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                          T h e   U n o f f i c i a l
        ______________________________________________________________
        |                                                            |
        |   W A D   D E S I G N E R S '   T I P S   H A N D B O O K  |
        |____________________________________________________________|
                         Release 1.0 -- February 7, 1995

               written and compiled by  >> Bill J. McClendon <<
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Introduction
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Hello, future WAD designer, and welcome to the release 1.0 of the WAD
Designers' Handbook!  This publication is designed to assist aspiring WAD
authors with the basics of what they need to know about building and creating
levels for DOOM.  It's aimed at the complete novice -- those who have played
DOOM and maybe some PWADs, and said, "Hey, _I_ can do that!", but aren't
familiar with the terminology and procedures.  You know what you _want_ to do,
right?  You just aren't sure _how_ to do it, or _where_ to begin.  This is for
you.


      Copyright Information
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      This document is copyright (c) 1995 by Bill J. McClendon.  All rights
reserved.  You may distribute this document freely under the following
conditions:

      (a) the copies are exact and complete, including this copyright
          notice;
      (b) the copies are in electronic form only;
      (c) you do NOT charge any fee whatsoever for copying and/or for
          distribution of this document, in ANY form.  (Subscription BBSs
          and pay BBSs are exempt from this restriction.)

      You may, however, print a copy of this document for your own use.
Actually, I highly recommend that you do so, as you may find yourself taking
quite a few notes during the learning process.  (It worked for me.)  For best
results, I recommend printing it at 12 cpi (10-point, for you laser printer
people), with a left margin of 1" and top, bottom, and right margins of .5".


      Acknowledgements
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      My education on the design and structure of WADs wouldn't be complete
without the various amounts of assistance I received from the following
people:

Roy Ford (LaserJock):
      For explaining what the ceiling and floor heights were for when making
      doors, for emphasizing the need to make visible linedef lengths
      multiples of 8, and for answering my million-and-one questions about how
      to operate WADED, since it didn't come with docs.  Author of DREAD3,
      WOODY, HELLPORT, and XENO_PEN, and future, as-yet-unnamed levels...
Stephen Long (Dr. Death):
      For being so helpful on the FidoNet DOOM echo, and for his tips on
      sticking to a consistent theme, using DOORSTOP instead of "that hideous
      DOORTRAK", using appropriate lighting (and special lighting effects),
      keeping room size down whenever possible, being careful about mixing and
      matching differing textures at the same elevation, and for non-linear
      level-design methods.  Author of DRDEATH1 - DRDEATH9.
Doug Bora:
      Primarily for his explanation of pegging and unpegging textures, what it
      looks like, and why to use it.  Author of at least one deathmatch level
      that I know of (REVILE.WAD).
Rick Thoma:
      For providing an in-depth analysis of the "busy vertex" problem (known
      as the Tesseract), and for discovering that it results from a node
      construction error as opposed to a level-design error.  Also "for
      directing [me] to some sources, and maybe for starting some interesting
      threads [on the FIDO DOOM echo]."  There you go, Rick.  Just like you
      wanted. :)
Sean Duggan, Paul Hackathorn, Matthew Mauger, Mackey McCandlish (Avatar), Jon
McGuire, Martin Regimbald, Eric Schreiber, and Damon Thompson (Nomad):
      For their invaluable assistance on my FidoNet "WAD Designers Tips"
      survey, by telling me what they like (and DON'T like) to see in a level.
      There may be WAD authors in this group (I'm pretty sure Avatar has made
      at least one level), but I don't know the names of their levels...

      This Handbook would also not be complete without the generous assistance
of the following "Unofficial" publication authors:

Hank Leukart <[e-mail]>:
      Author of the DOOM FAQ, and distributor of The Unofficial DOOM Specs,
      from whom permission was obtained to use the various monster sizes and
      some of the definitions of terms.  Thanks, Hank!
Matt Fell <[e-mail]>:
      Author of The Unofficial DOOM Specs, which I recommend to every serious
      WAD author.
Tom Neff <[e-mail]>:
      Author of the DESIGN11.FAQ, an invaluable guide to questions and answers
      for most common WAD problems and mistakes, from whom came The 10 Most
      Common Design Errors (used with permission).

(Yeah, the Acknowledgements section is kinda large, but without the help and
advice of the people listed above, you wouldn't be reading this!)


      Files Included In This Archive
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      In case this is the first thing you're reading, the files that should
have been in the archive you downloaded are:

      FILE_ID .DIZ            The i.d. file that a lot of BBSs use.
      HANDBOOK.TXT            You're reading it.
      WAD_AUTH.TXT            The template for WAD authors.
      WALKTHRU.WAD            The "example" level.
      WALKTHRU.TXT            The guide for the example level.


      Comments from the author:
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Well, folks, here it is -- the first version of the WDTH.  If you have
any comments, complaints, suggestions, or additions, I can be reached at the
following locations:

      *  The FidoNet DOOM echo (posting as BILL MCCLENDON)
      *  Caxius BBS (1-510-895-6961 -- leave e-mail to BILL MCCLENDON)
      *  The Cat's Meow BBS (1-510-471-0603; again, as BILL MCCLENDON)
      *  Internet address:  [e-mail]

      I welcome any additions to this document, and I know there should be
quite a few...  Let me know what you think of it!  Thanks.
      I was very impressed with Hank Leukart's DOOM FAQs and Matt Fell's The
Unofficial DOOM Specs, and I'd like to acknowledge their influence in this
document's format, structure, and content.  Most of the information I've got
about the structure of the DOOM IWAD and it's use came from release 1.3 of the
Specs, and, though that article is more technical than a level author needs, I
highly recommend it.
      Have fun, and good DOOMing!         -- Bill


--------
Contents
--------

[0-0] Introduction
      Copyright notice
      Acknowledgements
      Files Included In This Archive
      Comments from the Author

[1-0] Definitions And Terminology (Glossary)
      [1-1]  Vertex
      [1-2]  Linedef
      [1-3]  Sidedef
      [1-4]  Sector
      [1-5]  Texture
             [1-5-1] X and Y Offset
             [1-5-2] Unpegging Textures
      [1-6]  Things
      [1-7]  Nodes
      [1-8]  Tags
      [1-9]  Sprites
      [1-10] Blockmap, Ssectors, Segs
      [1-11] Reject
      [1-12] HOM

[2-0] Designing The Level
      [2-1] Overall Tips, Reminders, And Procedures
            [2-1-1] The First WAD You Make Is Gonna Suck.
            [2-1-2] Also, When Designing A Level...
            [2-1-3] If You Can Change The Default Textures...
            [2-1-4] Take The Time And Read The Docs.
            [2-1-5] When Actually Building The WAD...
            [2-1-6] Having A Procedure...
      [2-2] Theme
            [2-2-1] Textures
            [2-2-2] Dimensions
            [2-2-3] Lighting
            [2-2-4] Monsters
            [2-2-5] Items
      [2-3] Style
            [2-3-1] The Planner
            [2-3-2] The Modifier
            [2-3-3] The Discoverer

[3-0] Building The Level -- Basic
      [3-1] Rooms
      [3-2] Hallways
      [3-3] Windows
      [3-4] Doors
            [3-4-1] Recessing Doors
            [3-4-2] Secret Doors
      [3-5] Lifts
      [3-6] Stairs
      [3-7] Linedef Remote Events

[4-0] Building The Level -- Intermediate -- Tips And Effects

[5-0] Checklist

[6-0] Finishing Up

[APPENDIX A]  Sizes Of The Various Things

[APPENDIX B]  The 10 Most Common Design Errors

[APPENDIX C]  The Walk-Through

[APPENDIX D]  End Notes



---------------------------------------------
[1-0]  Definitions And Terminology (Glossary)
---------------------------------------------


VERTEX      A vertex is simply the point at which a linedef (see below) begins
            or ends.  Each linedef must have two vertexes.  The "points"
            between which the linedefs are drawn.


LINEDEF     The line between the two vertexes.  These are usually defined as
            walls, but can be the sides (viewed from above) of doors, windows,
            stairs, boxes, switches, ledges, overhangs, cliffs, rivers, or
            whatever else you can think of.  There are two types of linedef:

                  ->  One-sided: means that the player will only be able to
                  see (and play by) one side of this linedef.  The most common
                  example of a one-sided linedef is an outside wall.

                  ->  Two-sided: means the player will be able to see (and
                  play by) BOTH sides of this linedef.  Common examples are an
                  interior window and a river/pit.

            IMPORTANT:  Each linedef has a "right" side and a "left" side.
            The "right" side is the side that should face the player, if the
            linedef is one-sided.  This is _very_ important!  Most, if not
            all, level-building programs give you a visual aid to determine
            which side of the linedef is the "right" side -- they have a small
            perpendicular line, at the midpoint of the linedef, pointing
            towards the "right" side of the linedef.  For example:

            This linedef's "right"      |
            side points to the right    |_
            side of the page ----->     |
            (See the little stick?)     |

            A 2-sided linedef will also have a "right" side, but since the
            player will be able to see and/or play on both sides of the
            linedef, it's not as critical to have it pointing in any given
            direction.  It is easier on you, though, if you make a habit of
            having all the "right" sides of adjacent linedefs pointing in
            towards the same sector.

            ALSO IMPORTANT:  The "right" side is often referred to as the
            "front", and the "left" side is often referred to as the "back" of
            the linedef, in case the level-building program you decide upon
            does not make the "right" and "left" distinction.


SIDEDEF     From The Unofficial DOOM Specs:  "A sidedef is a definition of
            what wall texture to draw along a linedef, and a group of sidedefs
            defines a sector."  Most people I know (including myself) use the
            terms SIDEDEF and LINEDEF interchangeably, even though they're
            technically not the same thing.


SECTOR      One of the most difficult concepts to explain, yet one of the most
            important ones for a WAD author to know.  The DOOM Specs define a
            sector as "a horizontal (east-west and north-south) area of the
            map where a floor height and ceiling height is defined.  It can
            have any shape.  Any change in floor or ceiling height or texture
            requires a new sector (and therefore separating linedefs and
            sidedefs)."  Sectors are defined by the linedefs that compose
            them; a sector is simply a group of linedefs that enclose a given
            area, and you have to tell DOOM which linedefs are part of which
            sector.  It only sounds complicated because it's difficult to
            explain; once you define a sector, you'll understand it.

            What this means is every time you draw an enclosed space, no
            matter how many sides it has, it must be defined as a sector.
            Also, if you put an enclosed space _inside_ another closed space,
            they both must be defined as sectors separately, as well as
            together.  For instance:

            * Every step in a stairway must be defined as a separate sector.
            * Each doorway must be defined as a sector.
            * A square support must be defined as a sector, if you draw it.

            An example of the "sector inside a sector", and how to define
            them:
             ________________________    Let's say that sector 1 is a pallet
            |       sector 1         |   and sector 2 is a box on that pallet.
            |       ____*___         |   Sector 1 is going to be defined as
            |      |        |        |   all of the outside lines that form
            |      |sector 2|        |   the square, PLUS all the lines that
            |      *        *        |   form the outside of sector 2.  (These
            |      |____*___|        |   are the lines with the * in them.)
            |________________________|
                                         Sector 2, however, is only the lines
                                         in the box itself.

            In order to see an example of this, load the WAD editor you've
            decided to use, and view E1M1 from the original DOOM.WAD.  Don't
            worry -- if you don't actually tell the program to save, it won't
            change your original DOOM.WAD (though it's a good idea to have it
            backed up in any case).  Look at the outside courtyard -- with the
            poison pit in the center and the blue armor in it -- and highlight
            the courtyard's sector.  Note how the outside walls of the
            courtyard AND the outside walls of the pit are both highlighted
            when you choose the COURTYARD's sector.  The pit is INSIDE the
            courtyard's sector, but it is important to note that the pit is
            not PART OF the courtyard's sector.

            *  INSIDE a sector = enclosed by that sector, but not subject to
            the ceiling height, floor height, lighting level, or special
            effects for that sector.

            *  PART OF a sector = enclosed by that sector and subject to the
            ceiling height, floor height, lighting level, or special effects
            for that sector.

            Since the level of the poison pit is below the "floor" of the
            courtyard, we know that the pit and the courtyard are different
            sectors.  Since they share common linedefs, though (the walls of
            the pit), the pit sector must be defined as INSIDE the courtyard
            sector.

            One more last important note:  every linedef you draw on the map
            MUST BE DEFINED IN AT LEAST ONE SECTOR!  If there are "stray"
            linedefs on the map, and you try to load DOOM, it will crash every
            single time.


TEXTURE     A texture is the graphic that DOOM applies to visible (to the
            player) surfaces, both horizontal and vertical.  Vertical textures
            (walls, doors, etc.) are selected on and applied to the linedefs,
            while horizontal textures (floors, ceilings) are selected when you
            define a sector.  <Also see "X- AND Y-OFFSET".>

            ** Horizontal textures:  These are selected from where you define
            your sectors when you define or edit a sector.  When they are
            applied, they appear on the floor or ceiling as a continuous,
            north-south oriented texture.  What this means is no matter what
            direction the linedefs in your sector face, the floors and ceiling
            textures will always be oriented in the same direction.  This is
            good, in a way, because you never have to worry about your floor
            and ceiling textures being aligned between sectors; they always
            mesh perfectly.  This is bad, however, because there are certain
            floor and ceiling textures (FLAT20, for instance) that have a
            distinctive pattern that looks great when the rooms are aligned
            with it, but not so good when the room doesn't line up with the
            pattern.

                  NOTE:  Teleport pads are the same way.  There is currently
                  no way that I know of that you can move the floor texture to
                  get the teleport pad texture to line up with your intended
                  teleport pad -- you must move your teleport pad to line up
                  with the texture.  Most (if not all) level editors will
                  provide a grid (usually 64x64 in size) to help you align
                  these textures.

            ** Vertical textures: These are selected where you define linedefs
            when you have drawn a linedef on the map.  I recommend that you
            wait until you have the sector defined, and then put your chosen
            texture on each linedef in that sector, rather than making sure
            you have the correct texture every time you draw a line.  Vertical
            textures differ from horizontal textures in a number of ways:

                  1.  They have sizes, measured in pixels.
                  2.  They can be "shifted" for different effects.
                  3.  There can be more than one type of linedef texture per
                      sector; with horizontal textures, you can only have one
                      texture for the floor and one texture for the ceiling
                      for each sector.

            The sizes of the vertical textures vary, but they all have one
            thing in common -- their sizes are always multiples of 8.  Some of
            the vertical textures are contiguous (they will draw continuously
            and smoothly, no matter the height and length of the linedef
            they're pasted on), while others are a set size, and will put
            "confetti" in between textures when pasted on a linedef that is
            not the correct height and/or length.  Unfortunately, the only way
            to discover which ones are which is through experimentation.

            * A recommendation:  whenever possible, note the height and width
            of the textures you wish to use before you start drawing your
            level, and try to adhere to their dimensions as much as possible.
            This will make the textures draw more clearly and accurately and
            make your level look as good as possible.  Yes, I know it
            restricts you to multiples of 8 when you're designing your rooms,
            but it's not that hard to be creative with this slight constraint.


X- AND Y-OFFSET

            These two items are related to the vertical textures, and are used
            for `advanced' level-designers (whatever _that_ means) to be more
            creative with their texture placement.

            First, a little primer of how DOOM draws textures, from what
            little experience I have as a WAD author.  When DOOM pastes a
            texture on a regular wall, it starts from the top left-hand
            corner, and goes from top to bottom and left to right when drawing
            a texture, like this:
             ______________________
            | * -------->          |   This is a regular, floor-to-ceiling
            | |                    |   unbroken wall -- note that it has no
            | |                    |   doors, no windows, and no changes of
            | |                    |   elevation whatsoever.  DOOM starts
            | V                    |   drawing the texture at the "*" and
            |                      |   goes like the arrows indicate.
            |______________________|

            Every time a new linedef starts, DOOM starts drawing the texture
            over again, from top to bottom and left to right.  With wall
            textures that have no distinctive pattern (like BROWNHUG), this
            isn't a problem; the whole texture looks the same no matter how
            many times you draw the first 16 columns of pixels.

            But what if you have a texture that has a distinctive, non-
            repeating pattern, like a computer wall?  If you draw 5 linedefs
            that are 16 pixels long, and apply this texture to it, it'll draw
            the first 16 columns of pixels over and over and over, and it'll
            look dumb.  An example of what the difference is between these
            two examples (one that has been offset, and one that hasn't) is in
            the WALKTHRU.WAD and .TXT.

            There IS a solution, though -- x-offset.  What x-offset does is
            tell DOOM, "Instead of placing this texture on this linedef like
            normal, start drawing it x number of pixels over".  This will have
            the effect of creating a seamless, unbroken texture, no matter how
            many linedefs it's pasted on.  ** NOTE: The x-offset feature is
            vital if you want to create a secret door that you really cannot
            see!!

            So, let's say you have 5 16-pixel long linedefs that you want to
            put COMP2 on, but you want it to look smooth:


                     1         3         4         6         8
            0________6_________2_________8_________4_________0
            |        |         |         |         |         |
            | wall 1 | wall 2  | wall 3  | wall 4  | wall 5  |
            |        |         |         |         |         |
            |        |         |         |         |         |
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Use the x-offset on each linedef EXCEPT the one on the far left;
            since DOOM starts on the left, the first one from the left is
            always "normal".  So the x-offset for the linedef/textures would
            look like this:

            wall 1:    x-offset =   0  (Note: x-offset can be a negative
            wall 2:    x-offset = +16   number, too, if the texture you're
            wall 3:    x-offset = +32   offsetting is narrow enough.  The
            wall 4:    x-offset = +48   limit to a negative offset is 96;
            wall 5:    x-offset = +64   there doesn't appear to be a limit
                                        on the amount of positive offset.)

            * A recommendation:  to get the amount of the x-offset for any
            given wall texture, just add the amount of the lengths of the
            linedefs from the place where you think the texture should be
            drawn from; for example, wall 4 begins 48 pixels away (to the
            right) from where wall 1 began, so the x-offset would be +48.
            This will work with negative offsets as well, but since I don't
            have much experience with negative offsets, I'll leave that up to
            the reader for experimentation.

            Y-offsetting works the same way, except instead of horizontally,
            it goes vertically.  The way the + and - in the offset affect the
            texture goes like this:
            _________________________
            |          /|\          |    A "+" y-offset will move the texture
            |           |  (-)      |    DOWN towards the bottom of the line-
            |           |           |    def you're applying it to.
            |                       |
            |           |           |
            |           |  (+)      |    A "-" y-offset moves the texture
            |           |           |    UP towards the top of the linedef
            |__________\|/__________|    you're applying it to.

            One of the textures I find myself y-offsetting is the BIGDOOR1
            texture (the UAC door).  By making a 64-high doorway, and
            y-offsetting the texture +8, the UAC symbol on the door doesn't
            look "cut off" by the top of the doorframe.  Alternately, if you
            y-offset this texture by more than -8, you get "confetti" at the
            bottom of the door.


UNPEGGING TEXTURES

            This is the process of telling DOOM to draw textures backwards
            from how it usually draws them in a given situation; i.e., bottom
            to top instead of top to bottom.  This attribute is only handy in
            a few situations (like windows and secret doors); therefore, this
            attribute will be explained in detail in those sections.


THINGS      This is a general term for any item in the game, animate or
            inanimate.  Things are loosely grouped into 8 categories:

            Player   : player 1-4, co-op, and deathmatch starting positions.
            Weapon   : chainsaw, shotgun, chaingun, rocket launcher, etc.
            Ammo     : single loads and boxes; all ammunition
            Enemy    : imps, demons, spectres, etc.  All the baddies.
            Bodies   : pools of blood, exploded bodies, dead creatures, etc.
            Obstacles: pillars, torches, lamps, barrels, etc.
            Power-ups: medikits, soul spheres, armor, invisibility, etc.
            Misc.    : keys, teleport destinations, etc.

            All of the Things are placed on the map by the WAD author.  Note:
            each Thing is 10 bytes, so 100 of them is 1k; monster-fests take
            up quite a bit of memory!  Place Things with discretion...

            When each Thing is placed, there are a number of criteria that
            each one has that you need to be aware of:

            * They can be tagged so they only appear on certain difficulty
            levels, or only in deathmatch games, both, or neither.  This
            applies to ALL Things, not just monsters.   This is helpful if
            you don't want to change the monster mix when increasing the
            difficulty levels; simply remove health and ammo by changing the
            "levels available" flag...

            * They can be tagged to face in one of 8 directions.  Obviously,
            this only really matters with monsters and teleport destinations.
            The 8 directions are northwest, north, northeast, east, southeast,
            south, southwest, and west.  (This is in relation to the
            orientation of the map, where the top of the screen is north.)
            From experience, I've found that monsters generally have a
            180-degree field of vision, for activation purposes.

            * They can be tagged to be "deaf".  This applies to monsters
            only.  Monsters will become "active" (meaning they'll actively
            search for and try to kill the player) under one of three
            conditions:
                  1.  They see him/her.
                  2.  They hear a shot (including a punch!).
                  3.  They are shot by him/her.
            If a monster's "deaf" flag is set, option #2 will not activate the
            monster.  In most cases, in my opinion, it is best to set the
            "deaf" flag to ON, making the monster deaf.  Otherwise, the first
            time the player shoots anything, half to three-quarters of the
            level "wakes up" and starts hunting, spoiling all those wonderful
            ambushes... This is why knowing the monsters have a 180-degree
            field of vision is important; they have to be able to see the
            player to become "active", and knowing which direction they have
            to face to see him/her becomes critical.

            It will take some practice for you to determine the right balance
            of Things in your levels.  Don't be afraid to experiment!


NODES       This is another vital concept for the level author, but, luckily,
            the technical parts of their construction may be omitted.  If you
            would like a detailed explanation of how nodes are built, and the
            way they are generated, the Unofficial DOOM Specs has a lengthy
            description.  For the level author, though, you need to know this:

            Nodes are DOOM's way of determining what the player is able to see
            from any given location.  Every WAD _MUST_ have a node-tree built
            for the level to be able to run; otherwise, DOOM will crash when
            you try to play your level, with a variety of fatal errors.

            Most level-building programs have a node-builder built into the
            program itself.  Some are better than others, but I personally
            have not found a better node-builder than BSP 12x, by Colin Reed.
            In general, the more nodes the node-builder is able to locate and
            "build", the more "solid" the level will be.  For reference, a
            symptom of an inferior node-builder is the ability of the player
            to "walk through" a solid wall; if you experience this problem
            with the node-builder you're using, get a better one.  WADED, DEU,
            DOOMEd, and DOOM-CAD all come with their own node-builders.  I
            have no experience with any other level-builders, so I cannot
            verify the existence of more than these.  In addition, there are
            "independent" node-building programs, which means that building
            the nodes for levels is their entire function.  There are only two
            of these that I know of:  BSP 12x and IDBSP, which is the node-
            builder Id uses, ported to DOS.


TAGS        This is how DOOM links linedef activation to various sector
            events.  A tag is simply a number that a linedef and it's linked
            sector share, for purposes like lifts, doors, crushing ceilings,
            etc.  More on this in later sections.


SPRITES     The way I understand it, Sprites are the textures for various
            items in the game.  Most often, it refers to the creatures and
            actual items (Things), but can be used to refer to walls, floors,
            ceilings, and even the weapons the character carries.  Sprites may
            be modified by various programs, but that is beyond the scope of
            this Handbook.  It is enough to say that most, if not all, of the
            textures, creatures, and items in the game may be changed by the
            enterprising, creative, and persistent WAD author.


BLOCKMAP, SSECTORS, SEGS

            These are various attributes used (and referenced) by node-
            building programs to build the nodes that will enable your level
            to be played.  Again, a more detailed explanation is available in
            The Unofficial DOOM Specs.


REJECT      (This next section is mostly opinion.)   A reject table is part of
            the node-building process.  It is designed to "speed up" your DOOM
            level by reducing the number of calculations DOOM has to perform.

            Each second, DOOM must figure out where each monster is, if each
            monster has been activated, where the player is, which monsters
            the player has activated, etc.  It does this for EACH monster on
            the map EVERY second.  What the reject table does is tell DOOM
            which monsters it has to check, based on where the player is at
            any given time.  (This is why I feel it's related to the nodes
            function.)  A reject table tells DOOM ONLY which monsters it has
            to check, instead of checking ALL of them, and not having to check
            every monster every second speeds DOOM up.  This is the function
            of a reject table.  This may or may not be correct; if anyone
            knows differently, or can explain it better and more easily,
            please feel free to send me some mail, and correct me!


HOM         An abbreviation for [H]all [O]f [M]irrors effect.  This will occur
            primarily when a linedef does not have a texture applied to it in
            the correct place.  Also happens when textures are applied where
            they shouldn't be (i.e., on both visible sides of a window), and
            when a linedef is defined improperly in a sector.  Lastly, if
            there are too many 2-sided linedefs visible (for DOOM 1, this
            number is 16; DOOM 1.666 and higher can handle 32) you'll get
            "texture bleed", which, for all intents and purposes, looks like a
            HOM.  Careful building and checking will eliminate this problem.
            Note that this is a common error for the novice level-maker.


--------------------------
[2-0]  Designing The Level
--------------------------


      Okay.  This is the part you've been (patiently, I hope) waiting for.
This section is going to consist of overall, general things you might want to
know about designing a level, like theme and lighting and texture selection
and procedures and such.  The nuts-and-bolts part of level creation, the
actual _building_ and stuff like that, is in the next section, "Building The
Level".  This is more of an overview and recommendation section.  Generally
speaking, a level that is "built" without first being "designed" has less
continuity and has a more haphazard appearance.  (Note that this feature may
actually be an advantage if you're designing a deathmatch level!)  Most of the
information in this section is unnecessary, really, but instead of learning it
by trial and error (like a lot of WAD authors have, including me), you can
just read this section and learn from _our_ mistakes.  Not a bad deal, eh?

(Note: this next section is very nearly entirely opinion, based on the
experiences I've had playing PWADS (over 250 of them), the experiences others
have had playing PWADs (from a survey taken on the FIDO DOOM echo), and the
experience I've had making my very own level.  If you don't agree with some of
this, all of this, or any of this, that's more than fine.  If you've got
opinions of your own that you'd like to have added to this file, e-mail them
to me and I'll include them in the next version of this thing.  Sound good?)


OVERALL TIPS, REMINDERS, AND PROCEDURES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      This section will give you a few general tips, recommendations, and
procedures to follow to design and build your first WAD.  This is only because
you've probably never designed and/or built a WAD before, and it's good to
have some sort of framework to use at first.  When you become more
experienced, and feel more confident about building WADS, you'll probably end
up with your _own_ way to do it, that _you_ feel most comfortable with, but
for now, take a look at this stuff, so you have somewhere to start.

      THE FIRST WAD YOU MAKE IS GONNA SUCK.  There's just no way around it.
You've never built a WAD before, and you don't really know what looks good and
what doesn't, so it's gonna bite big-time.  Accept this, and then build the
first one anyway.  Try out every single function of your WAD maker somewhere
on this "test" level.  Learn how to make a door, a window, a damage sector,
different lighting, stairways, ledges.  Learn how to link a linedef to a
sector event, learn how to hide secret doors from the player, learn how to set
up monsters for maximum ambush effect.  Learn how to unpeg textures (and what
that looks like), learn how to use differing textures, learn how the X and Y
offset work and what they look like when you use them, learn how to do just
about everything... WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT IF IT LOOKS COOL OR PLAYS WELL.
This first one is your experimentation level, and you're SUPPOSED to mess up
on it.  It's not like you'll be releasing this thing for people to play; it's
like your chalkboard, where you figure out the answers to the problems.  Plus,
the time you spend on this first one is time you'll save later, because
nothing is more aggravating than trying to add an effect you haven't done
before and destroying a large portion of the level you want other people to
see.  Trust me.  I've done it MORE than once... Practice, practice, practice.

      ALSO, WHEN DESIGNING a level (the test one or any other), make it a
habit to save as many different versions of your WAD as you can under
different filenames.  That way, if you mess something up, you've always got a
recent version or two to fall back on, and you won't have to spend a ton of
time redoing a bunch of stuff that you've already perfected.  A good way to do
this is to change the last digit of the filename sequentially every time you
save a new version; i.e. TEST0.WAD, TEST1.WAD, TEST2.WAD, TEST3.WAD, etc.
When you run out of numbers, go to letters.  When you reach the end of the
alphabet, start over -- heck, by that time you'll have 36 versions of your
level on the hard drive, and it's safe to say that the oldest one is probably
obsolete.  Or, you could just set up the Undelete Sentry program that DOS has
(versions 6.0 and later, I believe), which will store all your deleted files
for a period of time.  This is nice, but it soaks up a lot of hard drive
space.

      IF YOU CAN CHANGE the default textures in your level-builder, I strongly
suggest that you do so.  WADED (the one I use) uses the STARTAN3 texture as a
default when drawing new linedefs, and since I hate that texture (and will
probably never use it), it becomes tedious to change it every time I want to
draw something.  I don't know how other editors work, but if you can set your
own defaults for certain things (like lighting level, floor, wall, and ceiling
textures, sensitivity and roundoff of the mouse pointer, etc.), it will save
you quite a bit of time in the long run.

      TAKE THE TIME TO read the docs to your preferred levelmaker!  You
absolutely have to understand how it works to make the best level possible.
DEU has a nice on-line tutorial that runs you through its basic functions, and
while it might seem like kind of a pain, it's worth the time you invest in it.
Other editors just come with the .TXT files, and the Windows version ones
usually have a help file.  Read everything!  The time you spend on this now is
the time you'll save later when you can't figure out exactly how something is
supposed to work...

      WHEN ACTUALLY BUILDING THE WAD, another recommendation:  make wall
lengths, door depths, and ceiling heights multiples of 8.  While this may seem
limiting to your creativity at first, the time you'll save lining up textures
will be more than worth it.  Besides, the player can't tell how many pixels
high or wide the wall is, and usually doesn't care, as long as it looks good.
Using multiples of 8 will make it look good.

      HAVING A PROCEDURE TO actually construct the WAD is helpful to the
novice, but once you get going on making WADs, you'll almost certainly have
your own personal way of construction that works best for you.  For now,
though, here's a method that you can either write down or copy so you don't
inadvertently forget anything the first time you build a level:

      1.  Draw the room the way you want it to look -- put up the walls and
      vertexes and stuff like that.  Make sure the linedef lengths are
      multiples of 8, for easier and more consistent texture mapping.

      2.  Define the sector.  Use the automatic "Make Sector" function if your
      level-builder has one; when you become more experienced, you can define
      your sectors manually for greater accuracy.

      3.  Check the sector.  Make sure all your linedefs are pointing in
      towards the sector you've just defined, and make sure all the linedefs
      that are supposed to be defined in that sector ARE defined in that
      sector.  (This is the most common cause of errors the novice experiences
      when designing his/her first WAD, by the way.)

      4.  Modify the sector.  Define the ceiling and floor heights you want,
      the lighting level, the floor and ceiling textures, and any special
      lighting or damage effects you want this sector to have.

      5.  Check the linedefs.  Make sure every linedef in that sector has the
      proper texture applied to it, and in the proper place.  (Not performing
      this task is the biggest cause of HOMs -- having linedefs without
      textures applied to them.)

      6.  (Optional)  Place the Things you want in this sector.  I recommend
      that you do this when the entire level has been built, but I understand
      the desire to have monsters running around when you first build your
      level.  The time of placing monsters is a personal thing.

      7.  Save the WAD.  Every single time you add a new sector, SAVE!  This
      is something that should become habit.  If you have an "auto-save"
      feature, enable it.  This one thing will save you more time than any
      other thing I could recommend; if you mess something up, you'll at least
      have what you've done correctly already saved, and you won't have to
      waste the time re-creating a sector you had already created perfectly.
      NOTE:  Don't forget to increment the last digit on the saved filename!

      8.  Build the nodes.  Use the node-builder built-in to your level
      builder, or (recommended) get a copy of BSP 12x, exit to DOS, and build
      your nodes with this program.

      9.  Test it.  Fire up DOOM, enter your WAD on the command line, and
      check your new sector.  Have a pencil and piece of paper ready, and make
      notes to yourself to fix things that you haven't done quite right.
      Writing down things to fix is the best way to remember everything when
      you get back into your level-editor.  NOTE:  DOOM, for some reason, can
      sometimes have problems when running a WAD that is a single sector.
      Make sure you have at least two sectors defined the first time you run
      your WAD, to prevent any possible crashing.  Also, make sure that you
      always include a Player 1 Start position, or DOOM will crash.  I
      recommend that you make a batch file for the testing of your WAD, as
      well; with as many times as you're going to have to test it, it'll save
      you a bunch of keystrokes.  Mine looks like this:

      ---[TEST.BAT]------------------------------------
                  cd\doom
                  doom -file c:\levlmakr\%1.wad
                  cd\levlmakr
                  waded
      --------------------------------------[endfile]--

      (WADED, my level-builder, is in a directory called C:\LEVLMAKR.  What I
      enter on the command line is "test <filename w/o .WAD>".  The batch file
      changes to my DOOM directory, enters the filename w/o .WAD in the
      command line in the proper place, and, when I exit DOOM, goes right back
      into my level-builder.  If you decide to use this batch file, modified
      for your own directory structure, copy it as is -- besides the dashed
      lines that have the name of the file and the "endfile" flag, and change
      the "cd\" entries to reflect your directories.  Of course, if you know
      what you're doing with batch files, ignore this.)


THEME
~~~~~
      Every good level has to have a theme.  As a WAD author, you probably
have some idea of what kind of theme you want already, but if you don't, I
highly recommend that you find a theme before you start building.  Nothing is
more annoying to a player than finding hell textures placed without reason in
the middle of a computer room!  A plus to having a theme is that your level
will have a logical reason for "existing"; rooms will have functions, and the
way the level is laid out will make sense from an architectural and functional
standpoint.  If the level has a theme, and the placement of the rooms makes
sense, the player will understand this and the level will play better.
Another advantage to having a theme is that the level will practically build
itself, in terms of room layout, size, and function.  If you know what kind of
level you're building, you won't even have to _think_ about what to do next;
you'll already have a mental image of what this type of structure is supposed
to look like.
      For example:  my first WAD is titled "Sub-Station Alpha".  What it's
supposed to be is a "sub-station" for trans-dimensional research that was
under construction by UAC at the time of the breakdown, and it's mostly
underground.  Right there, you can tell that there are going to be a couple of
"unfinished" areas, where the construction crews haven't been yet, and the
textures will be solid rock.  The layout of the walls will not be smooth and
even, either.  Since UAC had Marines guarding the station, there will be a
couple of guard posts.  There will be a cargo bay, for the unloading of
construction materials.  There will be a "checkpoint" right outside the
entrance lift, to check in visitors and new arrivals.  And there will be a
"testing room", where the UAC scientists conducted their experiments before
the fateful day.  Also, there won't be many (if any) windows.  Do you see now
how easy it is to build levels when you've got a theme?  You don't even really
have to think about _what_ type of room to make, only how big it's going to be
and where it's going to go.  And, of course, how many monsters you can stuff
into it...

      TEXTURES are another major factor to consider when making levels.
They've got to "blend" logically and consistently in order to make the best,
most "realistic" level possible.  In other words, keep the hell textures out
of the computer room, and don't make lifts with nukage floors!  You'll have to
experiment with the textures to see which ones work best together.  I suggest
making a list of the ones you think you'll be using, based on the type of
level you'll be building, so you don't have to preview all the textures every
time you want to use a different one.  I also suggest putting them in groups
by category, such as "hell textures", "computer textures", "stone", "cement",
etc.  That way, you'll be able to pick a texture based on the type of room
you're building quickly and easily.

      DIMENSIONS are also important.  Lots of big rooms are kind of fun, but
very large rooms virtually require a lot of monsters to adequately "defend"
them, and lots of monsters slow the game down.  Of course, making rooms too
small may irritate the player, as there will be no room to dodge.  You've got
to strike a balance between size and playability, here.  Also, don't forget
the elevation changes!  Stairways, while complex, are really necessary for a
fun level, and lifts add to the possibilities for height changes.  You could
also go to the extreme and use nothing but "cliff-like" drop-offs with
teleporters for the player to get back into the action, but those remove the
players' options, so aren't really recommended.  The relative sizes of the
various monsters and the player will be discussed later, so you know how low
and wide to make corridors and rooms and still enable everyone to be able to
move around.  Again, theme plays an important part in deciding the dimensions
of rooms and corridors.

      LIGHTING is the one thing that will give your level it's "feel".
Striking the right brightness level is also one of the more difficult things
to do as a level-maker, as players have access to the Gamma Correction key
(F11), the contrast and brightness controls on their monitors, and, of course,
the IDBEHOLD-L cheat code.  The idea is to make the lighting fit the
situation.  If the situation calls for darkness, so be it, but remember:
everybody wants a fighting chance, and nobody likes stuff jumping them out of
the dark.  Flickering, oscillating, and glowing lights are great "theme"
lighting, too.  I recommend using these as much as possible, especially down
stairs and in places where you want to lend a feeling of "instability".

      MONSTERS are the name of the game.  One of the major gripes I got in the
survey I conducted for players' likes and dislikes was that too many WAD
authors felt the need to throw in a Cyberdemon or three at every available
opportunity.  Surprisingly, very few people enjoy battling a big boss in every
level they play.  The idea is to balance the monster mix, make it consistent,
and make it tough to beat.  My rule of thumb is that the level should be
barely survivable when you begin with just a pistol on Hurt Me Plenty.  More
than a few levels have found this magic difficulty level, and they're levels
that I enjoy playing again and again, simply because I truly don't know if
I'll be able to survive any given attempt!  You'll have to adjust the
difficulty levels as well to make sure that "Too Young To Die" is not just
"Hurt Me Plenty" minus one imp.  Remember: you're in control.  You decide how
many monsters there are, what types there are, and, most importantly, WHERE
THEY START.  An incredible amount of damage can be inflicted on a player with
just 6 (yes, six) strategically-placed imps.  Make the monsters accessible,
too -- the player has to be able to see them and kill them.  Nothing is more
irritating than being bombarded by shotgun-wielding sergeants from a ledge
that is too high for the player to see.  Also, there are certain textures that
"camouflage" some of the monsters perfectly.  The "vine" textures make the
Imps nearly disappear, and the Spectres, being nearly invisible to begin with,
are really difficult to see when the light level gets below 128, and the
textures are complicated (lots of different colors and shapes; SP_ROCK1 is one
example).  Be creative when placing monsters, too.  That way you won't have to
place as many of them, and the players will be in for a hell of a ride.  And
that's why we all play DOOM in the first place, isn't it?

      The placement and use of ITEMS is the most determining factor in how
easy or difficult your level is.  Sure, you've got Barons roaming all over the
place, but when there's a cumulative total of 4000% worth of health on the
level, how tough is it going to be?  One of the most difficult, challenging,
and entertaining levels I've ever played had a soul sphere and the blue armor
available right where you started, but had no more health or armor throughout
the level.  Great idea -- it was a race against attrition to get to the exit.
Wonderful.  Resist the temptation to put down too many stimpaks and medikits,
and I don't advise putting more than 2 soul spheres on any one level, unless
you discover that you really need to.  Same thing with armor.  Of course,
individual tastes may vary.  The same thing with ammo -- too much is not a
good thing.  Lack of ammo makes the player become more skillful, rather than
just holding the <Ctrl> button down while walking through the level.  Personal
choice dictates the placement and types of weapons available.  Personally, I
don't like to give the player anything bigger than a rocket launcher, and I
severely restrict the availability of the ammunition for _that_.  Using the
bigger weapons just removes the challenge of killing monsters, and by using
the smaller weapons, you can use fewer monsters for greater effect.  Avoid, at
all costs, making it too easy for the player to get weaponry and armor!  Too
many levels that I've played have had a backpack, enough ammo to fill it
completely, and all the weapons (including the chainsaw) right next to the
Player 1 start position.  Where's the challenge?


STYLE
~~~~~
      After you've been working on your level for a while, you'll begin to
develop a style of your own.  Everyone does.  It's part of the creative
process, after all.  But since you haven't built a level yet, you really don't
have a "style" per se.  Here are the three main "types" of style I've
encountered so far when designing levels:

      THE PLANNER:  This individual, before even firing up the level builder
for the first time, will get all his notes together, grab a pad of graph paper
and a pencil, and draw the whole level out.  He will indicate all the ceiling
and floor heights, linedef lengths, items, monsters, and EVERYTHING, and then
simply transfer the notes from the paper to the monitor.  While this can be
time-consuming, the desired results are most often obtained, as there is no
"creative process" once the builder actually begins construction.

      THE MODIFIER: This one sketches ideas for his level as they come to him,
in rough terms, on any scrap of paper that's handy at the time.  He usually
has a theme to stick to, so will rough-draw a room and label it, knowing that
he'll remember what he meant later.  This one works on the level constantly,
modifying existing rooms as he gets new ideas, and creating new rooms based on
the numerous sketches lying about.  More often than not, he will change the
structure of an entire quarter of the level as inspiration strikes.  The
level, though, does somewhat resemble the notes, and these levels, while not
quite as structured (and usually, as linear) as The Planner's levels, do have
a certain logic to them that can be found.

      THE DISCOVERER:  This one sits down at the keyboard with a vague idea of
what he wants to do, turns on some music as "white noise", and just starts
building.  The level that comes out is often very non-linear.  (Very rarely do
Discoverers build linear levels; at least, on purpose.)  Ideas come and go,
and are as readily drawn and discarded.  This type of building style is not
recommended for the beginner, as a working knowledge of the level builder you
prefer is necessary to this free-style approach; however, if this is the way
you work, go to it.  The level, when completed, is often as much a surprise to
its creator as it is to the people who play it; nonetheless, the level of
craftsmanship is quite high.

      If you're none of these, or all of these, it doesn't matter.  As long as
you feel comfortable with the way you're working, that's what works for you.


----------------------------------
[3-0]  Building The Level -- Basic
----------------------------------

      Now, on with the show.  This is the section that will actually
demonstrate the technical part of building a level.  I will attempt to show
you how the basic features of DOOM are built -- doors, windows, lifts,
secret doors, linedef special functions, and all that good stuff.  Whenever
possible, I will present a crude ASCII diagram to demonstrate a point, and to
show you (as closely as possible) what it means.  In addition, each structure
described and detailed in this section, as well as visuals of the most common
errors (that won't cause DOOM to crash), will be described and demonstrated in
the included level, WALKTHRU.WAD.  Note that the .TXT file that goes with this
WAD will lay out what effect or feature is where on this test level.  I will
also give you a list of the monsters and their various sizes (gleaned from The
Unofficial DOOM Specs), so you know how high and wide to build corridors so
the various monsters (and the player) can move through them -- see Appendix A
for these dimensions.  Each sub-section of this Part will teach you a
different structure in the DOOM universe.  Again, if I leave anything out, or
you have discovered an easier, faster, or just plain better way to build a
certain feature, please leave me e-mail so I can improve this manual.  Thanks!


ROOMS
~~~~~
      These are the easiest things to design in any WAD.  All you have to do
is make a bunch of linedefs that surround an area, define it as a sector, make
the floor and ceiling heights, choose your lighting, and make sure the
textures are correct.  That's it.  An empty square room is the best kind of
room to make when you're building your first WAD.  Once you become more
familiar with the WAD-building process, your rooms will have any number of
sides, will be strangely-shaped, and will have lighting and sector effects.
You may want to build a little while you're going through this Handbook, to
get a feel for how it works, and so you can get that horrible "first test WAD"
out of the way.  In any case, it's easier for you, as the prospective WAD
author, to actually _make_ the things I'm discussing while you're reading
this, as it's easier for you to see what I'm talking about when you're
actually _doing_ it.  And don't worry if it's not perfect; remember, your
first WAD is going to be your rough draft.  It's _supposed_ to be ugly.


HALLWAYS
~~~~~~~~
      A hallway is simply a narrow room.  That's it.  If you've built a room
so far, go ahead and add another room onto it.  Start drawing from one of the
"walls" of the room, and build a narrow (but at least 64 wide) rectangular
room attached to it.  (Note that this will leave a linedef "across" the
connection of the hallway to the room.  Don't worry -- you won't be able to
see it when you're playing.  This "invisible linedef" is the basis for the
trigger linedefs we'll be talking about later.)  Define it as a sector; most
level editors will assign the same characteristics to this sector as they did
to the one it's attached to, except for the textures on the walls.  If you
want to change the wall textures, do it now.  Save it.  And that's it!  Now,
if you really want to, build the nodes and run it, and there you have it --
your first creation!  Hallways are good for making "junction rooms", which are
hallways with multiple exits into different rooms.  Making every room
connected by only one hallway is kind of boring, and doesn't allow the player
many options.  If you make 5 rooms off of one hallway, then the player gets to
choose, and it's more fun to play that way.

      A NOTE ABOUT DIMENSIONS:  the player cannot go down a hallway that's
less than 34 wide.  Monsters and such have variable dimensions, and I'll
discuss those later, but for now, if you want to go down the corridor you've
just made, make it at least 34 wide.  (48 is good, as it's divisible by 8, and
more than big enough for most monsters.)


WINDOWS
~~~~~~~
      This will be the first tough thing you've got to learn.  It's not that
difficult, really, but there's more to remember.  To make a window, say
between two rooms:

First, make the two rooms, and separate them with a sector that's 16 wide.
See diagram below, which is a top view -- what you'll see on the screen as you
draw it:

             __________________________   _________________________
            |  sector 1                | |               sector 2  |
            |                          | |                         |
            |       adjacent linedef-> | | <-adjacent linedef      |
            |                          |_|                         |
            |                          | |                         |
            |         window linedef-> |3| <-window linedef        |
            |                          | |                         |
            |                          |_|                         |
            |                          | |                         |
            |       adjacent linedef-> | | <-adjacent linedef      |
            |                          | |                         |
            |__________________________| |_________________________|

      Okay, time for a little assistance.  The numbers (1-3) above refer to
the sectors involved that you have to define.  Note that the window sector
itself (number 3) is drawn and defined, along with the others.  Note also that
sectors 1 and 2 are connected _only_ by sector 3 -- there is no continuous
line on the top and the bottom.  Define sectors 1 and 2 with a floor height of
0 and a ceiling of 128, do your lighting, fix the textures for all visible
surfaces, and save it.

      Define sector 3, but define it with a floor of 32 and a ceiling of 96.
What that means in regards to the window is that the bottom sill of the window
is 32 pixels above the floor, and the top of the window is 96 pixels above the
floor (or, conversely, 32 lower than the ceiling.)  Define the lighting as the
same as the two adjacent sectors (1 and 2).  Define the floor and ceiling
textures (which will be the top and bottom sills of the window) as FLAT20 for
now.  That's a light-grey grid, and it's not too bad for window trim.  Define
the north and south linedefs (the vertical ones on the sides of the window)
as, oh, COMPSPAN.  We're just trying to get a working window built.

      Now comes the tricky part.  Since the floor of the window sector is
above the floor of the adjacent sectors, and the ceiling of the window is
below the adjacent sectors, the way the textures are applied is a bit
different.  When you apply textures, the level maker you're using might have
given you a box (or boxes) that kind of looks like this (without the letters
and numbers inside it, of course):
 ______________
|              |
|         (A)  |<- This texture is applied "above the ceiling"
|______1_______|   (Also known as the "Upper" texture.)
|              |
|         (B)  |<- This texture is applied between the floor and ceiling
|______2_______|   (Also known as the "Normal" texture.)
|              |
|         (C)  |<- This texture is applied "below the floor"
|______________|   (Also known as the "Lower" texture.)

Some editors will let you apply textures using a template like the above;
others will use the Upper, Normal, and Lower labels.  What's important is that
you understand where each texture goes, and what your level editor calls the
positions, so you are able to apply them correctly.

To remember how this works, line 1 above is the ceiling level, and line 2 is
the floor level, so the texture you define in the (B) box is the texture that
your normal walls are.  After all, the walls begin at the floor and end at the
ceiling, so you want a texture applied between the floor and the ceiling,
right?  But on a window, the texture between the floor (the bottom sill) and
the ceiling (the top sill) has to be clear, and on both sides of the linedef
on both sides of the window.

*** YOU CANNOT HAVE A TEXTURE IN BOX (B) IN A WINDOW SECTOR! ***

(There are exceptions, but more on that later.)  So, what do you do about the
textures above and below the window?  Simple.  Just make sure that the same
texture for the rest of the linedefs in the room matches the textures you will
now put in boxes (A) and (C) for the linedef over the window.  Don't forget
about the adjacent linedefs; they'll have the same texture as the rest of the
room, too.  But it's not over yet...

Now, since the window linedef's top and bottom textures are not "normal", you
have to do something extra to them as well.  DOOM normally draws textures from
the top down and from left to right.  BUT, when it's dealing with textures
above and below the floor and ceiling of sectors (that are visible from
adjacent sectors), it draws the Box-A/Upper texture from the bottom up and it
draws the Box-C/Lower texture from the top down.  What this means is that the
bottom of the window will have the top-of-the-wall texture, and the top of the
window will have the bottom-of-the-wall texture by default.  They will not
"line up" with the adjacent textures (if the texture you choose has a pattern,
and most of them do), and it will look retarded.

To correct this, simply UNPEG the textures above and below the window by
selecting "Upper Unpegged" and "Lower Unpegged" from whatever Linedef Special
Selection Menu your level editor has.  This will tell DOOM to draw the
textures the "right" way, making the window look like it's supposed to.  As an
experiment, just so you can see what it looks like, don't unpeg the textures
at first, save the level, build the nodes, and run your level.  Examine the
adjacent textures, and examine the textures above and below the window.  Go
back to your level editor, unpeg both, save it, build the nodes, and run it
again.  Examine them now, and note the difference.  A tip you may want to
write down is ALWAYS REMEMBER TO UNPEG TEXTURES WHEN YOU MAKE WINDOWS.  It
separates the novice from the expert level builder.

      A NOTE ABOUT DIMENSIONS: the player is 56 high, and can climb 24-pixel
(maximum) height differences.  If you wanted the player to be able to climb
through this window, the highest you could make the "floor" would be 24
(because the adjacent floors are 0).  If you did make the "floor" of the
window 24, the minimum height of the "ceiling" of the window would be 80.  Try
making the floor of the window 16 instead of 32.  Save it, build the nodes,
run it, and climb through the window.  Neat, huh?


DOORS
~~~~~
      Basically, a door is a sector with a floor and ceiling height that are
equal to the adjacent floor heights.  Most level builders allow you to define
a sector, like normal, and then select a "Make Door" switch.  For those who
don't have this feature, the procedure is:

      1.    Make a sector that's between 8 and 16 deep -- most doors in the
            WADs you've seen are this deep.  The width can be anything you
            like, but the door textures in DOOM 1 are either 72 wide (for the
            narrow ones) or 128 wide (for the big ones).  Make your first door
            128, because it's easiest to work with.

      2.    Make sure the linedefs are pointed in the right directions.  See
            the following diagram; it shows what a basic door's linedefs are
            supposed to look like.  I know this may stifle your creativity,
            but if the door isn't created _exactly_ like this, DOOM won't
            recognize it as a door:
                              _____________|______________
                              |__                      __|
                              |__________________________|
                                           |

            The "long" lines are the front and back of the door (the part the
            player "uses" to open it), and the linedefs MUST be defined as
            2-sided.  The "short" lines are the door jambs, and MUST be 1-
            sided.  The linedefs MUST point this way for the door to work!

      3.    Define the thing as a sector.  Make sure the linedefs are still
            pointing the right way, and that the two long ones are still
            double-sided.  IMPORTANT REQUIREMENT:  When defining the floor and
            the ceiling heights for the door sector, the number MUST BE THE
            SAME as the adjacent sectors' floors; i.e., if the floor height on
            the adjacent sectors is set to 0, both the floor AND the ceiling
            of the door sector must be 0.  Sounds weird, but it'll make sense
            in a minute.

      4.    Check your textures.  For this door, any of the BIGDOOR series
            should be sufficient.  For the doorjambs, DOOM 1 offers two
            options:  DOORTRAK (which is the "standard"; looks like a chain-
            drive or something) and DOORSTOP (more of a smooth, techno look).
            Personally, I and others prefer DOORSTOP for "normal" doors and
            DOORTRAK for huge doors, but it's up to you.  IMPORTANT NOTE:
            Since you've defined both the floor AND the ceiling at the same
            height, and since that height is the same as the floor height in
            the adjacent sectors, that means the ENTIRE door texture that
            you'll be applying will be "above the ceiling", or an Upper
            texture.  Remember which box this is supposed to go in on the
            Texture Definition boxes?  If you don't, refer to the "Window"
            notes above.

      5.    Now for the fun part.  Go to where your level editor defines
            Linedef Specials, in whatever menu you have.  Highlight either of
            the long lines, and choose Special Number 1 -- this should be
            defined as a switch-activated (i.e., player "uses" it for it to be
            activated) opening door, which closes after 5 seconds.  Remember
            to define EACH long linedef with this Special; otherwise, the door
            won't be openable from one side or the other.  (Note that a one-
            way door might be desirable later on, and now you know how to make
            a door that only opens from one side...)

            What you're doing is assigning an "event" to the activation of the
            linedef that makes up the outside of the door, and the player
            activating the special opens the door.  Your level editor may have
            a different method of defining the linedef event than I've just
            outlined, but hopefully, from the descriptions, you'll have a
            general idea of what you're looking for in your editor, and can
            perform the assigning of a linedef to an event.  IMPORTANT NOTE:
            Write this procedure down for later reference!  Most of the
            interesting things that the player can do (and that you can have
            happen while the player is wandering around your brilliantly-
            created level) are linedef specials, and you're going to need to
            know how to assign linedefs to events later on.

      And that's all there is to designing a door.  Later, when you become
more proficient, you can experiment with different door sizes and shapes,
since you now know how DOOM needs a door to look.  TEXTURE HINT:  X and Y
offsetting works on the door textures, too, so with a little practice, and
with a review of the different textures you have available, you can generate
some very interesting effects with a piece of scenery that most people take
for granted.  ALSO NOTE:  Most experienced WAD designers rarely assign the
"door stays open" special to a door; they want the player to have to turn his
back on the monsters if he decides to go back the way he came.  Again, only
practice will determine which style you prefer.


RECESSED DOORS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      One of the more common problems when an inexperienced level creator
makes a door is they'll have a wall 512 or so high, and the door flush with
the wall.  What DOOM will do is put the door textures stacked up to the
ceiling, which looks...well, retarded.  This is how to avoid that problem:

      Recess the door.  Make three sectors instead of one for the door, like
so:         ____________ ___ ___ ___ __________________
            hall        |   |   |   |         more hall
                        |   | D |   |
                        | + | O | + |
                        | + | O | + |
                        |   | R |   |
            ____________|___|___|___|__________________

Now, let's say the hallway is 192 high, but you only want the door to be 72
high, and you don't want the texture to climb to the ceiling.  Just make the
ceilings of the two ++ sectors 72 high.  Paste a texture on the Upper/"above
the ceiling" space, Unpeg Upper on it, and the wall will match the surrounding
walls.  Plus, now your door is in a little "niche", and the textures won't
look weird.  (Examples of recessed doors can be found in WALKTHRU.WAD.)


SECRET DOORS
~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Now we come down to it:  "I know how to make a door now.  I want to make
a SECRET door!  How do I do it?"  It's a three-step procedure:

      1.  Make the door itself, and make it flush with the wall.  (Remember,
      in order to be a secret door, it's gotta look like the wall, not a
      door.)

      2.  Make the texture the same as the surrounding walls, and unpeg it.
      This way, when the player finds the door, it'll "roll up" into the
      ceiling instead of "lifting" like a normal door.  NOTE:  It's considered
      sporting to offset the texture of the secret door at least a little, so
      an attentive player has a shot at finding it!  (Thanks to Tom Neff for
      this tip!)

      3.  Now, how to hide the line?  You'll have noticed that doors have
      their own color (yellow) line on the map screen, and since DOOM is
      treating this secret door like any other door, how do you make it look
      like a wall on the map?  On the Linedef Stats menu (wherever it is on
      your editor), you'll have a couple of choices you can use to disguise
      walls.  What they are, and what they look like and do, are:

            1.  Not On Map -- this linedef will not show up on the map unless
            the player uses the IDDT cheat.  The Computer Map will not show
            this line at all, even if the player "sees" it.

            2.  Secret -- this linedef will show up on the map if the player
            either sees it or uses a Computer Map, or, of course, the IDDT.
            The beauty of the Secret stat is that all Secret lines, when
            viewed by the player and looked at on the map, look like regular
            old walls (a red line).

      So, if you want to make your secret door look like a wall to the player,
      select "Secret" on the Linedef menu.  Easy as that!


LIFTS
~~~~~
      A lift, basically, is simply a sector that is able to descend to the
next adjacent lower floor level when a linedef is activated.  That's the whole
thing.  Now, since you've come this far, you should already know how to make a
door, and you should know how to correctly apply textures to linedefs.  If you
haven't, go back and review the "Windows" section and the "Doors" section,
because, to reference what you already know, a lift is a reverse door.  But
not exactly.  To make a lift:

      1.    As an example, we're going to create a lift that'll drop from one
            area to the adjacent area by simply pressing on the lift itself.
            Later, you can get fancy by setting up switches and walkover
            linedefs to drop the lift.

      2.    First, create three sectors in a row.  (The floor and ceiling
            heights of each sector are labeled F## and C##, where the ## is
            the number to set the floor and ceiling at.)  It'll look something
            like this (it's easiest if you make this in a "blank" hallway):
TOP VIEW:
      ____________________________________________
      | sector 1      | sector 2 |  sector 3     |
      | hallway       |   lift   | more hallway  |
      | C 128         | C 128    |    C  128     |
      |_F___0_________|_F___0____|____F -128_____|

SIDE VIEW:
   128____________________________________________  128
      |                                          |
      |                                          |
    0 |_______________.__________.               |    0
                                 |   remember    |
                                 |<--this line   |
  -128 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |_______________| -128

      3.    Okay.  Now that you've got the sectors built and looking like
            this, we're gonna make the lift.  Tag the line that's marked with
            the <--, and link it to the lift sector.  Go to your "specials"
            menu and pick the lift type you like; for this exercise, choose
            the linedef special that is Switch Activated and Repeatable,
            however your editor does this.  And that's it!  Now remember,
            since the "floor" of the lift sector is at 0, and the floor of
            sector 3 is at -128, you're going to be able to see the texture
            "below the floor" of the lift; specifically, the "remember this
            line" line.  DON'T FORGET TO APPLY A TEXTURE TO THIS LINE!
            Otherwise, the first time you see it, it'll be a major HOM, and if
            you "activate" it, the ceiling of the entire level will probably
            lower itself to the floor.  A neat effect, but you won't be able
            to move...

      4.    A NOTE ABOUT DIMENSIONS: The lift in this example is kind of tall,
            (elevation-wise), but it's just a demo for you to get used to how
            a lift is built.  Usually, "quick" lifts are between 64 and 96 in
            height; slow, "descending to the depths of the earth" lifts can be
            any height; 512 is good, because if you're on the lift for too
            long, it gets borrrring.  Also, if you've got a deep lift at the
            end of a hallway, a nice effect is to have differing levels of
            tunnels "branching off" the main lift.  All you have to do is
            define the heights of the floors and ceilings of these branching
            tunnels to anything BETWEEN the original ceiling height and the
            floor height of the adjacent sector.  If done right, it's a neat
            effect -- it makes getting into these sections of your level a
            timed event.  A crude example follows:
                                ____________
                                |  C -64   |
                        Hall -->|  F -128  |
      __________________________|__________|__________
      |                         |   Lift   |  C -128 |
      |  Hallway  C 128  F 0    |C128  F0  |  F -256 | <-- Hall
      |_________________________|__________|_________|
                                |  C -256  |
                        Hall -->|  F -320  |
                                |__________|

            Now, all of those hallways that branch off the lift are 64 high,
            and the lift will go all the way to the "bottom" at -320.  During
            its descent, though, it'll pass the top-most hallway first, then
            the hallway on the right, ending up at the hallway on the bottom.
            You can make even more branchings if you were to make the lift
            hexagonal (6 sides) or octagonal (8 sides).  Or you could just go
            completely berserk and make the lift huge and dodecahedronal (12-
            sided), with 11 branches... A bit excessive, but possible.

      5.    A NOTE ABOUT TEXTURES:  SUPPORT2 and SUPPORT3 are the standard for
            side-of-the-lift textures, but, hey -- it's YOUR level.
            Experiment.  Some of the "side of the door" textures look pretty
            cool, as does COMPBLUE.


STAIRS
~~~~~~
      Stairs are the other most common way to have the player change
elevation, and they're so simple to make; time-consuming, though, unless your
editor has an automatic-stair feature.  Since not all of them do, here's the
laborious way:

      1.  Define a series of sectors all in a row, and make them door-sized.
      We'll start off with a straight staircase.  See below:
            ______ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _________
            hall  ||    |     |     |     |     |     |more hall
            0     | 16  | 32  | 48  | 64  | 80  | 96  |   112
            ______|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_________

      The numbers in the sectors are the floor heights; for the ceiling, use
      192.  Note how the floor "rises" as you go up the stairs, and also note
      how rapidly the elevation changes.

      2.  Now that you've got your rising sectors, DON'T FORGET to apply the
      proper textures to the risers of the stairs!  Since the risers are
      "below the floor" of the higher sector, the texture will go in the Lower
      section (Box-C).  (If you have the ceilings rise with the stairway,
      you'll also have to put a texture on the Upper/"above the ceiling"
      slot.)


      3.  And finally, remember that the player is 56 high.  What this means
      is that the ceiling of the lower sector must be 56 higher than the floor
      of the higher sector, or you won't be able to get up the stairs!  Once
      you get better at designing stairs, you can have them spiral, go around
      corners, or have the stairs themselves be odd shapes.

      4.  An example of a basic stairway is in WALKTHRU.WAD.


-------------------------------------------------------------
[4-0]  Building The Level -- Intermediate -- Tips And Effects
-------------------------------------------------------------

      Since this Handbook was intended as a "primer", and since I myself have
only built one level, the "Intermediate" section will, in future, be ideas or
demonstrations that you can try out to experiment with different effects.
Possibly, in future releases, this section may contain some useful tips.
Sometimes it's helpful to know what kinds of things _can_ be done with this
system, so you'll get the "feel" for dinking around with your level editor's
commands.
      There are many, many effects you can use, especially if you combine one
or more of the effects outlined and described in this Handbook.  Again, this
section is for future expansion, so send in those tips with ASCII drawings, or
send in an actual level with your new technique demonstrated, so I can
describe it and put it in the next release.  Good luck on designing your
level, and good DOOMing!


----------------
[5-0]  Checklist
----------------

      This is included for the absolute novice who has no idea where to start,
and may be a handy reference guide.  Or maybe not; only you can decide what
works best for you.

      [ ]   I have gotten a level editor that I am comfortable with.
      [ ]   I have read this Handbook and understand the basic concepts.
      [ ]   I have played around with building the basic things.
      [ ]   I have built and played my first level, and it sucks.

      [ ]   I have a theme for my first releasable level.

      [ ]   Build an enclosed area of connected linedefs.
      [ ]   Check the linedefs of the area to make sure they all point in.
      [ ]   Define the area (stair, room, door, etc.) as a sector.
      [ ]   Apply the textures to the walls, floor, ceiling, and all other
            visible surfaces.
      [ ]   Adjust the lighting.
      [ ]   Define any special linedefs, and tag them to the appropriate
            sector, if necessary.
      [ ]   Define any special sector events in this sector, if necessary.
      [ ]   Add any Things you would like in this sector, if you prefer.
      [ ]   Save the level as E1M1 (makes for easier testing).
      [ ]   Exit the level-editor (if it's necessary to do this to build the
            nodes).
      [ ]   Build the nodes with the node-builder.
      [ ]   Exit the level-editor (if you haven't already).
      [ ]   Get your notepad ready.
      [ ]   Run DOOM with this command line:

                  doom -file mywad.wad -warp 1 1 -nomonsters

            (The -nomonsters switch is nice if you've added Things before you
            got done with the level and don't want to fight your way through
            every monster on the level every time you test it.)

      [ ]   Go through the ENTIRE level, even if you've done so before.  (Yes,
            you _will_ grow sick of doing this, but you'll find errors much
            easier if you look at the whole thing every time.)
      [ ]   Take notes on all the things that need fixing or could be
            improved.
      [ ]   Exit DOOM.
      [ ]   Go back to your level-builder.
      [ ]   Fix everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) on your list before you
            build anything new.
      [ ]   Go up to "build an enclosed area" and begin the cycle again.

      After a while, when your proficiency increases, you'll be able to get
away with building multiple sectors before testing... BUT YOU SHOULD SAVE THE
WAD EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU MAKE A CHANGE!  This will save you much trouble
later on...


-------------------
[6-0]  Finishing Up
-------------------

      Now your masterpiece is complete.  You've had some really good friends
beta-test it for you (and test it and test it and test it... There is NO SUCH
THING as "too much beta-testing"), and they like what they see (after they've
made a bunch of suggestions, of course...), and none of you can find any flaws
in the final production.  Now it's time to finish up.

      If your WAD has a theme, and some kind of story behind it, write a
little piece explaining the introduction, if any.  This is kind of fun (though
most players don't read it, it's entertaining), and will provide anyone
interested with a little background on your level.  I usually save any stories
I include with the level as BACKGRND.TXT, just so players will know what it
is.

      Hank Leukart has established a WAD Authors' Template, for level authors
to include with the level, and it's pretty much become a standard.  It's
included here (with permission from the author; thanks, Hank!):

WAD Authoring Template V1.4   (Clip this line)
================================================================
Title                   : The title of your WAD.
Filename                : <filename>.WAD
Author                  : Your name here
Email Address           :
Misc. Author Info       :

Description             : Set the mood here, or refer to a .TXT file.

Additional Credits to   : Your beta-testers and anyone who's helped.
================================================================
* Play Information *

Episode and Level #     : ExMx (,ExMx,...)
Single Player           : Yes/No
Cooperative 2-4 Player  : Yes/No
Deathmatch 2-4 Player   : Yes/No
Difficulty Settings     : Yes/Not implemented
New Sounds              : Yes/No
New Graphics            : Yes/No
New Music               : Yes/No
Demos Replaced          : None/1/2/3/All

* Construction *

Base                    : New level from scratch/Modified ExMx/xxx.WAD
Build time              : So people will know how much of your life you
                          spent on this thing.  :)
Editor(s) used          : Everything you used.
Known Bugs              : Any glitches or weird stuff.

* Copyright / Permissions *

Authors (MAY/may NOT) use this level as a base to build additional
levels.

(One of the following)

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.

You MAY not distribute this WAD file in any format.

You may do whatever you want with this file.


* Where to get this WAD *

FTP sites:

BBS numbers:

Other:  Notes, thanks, acknowledgements, whatever.
=====================================================================
(Cut this line)

      A blank template for you to use is included in this archive, and the
file name is WAD_AUTH.TXT.  After you get done with all that, just .ZIP or
.ARJ the thing, and start uploading it to your favorite BBSs!


----------------------------------------
APPENDIX A:  Sizes Of The Various Things
----------------------------------------

      This section is included so you will know how big a hallway, door, or
room has to be for the various monsters to be able to move around in them.  It
also has the radius of the monster, so you will know how far apart they'll
have to be to be able to move.  NOTE:  You can get a real interesting effect
by placing one monster on top of another -- neither will be able to move or
fire until one of them is dead.  This also happens if they're too close
together, so be careful where you place them!  (Credit for this section goes
entirely to Matt Fell, author of The Unofficial DOOM Specs, release 1.3.)

Radius*2 = width of monster. (Note: the radius of the player + the radius of a
"gettable" object is how far the player can be from that object to pick it up.
This is irrespective of intervening walls; i.e., if an object is too close to
a wall, the player may be able to pick it up THROUGH an adjacent wall...)

Height = how much ceiling space they'll need to move.  (Note the height of
monsters is infinite, if you're trying to move over them.)

Minimum width = how wide a corridor or room will have to be for the Thing to
be able to move through it.

Thing             Radius      Height      Minimum width
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player              16          56              34  *This is why the player
Former human        20          56              42   can fit through doorways
Former sergeant     20          56              42   the other humans can't.
Imp                 20          56              42
Demon/Spectre       30          56              62
Cacodemon           31          56              64
Lost soul           16          56              34
Baron of Hell       24          64              50
Cyberdemon          40         110 (!)          82
Spiderdemon        128 (!)     100             258

Barrel              10          42             n/a   *They can't move...
All gettable Things 20          16              42   *So they don't overlap
Most obstacles      16          16             n/a
Large brown tree    32          16             n/a
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, when placing monsters next to one another, if they are too close
together, they will not be able to move.  The minimum distance a monster must
be from an adjacent monster is one-half of the first monster's radius plus one
PLUS one-half of the second monster's radius PLUS ONE.  For instance, if
you've got two imps side by side, they must be, at a minimum, 22 apart, which
translates into:  ((.5*10)+1) + ((.5*10)+1).  If an imp is next to a demon or
spectre, the distance increases to 27: ((.5*10)+1) + ((.5*30)+1).  If you had
a Baron of Hell next to a Cyberdemon (which is really overkill, but it's an
example), the minimum distance would be 34 ((.5*24)+1) + ((.5*40)+1).  It's
really easy to figure once you actually start doing it.


---------------------------------------------
APPENDIX B:  The 10 Most Common Design Errors
---------------------------------------------

(Note: This next section is borrowed from DESIGN11.FAQ, and is used with
permission from the author.  The FAQ itself is recommended as well, as it
explains how to identify and correct the more frequent design errors.)

Some of these are show-stoppers (DOOM will crash if you try to run the level),
others will let you run DOOM but game play is screwed up, others are just
ugly, and a few are common stylistic complaints.  All are encountered often in
user-written levels, or asked about in discussion forums, or both.  There is
no particular order.


      [B-1]  Bad Wall Effects.

      These include:

            HOMs -- Caused by missing wall textures.  See Glossary for a
            definition of this, and the body of this Handbook for solutions.

            The Medusa Effect -- The look of this effect varies, depending on
            which texture you used, but the result is always the same:  When
            this part of the wall is in view, the DOOM engine slows WAAAAYYY
            down.  This happens because you used a multi-patch texture on the
            Normal area (the middle box) of a wall that you are able to walk
            through.  A fuller explanation of patches and textures can be
            found in the Unofficial Specs, but briefly:  Each texture (like
            STARTAN3) is built from one or more graphic "patches" and, for
            some reason, DOOM's engine can only draw SINGLE-patch textures on
            passable walls; examples of single-patch textures are BROWNGRN,
            SKINTEK2, and ASHWALL.  Examples of multi-patch textures that
            wouldn't work are STARTAN3, COMPBLUE, and WOODSKUL.  A complete
            list (TEXPATCH) of textures and the patches that make them up is
            available on major DOOM archive sites.

            The Tutti-Frutti Effect (also known as "Confetti") -- This effect
            looks like strangely-colored dots and lines on some of your walls,
            usually between sections of textures.  (CRATINY is a texture that
            will produce this effect, if you want to see what it looks like.)
            This can happen for one of two reasons:
                  1.  You used a short texture (less than 128 high) on a wall
                  that's over 128 high.  This happens because textures are
                  only _vertically_ tiled on 128-pixel boundaries.  If your
                  wall is taller than your texture, and the texture is less
                  than 128 high, DOOM fills in the extra pixels with quasi-
                  random garbage, hence the colored Tutti-Frutti or Confetti.
                  You often see this effect when designers put "STEPx" on 20-
                  24 high steps.
                  2.  You used a "transparent" texture (like MIDGRATE) on an
                  Upper or Lower surface (top and/or bottom box) instead of on
                  the Normal (middle box) surface.  The upper/lower holes
                  Tutti-Frutti effect happens because Upper and Lower surfaces
                  actually have _nothing_ behind them.  DOOM has nothing to
                  show through these holes; hence, random garbage.

            The Long-Wall Error -- This effect causes bullets to hit an
            invisible wall somewhere in a room (but the line doesn't show on
            any map), or the walls sort of "jump" or slide around.  This is
            caused by having a HUGE (thousands of units long) wall somewhere
            in your level.  DOOM's engine has fits trying to compute and
            display the wall's position relative to the player, creating the
            Long-Wall error.  The blocked shots are from the "real" wall right
            in front of you.  The solution is simple: break up long lines.  As
            a general rule, keep them under 1,024.  Also, if you choose wall
            segment lengths of 768 or 512 (remember those multiples of 8?),
            you will never have a problem with X or Y offsets in the texture
            tiling.

            The Moire Error -- Also known as the "Flash of Black" error.  This
            effect causes the whole screen (or just parts of it) to flash,
            either in random hash or sometimes in a pattern.  This is another
            DOOM bug/limit, triggered by getting close to a wall in a very
            tall room.  The effect first kicks in at about 559 units high, and
            gets worse (you see it farther from the wall, and stay in it
            longer) as the room gets taller.  (The "pattern" you see is
            actually your old room's ceiling texture, repeated forever at a
            great distance above and below you, as though you were floating in
            some vast star-gate.)  If you don't really NEED the tall room, get
            it below 559 high.  Note:  this error is supposedly fixed in
            versions 1.4 and later.


      [B-2]  Wall Pegging.

      Wall faces exposed by rising or lowering ceilings or floors (including
      door side tracks) usually have the Unpeg Lower/Unpeg Upper bits set in
      their linedef.  This keeps the side textures from "following" the
      adjacent rising/lowering sector.  Many, many user level designers forget
      to unpeg their door tracks.  Just cosmetic, but contributes to the sense
      of realism -- or lack thereof.


      [B-3]  Lines Or Vertexes That Cross Or Coincide.

      A show-stopper.  If two or more vertexes occupy the same position, or if
      two or more lines cross or lie "on top of" one another, DOOM's engine
      will crash trying to work out the sector math.  Several editors are
      capable of checking for this; if you get crashes often, use one.


      [B-4]  Slowdown From Monster/2-Sided Linedef Glut.

      Not a crash, but a playability issue.  Designers should try their levels
      on less powerful PCs and/or at full-screen resolution to see whether
      some rooms are unacceptably slow.  (A reject-table builder will tend to
      alleviate some of this problem, but if you've got more than, say, 64
      monsters active at once, this will become an issue on slower PCs.)


      [B-5]  Unaligned Textures, Both X And Y.

      Just cosmetic, but important for realism.  If your X textures are
      properly aligned and you split a line or drag vertexes around, you will
      probably need to re-align them.  A tedious job, to be sure, but some
      editors help automate it for you.  NOTE:  It's considered polite to
      offset secret door textures a little bit -- say, 2 pixels -- just enough
      so that an attentive player might notice it.


      [B-6]  Missing Player Starts, Insufficient Sectors.

      Another show-stopper.  Every level MUST HAVE a minimum of two (2)
      sectors.  It must also have a Player 1 Start (if you are going to play
      non-deathmatch), Players 2-4 Start (if you will be playing Co-Op), and
      four (4) Deathmatch starts if you will be playing deathmatch.  Otherwise
      (surprise!) DOOM will crash.


      [B-7]  Floor/Ceiling Mismatch.

      Usually caused by raising or lowering a floor but forgetting the
      associated ceiling, or vice versa.  Sometimes caused by accidentally
      "including" an unintended sector in a floor/ceiling change, under
      editors that support multi-sector "gang" operations.  Unless the ceiling
      is AT LEAST 56 higher than the floor, you either can't enter or (if
      you're already there, via teleport, floor/ceiling movement, or start of
      play) you will be stuck.  This is sometimes an issue on stairways; the
      LOWER ceiling must be at least 56 higher than the HIGHER floor, or you
      won't be able to go up or down the stairs.


      [B-8]  Missing/Wrong Tag Numbers.

      When tagged operations like Lights Out or Raise Floor get the tag number
      wrong (in the activating linedef), the results are usually awful.  The
      whole level rises or crushes or something else you don't want.  This can
      be tough to spot at first in gameplay.  Ideally, editors should check
      for this.  Some editors don't assign Tag numbers, as well; they simply
      link the linedef(s) to the sector(s) indicated.


      [B-9]  Monsters Too Close To Each Other Or Walls.

      See Appendix A for the sizes of the various monsters, and the distances
      they have to be from each other and walls to be able to move and shoot.


      [B-10]  Dead Ends.

      Designers sometimes leave out an EXIT switch, which makes it hard to
      play a level in Deathmatch or as part of a larger, multi-level episode.
      Also, perhaps this is a stylistic argument, but at least be AWARE of
      which places (if any) have "no escape" for the unwary user who enters.
      Id's original levels do have a couple of these, but most users
      (actually, nearly ALL users) don't like them.


-----------------------------
APPENDIX C:  The Walk-Through
-----------------------------

      Included in this archive are two files you may find useful:
WALKTHRU.WAD and WALKTHRU.TXT.  WALKTHRU.TXT is simply a description and
labeling of the various effects and errors, and where you'll find them, in
WALKTHRU.WAD.  Print out WALKTHRU.TXT and go through WALKTHRU.WAD while
playing DOOM.  That way, you'll be able to actually SEE what we've been
talking about in this Handbook, and you'll be able to mess around with the
various effects without worrying about whether you're screwing up YOUR
level... You might even want to experiment with adding Things (monsters,
weapons, etc.) to this level to get the "feel" of it.  You can do whatever you
want with this level, too -- if you want to build on it and improve it, go
ahead.  Heck, you can even take all the credit for it if you want!  It's a
play level for you, the novice WAD author, and it's yours with my compliments.
Of course, I _do_ expect you to upload any levels you build... :)


----------------------
APPENDIX D:  End notes
----------------------

      Well, folks, that's it for release 1.0 of The Unofficial WAD Authors
Handbook!  If like what you've seen, drop me a line at:

                        [e-mail]

Of course, if you hate what you've seen, I can still be reached there. :)  If
you have ANY comments, suggestions, additions, modifications, deletions, or
whatever, let me know -- if I use it, YOUR name will be in the credits for the
next release.

      Things I'd have liked to add, but didn't have the knowledge or expertise
      or experience (something I hope some of our readers will help me with):

      *  More detailed intermediate tips, and more things to try.
      *  Common errors, and how to fix them.
      *  Questions and answers (like "How do I make this...?").
      *  A section of tips on making deathmatch levels.

      If you have any of these types of things that I could add to the next
release, I'd be more than grateful to have them! Until next time -- good
DOOMing!!   -- Bill  <[e-mail]>