Sky texture editing questions...

Thanks everyone for your help! I got it working.

Animated skies: yes, you need to use a source port like ZDOOM or EDGE 1.25 WIP.

Multiple skies: yes, you need to use a source port like ZDOOM, EDGE, BOOM, etc.

Sooo.... What editor would I use if I am using ZDoom?

WadAuthor can edit ZDooM maps nicely. Under the Utilities menu here at DoomWorld.com you can find the link to it, and the link to the ZDooM configuration file (zdoom.wcf). Also, The ZDooM homepage has a very good techincal reference about ZDooM wad files.

Ok, but what I mean is if I were to change what levels the different sky textures appear on. So then I can have more than 3 different sky textures.

As far as Zdoom goes, yes. You can have a different sky on each level if you want. You have to create a text lump called MAPINFO and include it in your wad. This is actually a pretty powerful tool that allows you to chose the sky, music, next level, next secret level and a whole bunch of special effects for your levels. The zdoom editing docs give a full description of how to use this lump.

With the new Sky boxes in zdoom 1.23, it is also possible to create a new type of sky. You build an area the player will never enter and place a skybox camera in it. The view from this camera will be used as the sky for the entire level. You can also create a bunch of different sky boxes and by using a special thing, allocate different skies to different sectors in the same level. With sky boxes, any effect that can be applied to a sector can also be applied to the sky (eg flashing lights, surrounding it with scrolling walls, scrolling the ceiling etc). Documentaion on this is sparse, but hopefully will be fully written up when 1.23 final is released. Until then, try searching the zdoom forums.

Don't know how any of this is implemented in EDGE, if it is at all, but EDGE is very flexible, so I suspect it has something.

For my personal editor choice, I would recommend DeePsea. It edits Zdoom seamlessly. It fully supports all line types, sector types and things etc, has an easy interface for compiling and inserting scripts and a whole host of tools for handling the graphics and data in your wad files too (basically everything wintex can do and more). DeePsea needs to be registered to allow saving of maps above a certain size limit.

Lazer said:

Ok, but what I mean is if I were to change what levels the different sky textures appear on. So then I can have more than 3 different sky textures.

EDGE does kind of the same. You can have a custom sky for every single level, and also use RTS to change sky textures in mid level (useful if you want your level to appear to start at dusk, and go into the night midway).

Edit levels.ddf to set the sky texture for each level.

Enjay said:

This Zdoom thing is still confusing me. How do I edit the mapinfo lump? I want to know what editor. I've been trying all day and the best I've done is managed to get Wad Author building Zdoom/boom levels that I was using.

You can create and edit the MAPINFO lump with my editor.

http://wadedit.50megs.com

Lazer said:

This Zdoom thing is still confusing me. How do I edit the mapinfo lump? I want to know what editor. I've been trying all day and the best I've done is managed to get Wad Author building Zdoom/boom levels that I was using.

The MAPINFO lump is actually a text file, so you can use a text editor such as WordPad or NotePad to modify it. Several editors are able to edit in native ZDooM mode, including WadAuthor, DeePSea, and Zeth. In Wadauthor, you need to configure the editor for ZDooM before you can use the ZDooM features. Check out Rick Clark's tutorials at: http://zdoom.notgod.com/zdhtech/
With WadAuthor, you cannot currently insert or re-insert a lump such as MAPINFO. (The author is working on upgrades to the editor that will allow lump management.) You'll need a program such as WInTex or DeePSea to do that.

In DeePSea you need to select a project type (e.g. ZDooM) before you can use the ZDooM features. Read the documentation for details. The huge advantage of using DeePSea is that you can insert or re-insert lumps with practically no hassle.

I've never used Zeth, but I'm pretty sure that setting it up can't be that different.

loser said:

You can create and edit the MAPINFO lump with my editor.

http://wadedit.50megs.com

Hi WadEdit:

Just looked in to see what was shakin' at your site, and I notice you've got an update. I downloaded your most recent version, and I'm going to give it a spin. I was wondering if you could briefly itemize what's left on your to-do list, so we'd get a sense for what's remaining, and when there might be a useable editor. Thanks.

ReX