(these should be moved to /software/NeXT/binaries/games/ and replace the files DoomView.app.MIH.b.tar.gz and DoomView_1.0.MIH.b.tar.gz previously stored there)
DoomView.app is a NEXTSTEP application for browsing the contents of the various
"WAD" files that work with the Doom.app and DoomII.app games.
Developed under Release 3.3 of NEXTSTEP, DoomView 2.0 will only run on systems
with Release 3.1 or later due to use of the DBKit's TableView. It runs on
Motorola(NeXT), Intel, HPPA, and SPARC hardware.
Version 2.0 of DoomView adds support for Doom 2 format WAD Files (from id
Software and 3rd parties) in addition to the original Doom 1 format. There are
many new features throughout the program, most useful is the TEXTURE inspector
which combines the various patches listed in a selected TEXTURE and show the
composite image in a separate window.
Version 1.0 of DoomView improved over Version 0.8h by adding many new
features, increasing performance of existing features, and by supporting crude
editing of the WAD File. The editing is crude because the size of resources
cannot be changed, nor can new sections be added (yet). Support of external
"PWAD" files is now working, and you can specify an "IWAD" which will provide
the color palette for "PWAD" files which do not include their own.
[KEEP THIS FILE: It's your only Help :-) ]
DoomView.app lets you listen to sounds, view textures, pictures, walls, and
floors, and look through lists of objects on each level. Sound and Bitmap
resources can be saved to NEXTSTEP-compatible format files.
The handiest feature is that you can view the map for any level, scroll through
it, and print an automatically scaled map to your PostScript printer. Items
are shown as they are in cheat mode, with the option to select only those
objects which appear on specific skill levels. Clicking on an object will
reveal its name and a list of all the difficulty levels in which you'll find
that object. An additional check button enables display of hidden walls.
If you're having trouble getting your score up on those "secret" rooms,
command-clicking on a trigger (usually shown in purple on the maps, but not
always) will automatically scroll the map view to the section that is triggered
by crossing, and will highlight the area affected.
Display of images within the Doom file is enhanced by a set of popuplists which
are labelled. The "Size" popuplist should have an obvious function - scaling
the image is very fast. The color palettes in Doom are 24-bit, taken from a
single 8-bit palette at a time. There are 32 levels of brightness (darkness)
which can be selected by the "Light" popuplist. The second to the last one is
a black and white color map which indicates invincibility status. The
"Palette" popuplist selects from the palettes used to indicate player damage (8
levels of red shading), animated feedback for picking up objects (4 levels of
green shading), and a palette used when the radiation suit is worn (another
green hue). You can play with these, but the default selections show the
images best. The "Gamma" popuplist allows selection of the same Gamma
Correction translations that are used within Doom. On my display, gamma level
3 usually looks best.
Check out "SKY1" under "Walls" for the mountains in the background. Clicking
within an image will display the X and Y position of the mouse in that image's
coordinate system.
If there is anything in the user interface that you do not understand, just try
it out. No harm will be done unless you save the WAD and overwrite your
original.
Depending upon time and interest, this may become an editor for custom Doom
adventures.
If you feel like letting me know how much you enjoy this little programming
exercise, your comments are welcome. Response has been wonderful so far!
LEGAL STUFF
-----------
I am tired of legalese, so I will word the following in plain english. The
language should be precise enough to avoid misunderstanding in the event that
legal action is necessary.
Please do not charge money for this utility or for any service you provide
using this utility. Please do not remove my name from this README, the
executable, or its associated user interface files. Please do not distribute
modified versions of any of these files. I hold the copyrights for this
utility and do not give permission for it to be distributed on CD-ROM without
my prior written permission. For those of you who are compiling CD-ROM
archives of software available freely via ftp, these restrictions are aimed
directly at you - especially if you are planning to charge for the CD-ROM, but
even if you are not. I would suggest keeping a copy of this README around to
remind you not to forget about the restrictions I have placed on this free
software. Future versions are not guaranteed to be free.
There are no guarantees or warranties associated with this free software. You
must accept it as is or else do without it.
Brian Willoughby Software Design Engineer, BSEE from NCSU
NeXTmail welcome Sound Consulting: Software Design and Development
