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Egyptian Guardian

What's the best doom editing software for a beginner?

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What is the best software for a beginner to grasp on to? I have Slade 3 and I can not figure it out. It's too confusing. I want to create custom textures but I don't know how to do it. I want to put music in my wad and I don't know how to do it. I want to set Player 1 for my wad and it won't show me how. It wont let me place items. What should I do? Should I get a different wad editor?

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Slade3 is two programs in one.
It is a lump editor and a map editor. Check the Slade3 WIKI for tutorials on how to use either one.

Bernie said:

What is the best software for a beginner to grasp on to? I have Slade 3 and I can not figure it out. It's too confusing. I want to create custom textures but I don't know how to do it.


Any of the programs which let you create graphic contents would be perfect
Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Paint.net, Gimp, etc.


Bernie said:

I want to set Player 1 for my wad and it won't show me how. It wont let me place items. What should I do?


In Things Mode, press the Insert key, then select the thing to be placed and press the Enter key.

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The best Doom editing software for a beginner are SLADE3 for wad content editing and GZDoom Builder for mapping. These very editors are also the best Doom editing software for someone moderately advanced and for someone with top-tier mapping/modding skill. That's because these editors 1) have tutorials available, 2) have many features, and 3) are constantly actively developed.

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I started out with DoomBuilder2. It's focused on map building and there's plenty of YouTube tutorials for it. Once you're familar with it, you can transfer to GZDoombuilder and Slade3 fairly painlessly and take advantage of their extended features.

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I started using GZDoom Builder for mapping and Slade3 for editing things like custom music, map names, intermission text etc. Is there any major difference between GZDB and DB2 when it comes to vanilla/boom mapping?

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Features that are in GZDB but not in DB2, like Draw Curve Mode, Draw Ellipse Mode, Draw Grid Mode, Bridge Mode, Stair Sector Builder Mode, Sound Propagation Mode, Automap Mode, Randomize positions of Vertices or Things, or Bridge Mode, may come in handy sometimes, regardless on the map format that you're working with. As well as better flexibility at customizing editor preferences, and some added/enhanced informative and search functions. I haven't yet spent that much time working with them, though, so I can't judge how much of a major difference they make. It might also depend on the skill of the mapper and his ability to use those features to their full potential, as opposed to mostly ignoring them.

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scifista42 said:

Features that are in GZDB but not in DB2, like Draw Curve Mode, Draw Ellipse Mode, Draw Grid Mode, Bridge Mode, Stair Sector Builder Mode, Sound Propagation Mode, Automap Mode, Randomize positions of Vertices or Things, or Bridge Mode, may come in handy sometimes, regardless on the map format that you're working with.

draw curve mode is godlike, so much fun for natural sectors like rocks or hellscape. I dont like eclipse mode, it kinda stinks and I'd rather make my own, but I could see others using it though.

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Urthar said:

I started out with DoomBuilder2. It's focused on map building and there's plenty of YouTube tutorials for it. Once you're familar with it, you can transfer to GZDoombuilder and Slade3 fairly painlessly and take advantage of their extended features.


Quick question:Do you know how to import your own sprites into slade for a custom map? I want to use pictures for a couple wall sprites.

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Urthar said:

I started out with DoomBuilder2. It's focused on map building and there's plenty of YouTube tutorials for it. Once you're familar with it, you can transfer to GZDoombuilder and Slade3 fairly painlessly and take advantage of their extended features.


Why even bother starting with DB2? GzDoomBuilder is everything DB2 is and more, with as little complexity or as much as necessary.

And yes, Slade3 is pretty good.

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Burktross said:

Why even bother starting with DB2? GzDoomBuilder is everything DB2 is and more, with as little complexity or as much as necessary.

Well for me, GZDoom Builder has a nasty habbit of crashing and the performance is also a bit sluggish in my machine.

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jazzmaster9 said:

Well for me, GZDoom Builder has a nasty habbit of crashing and the performance is also a bit sluggish in my machine.

That's Odd. I don't think I've ever had GZDB crash on me.

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Burktross said:

That's Odd. I don't think I've ever had GZDB crash on me.

I have. I've pretty much established that it has something to do with my display drivers, because it only ever crashes in 3D mode if I have two monitors running at the same time. I'm guessing I don't have enough ram or something. I can never get a bug report though.

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Burktross said:

Why even bother starting with DB2? GzDoomBuilder is everything DB2 is and more, with as little complexity or as much as necessary.

And yes, Slade3 is pretty good.


I just happened to start with DB2 first, but anything with a reduced feature set is going to be initially simplier to pick up, and I believe some prefer it to GZDB.

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GZDB is also newer that DB(2), and even after it came to existence, it took some time to become as known as it is nowadays (and of course to develop its features to their current extent), so if somebody searched for Doom map editors (or tutorials), it was always much easier to find mentions of Doom Builder (2).

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Doom Builder 2, simply by virtue of having fewer features, is less intimidating to begin with. It's easier to get your head around what DB2 can do compared to GZDB.

However, once you've gotten remotely competent with DB2, it makes sense to bounce over to GZDB. There are so many additional features that make even vanilla editing easier that it totally makes sense to use GZDB in the long term.

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Bauul said:

Doom Builder 2, simply by virtue of having fewer features, is less intimidating to begin with. It's easier to get your head around what DB2 can do compared to GZDB.

However, once you've gotten remotely competent with DB2, it makes sense to bounce over to GZDB. There are so many additional features that make even vanilla editing easier that it totally makes sense to use GZDB in the long term.

REALLY!? Shit I thought DB2 was the best there is. Is that what its called "GZDB" ? like if I type in "download GZDB" in google it will bring me there & I can download it that simply? what can it do that DB2 cant? (you dont have to tell me EVERYTHING, just wanna hear about the things that kick the most; ass.

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GZDoom Builder is a standalone editor, based on Doom Builder 2, but adding more EDITING features (such as those I've listed in this post - note that all of them only affect the MAPPER's experience while MAPPING). Note that the map editor you're using (whether it's DB2, GZDB, or any other) has no relation with GAME features (such as particular linedef types, slopes, 3D floors... - anything that affects the PLAYER's experience while PLAYING) - game features are tied to the map format AND source ports that the game will be played with. Every editor will allow you to do anything with the map that the map format allows. Whether or not a GAME feature works ingame depends on whether it's supported by the source port that you're playing the game with, not whether it's "supported by the editor". In other words, GZDB's EDITING features will allow you to edit maps easier in specific cases, but do not expect GAME features to become available in a newer editor if they weren't available in an older editor.

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scifista42 said:

GZDoom Builder is a standalone editor, based on Doom Builder 2, but adding more EDITING features (such as those I've listed in this post - note that all of them only affect the MAPPER's experience while MAPPING). Note that the map editor you're using (whether it's DB2, GZDB, or any other) has no relation with GAME features (such as particular linedef types, slopes, 3D floors... - anything that affects the PLAYER's experience while PLAYING) - game features are tied to the map format AND source ports that the game will be played with. Every editor will allow you to do anything with the map that the map format allows. Whether or not a GAME feature works ingame depends on whether it's supported by the source port that you're playing the game with, not whether it's "supported by the editor". In other words, GZDB's EDITING features will allow you to edit maps easier in specific cases, but do not expect GAME features to become available in a newer editor if they weren't available in an older editor.

OK cool, you pretty much covered EXACTLY what I was expecting & hoping for with crossed finger & toes; more GAME features. In which case I would have dropped everything except my pants to go download the motherfucker right then. But if making it easier is all it does then I can be fine with continuing my administrations under the custody of DB2. BTW; thanks for going into detail about shutting my hopes & dreams down about the other editor. Better done right now then in the future after I have gone through troubles only to find out it dont do shit & I have wasted my time & am now polishing up the idea of suicide...well maybe not that bad but bad.

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GZDB Makes it easier to pull out cool looking stuff because of the easy copy-paste feature it has, and the many options in find & replace mode .

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