectors, with one on top of the other. This would look something like this (x stands for a vertex, - means part of a line): A. B. C. x-------x x-------x x-------x | | | | | d | x-------x x--x-x--x x--x-x--x a| |b x-------x x--x-x--x x--x-x--x | | | | | c | x-------x x-------x x-------x But we need our nifty little connecting sector, so what we can do is to split the line sectors up and connect the resulting vertices. First, refer to figure B for what it would look like with the vertices split. To connect the vertices (figure C), select all four in a clockwise motion and pressing the insert key. So far, so good. But yet we still need that middle section to be a sector. So we select the four center linedefs (the one to the right of a, the left of b, down from d, and up from c) and press the insert key once more to make a new sector. This sector will serve as our door. (It's easier than it looks) What we can then do is to select our doors sector and to adjust the ceiling height to be the same as the floor height, just making our door start off in a closed position. We then select the linedef just below d and the linedef just above C and give them one of those exotic door types like `1 DR Door'. Be sure that the linedef's first sidedef is facing towards the room, not the middle section; almost all the time one of the linedefs will be facing the wrong direction. Select it and then goto `flip linedef'. After that it's time to pick the doors texture. When creating a door, you have to remember that it's pretty much only the first sidedef of the two door lines (the ones next to d and c, not the "door jambs" next to a and b) that deserve a texture, and that the texture you put should be an upper one. The two "door jamb" should carry the unpegged flag, have only one side, and have the impassible flag. Examples of textures that look good here are ZZWOLF10, DOORTRAK, and DOORSTOP. But instead of going through all that, you could have simply used DEU's premade feature that translates a sector into a door. So once you had your middle sector, you could select it and then run the option "Make door from sector." Nifty, eh? Of course, you'd still have to adjust the textures yourself, but it takes most of the hard parts out of level design. Another thing that bugged me was that I could never quite figure out exactly how some PWAD authors made certain sectors of their's only go up a certain distance. After all, whenever I inserted a premade object inside my sectors, they always went all the way up to the ceiling. But after tinkering for quite a while, I figured out a very simple method to create some nifty looking pools, pits, or crate columns. First of all, I'm going to assume for a moment that you have a copy of DEU (or a variant) nearby. This isn't asking too much, since the general consensus is that DEU is the king of Doom editors, and every PWAD author should keep a copy close at hand. (I could go into more detail about why I think it's the best, but I would then digress). First off, select your sector. Then hit F9 (at least that's what it is in DEU2 by Adler, DEU2C, DDT, and DEEP) to insert a premade object INSIDE a sector. Make sure it says inside, or you'll screw yourself up. If you have DEEP, you're pretty much set -- they have premade routines for acid pools and the like. But since the majority of PWAD authors out there aren't using DEEP, here's how it goes. At the menu you'll see a list of premade items to insert. Select either a rectangle or a polygon, whichever shape you're going to use. Fill in the information on the radius/width & height, and voila, your object is there: only problem is that it goes all the way to the ceiling. So what's a PWAD author to do? Select all the lines and then press the insert key to join them all into a sector. Now you can adjust the individual height of the item. But that isn't quite it. Select the sector, and put in the height you want, as well as the floor/ceiling (using F_SKY1 in the middle of a regular room can make a great skylight) texture. After the height's selected, select all the linedefs again. You'll find that a texture (indicated by the red) is now missing but needed, and that if not put in, you'll get major HOM (Hall of Mirrors). So fill in the upper or lower texture (depending on whether it's higher or lower than the floor) and voila, finito. (That's assuming it works; if it doesn't you might use some less pleasant foreign words) Now your sector should go up the correct distance; if not, feel free to contact me about any problem you may have. Address all questions or comments to Paul Pollack on the Board of Trade BBS ("Call here FIRST for the best in shareware"): (813) 862-4772.