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smellycheeseman

Fully custom mod

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Alright, make a long story short I want to sequel a game I made and I want it to be a doom mod. I'd like to do custom graphics and stuff for this game. I'll not only need custom graphics I'll need custom weapons, custom enemys, custom textures, all that good stuff. Though I'm a novice at doom builder, I'm fairly good at this kind of stuff. Basically what I'm asking is there any tutorials you suggest I read? Are there any tips you have for me? I currently am using doom builder, SLumpEd, and zdoom. Any body got any tips for me?

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Yup. Forget all about custom monsters, graphics and weapons for now, and focus on developing your Doom Builder skills. Practice making good levels with the stock Doom resources. Once you have that down, then start thinking about your custom content again.

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I agree with those guys. Learn the basics of mapping, then start looking at and really studying some maps that you think are really great, both in-game and in Doom Builder. Study their layouts, architecture, monster and item placement, etc. Shamelessly ripping off other peoples' maps is a great way to learn, though of course you don't want to release the result unless you can turn it into something original. :P

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deathbringer said:

Where's the original game? If it's awesome people might want to help you

lol, I was wondering if somebody would ask about it. Its actually an RPG. I have no idea what its about.

http://thefridgegames.com/g/ranpow.html

But alright, I'll see what I can do. I've worked with a program like DB before(lol @ marathon forge).

Also just another quick, random question, Is there a possibility for videos inbetween levels, you know, like cutscenes.(I animate too by the way).

Thanks for the help :)

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smellycheeseman said:

I was wondering if somebody would ask about it. Its actually an RPG. I have no idea what its about.


First time in a long time I laughed out loud here. Classic

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Ralphis said:

First time in a long time I laughed out loud here. Classic

Its random thats why. I think it has to do with the internet, or catbuses or something like that.

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I disagree. If artwork is your strong point, try joining an existing project in the need for custom graphics. You can always learn how to use DB later.

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smellycheeseman said:

Also just another quick, random question, Is there a possibility for videos inbetween levels, you know, like cutscenes.(I animate too by the way).

You can make cutscenes with ZDoom/GZDoom, see Zen Dynamics for an exemple among others...

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Bucket said:

I disagree. If artwork is your strong point, try joining an existing project in the need for custom graphics. You can always learn how to use DB later.


That's a good point. But, regardless, map quality is crucial. Either you need to focus on learning to make your own high-quality maps, or you can make custom content for high-quality maps made by others as part of a project.

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I think I should learn to weild db better yes, But when I make graphics, I'm using macromedia flash. Will this cause problems? As far as cutscenes go, gzdoom? Whats zen dynamics? Plus, if I want to make graphics first, how would I really know how to make them, I have no knoledge of customization(BTW whats a good program for that like custom guns and enemys and such). Also point me at some good tuts. Also my map designings skills can sometimes point linear but if I make a maze, I make one hell of a maze.

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ok, some more advice:

its ok if its linear, but dont make it really linear, try to make it as non-linear as you possibly can. dont ever make a maze ever. most people hate them and get annoyed beyond belief. if you want all the fancy shit like cutscenes (which i dont know how to do) you are goign to want to download g/zdoom. you can always get tutorials from the zdoom wiki, but its advised that you learn how to make maps before fiddling around with the fancy zdoom shit. to make graphics, just use any old program that can make png/any graphic really (corel paintshop, i dont care) and get a lump editor, like slumped or xwe, learn the art of DECORATE (on zdoom wiki) and so on and so forth. others may have more advice, i hope i made sense.

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Butts said:

ok, some more advice:

its ok if its linear, but dont make it really linear, try to make it as non-linear as you possibly can. dont ever make a maze ever. most people hate them and get annoyed beyond belief. if you want all the fancy shit like cutscenes (which i dont know how to do) you are goign to want to download g/zdoom. you can always get tutorials from the zdoom wiki, but its advised that you learn how to make maps before fiddling around with the fancy zdoom shit. to make graphics, just use any old program that can make png/any graphic really (corel paintshop, i dont care) and get a lump editor, like slumped or xwe, learn the art of DECORATE (on zdoom wiki) and so on and so forth. others may have more advice, i hope i made sense.

It does.

Also what about music? Does it HAVE to be a .mus? I mean seriously. I can hardly make midis.

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smellycheeseman said:

It does.

Also what about music? Does it HAVE to be a .mus? I mean seriously. I can hardly make midis.


Zdoom is amazing and can do anything!!! =P But seriosly, zdoom-based engines support MP3 format, so you can create your music that way since you look like you'll be using some sort of Zdoom engine.

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Death-Destiny said:

Zdoom is amazing and can do anything!!! =P But seriosly, zdoom-based engines support MP3 format, so you can create your music that way since you look like you'll be using some sort of Zdoom engine.


Sweet!! Also what about scripting. Will I need to know an all new language? I have experience in programming. I've dabbled in C++, messed with actionscript, and I have a knowledge of HTML if that counts for anything.

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smellycheeseman said:

I think I should learn to weild db better yes, But when I make graphics, I'm using macromedia flash. Will this cause problems?

Doom is all pixel art, so Flash wouldn't offer you any real advantage over a basic draw program, unless it's your preferred environment. If that's the case, you could always use it for initial drawing and then export the picture to MSPaint or Wally for fine-tuning.

When making Doom art, you have to keep a lot of things in mind such as palette colors, size limits, transparency, in-game units and sprite placement. The internet will tell you all you need to know (either in the Doom Wiki or searching these forums). Finally, you would import your graphics into a Doom IWAD using a program such as WinTex or XWE. Again, there's no shortage of info on how to use these.

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the scripting language is fairly simple, just look on zdoom wiki for more help on that topic. DECORATE is the other scripting thing, but its only in a lump editor such as slumped, and its used to determine behavior of monsters and objects, basically lets you create new actors for the graphics you create. it allows you to set monster health, damage they do, their speed, yada yada yada etc. etc. death frames, animation frames, method of attack, translucency, i think some other spiffy shit like if they emit radiance, if they can fly, its pretty neat. im not the one to ask about this stuff, im a simple mapper, not a modder.

you can also add as many new monsters as you like.

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You can transfer most knowledge of how C++ works onto ACS that is the scripting environment within the maps. Zdoom wiki got a decent tutorial for beginners that should set you straight. Note that all line/sector actions that you can apply directly to a map can also be executed in ACS scripts. This means that you can for instance execute a floor drop and an earthquake at the same time to simulate a strong earthquake:

script 110 (void)
{
 radius_quake(1,10,8,8,255);     // initial small earthquake
 delay(70+random(70,140));       // a random delay
 radius_quake(5,70,8,8,255);     // the huge earthquake comes here
 delay(20);                      // a delay is applied here
 Floor_LowerByValue(22,32,128);  // start to lower the floor
 delay(15);                      // wait a bit more
 ChangeFloor(22,"LAVA1");        // change to a lava texture
}
This is just a simple example how to create a scripted earthquake. This is taken from my megawad Epicenter that is in developement.

Decorate is more for creating new monsters. Take a look at a zombie that is trained to shoot to kill:
// Pistol zombie trained

actor PZT 30001
{
  spawnid 4
  // Message to print when you get killed
  obituary "%o was killed by a trained pistol zombie."
  // Basic dimensions of the monster
  health 20
  radius 20
  height 56
  mass 100
  speed 12
  painchance 80
  // What sound should be played?
  seesound ""
  attacksound "pzpistol1"
  painsound ""
  deathsound ""
  activesound ""
  // What item should be dropped when killed?
  dropitem "Clip" 256
  // Flags to set
  MONSTER
  +FLOORCLIP
  // Now comes the code:
  states
  {
  Spawn:
    POSS AB 10 A_Look  // Look for a target
    loop
  See:
    POSS AABBCCDD 4 A_Chase  // Once a target is found chase it
    loop
  Missile:
    POSS E 3 A_FaceTarget  // When in range face the target and...
    POSS E 3 A_CustomBulletAttack (5,5,1,5,"BulletPuff")  // Start to fire at it.
    POSS E 5 A_Jump (96, "Missile")  // Randomly jump back to shoot once more.
    POSS E 2 A_Jump (96, "Missile")  // This gives the illusion that he fires randomly
    POSS E 7 A_Jump (96, "Missile")  // since not all the time he jumps back to shoot again.
    POSS E 4 A_Jump (96, "Missile")  // this creates a random delay bringing more realism
    POSS E 2 A_Jump (64, "Missile")  // now the chance drops that he will shoot again
    POSS E 8 A_Jump (64, "Missile")  // once the missile state is ended
    POSS E 3 A_Jump (64, "Missile")  // the enemy goes back to find
    POSS E 6 A_Jump (64, "Missile")  // another target.
    POSS E 5 A_Look  // Looking around
    goto See  // And gets back to the see loop
  Pain:
    POSS G 3  // Here comes the pain
    POSS G 3 A_Pain
    goto See  // Once the pain is over go back to see
  Death:  // Standard death gunned down with shells & bullets
    POSS H 5
    POSS I 5 A_Scream  // Scream
    POSS J 5 A_NoBlocking  // Disable blocking
    POSS K 4  // faling corps
    POSS L -1  // Lay down, stay down as a corps
    stop
  XDeath:  // extreme death blasted with rockets & plasma bullets
    POSS M 5
    POSS N 5 A_XScream  // Scream loudly
    POSS O 5 A_NoBlocking  // disable blocking
    POSS PQRST 5  // faling corps
    POSS U -1 // Lay down, stay down as a corps
    stop
  Raise:  // Used when an arch vile raises the zombie from the dead
    POSS KJIH 5  // Raise sequence
    goto See  // And get back to see the target 
  }
}
That's a description of both script types.

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smellycheeseman said:

As far as cutscenes go, gzdoom? Whats zen dynamics?

Here for Zen Dynamics
I'm not a big fan of this pwad but it shows you what can be done with ZDoom in term of cutscenes (be sure to play at least with 800x600).

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