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█▓▒░ DukeEdit Version 1.1 Documentation DukeEdit is (C) Copyright 1992 David Bollinger. Duke Nukem is (C) Copyright 1991 Apogee Software. What is "DukeEdit" ? DukeEdit is a tool that allows you to view, edit and print the game maps of Apogee Software's Duke Nukem. It will allow you to modify existing levels or create completely new levels from scratch. It will work on all the levels of all three episodes of Duke Nukem. It allows you to edit two levels at once and supports cut and paste editing. It contains a complete reference describing every object in the Duke Nukem world, and will support any printer capable of compressed mode printing. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the game maps this tool is not recommended for casual gamers. It is intended primarily for experienced computer users who would like to expand the worlds of Duke. What about "DukeMap" ? DukeMap was written approximately one year ago as the first utility for viewing and printing the game maps of Duke Nukem. It served its purpose, but has since evolved into DukeEdit. DukeEdit contains all the features of DukeMap (minus several known bugs) while offering a more detailed screen display and complete editing capabilities. How to use DukeEdit: 1. If you do not yet have a copy of Duke Nukem, get it! 2. Register your copy with Apogee Software! 3. Place the DukeEdit files in your Duke Nukem subdirectory. 4. Type 'DukeEdit' from the command line. 5. Register your copy of DukeEdit. NOTE: DukeEdit requires an EGA or VGA display. After loading, DukeEdit will attempt to load level one from episode one. If this level is present it will be displayed on the screen. If this level is not present the screen will be blank. You may select a different episode or level by pressing 'L.' If you are unable to load any levels press [Esc] to exit and verify that you have installed DukeEdit in the appropriate directory. █▓▒░ THE DISPLAY Hopefully the symbols used on the screen maps are self-evident. Most of them at least superficially resemble their counterparts in the game. Some of the objects (such as jump boots, etc.) are displayed on screen as the object itself, even though in the game the object is contained within a grey disk. This is for clarity - grey disks contain important items and a screen full of grey disks is not very informative. On the other hand, treasure items contained within blue disks are simply displayed as blue disks. No point cluttering up the screen with lots of extraneous symbols. The free-standing treasures however are shown as the actual object. Red disks are similarly displayed. The status bar at the bottom of the screen contains the following info: 1. The current editing screen (1 or 2) 2. The current episode (1-9) 3. The current level (1-9,A-C) 4. The current shape and type 5. The current cursor position █▓▒░ EDITING: Warning: The world of Duke Nukem is a large and detailed place. Editing this world requires both patience and persistence. It will also probably require a great deal of experimentation - but hey, that's half the fun isn't it ?! OBJECTS: Each level of Duke Nukem is 128 units wide and 90 units tall. At the bottom of the screen are two numbers labeled "XY:" which allow you to keep track of your current location within the level. Note that the coordinates begin at 0 (0-127, 0-89). Each location within the level can contain one of many different objects. These objects are defined by two numbers: SHAPE and TYPE. These values are also displayed at the bottom of the screen and indicate the shape and type of the object that the cursor is currently positioned on. Note that these values are in hexadecimal notation (base 16). This format was chosen because it most closely matches the internal organization of objects used by Duke Nukem. I apologize if you are not fluent in hex, but decimal would have been much worse. SHAPE is a number in the range 00h - 30h that describes the overall function of the object. For example, is it background or a solid object? TYPE is a number in the range 00h - E0h (usually) that describes the object specifically. If it is a solid object TYPE will tell you what that object looks like. For example, is it brick or stone? As you use the editor you will notice that it forbids you from generating certain combinations of SHAPE and TYPE. This is normal, certain combinations are just not valid (or at least not useful). I had to make a tradeoff in design on this point between ease-of-use and mess-around-ability. Ease-of-use won. A complete listing of SHAPES and TYPES is available in the file DUKEEDIT.S&T. I recommend that you print a copy of this list before you begin editing. In summary, you will find the following 5 categories of SHAPES: SHAPE # WHAT IS IT? ------- ------------------------ 00 Empty 01 - 05 Flashers (blinky things) 06 - 17 Background (Duke can move through these) 18 - 2F Solids (Duke cannot move through these) 30 Active Objects (This is all the fun stuff - incl. Duke himself, badguys, health, treasure... If the descriptions provided in DUKEEDIT.S&T are not adequate (and I admit that some of these objects were difficult to describe in words) you may wish to explore the included level WORLDAL1.S&T. This level is nothing more than a "shopping mall" of available non-active objects. They are arranged and grouped in order by SHAPE and TYPE number. The following commands will allow you to use WORLDAL1.S&T with Duke Nukem (these commands assume you are using episode 1): RENAME WORLDAL1.DN1 WORLDAL1.BAK RENAME WORLDAL1.S&T WORLDAL1.DN1 KEYS FUNCTION ------ --------------------------------------------- Arrows move around Home increments the current shape End decrements the current shape PgUp increments the current type PgDn decrements the current type Space repeats last used object (see below) Enter sets last used object (see below) Ins marks and cuts into buffer (see below) Del pastes from buffer (see below) L load a level P print the currently loaded level R rename current level S save the current level T toggle between edit screen 1 and 2 Ctrl-X clears entire level (prompts before clearing) F1 display help screen listing key functions Esc quit DukeEdit (prompts before exiting) ------------------------------------------------------ Notes on keys: The load and save functions allow you to select from 9 different episodes. Be aware that the 3 episodes of Duke Nukem only recognize a single episode. The extra episodes are provided as working storage locations for you. In order to actually play any level of an episode numbered above 3 you will have to rename it as appropriate. The rename function will accomplish this. Once a level has been loaded you may rename it to another episode or level before saving it. Each time you edit an object the program remembers that object. The space bar allows you to later recall that object with a single keystroke and place it at the current cursor location. The Enter key is in effect the opposite of the space bar: it sets the repeatable object to the object at the current cursor location. The Enter key allows you to "pick up" existing objects for duplication. To copy more than a single object you must use the buffer commands: The Insert key can be used to copy a region into a temporary buffer. Press Insert once to mark the first corner of the region. Now define the region by moving around with the arrow keys (the region will be highlighted). Pressing Insert a second time will complete the operation. Pressing Escape before pressing Insert a second time will cancel the operation. The temporary buffer can be retrieved by pressing the Delete key. The current cursor position defines the upper left corner of the pasted block. If there is insufficient room to perform the paste a warning will be issued and the operation will be cancelled. Note: pasting cannot be undone. I might suggest using the buffer to build a "library" level of commonly used groups of objects. Keep the library loaded in edit screen 2, then while editing a new level on screen 1 you can cut and paste from the library. Note: Delete was chosen as the paste key rather than Insert only because it is usually a physically smaller key. I believe that destructive keys ought to be harder to get at than constructive keys. Ctrl-X clears the entire level. It will ask for confirmation before executing. █▓▒░ DESIGN GUIDELINES Duke Nukem is amazingly forgiving in terms of the errors it will allow in its level datafiles. However, a well designed level will obey the following guidelines: 1. Place one and only one Duke in each level. 2. Place one and only one exit door in each level. 3. Do not allow Duke to walk off the left or right sides of the level. 4. Do not allow Duke to move below line 86 or above line 3. 5. If you use the conveyor belts, make sure that the ends are properly matched. 6. If you use the teleporters, make sure that you use one and only one of each type (there are two teleporters). 7. Special objects such as the jump boots, grappling hook, robot glove, etc., should not be duplicated within a level. 8. Duke is 2 units tall although his object occupies only one unit. The space just above Duke should be empty. All paths that Duke is expected to take must be at least two units tall. 9. Several other objects also occupy more than 1 unit - allow room: fans, teleporters, large techbots, rockets, reactor, etc. 10. Duke can only jump 3 units vertically, 4 with jump boots. He can jump 7 units horizontally, 8 with jump boots - and further if the destination is below him. Make sure he can reach his destination. 11. If you use keys, make sure that keys, keyholes and doors are matched up logically. 12. If you use the duplicators (S&T #'s 3025, 3026, 3027) be aware that they can function as either background or solid objects depending on what they are next to. Make sure they work the way you expect. 13. If you use the extension floor, make sure that it has something to "run into" to stop its extension. 14. Place Dr. Proton only in the last level of an episode. The editor will not prevent you from disobeying these guidelines, use common sense. Typically if Duke Nukem finds too many of any given object in a level it will remove them, beginning at the top left, leaving the only the lower right copy. If objects don't match up properly they will probably simply not work. █▓▒░ PRINTING The maps used in Duke Nukem are too wide to fit on 8-1/2 x 11 paper unless compressed printing is used. DukeEdit will automatically set your printer to compressed mode before printing if it finds a file called DUKEEDIT.PTR that contains the escape sequence appropriate for your printer. The setup file included supports Epson and IBM compatible printers that can be switched into compressed mode with the sequence: \027\014 or <ESC><SI>. The file DUKEEDIT.LSR contains the escape sequence for setting a Hewlett-Packard Laserjet into compressed mode. The following DOS commands will make this file the active printer configuration: RENAME DUKEEDIT.PTR DUKEEDIT.IBM RENAME DUKEEDIT.LSR DUKEEDIT.PTR Other printers can be supported by inserting their commands with a text editor. Or you may put your printer into compressed mode manually. If you have a wide-carriage printer you can safely ignore all of the above; the maps will fit perfectly at 10 CPI. NOTE: Since the map is printed using text characters, which are not square, the aspect ratio of the maps will be distored - they will appear to be taller than they actually are. This problem is more noticeable on narrow-carriage printers. The following symbols are used on the printed maps: ╬ Duke's starting position ¥ Techbot - Badguy c Camera ▓ ▒ ░ Various walls/floors/solid objects < > Conveyor belts * Spike ball (bouncing/exploding) ┴ ┬ Spikes ■ Various goodies, treasure DUKE Collect the letters ∞ Health items (pepsi, drumstick, molecule) ⌐ Gun, increased firepower ≈ Flamejet ≡ Electric field k Key Φ Keyhole ║ Key operated door X Exit door ─ Psuedo-floor generator A Rocket S Fan Ω Teleporter ^ Elevator Notes: Background objects are not displayed on the printed maps. The duplicators are displayed as very light solid objects - depending on their placement they may be simply background. █▓▒░ LEGAL STUFF: DukeEdit is (C) Copyright 1992 David Bollinger, All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer: The author makes no representations or warranties with respect to this software or documentation, and specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any purpose. Further the author reserves the right to make changes to any and all parts of the software, at any time, without obligations to notify any person or organizations. The author will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall the author's liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the software, regardless of the form of the claim. Further the author is in no way affiliated with Apogee Software. All programs and datafiles contained herein are original works of authorship. None of the programs or datafiles contained herein shall be distributed with any of Apogee Software's products, nor shall they be represented as having been approved for any use by Apogee Software. █▓▒░ ETCETERA: DukeEdit is distributed as shareware and may be freely distributed provided that all of the original files are included and have not been modified or altered in any way. This software may not be sold. However, a reasonable service charge (not to exceed $7) may be asked in order to cover handling and/or materials costs. This release of DukeEdit consists of the following files: DUKEEDIT.EXE DUKEEDIT.DOC DUKEEDIT.S&T DUKEEDIT.PTR DUKEEDIT.LSR WORLDAL1.S&T If you use and enjoy this program I encourage you to support the shareware concept by sending U.S. $10.00 to: David Bollinger P.O. Box 894 Denair, CA 95316 In return you will receive the latest version of the program (please specify 3 1/2" or 5 1/4" disks) as well as any levels that either I have created or that have been submitted by other users. I heartily welcome all submissions of any levels that you may create. I personally enjoy this game a great deal, and love exploring new worlds created by other people. All levels that are playable will be shipped out with the registered version of the program so that other users will also benefit from your creativity. Appropriate credit for design will be included in this .DOC file. I also welcome all comments and suggestions. █▓▒░ RELEASE NOTES Version 1.1 11/15/92 1. Version 1.1 is the first publicly available version of DukeEdit. 2. DukeEdit was written with Borland C++ 3.0 and Turbo Assembler 2.0. 3. DukeEdit correctly identifies all teleporters. (DukeMap did not). 4. Under cetain circumstances, DukeMap would crash while printing if the printer was not ready. This has been corrected in DukeEdit. (Note: Certain shareware distributors require that instructional or identification material be appended to the documentation file or placed in a separate file to be included with the original program files. The author grants permission for this documentation file to be modified for this purpose provided that the original text is left intact. The author also grants permission for additional files to be included for this purpose provided that they are clearly identified as not being part of the original program.)