rising floor steps

[mooey74]

Greetings all,

I started editing a Doom level about a week ago and I'm making some good progress. I read Dr. Sleep's guide for Doom Builder, and found it to be very helpful. Right now I'm stuck.

I'd like to build a series of floors that rise to a higher platform. Like stairs, only one switch activates one step so I'm purposely not using the 'stairs' action. This would be a lot like the central platform in Map31 in Plutonia except instead of steps circling the central platform, I'd just like rectangular steps alongside one wall. I don't remember seeing any other examples in Doom/Doom2, so maybe this is more advanced than it seems?

I can activate a switch to get a floor to rise to the same level as a nearby ledge, but I can't get the stepwise functionality.

Any help? Thanks!

[Searcher]

Just use dummy sectors outside the map for reference sectors and tie all those to the "step" that you want to control.

Have you ever used dummy or reference sectors outside your map?

Do you need to know more, just ask.

[mooey74]

Thanks for the reply!

no, I haven't used dummy/reference sectors yet. I was expecting the solution to involve the 'entrained' sectors concept, so your idea sounds interesting. I'd appreciate a tutorial!

[Searcher]

Not sure if I have ever seen a tutorial on dummy sectors.

It will be somewhat hard to explain. But I will give it a try.

1st draw the dummy sectors:
What you will need to do is draw a new sector say 64 X 64 (anysize) anywhere outside your map. You will need one each for each of the stairs you want to control. These are your dummy sectors. The floors in these dummy sectors will be at the level you want each of yours stair to eventually go up to. Ceiling level is not important, as long as it is higher than the floor. There will be one dummy sector for each stair. So example 6 stairs, 6 dummy sectors. wall texture, flats and lghting in these is unimportant and can be anything.

2nd.
Next draw a sector attached to each of these dummy sectors, it must share a common line. Re-number the sector lines you have just drawn to match one of the stair sectors you are controlling. so, you will need say 6 of these. The ceiling and floor in this new sector is a "clone" number wise of your stair sector. It does not have to look like it at all, it just must be the same sector number. Yes you can have multiple sectors with the same number. The ceiling and floor height will be the same as the stair sector because it will be a "clone copy" of that sector, it will just be square. Ceiling and floors flats in here will match the stair sectors because they are the "same" sector. Lighting must be the same as well. wall texture outside the map is unimportant, use anything.

Now you will have say, six dummy sectors and six stair clones outside your map. Each dummy will only control one stair so will only have one "stair" sector clone attached to it.

Now each of those stair switches will become line type 18 or 131, S1 raise floor to next higher floor. add your new/different line tag to each of the switches, then Add your matching sector tag to each of the different stair sectors itself. This will only work if these are free standing stairs.

It would be a different line type if those stairs attach to a ledge or something. You would have to use "raise to highest floor" NOT just "next highest floor."

I am sure I could draw these in 5 or 10 minutes instead of the 30 plus minutes to write this out.

Hope this makes sense to you. This is a somewhat advanced technique, at least to a fairly new mapper.

When you are done with these outside the map sectors you will mark all their lines invisible so they don't show up on the automap.

[Searcher]

Ran accross a thread on my system for dummy sectors. You might look this over for other future use of dummy sectors in other types of editing like 3d bridges and such...

http://www.doomworld.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16349

[Darkhaven]

You don't need dummy sectors for this, it's alot simpler than that. To create the vanilla DOOM2.EXE effect of rising steps, first make sure that the lowest step is appropriately tagged, and that's the only tag you'll need to use. Then, make sure the lines of the other sectors that are closest to the first step are facing the first step. That should work fine.

[mooey74]

Thanks for the tips!

I do recognize the 'entrain' method, and I was wondering if that would work. Obviously there is a very specific process which must be done, and I haven't figured it out yet. I'll try your tips next.

I noticed that Level 31 in Plutonia DOES use dummy sectors (they're on the west side), but my best effort so far has only produced one rising step. Adding another one rises to the same level as the previous, even if it's connected to a dummy of a different height. I must be doing something out of order.

Generally I'm good at software design, but when I see a process that seems like it *should* work, and it doesn't...then I get thrown off.

In case you're wondering, many moons ago I built an area for a text based game (a MUD, if you're familiar), and now I"m trying to make a graphical representation of what has always been a combination of text and imagination. It's by no means a winner as far as DOOM goes, but for a mudder who has played and developed for Grimne, it's pretty neat. If only I could put my own monsters in there...

Thanks again!
--Matt

[Lutrov71]

This might be helpful:
http://doomrealm.mancubus.net/tut-elevatingstairs.html

[Searcher]

mooey74 said:

I'd like to build a series of floors that rise to a higher platform. Like stairs, only one switch activates one step so I'm purposely not using the 'stairs' action.

Any help? Thanks!

Dummy sectors, NOT stairs action are by far the best here.

[larsboy]

This sounds like something I did in a map I released a little while ago, Courtyard Escape. There's a BFG in the center of the courtyard, on a column, and you need three steps to get up there. Each is raised when you get one of the three keys, and togehter they form a staircase. If this is what you want to do, look at how I did it (courtesc.wad).