Descent level 3 screenie

[Brad_tilf]

Well, of course, I'm not satisfied to just hang out. Bloodworks is done - on to the next project. I just wanted to share this screenpic from the new level I'm working on for Descent.
http://www.doomwadstation.suhost.com/descent/descent3.html

[Nick Perrin]

Nice... How did you get those stairs like that? Did you make the lower textures invisible(and if so, how)?

[Fletcher`]

Probably doom.exe real bridge trick. Is it possible to walk under it though too?

[Brad_tilf]

I could have made it so that you could walk under it with the regular doom2.exe but the gl ports won't render invisible lines properly, so... no - you can't walk under it.
:-(
I want to keep the project compatible with ALL ports and vanilla doom2 tho so thats the way its going to have to be.

[Brad_tilf]

Nick Perrin said:

Nice... How did you get those stairs like that? Did you make the lower textures invisible(and if so, how)?

Use "dummy" sectors for the height of the stairs and when you put in your texture make sure that the lower texture is unpegged.

[Nick Perrin]

I'm not too good at mapping. Any free time, could you elaborate? Thanks.

[Nick Perrin]

Nick Perrin said:

I'm not too good at mapping. Any free time, could you elaborate? Thanks.

Edit: Actually, I know what you mean, but do I need to make a transparent texture(the default cyan colour)? What do you mean by "dummy" sector? Just one that's underneath the stairs?

[Brad_tilf]

sure.
for each "stair" you have lines not connected to anything except a sector which is not in the viewable area. each of these sectors controls the height and lighting of each stair. the lines that comprise the stairs have the same sector number as the sector which is off the map. that way - if you go into sector mode - each of those lines will highlight with the actual sector. Thats how you know they are connected properly - not in a physical sense - only in that they have the same sector number. If you do a sector first - then the stair - the stair lines will have the same sector number as the last sector completed when you add both sides of the line.
does that make sense?
anyway - add your textures (a stair texture will do - or a custom texture that is only 8 or 16 high) and make the atributes for the line lower texture unpegged so the textures are at the proper height.
Thats pretty much all there is to it.
Did that help?
I believe there are probably examples of this in the editing section of doomworld but if you need further clarification I'll try to help.
Its not complicated once you figure out how its done.
:-)

[DarkWolf]

You can also make a texture "float" like that by setting the y-offsets of a 2-sided linedef with a middle texture, since middle textures on 2-sided linedefs don't repeat.

[Brad_tilf]

Nick Perrin said:

Edit: Actually, I know what you mean, but do I need to make a transparent texture(the default cyan colour)? What do you mean by "dummy" sector? Just one that's underneath the stairs?

the "dummy" sector is actually outside of the map - not in it.
it's just a 4 sided sector that has the height of the regular room that the stair is in. In this case it is 16 for the floor (the first stair) and 256 or 128 for the ceiling. That part isn't as important but if you don't set it high enough it will act like a regular sector and block the player.
All very confusing I know but if you want to see how it works, download Bloodworks - http://www.doomwadstation.suhost.com/descent/bloodworks.html
and look at the map to see how different effects were accomplished.
:-)

[magikal]

Nick Perrin said:

I'm not too good at mapping. Any free time, could you elaborate? Thanks.

Have a look here for a tutorial that explains all. Really nice screen btw.

[Brad_tilf]

That tutorial - which I read a long time ago - is kind of confusing, to say the least. Maybe not for an experienced mapper but for someone who has only got a couple or so maps under their belt they might have a hard time. Also, Shitbag and I discovered something when I was working on bloodworks. You don't need an invisible sector to create that effect. All you need is a line attached to a dummy sector. Much easier to understand and create actually. As far as those stairs. There are no lines or sectors under the stairs. This was also something I figured out. The "stair" textures are attached to lines which are in turn attached to a sector off map. The lines that make up the stairs take on the qualities of the offmap sector - height and lighting for instance. So, they are usable stairs without needing to put lines under them or invisible sectors which the GL ports won't render properly anyway.
Does that seem easier? The only downfall to this and actually any 3d effect is that the GL ports don't and won't render invisible lines. I'm working on solving that problem right now (I hope).
In the meantime - I'll just have to block player access to beneath those stairs.
For those of you who have seen the tutorial mentioned above - does this seem like a simpler method?

[magikal]

Brad_tilf said:

That tutorial - which I read a long time ago - is kind of confusing, to say the least.....For those of you who have seen the tutorial mentioned above - does this seem like a simpler method?

I have to agree, it is a little confusing for the newbie, I found it so, but it does explain 'dummy' sectors and once you understand it you're there. It could be worded better. Both methods certainly have their pros/cons and your method certainly has a simplicity. /Me experiments.:)

[Brad_tilf]

I solved the invisible line problem - check my post "a solution" in the editing forum.
Basically, use and "invisible" texture. The GL port doesn't care that you can't see it - it only cares that its there.

[Nick Perrin]

Thanks man!