Warning on map errors on source ports?

I had this idea some time back and Cato brought it to light today in IRC: Lots of maps that say they are for a particular source port do not work in said source port, because the mapper "used zdoom' or another port that claims to have boom compat to test, and use a weird map trick that only the port they used to test with actually supports. Since zdoom devs may never consider for the source port to check for mapping errors and warn the mapper, can it be possible for Boom-based ports to "detect" "zdoomisms" or other common map errors and "correct" them?

Or is that too complex to check?

They already do some things to help in this respect, varying from port to port.

The stdout.txt file will often contain messages about problems with the wad, whether they are things that port has fixed on the fly, or problems that it cannot work around. Sometimes things will be reported that don't cause any particular problem, but are just noted for one reason or another - don't assume that everything reported in stdout.txt is a bug to be fixed.

Prboom-plus has three options for compatibility with "common mapping errors":
Invalid tags (i.e. missing tag with actions that require them)
Passthru issues (e.g. switch can't be pressed due to presses being "eaten")
Hanging objects in tall sectors that block movement

The last of these isn't necessarily a map error - it depends on the situation. All such objects are listed in stdout.txt. IIRC, the first two issues are not reported in stdout.txt if they come into play. That could be worth a feature request.

In all three cases, if you have the complevel set to 9 or above (and aren't recording or playing a demo), these options can be togged on or off. If you encounter what appears to be an instance of these problems, you can change turn the comp option on, and if it solves the problem, then you have correctly identified the issue.

Invalid tags can most easily be tracked down by using WadAuthor's "check map" feature. Note that some "invalid tags" that it reports are not necessarily a problem of this type, so you need to look at the description of the error in each case.

For testing Boom maps, don't just rely on current ports. Some errors are fixed in current ports, but not in others. I suggest that even if you are doing the main testing in Prboom-plus or Eternity, you at least try loading the map in prboom 2.02 (or the DOS equivalent, Boom 2.02). Also be aware that there are such things as Boomisms, so if the map is meant to be vanilla-compatible or limit-removing, be sure to use the right complevel in prboom-plus, and also try loading the map with Doom2.exe, Choc or Doom2-plus. Note that Doom2-plus doesn't extend all limits, so some genuinely purely limit-removing maps will fail with it.

Grazza said:

Invalid tags can most easily be tracked down by using WadAuthor's "check map" feature. Note that some "invalid tags" that it reports are not necessarily a problem of this type, so you need to look at the description of the error in each case.

Just to add that DeepSea also has a similar feature which checks for missing tags - line or sector.

I believe these are the only two editors that do this.

hawkwind said:

Just to add that DeepSea also has a similar feature which checks for missing tags - line or sector.

I believe these are the only two editors that do this.

I think DB2's map analysis will do it too.

Csonicgo said:

I think DB2's map analysis will do it too.

Nope! But I wish it did.