
                           Last Revision: 8/Mar/95.

Q: How do I make a PWAD (new level) file?

To create new levels for Doom, you need a Doom level editor. There are
several different editors, each with varying styles of user interface, etc.
Some are DOS based editors, others are Windows based.

ID has requested that people do not write editors that can modify the
Shareware version of Doom. Also, it is almost universal practice that level
designers using the editors always put something in their level, such as a
texture, monster or weapon, which is not in the Shareware WAD file. This
ensures that such levels cannot be played on Shareware Doom. Hence, in
general, 99.9% of new levels will only work with the registered version of
Doom. People who make the 0.1% are dorks. :) Also, people are beginning to
recommend that new levels are set to be in Episode 2 or 3, as this will
help prevent its use with Shareware Doom. I understand that add-on levels
won't work by default with Shareware Doom v1.666.


Probably the most popular editors at the moment are:

Deu      DOS based             Freeware.
DOOMED   Windows based         Shareware. Registration asked for.
DoomCAD  Windows based.        Shareware, but is completely uncrippled.
DMAPED   DOS based.            No idea.

I'm not sure about the others, but the latest version of Deu is 5.21. v5.3 is
due to be released fairly soon; this will work with Doom II as well.

There _are_ other editors besides these, by the way. This is by no means a
complete list. I must confess I'm a little out of date on the plethora of
editors now available. :)

Some editors are harder to use than others, some have more facilities than
others, and so on. I recommend just trying them all out to see which one
you find easiest to use. There's no point asking which one is best: if you
use one partciular editor for long you will become very proficient at using
it. Just try them out. Some people use more than one editor in order to 'get
the best of both worlds', as it were. To each his/her own.

Read some past posts on rec.games.computer.doom.editing and you will see
much discussion about these editors, mostly the first three in that list.
Also,  please post non-trivial editing-related questions to
rec.games.computer.doom.editing and not rec.games.computer.doom.help.

All the editors come with help documents on how to get going, some more so
than others. Deu now has quite a lot of help stuff written for it. DOOMED's
help is in the form of an on-line help system. I have several help tutorials
for using DEU for beginners. 

It is absolutely VITAL that you read help texts thoroughly, and also if you
encounter problems and/or editing difficulties, before you post questions to
r.g.c.d.editing or r.g.c.d.help about them.

Creating bad levels is very easy to do with most editors. :)

To make a good level means that you are going to _have_ to learn, eventually,
the details of how a WAD file works. Documents to consult are Matt Fell's
Unofficial Doom Specs file as well as Tom Neff's Design FAQ v1.2 (the latter
has a list of articles that are worth reading for even more information). I
have both of these files available if you would like them.

At the end of the day, a WAD file is an inherantly complex object; as such, it
is inevitable that if one wishes to make levels which will be hailed by all as
being good and worth playing, then one _must_ take the time to learn how the
WAD structure works. This also means learning how to use your chosen Doom level
editor to the fullest extent possible.

This is one reason why I haven't started Doom level editing yet: I know that,
at the moment, I couldn't devote the necessary time to the task that I would
like to be able to.

Most editors will be just fine for creating simple levels fairly quickly. Many
have predefined objects (such as stairs, etc) which save you much time and
hassle. Hence, any editor will do for learning the basics. However, for
advanced editing, you'll need an editor which allows you to really get at the
guts of the WAD structure; for this purpose, I would have to recommend DEU.

In fact, it tends to be common practice for many to use one editor, not
necessarily DEU, to create the basic layout of their level and then to use DEU
to create the finer details. Such a strategy is rather like using finer and
finer brushes when painting a picture.

For the much younger readers among you: if you decide to take the plunge and
do some level editing, it s highly likely that you will find many of the terms
confusing at first, especially some of the ideas that the terms are trying to
describe. But don't feel bad! Some of the things that WAD files deal with are
at University level, so it's bound to be difficult at times.

Bye! :)

Ian.

The Doom Help Service (DHS).

email address: mapleson@cee.hw.ac.uk

WWW addresses:   

  Home page:     http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/~mapleson
  DHS:           http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/~mapleson/doom/doom.html

Ian C. R. Mapleson BSc,
Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering,
Heriot Watt University,
Riccarton Campus,
Edinburgh,
Scotland,
United Kingdom.

