Makeing maps?

What do i need to make them? sorry im new to this stuff

An editor, head here for a list of editors . I'm on a Mac so I can't tell you which is the best editor on the PC side but from what I see people tend to use Wad Author or Deep Sea. You might also want to check here for a list of editing tutorials. I personally found the Unofficial Wad Designers Handbook to be useful for me.

Hiya.

DeePsea its a great map making program. As Phil said The Editing section of DoomWorld has a large list of editors for your liking (but some are out dated so you may want to check for the latest version.) and Then theres Wintex which is good for editing other jazz for your doom level making needs. I can't find a link to the latest version of Wintex (which I believe is 4.7) cause Im too lazy, but the link Here is Wintex 4.3 (which is the version that is found in the editing section.) However there are many other editing and map making programs that may suite your likings better. Enjoy :D

Oh and, Welcome to DoomWorld, my friend. :D

It's best to start with making maps (WadAuthor and DeePsea are probably the best ones) and then progress to the off-level stuff like graphics, sounds etc. (Wintex and DeePsea are probably the best ones there)

DCK is easy, if you can run pure DOS (not sure if anyone can anymore :( )

I still edit maps in DOS on an old 486 I have. But, DETH and ZETH are my choice of editors. I do use deepsea and wadauthor for graphics stuff and other non-map things.

Editing maps takes a lot of time and patience. It also requires DeePsea.

...Actually, that's just what I use. Good old version 10.20e. I've been meaning to upgrade.

I've been making maps for a long time now. First you really have to get down the basics of how to make rooms and objects. Doomworld has tutorials, I think. DeePsea also has a tutorial that really only tells you to draw rooms clockwise and objects counterclockwise.

It takes a lot of patience to make a level. It will probably take many dozens of failed or lame attempts before you start making high(er) quality levels. It's good to check out good scenery (I'm playing AV coop right now and I must say, "Wow!") in wads and learn how editors make such effects. Also doesn't hurt to get tips and suggestions from fellow Doomers.

Well, that's all I have to say. =P

You need to grab WadAuthor, which I think is the easiest editor to learn mapping with. Next, you must check out some of the wads out there. It's good to start with id's maps and learning everything about how they were done, how the textures should be etc.

Next you must try to copy this by making your own level. See how id made a door, teleporter, whatever. Also, for the basics, check the tutorials in the editor's help file.

Deviant Force said:

What do i need to make them? sorry im new to this stuff

1. A map editor. WadAuthor and DeepSea are good editors for Windows, but are shareware and must be registered (either to continue using them beyond a trial period or to access all their features). XWE is a free Windows-based editor that is good, but lacks documentation. There are several DOS-based editors too.
2. A tutorial. Phil 1984 has pointed you to the DooMWorld tutorial resources. And yes, the Unofficial Wad Designers Handbook is very good.
3. Practice.
4. Patience.

I would just like to add this to my original post. The way I began to make levels was that my editor (Hellmaker) had a series of example wads. For example a wad that simply had a 2 rooms and a door or a wad with a window, or a remote door or a teleport ect. I just spent a good day or so with those example wads, learning how he did it and than making a similar wads to make sure I understood just how he did it.

If you want I can send you these levels, I found these extremely helpful myself.

Don't be scared of the time commintment that it requires to make levels. You can put a level together in a few hours once you understand level editing if you really want. Of course I recomend spending a little more time than that if you want to make a good level that people will play. For example, my second last level, Into the Breach, took just three or four days to put together. My last level however, Dead on Arrival, took me 6 months (on and off...) to make.

Ok than you all for the info you gave me it really helped (=

Phil1984 said:

For example, my second last level, Into the Breach, took just three or four days to put together. My last level however, Dead on Arrival, took me 6 months (on and off...) to make.

My last level, In the Castle of the Wolf, took just about 2 weeks. My previous level, an as-yet unnamed E1M2 level, took about the same. And yet, a level I'm hoping to finish real soon remains incomplete 8 months after I began it. Go figure.

It doesn't have to take too long to make a map, provided that you know what you are doing. In the beginning it sure takes time, since you have to figure out what works and what doesn't. I have a standard way of making a ceiling/floor light that takes less than 10 seconds to make in DCK, for example. This kind of prefabricated material can, when used with taste, drastically reduce the build time for a map. It also makes it possible to add tons of content to a scene fast since you already know that it looks good.

Grul said:

It doesn't have to take too long to make a map, provided that you know what you are doing.

True. Unless you run out of interest or inspiration :)

Yes, it's all a matter of interest in inspiration. It's technically possible to build a really huge and detailed level in, say, 20 hours.

It also helps if you know what you're doing beforehand (eg. draw the map on paper, have a mental picture of what the map will look like, what textures/flats you might use, where the keys go etc.), as this will save time lost while thinking up things on the spot.