*** The "ask a miscellaneous editing question" thread ***

[everennui]

Is it possible to edit the order of maps in a wad with gzdoom builder?

[Godfather38]

I would recommend using a MAPINFO lump for that, but you can always make it by naming your maps like "map01-map02" etc.

[everennui]

Godfather38 said:

I would recommend using a MAPINFO lump for that, but you can always make it by naming your maps like "map01-map02" etc.

I already have it setup in MapInfo I was wondering if there was a way to do it through GZDB.

[Godfather38]

Well then I would go with the second option and name them like MAP01 MAP02 and so-forth, but if you have your mapinfo lump made correctly then it should be unnecessary.

[everennui]

Godfather38 said:

Well then I would go with the second option and name them like MAP01 MAP02 and so-forth, but if you have your mapinfo lump made correctly then it should be unnecessary.

You've created your own version of my question and have answered it very nicely.

My question is this:

everennui said:

Is it possible to edit the order of maps in a wad with gzdoom builder?

Not trying to be an ass, but I think I was pretty clear. If it is not possible then that's fine. Without knowing specifically what format I'm using it's probably not prudent to suggest that option anyway. From what I understand I happen to be talking about a gzdoom project; however, I do have one in Boom as well.

I could also save them individually into a new wad and copy my archive to the new file, but I'm curious if it is possible to do it through gzdoom builder. It's not so much that I need to know, I would just like to know.

[Godfather38]

If you want to know how to move them around within the file structure, then to my knowledge you cannot move them with gzedit. if you want to change the order in which they are played, you have my answer. if otherwise, I do not understand your question, please elaborate. if you are trying to compile them into one wad (as your statement at the end would imply) then you can by "saving wad into" through gzdoom builder.

[baja blast rd.]

everennui said:

Is it possible to edit the order of maps in a wad with gzdoom builder?

Yes it is. By going to "edit -> "map options", you can change the names of the maps. If you want to swap Map02 and Map03 for instance, rename Map03 with a placeholder name like Map03A, rename Map02 as Map03, and then rename Map03A as Map02. If you skip the placeholder step you get a "there's a map with this name already" that looks quite scary so I wouldn't chance it.

[Godfather38]

You get an error when you do that? I have never encountered an error, or if I did I didn't notice it, I suppose I will use placeholders now, thank you.

[Empyre]

The most recently saved map will be at the end of the file, so load and save each map in order to put them in the file in the order you want, but it might be necessary to make a change in the map or it to actually save. This is change the order of the maps in the file, but it will not affect the order in which they are played.

To determine the order in which the maps are played, you can either name them MAP01, MAP02, etc. (or E1M1, E1M2, etc, depending on what IWAD you are using), or you can make a MAPINFO lump for ports that support one. I don't know GZDB very well, but I know that DB and DB2 cannot make a MAPINFO lump. You can use Slade to make one easily.

EDIT: I was ninja'd by rdwpa with the answer to what you were probably actually asking.

[everennui]

rdwpa said:

Yes it is. By going to "edit -> "map options", you can change the names of the maps. If you want to swap Map02 and Map03 for instance, rename Map03 with a placeholder name like Map03A, rename Map02 as Map03, and then rename Map03A as Map02. If you skip the placeholder step you get a "there's a map with this name already" that looks quite scary so I wouldn't chance it.

Thank you!

[baja blast rd.]

Yw. One additional note (and an easy thing to overlook) is to follow up each renaming by saving.

[scifista42]

Poormetheus said:

The "filter" directory should be put at the root level.

What exactly do you mean by this?

That the "filter" directory itself should not be inside any other directory.

Poormetheus said:

I tried what I thought I understood, and it hasn't worked to give me two separate title pictures for either game. I must be missing something.

You know, it's impossible to know what you did wrong if you don't write what you actually did, exactly. I advise you to write it next time you ask for help.

The first thing to check is if your ZDoom is at least version 2.8.1 or higher, because the feature doesn't exist in older versions, as the zdoom wiki page says.

[Spicy Cacodemon]

I've created some custom textures and can see them in Doom but only when they are in a texture wad, I use SLADE3.

I'd like to know how I can add the custom textures into my ZDoom (Doom in UDMF format) map WAD file so I won't have to load both the map WAD and the texture WAD.

[scifista42]

Just open the wads in SLADE3 and copy the contents of your texture wad into your map wad (or vice versa).

[Dragonfly]

@Spicy - I'm in no way intending to be patronizing when I say this:

For the 'how is X done' type questions where you've seen it done by someone else, I would recommend opening up someone else's work to see how it was done for yourself. You can learn a lot more than you'd expect this way, it's how I know a good 80-90% of what I do!

If after trying yourself you haven't produced a successful result, by all means ask! :)

[Spicy Cacodemon]

I solved my problem, seems I did have the right idea. I just didn't realise that "the first texture of a TEXTURE1 lump is always a null texture". I tried again this time uploading a nonsense texture first and surely enough all textures added afterwards work just fine.

[Dragonfly]

Glad you solved it!

[untilitdies]

What's the general consensus on kill pits? I.e. nukage/lava pits that you can fall into with no way of getting out?

[scifista42]

There isn't a general consensus, it's a controversial topic. Some people claim that inescapable pits shouldn't ever be used in maps, due to causing frustrating experiences to players who don't expect them and then have to reload or restart their playthrough. Other people claim that they do have their place in maps, because avoiding them is a form of challenge and being left to die in them is a legit punishment for failing that challenge. I personally favor the former opinion (inescapable pits are bad).

[Dragonfly]

I personally feel inescapable pits are bad practice unless they make sense and are well indicated. It needs to be obvious to the player that falling in said death pit will result in their inescapable death.

If I fall into one that feels poorly built, and I'm not recording my gameplay, I'll just IDCLIP out and savescum, but that's just me.

[Rayziik]

If I do use inescapable death traps, I will usually try to keep them in the early stages of a map. I personally dislike dying to such a trap late in a level or near completion, and if that does I happen I will usually just exit in a "close enough" state of mind.

Also, always designating inescapable areas isn't necessary, but I would recommend it if it is hard to determine in the context of the area. I.E: Tech base with nukage pits, where one or two are inescapable. (E1M3 comes to mind)

=========

Rayzik said:

Does GLBoom+ (2.5.1.4) just not use colormaps at all anyways, even if you have "Use Colormaps" set to 'Yes'? It works fine in PrBoom+, Eternity, and even GZDoom.

Also reposting this cause I'm still curious if there is an explanation.

[Gez]

Boom colormaps are a palette-bound effect so it'd make sense that truecolor renderers can't make use of them. If they work with GZDoom it's because ZDoom has some code to analyze the colormaps and try to extrapolate what they're doing exactly, which means that only colormaps that have a largely uniform effect will work.

[Poormetheus]

My DEMONS are slow as f***

I cannot speed them up, even if I add a speed parameter in their script (and even a 'fastspeed' parameter).

As a result, my SPECTRES are equally slow as fudge too.

Why are the speed parameters I enter not being recognized?


Actor Pinky : Demon replaces Demon
{
speed 11
Fastspeed 9
gibhealth 50
states

[baja blast rd.]

untilitdies said:

What's the general consensus on kill pits? I.e. nukage/lava pits that you can fall into with no way of getting out?

Don't worry about the consensus, but study up on how to use them well if you're going to use them.

Personally, I think they are out of place in most maps that people make. In niche maps -- slaughtermaps, platforming maps, pretty difficult maps in general, etc. -- they go hand in hand. But judging by your W&M release, you aren't making those.

It's always somewhat weird to play a level of easy to moderate difficulty and then, off in some random tucked-away room that is far from being a "centerpiece", there is a crusher trap or light platforming sequence over an inescapable pit that represents easily the biggest credible threat to survival. Comes off as an imbalance, either of that part of the rest of the gameplay.

In these levels, I agree with dragonfly's comment: "I personally feel inescapable pits are bad practice unless they make sense and are well indicated. It needs to be obvious to the player that falling in said death pit will result in their inescapable death."

It's often the case that a typical escape mechanism -- teleporters, lifts, stairs, or some combination -- coupled with sufficiently damaging liquid will be enough to make falling a serious mistake while not necessarily run-ending from any health/armor value.

Also, if it's not entirely obvious, it really never should be possible for the player to fall in an inescapable pit with a radsuit on! Invuls wear out faster, but it's a good idea to stage invul fights at least some distance from inescapable pits.

[baja blast rd.]

Poormetheus said:

My DEMONS are slow as f***

I cannot speed them up, even if I add a speed parameter in their script (and even a 'fastspeed' parameter).

As a result, my SPECTRES are equally slow as fudge too.

Why are the speed parameters I enter not being recognized?


Actor Pinky : Demon replaces Demon
{
speed 11
Fastspeed 9
gibhealth 50
states

How slow are they?

"Fastspeed" is their speed on -fast and nightmare, fwiw, so it's kind of weird to make that slower.

[Cerebrate64]

I have a really dumb question. I followed the tutorial here http://zdoom.org/wiki/New_User%27s_Guide_to_editing_with_DECORATE


The zombie soldiers do shoot the fireballs but they fire their gun sometimes as well. how do I get them to stop firing the gun and only shoot fireballs? Also is this the same thing I would do to import monsters I make into the game? would I just insert the new sprites and txt files into slade or doombuilder?

[Gez]

Well that tutorial is about making a zombie that throws a fireball when it is pained, it's not about replacing the zombie's normal hitscan attack. If what you want is to replace the gun attack with a fireball, and not to make it shoot fireballs when hurt, just rename "Pain" into "Missile" and it should work.

[scifista42]

Cerebrate64 said:

Also is this the same thing I would do to import monsters I make into the game? would I just insert the new sprites and txt files into slade or doombuilder?

Your wording is a bit confused, but the answer is yes. Also, Doom Builder is just a map editor. To insert non-map content into wads, such as sprites and txt files, you need SLADE3. After you do that, though, you will be able to use the monsters when mapping in Doom Builder.

[NorkasAradel]

This seems like the thread to ask this.

I have a feeling this question gets asked a lot around here, but how on earth do I get 3D floors to work in Slade?
I make a dummy sector, give one of it's linedefs special 281, and give it the same tag as the sector i want to be a 3D floor. However, while it renders the 3D floor itself correctly, i cannot walk beneath it, and i can't see the floor beneath it, it's just HOM. I definitely placed the floor texture, so it's probably not that.
And yes, I know, SLADE's map editor is shit, but I'm on a Mac, so it's my only option.

My google-fu is utterly ineffective, any help would be most welcome!

[scifista42]

What are the floor and ceiling heights of the dummy sector, what are the floor and ceiling heights of the 3D floor sector, and does the linedef with the 3D floor action have a middle texture?

Also, you mention linedef special 281, that means you are probably mapping in Doom format, which is the least suitable format if you want to use ZDoom features - if you're mapping for ZDoom, you should use UDMF format. In that format, 3D floors are made by linedef action 160 (Sector_Set3dFloor), which can be highly parametrized.