convert zdoom to vanilla level?

Is there anything that would (automatically or near-automatically) "strip" all the zdoom features out of a level and convert it to vanilla doom compatible, or at least compatible with a limit-removing source port?

Some ports do this automatically when you load a map (i.e strip out unknown things, line types and sector types).

Of course, different ports may not be able to read eachothers map formats and obviously they don't produce a map that would be playable (i.e ZDoom wouldn't convert Doomsday features to ZDoom features and vice versa; indeed, ZDoom might as well support Doomsdays features in such a case and vice versa).

If there was one, KDiKDiZD would have been done within a day.

invictius said:

Is there anything that would (automatically or near-automatically) "strip" all the zdoom features out of a level and convert it to vanilla doom compatible, or at least compatible with a limit-removing source port?

Nah. Would be next to impossible programmatically.

First, ZDoom levels use a different map format, which is a lot more flexible.

Then there are features such as scripts, custom actors, etc. There's a virtual infinity of ways each action on the map (like opening a door) can be implemented in ZDoom, only a few of which exist in Doom or Boom. Say a door opens when you kill an imp. That's a Hexen feature to have specials on things; Doom only has them on lines. So, it's stripped away. Now when you play the level? That's right, the door never opens.

Now there's another door. It has an opening speed of 96. Woops, Doom only has door speeds cf 64 and 128. Any different speed is a Hexen feature, so it's stripped, and this door that cannot be converted to an existing line special is stripped too. So it never opens.

We got a third door. It's opened by a script. Well, too bad for scripts, they have been stripped.

Hey, that fourth door is opened by talking to an NPC using the Strife conversation system. Too bad. Stripped.

Now there's a custom inventory item that opens all the doors with a given tag on the level when it's used. Ah, well, stripped.

I used doors, but that also goes for any other type of specials. Some of which do not even exist at all in vanilla. Polyobject doors? Missing. 3D floor bridge? Hope you can jump them. A sloped ramp? Well, let's see how well vanilla Doomguy can climb.

You couldn't convert anything more than the rough geometry, and you'd have to recreate all the gameplay by hand. And probably the texturing, too.

To be fair, I had some success in just copy/pasting all of the geometry and things from a ZDoom format map to a Doom 2 format one and then just quickly going through and setting up doors, lifts and the like appropriately - all in DB2. It's not difficult, it just takes a while... Particularly if you've been using mixed textures/flats in your ZDoom map or relying heavily on ZDoom features for map progression. Hell, My third CC4 map was a direct geometrical copy of Virus MAP01 before I set to work on resizing and changing it and in Virus the player flies.

If the "ZDoom format" map is very trivial and uses only/mostly vanilla features to begin with, then maybe. Otherwise it's a subjective and painstaking process, caused by trying to downgrade something more capable into something less capable.

Even if it would be possible to automate it somewhat using some half-assed rules and assumptions (e.g. auto-converts slopes to 1-pixel wide stairs, ditch scripting altogether etc.), the results would be certainly not to everybody's liking, and a manual adaptation would probably work better.

AFAIK there must be such a tool to convert between EDGE "3D" format maps to CDoom "3D" format maps, but then again those two ports use mostly Boom map format as the basis, with the extra features being built by using dummy sector abuse.