ZDoom Configuration File for WA

I downloaded the WadAuthor configuration file for ZDoom, and tried to open it. It gave me the "specify correct information" pop-up box. So I gave it the correct location of zdoom.wad, but it didn't like that; I clicked OK and the box popped right back up again.

There's also "zdoomold.wcf." But the name of that config file is "ZDoom for Boom." And I don't use Boom, so I don't want that one.

Please help me figure out what's wrong...

your not supposed to target zdoom.wad. Your supposed to target a copy of DooM.wad or DooM2.wad that's been run through ZWadconv.exe (or something like that). It should be in the utility package available on the zdoom website.

Edit:Go here for more complete instructions
http://zdoom.notgod.com/zdkb/zdoom4.html

Here are some Zdoom tutorials that use WA.
http://zdoom.notgod.com/zdkb/zdoomindex.html

The .cab file I downloaded does not come with that exe. Where do I find it on the ZDoom site?

Download Section
http://zdoom.notgod.com/download.php

Scroll down 'till you see "Editing Utilities".

Once you have zwadconv.exe, run the following command line:

zwadconv doom2.wad newname.wad

Then select newname.wad as the main wad file. If you're planning to edit any of your existing vanilla maps, run those through zwadconv.exe as well.

To be able to run ZDoom from within WA (using the Run Map feature), open your wauthor.ini file and add the following line to the top:

[DEBUG]

NoWARun=1

Then open your zdoom.wcf and change the command line so it runs ZDoom instead of doom2.exe.

I made a modified wcf for zdoom2.0 which has a couple of the newer things such as the slope things if you'd like:

http://doom.vect.org:8080/acs/zdoom2.wcf

Cyb said:

I made a modified wcf for zdoom2.0 which has a couple of the newer things such as the slope things if you'd like:

http://doom.vect.org:8080/acs/zdoom2.wcf

Downloaded it, downloaded the editing package and unzipped zwadconv to the Doom2 folder, and ran it. I made zdoomwa.wad with the program, then tried to open zdoom2.wcf and use zdoomwa.wad. Still won't let me continue...

I also tried it with zdoom.wcf... and then it worked. One thing I tried to do with zdoom2.wcf is change the "name" field. I took out "(Hex)" because I didn't see the point of that. But I don't see how that would affect anything.

I can't really understand ZDoom editing stuff. Like the linedef classes - I don't get them. Cyb, does yours make things simpler? I mean, can I see things like "down to highest floor" instead of "Floor_lowertohighest?"

The top of your zdoom.wcf file should look like this:

[WadGame]
Name=ZDoom
IWAD=zdoomwa.wad
NewMap=MAP01
Directory=c:\games\doom2 (*insert your path here*)
Run=c:\games\doom2\zdoom.exe -file $_Wadfile -warp $_Wadmap

If you change your zdoom2.wcf file to look like this, it should work.
The linedef classes etc. will be the same in Cyb's wcf, the only difference is that some may have been modified (if a particular special has been improved) and new ones have been added.

Don't worry about changing the name field, as this only changes the name that appears at the bottom of WA. The wcf files are fully customisable - you can change thing names (eg. replace 'Yellow card' with 'Green card'), which class they're in, the colour they show up as, etc. etc. - you can even add new things and new thing classes to it (as long as you know what you're doing).

The key thing to know about ZDoom editing is the arguments - the five boxes under the linedef type box. These let you choose how the special works - no 'local' or 'remote' doors anymore, no 'normal' or 'turbo' doors either, instead you get this:

Door_Raise (tag, speed, delay)

The first box lets you choose a sector tag like the remote doors (if it's a local door, set it to 0). The second box lets you choose how fast you want the door to raise (FYI, 16 is the normal speed and 32 is the turbo speed in vanilla) and the third box determines how long it stays open for (note: this is the number of tics - there are 35 of these in 1 second. 150 is the value for the vanilla doors) The last two boxes won't light up, as they're not used here.

I'm far from knowing what I'm doing.

Forget I said anything...

netnomad312 said:

I'm far from knowing what I'm doing.

Forget I said anything...

Stick with it, brother. All it requires is:

1. A little bit of patience
2. Some basic research skills (e.g., reading/searching ZDooM and DW forums)
3. Asking the right questions, and
4. Playing ZDooM wads, identifying the effect you're interested in creating, opening the wad in an editor, and exploring how it was done.

We all had to learn editing for ZDooM -- much of it is not intuitive, and a knowledge of vanilla DooM editing was just about enough to make us apprentices at ZDooM editing.

ReX speaks the truth. It's overwhelming at first, but you'll get the hang of it. If you've managed DooM editing, then you should be capable of this as well.

It's also a good idea to have the ZDooM reference manual handy. It's also available in the ZDooM download section.

Well, see, I was never really interested in making ZDoom levels. I was just hoping to see what difference it makes to use the ZDoom configuration file (was mostly looking for new linedef specials, etc.). But as it turns out I have to figure out a whole bunch of new stuff (how the arguments hook up, what the point of all the new things are...). And because I'm not that interested in making new levels out of it, I'd rather not try to understand it. I'm already busy enough as it is - I barely get time to work on my wads right now...

Hmm, speaking of which, I have a ZDoom Hexen wcf file with all the ZDoom specific stuff for Hexen, if anyone wants it.