Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
Sign in to follow this  
Eric Vaughn

ZDoom source code modifications

Recommended Posts

Hi there,

I have plans to make a wad that requires a number of changes to game code, and I don't think that dehacked or anything similar will be able to pull these off. Since the ZDoom source code is available for download (and because I like it), I thought it would be feasible to make all the changes to the source code in ZDoom and then release the modified ZDoom with the finished pwad in the same zip file. All that would be required is the doom2 wad.

I'm not sure if all of these changes are possible, and figuring out how to do them is going to be tricky in itself. Anyway...

Here are the changes that I want to put into my wad:

* 42 levels
* New par times for every level
* Text screens before levels 10, 20, 30, 40, 41 and 42
* The game ends in a damaging sector like Episode 1 (is this already possible?)
* End game text and art after beating the game

Also, I want ZDoom to open this specific wad pwad (with doom2.wad of course) instead of prompting the player to select an episode to play.

Would you guys be able to steer me in the right direction in terms of pulling these things off?

Thanks.

Share this post


Link to post

Eric Vaughn said:
* 42 levels
* New par times for every level
* Text screens before levels 10, 20, 30, 40, 41 and 42
* End game text and art after beating the game

A MAPINFO lump should allow you to do and customize these things.

* The game ends in a damaging sector like Episode 1 (is this already possible?)

That's possible even with the standard engine, in a normal level.

Share this post


Link to post

Alright. One thing I want the player to be able to do is simply double click on the .exe and get right into the wad. Is there a way I can pull this off? One of the things that put me off Doom wads for a long time was that it was extremely fiddly to get a custom wad working. I want it to be as simple as possible.

Share this post


Link to post
Eric Vaughn said:

Alright. One thing I want the player to be able to do is simply double click on the .exe and get right into the wad. Is there a way I can pull this off? One of the things that put me off Doom wads for a long time was that it was extremely fiddly to get a custom wad working. I want it to be as simple as possible.


Dragging and dropping a WAD file onto the ZDoom executable is the simplest way that comes to mind.

Share this post


Link to post
Eric Vaughn said:

One of the things that put me off Doom wads for a long time was that it was extremely fiddly to get a custom wad working.

Personally I find Doom far simpler than most games I have played mods for to get them working (and that's quite a lot of games). As a general rule, there is no need for special directories, or front ends, or registering add ons etc etc. Just add the file to to exe (using whichever method suits you best) and 90% of the mods will just start working.

Anyway, as people have indicated, most of the "source modification" stuff you want is actually pretty straight forward and very easy to achieve with Zdoom with no need to actually change the source or distribute an exe with your work.

As for how to start things up, I'd suggest that most people who are going to play the mod will be familiar enough with how to do it, assuming this is just a simple mod with no "funny business", that it simply won't be an issue.

Share this post


Link to post

Alright, I suppose I can skimp out of the source code changes then.

When I open ZDoom, it comes up with a list of wads I have, such as Doom2, Final doom episodes, Hexen etc. Is there a way to get my wad to show up in there too?

Share this post


Link to post

You could create a batch file that loads your wad with a single click (yet is a work you don't really need).

I think it isn't a good idea to add extra things to the standard and simple wad distribution package (zip file containing txt and wad).
For regular wads, the less number of files you include there, the simple it is for people to play it.

Share this post


Link to post
Vegeta said:

You could create a batch file that loads your wad with a single click (yet is a work you don't really need).

I think it isn't a good idea to add extra things to the standard and simple wad distribution package (zip file containing txt and wad).
For regular wads, the less number of files you include there, the simple it is for people to play it.


Awesome, how do you do that if you don't mind me asking?

Share this post


Link to post
Eric Vaughn said:

Awesome, how do you do that if you don't mind me asking?

Create a file named "something.bat." Edit that file in notepad to include the following line:

zdoom.exe -file mywad.wad
Ta-dah!

edit: But, really, you don't need to add ANY extra ways to load the wads. 99.9 % of people would just ignore them anyway and possibly even consider them as nuisances. Better let people do it the way they want it (read: drag and drop, create their own bats, use command prompt or use a launcher program, whatever fits their fancy).

Share this post


Link to post

OK, I guess we all have to start from somewhere, but putting all the other questions aside...

Eric Vaughn said:

* The game ends in a damaging sector like Episode 1 (is this already possible?)


...aren't you pretty much answering your own question with this one?

Share this post


Link to post
Jodwin said:

and possibly even consider them as nuisances.


I would. I don't like it when a WAD comes with a BAT file. I rarely unzip WADs into my Zdoom directory but if a WAD comes with a BAT, I always feel I have to open the BAT in a text editor just to check that I don't need any unusual parameters.

Just make sure everything is in the WAD with no need for any unusual additional parameters or options (which should be possible for nearly any mod you want to create) and virtually everyone, if not everyone, who plays Doom mods will be able to run it without any problems at all.

And remember, Zdoom can run WADs from within a zip. So if everything is contained inside the WAD and the zip only contains your WAD and your text file, people won't even need to unzip it to play - but they would need to unzip it to run the BAT file.

Share this post


Link to post

The only reason ZDoom shouldn't work with PWAD drag and drop, is because you don't have any valid IWADs in its search path(s).

The simplest way to fix that is to have a copy of all IWADs in every ZDoom/GZDoom/ZDoomGL installation folder you may have, but that burns space for no reason.

Share this post


Link to post
Maes said:

... The simplest way to fix that is to have a copy of all IWADs in every ZDoom/GZDoom/ZDoomGL installation folder you may have, but that burns space for no reason.

Or include the path to the directory containing the IWADs in the ini file, i.e.:

[IWADSearch.Directories]
Path=C:\DOOM\IWADS
Path=$DOOMWADDIR
Path=$HOME
Path=$PROGDIR

Share this post


Link to post

Yeah, but this doesn't fall in the "simplest way" category for most people, unfortunately :rolleyes:

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  
×