Where To Start:...

Yeah, it's pretty weird that I've been playing this game since it was first released and I've never even came around to creating my own WADs yet...

Was going through some old paperwork and I stumbled upon a portfolio full ov drawn up maps from eons ago. Looking at this stuff and putting them into present perspective (using the knowledge attained from playing the more recent megawads) I've retained a desire to start mapping...

Only problem is, I've never done it before (I only have Doom Builder) and am afraid ov getting discouraged again since I have absolutely no experience in doing this stuff.

Other stuff I'm intersted in doing include designing my own decorate monster/textures...I first want to know what programs and such will I need to get started...yeah, I know this is n00bish but it's something that I've been wanting to do for quite some time now...any help would be appreciated...

EDIT: I already know that there are probably a million threads like this one...but I'd much rather hear it from you guys (especially those who are experienced mappers).

Allright some basic advices: Start with DoomBuilder. Allthough quite old it allows you to create levels with all the major ports of Doom, Doom2, Heretic, and Hexen. It has a 3D mode that lets you edit the level as you see it in 3D. Quite good when it comes to alligning the textures right.

The guide might help you.

Thanx a hella lot guys...

For the more advanced stuff there is a tool called XWE that lets you edit everything in a wad file. And it's quite steap learning progress so use it with caution. For simple textures I recommend Wally, a free tool for editing Doom textures. There is some free audio tools that you maybe want to look into as well. Specialy take a look at Audacity. Fore more advanced textures I'd recommend you to take a look at GIMP. It is really good. For music there are several good choices. MOD / XM music I'd go for MilkyTracker. MIDI is a bit harder. FL Studio is really good at MIDI but then again it costs some money, but that's definitly worth it if you intend to be serious about your levels.

Look the maps that you like for to see how it's made, try to understand why they please you...
You can also try to emulate styles of your favorites mappers before to create your own style ;)

Anyway, it's a good decision, I hope to see good projects from you :}

jobro said:

Start with DoomBuilder. Allthough quite old

Is any other notable Doom editor newer than Doom Builder?

I already have Audacity and GIMP...getting XWE now. I also have the following in preparation:

Doom Builder
BSP23x
RMB30
TCOUNT31
DCK 3.62
Zennode-1.0.4

Is there anything else that you guys would feel I need before I begin this process (yes I know I have more than 1 node builder and such...this is in case preferences kick in).

...Like I said earlier I have stuff on paper plus what I'm conceiving right now...I would've brought the ideas upon a fellow editor but the ideas would've most likely been frowned upon...well see what happens.

In your list only use DoomBuilder. DoomBuilder comes with nodes builders and the others are not required for modern source ports.

So for now I suggest just DoomBuilder and maybe XWE. The other programs the other members suggest you should try when you have mastered both DoomBuilder and XWE first.

Khaoscythe said:

.... I've retained a desire to start mapping...

You can find some basic advice for beginners here.

printz said:

Is any other notable Doom editor newer than Doom Builder?

Slade?

Slade is abandoned, though.

What has always helped me in mapping is opening other wads into doombuilder and seeing what they did. It helped me how to learn to make slopes, deep water, catwalks, polyobjects, and 2 story buildings. But this is usually for advanced map stuff. Just start small, like making a test map to experiment with.

Opening up other maps in Doom Builder is good for things other than "advanced" stuff. I still quite often open up other maps (even after I've played them) to get a good look at the detail, layout, monster placement, etc. I would recommend aiming high when you start, looking at wads like Scythe 2 and Av.

Quick thought...are there any other MAP07(Dead Simple)-style WADs besides the variants in Scythe(2)'s MAP07 slots?

Sure, there are tons of megawads made for Doom 2 with Map07-inspired maps. You could check out Alien Vendetta and Congestion 1024 to see what was done there. (There are more, but I can't think of many off the top of my head.)

In case you're curious, this is how those map effects work:
On map slot 7, and ONLY 7, when you kill the last mancubus all sectors with the tag 666 will lower to the ground. When you kill the last arachnotron, all sectors with the tag 667 will rise slightly.

Khaoscythe said:

are there any other MAP07(Dead Simple)-style WADs besides the variants in Scythe(2)'s MAP07 slots?

The beginning of Plutonia 07 is also similar IIRC, with a bunch of mancubi and some walls that lower when they've all died.

There's also one in Bloodrust (by Slayer).