Misc ZDoom questions....

[Impie]

Every now and then I invent video game projects (sort of a hobby, I guess), right down to writing semi-detailed design documents so that I'll have something solid to work off of if I ever find professional means to produce some of them. More than a few of these design docs have been for Doom wads of some sort, since I used to dabble in them a bit, and I've found myself revisiting my latest one pretty frequently. I know enough about the Doom engine to know that most of my plans for it should work just fine, but there are a couple things I'd like to understand a little better about ZDoom just for posterity. I have no idea where to start as far as research goes regarding them, and extensively studying every aspect of ZDoom isn't gonna happen since there's no way in hell I'd try to build this thing myself. But who knows...

If anyone can briefly answer my questions, or link me to a part of a document or faq that can, I'd appreciate it. Experienced ZDoom wad authors (which I am not) can probably tell me right away if this is plausible or not. So if everyone decides to ignore this thread, I won't be all butthurt.

It'll be easier to pitch all my questions together in a hypothetical wad, so here goes. Let's call it an Ultimate Doom TC, 'cos we want something with four episodes, but the levels in each episode are inter-connected and, for the most part, nonlinear. The enemies have all been completely replaced, now totaling 16, many utilizing a mixture of Doom, Heretic, and Hexen monster attacks and behaviors (ex: reiver w/ maulotaur attacks, wyvern fireball explosion for deathframes). Three of the monsters are the Centaur, the Slaughtaur, and a third brand-new variant of the Centaur, all three using the same sprite but palette-swapped in order to discern them from one another. The wad also features a Hexen inventory, and four hero classes to choose from, each with four unique weapons.

Bear in mind I have been lurking quite a bit and I am NOT one of those idiots who asks people to make wads for him. This is strictly hypothetical and only benefits the design document by making sure it doesn't border on over-the-top impossible. I mean, it's hypothetical and all, but I like to try to be realistic.

Edit: I wasn't sure if this should go under "Source Ports" or "Doom Editing". I figured here, since I'm asking about ZDoom's capabilities. Sorry if I was mistaken.

[Scet]

If you're asking how to implement this then take a look at the ZDoom wiki and the DECORATE and MAPINFO lumps.

Otherwise I'm not really sure what you're question is, there isn't a question mark anywhere.

[Impie]

I wasn't sure how to form the questions to begin with, I guess.

I went to ZDoom wiki first and found myself sitting, staring at the search box like it was a sleeping lion or something. I have no idea where to turn to for answers without just learning everything first hand,which is just a TAD more time consuming than scribbling out a concept.

I guess my question could be "Would this be a plausible project or would it be too far-fetched?"; if anyone has made a Doom wad with a Hexen-like character select or inventory, or increased the number of playable characters in Hexen. Now that I think on it, the other aspects don't seem too impossible.

[Kappes Buur]

Impie said:

... and found myself sitting, staring at the search box like it was a sleeping lion or something. ...

Indeed, the search box is rather useless unless you know exactly what to type as the search term. That's why you should use the Glossary item.

Impie said:

... if anyone has made a Doom wad with a Hexen-like character select or inventory ...

Have you checked out some of LWM's levels? I believe, that she was working on something like this. Since she is prolific in creating levels, it would take some time to go through all of them. Does anybody else know anything more specific, perhaps?

[Impie]

If LWM's levels are on idgames, I'll find 'em. And I didn't notice the Glossary item before, so I guess I can fish around in there. Many thanks!