Seamless level switches

[ryot]

hello. I have a large map, inspired by half life. in half life there are no intermission screens. it just loads for a second and its the next stage. it is seamless. is there a way that you can do this in doom? essentially just removing the stats screen

 

[Gez]

In vanilla, no; but with advanced source ports it's possible.

 

In GZDoom, you add the "NoIntermission" keyword to your map definitions in ZMAPINFO.

[ryot]

so what and where would i type this

i am awful at script writing and i have just jumped back into doom builder after a long break, so excuse me for being a noob

[nrofl]

Zen Dynamics uses something like a seamless transition. I'd just look around the wad with SLADE until you find it.

[Doomkid]

A little more info on MAPINFO / ZMAPINFO:

 

https://zdoom.org/wiki/MAPINFO

 

This is the lump that defines information about each map, it's sky, it's music, it's intermission screen or lack thereof, etc etc

[ReX]

There are 2 methods I know of to accomplish seamless transitions from one level to another. [In both instances you'll do well to set up a hub, although the ability to move back and forth between 2 levels is not essential in order to create the illusion of seamlessness.]

 

1. In the first (and easiest) of the two methods, create the end area of the first level to be identical to the start area of the second level. Set up your exit in the first level in a manner that the player will spawn in the "identical" spot of the next level. [I use the word "identical" loosely to represent the exact relative spot in the exit space of the first level and the start space of the second level.] The best way to create these "identical" spots is to force the player through a narrow space, so that s/he can only cross the exit line (or press the exit button) at one point on the map. [The wider the exit linedef, the less you'll be able to predict where the player will exit, increasing the chance that the player will not spawn at the spot where s/he exited.] The advantage of this method is that it can be used in Vanilla DooM (as well as with source ports).

 

2. In the second of the two methods, you'll create a script to record the coordinates where the player exits the first map. The script will then spawn the player at the identical coordinates of the second map. [Read through this discussion and the other one to which that one links for the concept and mechanics to create a truly seamless transition.] You'll need to use a source port that supports scripting.

 

You mentioned being inspired by Half-Life for your work-in-progress. I was involved in a couple of Half-Life themed projects that featured seamless transitions. I also created an 11-map set for doom2.exe (i.e., vanilla DooM) that tried to create seamless transitions. Let me know if you want more information about those projects.