Csonicgo
This post is probably useless
Posts: 1783
Registered: 03-04 |
Got another find for you kids!
Bounding boxes required for the first revisions of id's map editor?
From what I have gathered (and this is pure conjecture here), the old editor either required the mapper to draw a bounding box (or polygon) around the level, but during the last part of development, that limitation was removed.
This is from pure observation of the alpha maps, and doom v1.0 maps.
The things to look for are lots of clean, horizontal /vertical lines near the "invisible" box surrounding the maps.
http://toastytech.com/dooma/b2level.gif here's the map from the first tech demo. box box box.
http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Image:E2M7_map.png Here is Map E2M7. notice the boxy-ness. the only things sticking out are the exits and the little teleport area, possibly added later.
Well, let's just look at the alpha maps themselves to see if I'm right.
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/8586/e2m7alphams2.png
Well, looky there.
http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Image:E3M3_map.png here is Map E3M3. notice near the edges, the perfectly horizontal and vertical lines. It also appears that an area was planned in the bottom right corner!
Let's look at Alpha 0.4 to see!
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/3609/e3m3alphapv1.png
eeer.. maybe not.
http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Image:E2M2dots.png This is E2M2. the boxy-ness (no, not the crates!) is immediately visible. In fact, in the 0.4 alpha, there WAS a box.
http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/8819/e2m2alphagi6.png
Here's a good one. This is E2M3- Refinery. Here it is now:... http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Image:E2m3dots.png
here it was THEN:
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/7949/e2m3trapkz2.png
Wh-- a Trapezoid?
http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Image:E1M4dots.png Ah, E1M4. (in)famous for the swastika room.
And here is the alpha version.
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6659/tictace1m4ac6.png
Reminds me of a certain currency of a certain popular NES adventure game.
Ok, now that I've bored you to death with circumstantial evidence, there is only one question to ask: Why were the bounding boxes added? were they to help keep the maps within the even-then arcane space requirements Tom Hall laid out? would that have made any difference?
Was it to help the old renderer (before BSP was added)render the maps faster? was it the editor?
OR: (thanks essel)
The boxes around the maps might have been an intentional thing to make them fit the shape of the building they were going to appear as in the phobos/deimos surface map.
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/3130/interpicnc5.png
looks like the Alpha E1M4 in the middle there. that would be Command Control.
The "Waste" building looks an awful lot like the Alpha E2M2 level....
What about that ref building....
why, it's E1m3! look what happens when we rotate it....
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/5963/toxinrotaterj5.png
the secret area with the tall elevator (shown in the interpic) lines up perfectly, and so does the basic shape and entrance area. I imagine this looked even more convincing during development.
But, this could all be nothing. Who knows? it's just cool.
EDIT: During discussion in IRC the possibility of less-than-stellar clipping code was brought up. Sure would explain the clean, never-deviate-from-the-grid design. (I suppose it justifies keeping the automap Grid in.)
Last edited by Csonicgo on 09-12-08 at 05:02
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09-09-08 16:34 
