viDOOM Overview


Introduction

viDOOM is a Free Software DOOM editor. It supports the following id produced games:

Note that in accordance with id software's wishes you are only allowed to generate edited levels for the game if you have a full, registered version of the game.

viDOOM is fully configurable through config files, so it can be expanded to accommodate the BOOM and ZDOOM extensions. Well, once I've found out the slight difference in format of WAD file that seems to accompany them too.


Why bother?

Good question. Anyone who has ever used them will know there are a number of very good DOOM editors available (links to lots of them can be found at Doomworld and all good FTP servers).

However, I always felt a bit clumsy using them, and in true hacker fashion I decided writing one I could use would be easier then reading the instructions for the others. Hence viDOOM.

I reasonably like the way viDOOM works, so I release it on the off chance other people may too.


Supported systems

As with most Free Software viDOOM is primarily distributed as source code. The source is fairly ANSI C compliant, and therefore the core of viDOOM should compile on all operating systems. The current distribution includes the hardware dependent routines for the following platforms:


Environment

If defined in the environment, the value of VIDOOM_DIR will be made the current directory as soon as viDOOM starts. This is important as the following initialisation files are expected to be in the current directory when viDOOM starts.

Note:
How this environment is set will differ from system. Basically viDOOM just calls the C library getenv() function. So,. for instance in a Unix type system this could be:

% setenv VIDOOM_DIR $HOME/viDOOM
or
% export VIDOOM_DIR=$HOME/viDOOM

Whereas in DOS/DJGPP version this could be:

C:\> set VIDOOM_DIR=C:\viDOOM


Initialisation File - VIDOOM.INI

On starting viDOOM will look for a file in the current directory called vidoom.ini. This file tells viDOOM what version of DOOM it is expected to be editing, the configuration for that version of DOOM and the editor configuration. The general format of the INI file is:

[Section]
identifier=value

Blank lines and lines starting with a comment character (#) are ignored. The following sections and identifiers are explained below.

After reading VIDOOM.INI, then a defined config file is also read.


[Game]

Controls for the version of DOOM

game Use this to say which version of DOOM you will be editing. The following values are allowed:
  • Doom
  • Ultimate Doom
  • Doom 2
  • TNT: Evilution
  • Plutonia Experiment
  • ZDoom
ask If set to yes then on starting viDOOM will ask for the game type to edit.

[Editor]

Global editor configuration

ask_middle_on_2sided When creating a new sector and the sector has a two-sided boundary asks whether a middle texture should be asked for. Allowable values yes and no
auto_block_linedefs When linedef flags are altered and this is set to yes, linedefs that were 2-sided and are now 1-sided have the impassible flags automatically set.
Likewise linedefs that were 1-sided and are now 2-sided have the impassible flag automatically cleared.
If set to no no action is taken when these events happen.
bright Describes a gamma value applied to any textures, flats and sprites read in from the DOOM WAD files. Allowable values are any floating point number.
clear_on_menu If set to yes then once the pop-up menu has been used to modify the selected objects they are automatically unselected.
clear_on_move If set to yes then once the selected objects have been moved they are automatically unselected.
default_light_level
default_floor_height
default_ceiling_height
Describes the default light, floor and ceiling height for created sectors. Note that if a sector is created within another sector, the values for that sector, rather than these defaults, are used.
default_edit_mode Defines the default edit mode when loading a new map into the editor. Possible values are:
default_scale The starting scale used in the editor.
grid Use this to say whether the grid will be shown on screen while editing. Allowable values are yes and no.
grid_lock Use this to say whether inserted and moved object in the editor will be snapped on a grid. Allowable values are yes and no.
grid_size Describes the size of the grid used by the above items. Allowable values are integer values greater than two.
hover_select When editing object in a DOOM level this alters the way that viDOOM works if the right mouse button is used over an unselected object. The allowable values, and their affects are:
  • none - nothing is done. The right mouse button works as expected.
  • add - the object the mouse is over is added to the selected objects before displaying the menu.
  • single - the object the mouse is over is made the sole selected object before displaying the menu.
insert_select When inserting new objects in a DOOM level this alters the way that viDOOM selects the objects after creation. The allowable values, and their affects are:
  • none - nothing is done. The new object is left unselected.
  • add - the new object is added to the selected objects.
  • single - the new object is made the sole selected object.
linedef_select Defines who many pixels around a LINEDEF the bounding box stretches when selecting a line.
merge_linedef If you overlay vertexes on top of each other you can merge vertexes. Once these vertexes are merged checks are made to see whether linedefs share these vertexes, and hence overlap. This option controls what happens when these overlapping linedefs are found. The possible values are:
  • always - always merge the overlapping linedefs without any prompting.
  • ask - confirms with the user before merging linedefs or not as requested.
  • never - never merge overlapping linedefs.
new_2sided_select When linedefs have there flags set so that a new left sidedef is added to it controls how the altered linedefs are selected. Possible values are:
  • select - clears the currently selected linedefs (if any) and selects the linedefs that have new double sides.
  • ask - confirms with the user. If the user opts to select the linedefs, the current selection is cleared and the altered linedefs selected.
  • never - never select the altered linedefs. Note that a notice is still displayed so that you know new left sidedefs have been created.
sector_move Defines which linedefs are actually moved when moving a sector. Possible values are:
  • all - move all linedefs that border the sector.
  • right - move only linedefs that have this sector to their right.
  • left - move only linedefs that have this sector to their left.
show_full_linedef_info If set to yes then in the linedef edit display the linedef type will be shown as the full linedef name as defined in the config file. If set to no then linedef type will be displayed as a hex value and it's class.

This has no effect when editting HEXEN format maps.

tag_highlight If set to yes then the tag highlighting mode is enabled by default in sector and linedef modes.
vertex_radius Describes the size of the box around a VERTEX which is used to select the VERTEX while editing. Recommended values are any integer greater than four.
width
height
Describes the size of the display used by viDOOM. viDOOM expects a resolution of at least 640x480.

[viDOOM]

Main menu configuration

auto_loadmap Set this to a list of levels to load on startup. The format is to set it to a list of level names seperated by commas. The first level that can be loaded successfully is used. If this is set then initial_empty_map is ignored.

If empty or not used then no map is auto loaded, e.g.

# Load the first map, whether we're editing DOOM or DOOM2
auto_loadmap=MAP01,E1M1

# Don't auto load any maps
auto_loadmap=

initial_empty_map If set to yes then on startup viDOOM will have an empty map, either MAP01 or E1M1, ready for editing. This is ignored if auto_loadmap is set.
load_flats If set to yes then the graphics for the flats will be loaded so they can be selected graphically. If set to no then flats are selected just using their name.
This is provided as the graphics reading is not very efficient and can be slow on certain machines.
load_textures If set to yes then the graphics for the textures will be loaded so they can be selected graphically. If set to no then textures are selected just using their name.
This is provided as the graphics reading is not very efficient and can be slow on certain machines.
load_sprites If set to yes then the graphics for the things will be loaded so they can be selected graphically. If set to no then things are selected just using their name.
This is provided as the graphics reading is not very efficient and can be slow on certain machines.
map_clear_warning If set to yes then a warning is displayed whenever an option is chosen that will replace the currently edited map with another, if the editor has been used since the level's loading/creation.
map_exit_warning If set to yes then a warning is displayed if exit is chosen and the editor option has been used.
overwrite_warning If set to yes then a warning is displayed if you save a map over a file that already exists.
show_titlepic If set to yes then the title picture for the version of DOOM you are editing will be displayed on the main title screen.
sort_flat_names If set to yes then when selecting ceiling or floor flats they will be sorted into alphabetical order. If set to no they are simply in the order they appear in the IWAD file.
sort_texture_names If set to yes then when selecting wall textures they will be sorted into alphabetical order. If set to no they are simply in the order they appear in the IWAD file.

[Check LINEDEF]

This defines how the Check LINEDEF function in the editor (see editing for details) operates. Note that part of the configuration for this command also occurs in the config file. This is required as texture names can be different in different versions of DOOM. The following options are definable within the INI file:

assume_yes If this is set to yes then any time a question would be asked to see if it's OK to remove a texture that viDOOM considers unnecessary then it will be removed without asking. Likewise when asking to add missing textures the texture picklist will appear (with the linedef number and what is to be set in the title) without any prompting.
check_1side_lower If set to yes then when a sidedef is attached to a one-sided linedef and there is a lower texture defined viDOOM will ask if it's OK to remove it.
check_1side_middle If set to yes then when a sidedef is attached to a one-sided linedef and there is no middle texture defined viDOOM will ask if it's OK to define it.
check_1side_upper If set to yes then when a sidedef is attached to a one-sided linedef and there is an upper texture defined viDOOM will ask if it's OK to remove it.
check_2side_lower If set to yes then when a sidedef is attached to a two-sided linedef which is between two sectors with different floor heights and there is no lower texture defined viDOOM will ask if it's OK to define it.
check_2side_middle If set to yes then when a sidedef is attached to a two-sided linedef which is between two sectors and there is a middle texture defined viDOOM will ask if it's OK to remove it.
check_2side_upper If set to yes then when a sidedef is attached to a two-sided linedef which is between two sectors with different ceiling heights and there is no upper texture defined viDOOM will ask if it's OK to define it.
check_2side_same_sector If set to yes then when a sidedef is attached to a two-sided linedef which is wholly within one sector and there are any textures defined viDOOM will ask if it's OK to remove them.

[Node Builder]

Node Builder configuration - used to build nodes for maps automatically when saving.

always_view_output Normally viDOOM will only show the output from the build command if it fails for some reason. Setting this to yes means any output from the node builder will be displayed regardless.
command Defines the command used to execute the node builder. e.g.

command=c:\bsp\bsp.exe

ignore If set, then any saved filename that includes this string will not be passed through the node builder. This is useful so that structures for merging into other maps (see editing for details) need not be put through the node building process. e.g. if set to

ignore=str

Then saving a map named MAP01.WAD will be passed through the node builder, whereas WALL_STRUCT.WAD would not be.

Another important use for this is to leave a back door where you can save a WAD without it being passed through the node builder if anything goes wrong with trying to build the map.

infile Defines the format for the infile parameter to the node builder. Any occurrence of the '%' character will be replaced with the full path of the map being saved. e.g.

infile=%

outfile Defines the format for the outfile parameter to the node builder. Any occurrence of the '%' character will be replaced with the full path of the map being saved. e.g.

outfile=-o %

Note that if your node builder does not allow the input and output file to be the same then it is permissible to put extra characters after the % that will get tacked onto the end of the name, e.g.

outfile=-o %_NEW

in_before_out Defines the order of the the arguments to the node builder. If set to yes then the node builder is invoked as:

command infile outfile

If set to no then the command is built as:

command outfile infile

use If set to yes then the node builder described above is used on any maps being saved. If set to no then the map is saved and the nodes must be built outside of viDOOM.

[ACS]

ACS compiler configuration - used to build BEHAVIOR lumps for HEXEN format maps.

always_view_output Normally viDOOM will only show the output from the compiler if it fails for some reason. Setting this to yes means any output from the compiler will be displayed regardless.
command Defines the command used to execute the acs compiler. e.g.

command=c:\doom\acc\acc.exe

dir Defines a working directory that will be used for the compilation. This will generally be the same place that the acs header files are stored and viDOOM will change directory to this directory before compilation. e.g.

dir=c:\doom\acc\

script viDOOM will write an acs script with this name, into the directory defined by dir before compilation. e.g.

script=vidoom.acs

object viDOOM will assume that the acs object created by the compiler will have this name. e.g.

script=vidoom.o

args Defines the argument list to the ACC compiler. The string %S will be replaced by script, defined above. The string %O will be replaced by object defined above. e.g.

args=%S %O

 


[GUI]

GUI configuration. All the values in this section are an RGB triplet defined as an hex number, i.e. 0xRRGGBB. The following values can be set from the INI file.

gui_hi The brightest colour used to draw the 3D looking interface.
gui_mid The medium colour used to draw the 3D looking interface.
gui_lo The darkest colour used to draw the 3D looking interface.
gui_text The colour of text.
gui_textshadow The colour of the shadow behind text. This is only really used by viDOOM's own portable GUI routines. If set to the same value as text then no shadows are drawn.
gui_bold The colour of bold text (used for titles)

[Game name]

One of these sections appears for each possible setting of the game variable in the [Game] section. These are:

iwad Defines the path to the IWAD for this game.
pwad_dir Defines the default load/save directory for editing PWAD files.
level_style Defines the level naming convention for the game. Allowable values are:
  • Doom - allows level names E1M1 to E3M9
  • Ultimate Doom - allows level names E1M1 to E4M9
  • Doom 2 - allows level names MAP01 to MAP32
preload Lists a number of PWAD files to preload on startup. PWAD files are separated by ; and the full path is expected.
vidoom_config Defines the config file for this version of DOOM. This defines the values used for defining things, linedefs, sectors and so on.
viDOOM is currently supplied with doom.cfg, doom2.cfg and zdoom.cfg.
mapinfo_lump This only applies to the section for [ZDoom] .

If this is set to yes then on loading a map from the loaded WAD files, the directory pointed to by pwad_dir is searched for MAPINFO.WAD. If found then the MAPINFO lump from the MAPINFO.WAD is read in and can be edited within the editor. If WADINFO.WAD does not exist then an empty MAPINFO lump is created.

NOTE: On saving the level if there is anything in the mapinfo entered in the editor the MAPINFO.WAD file will be overwritten (or created if it does not exist). This means that any infomation (apart from the edited MAPINFO lump) that was in this WAD file will be lost. It is suggested that nothing goes into MAPINFO.WAD except for the MAPINFO lump.

create_hexen This only applies to the section for [ZDoom] .

If this is set to yes then on creating a new map, it will be marked as being in the HEXEN format (ie. having a BEHAVIOR lump and the HEXEN format of THINGS and LINEDEFS). If set to no then the map will be created as a DOOM map.

Setting to ask means that you will be asked prior to creation which sort of map you want.


Config file

There is two config files supplied with viDOOM, doom.cfg and doom2.cfg. Each file is comprised of sections followed by the data expected in each section. Each section is defined by a line like:

%SECTION_NAME

While the data lines are on individual lines with the pipe (|) character used to separate fields, e.g.

Field 1|Field 2

Blank lines and lines starting with a comment character (#) are ignored. In addition to this blocks of lines can be forced to be ignored by enclosing them with directives introduced with the @ charcater. See the following section for more details.

Note that some sections allow an edit mode to be defined, to indicate whether this definition is for DOOM or HEXEN edit mode (or both). The currently allowed edit modes are:

If what is being defined applies to more than one mode, these can be seperated with commas.

The following sections are defined:

%INCLUDE_FILES Defines any other config files to include before processing this one. Simply type the filenames to be included on individual lines.
%THING_CLASSES Defines the classes to group THINGs into in the editor picklists. Each line is in the form "Class Name|Colour". Note that colour is defined as an hexadecimal number with the most significant byte for RED, the middle byte for BLUE and the least significant byte for GREEN. e.g.

Monster|0xff0000

%LINEDEF_CLASSES Defines the classes to group LINEDEF types into in the editor picklists. Each line is a class name.
%SECTOR_CLASSES Defines the classes to group SECTOR types into in the editor picklists. Each line is in the form "Edit mode|Class Name". e.g.

Doom,Hexen|Lighting

%THING_TYPES Defines the names and IDs of the THINGs supported by DOOM. Each line is in the form "Class|Name|ID|Radius|Sprite Name". e.g.

Monster|Former Human|3004|20|POSSA1

%THING_FLAGS Defines the flags used when setting a THINGs flags. Each line is in the form "Edit Mode|Group|Mask1|Mask2|Name|Single flag character". e.g.

Doom,Hexen|0|0x01|0x01|Skill 1 and 2|E

The group number indicates masks that should be mutually exclusive. Group zero means that the flag can be toggled independently of any other. Other group numbers mean that only one of that group should be set at a time.

The ways the masks work is:

To see if a flag is set the flags are ANDed with mask1. If the result equals mask2 then the flag is set.

When defining flags all the mask1 values are ORed together and those bits cleared from the flags. Then for any option that has been set mask2 is ORed onto the flags.

%LINEDEF_TYPES Defines the names and IDs of the LINEDEF types supported by DOOM. Each line is in the form "Class|ID|Name", e.g.

Special|48|Scrolling wall

Note: Please note that the text for the LINEDEF types in the supplied config files is taken directly from the Unofficial Doom Specs (see the thanks page for details). Please feel free to change them to something more useful if you prefer.

%LINEDEF_FLAGS Defines the flags used when setting a LINEDEFs flags. The format for this section is identical to THING_FLAGS.
%LINEDEF_FLAGS_EXTRA Configuration so that viDOOM knows which bits control certain functions. If more that one line appears in this section then the last one is used. The form of the line is "Bit number controlling 2-sided|Bit controlling Impassible|Bit controlling lower unpegged|Bit controlling upper unpegged". e.g.

2|0|3|4

%LINEDEF_DEFAULTS This section must not appear before %LINEDEF_FLAGS_EXTRA and defines the bit patterns for various linedef styles. These are used in the editor so that defining a type of LINEDEF can be quickly done when creating them. The format of each line is "Name|Flags value", e.g.

2-sided wall|0x47

%SECTOR_TYPES Defines the names and IDs for the different sector types. Each line is in the form "Edit Mode|Class|ID|Long name|Short name". e.g.

Doom|Lights|1|Light random off|Random off

%SECTOR_STYLES Defines styles for painting sectors quickly. The form of each line is "Mode|Name|Upper|Middle|Lower|Floor|Ceiling". e.g.

0x19|Quarry|SP_ROCK1|SP_ROCK1|SP_ROCK1|RROCK09|F_SKY1

The mode is a bit significant number where the bits have the following meaning:

  • Bit 0 - Paint textures on the sidedefs facing into this sector
  • Bit 1 - Paint textures on the sidedefs facing out of this sector
  • Bit 2 - Leave current lower/upper settings
  • Bit 3 - Set upper unpegged if an upper texture is painted
  • Bit 4 - Set lower unpegged if a lower texture is painted

If neither bits 2, 3 or 4 are set it is assumed that lower/upper unpegged will be cleared on painting those textures.

%EMPTY_TEXTURE_NAME Simply defines the empty texture name used by DOOM. This will generally just be the - character, e.g.

%EMPTY_TEXTURE_NAME
-

%NORMAL_TYPES Defines the values that define the normal linedefs and sectors. The form of the single line of data is "Id for normal linedef|Id for normal sector". In all current versions of Doom this is zero, e.g.

%NORMAL_TYPES
0|0

%LINEDEF_CHECK_DEFAULT Provides an optional default texture to use when a texture is requested when checking linedefs. If this value is defined to be the same as EMPTY_TEXTURE_NAME then the user is prompted for a texture to use, otherwise this texture is used instead, e.g.

%LINEDEF_CHECK_DEFAULT
ASHWALL

See editing for details on the check linedef operation.

%LINEDEF_GEN_BITMASKS This defines the bitmasks used to represent generalised LINEDEF types (these were introduced by BOOM).

This section is a bit more complex than most of the others as the format of the data is not fixed from line to line. Each set starts with the class name for the bitmask. Format for this line is:

class name|no of fields

After this follows no of fields repetitions of the following:

field name|shorthand name|value

e.g.

%LINEDEF_GEN_BITMASKS
Speed|4
Slow|Slow|0
Normal|Norm|1
Fast|Fast|2
Turbo|Turb|3

Remember that value will be shifted left a specified amount when used in the LINEDEF_GEN_TYPES section and so they should be defined relative to bit 0. Also note that inside the editor all the values associated with a bitmask are ORed together to create a mask that can extract that information from a generalised linedef. Following all this can follow another class, and so on. Also remember that blank lines and comments are OK, so that sections can be readably split using white space.

%LINEDEF_GEN_TYPES This defines the groupings of LINEDEF_GEN_BITMASKS to make up different generalised LINEDEF types.

This section is a bit more complex than most of the others as the format of
the data is not fixed from line to line. Each set starts with the class name describing the name of this type of generalised linedef, the number of different bit patterns defined in the class, the low and high values that the type occupies and a mask used when generating the value. Format for this line is:

class name|low value|high value|mask|no of bit-field classes

After this follows no of bit-fields repetitions of the following:

bit-field name|shift

e.g.

Locked Door|0x3800|0x3bff|0x3800|5
Trigger|0
Speed|3
Locked door kind|5
Opens with|6
Number of keys|9

The shift defines how much the bitmask is shifted to the left to generate the actual values stored in the linedef type field. Note that along with these bitmask values the mask field is also ORed onto the result to create the entire linedef type value. Following all this can follow another class, and so on. Also remember that blank lines and comments are OK, so that sections can be readably split using white space.

%SECTOR_GEN_BITMASKS This works in exactly the same way as LINEDEF_GEN_BITMASKS, but is used to define the generalised bitmasks used by a SECTOR.
%SECTOR_GEN_TYPES This works in exactly the same way as SECTOR_GEN_BITMASKS, but is used to define the generalised types used by a SECTOR.
%HEXEN_ACTION_SPECIAL_CLASSES Defines the classes to group action special types into in the editor picklists. Each line is a class name.
%HEXEN_ACTION_SPECIALS Defines the HEXEN action specials. Each line is of the form "Class Name|Id|Name|arg0,arg1,arg2,arg3,arg4". Note that not all the argument names need be filled in. e.g.

Normal|0|No action|
Polyobject|1|Polyobj_StartLine|po,mirror,sound
Lighting|116|Light_Strobe|tag,upper,lower,u-tics,l-tics

Any arg name that is "tag" is used to work out what sector the special is referring to. This is so that tag highlighting (see editing for details) still works in HEXEN mode.

Note that unfortunately this does not apply to THINGs yet.


Config file directives

In the config files blocks of lines can be included or excluded by surrounding them by enclosing them with directives introduced with the @ charcater, e.g.:

@DOOM_LEVEL_STYLE
%SECTOR_STYLES
<data>
@END DOOM_LEVEL_STYLE

As you can see a directive is terminated by putting the same directive, beginning with END.

The main purporse of these is to stop SECTOR_STYLES and LINEDEF_CHECK_DEFAULT being defined inappropriately (Doom and Doom 2 have differing texture names, etc), and also to allow one single ZDOOM configuration file to be defined, regardless of whether you are using the Doom or Doom 2 IWAD files with it.

The following directives are currently supported:

@DOOM_LEVEL_STYLE Includes the lines up to the next @END DOOM_LEVEL_STYLE if the level_style for this game is defined as either Doom or Ultimate Doom.
@DOOM_1_LEVEL_STYLE Includes the lines up to the next @END DOOM_1_LEVEL_STYLE if the level_style for this game is defined as Doom.
@ULT_DOOM_LEVEL_STYLE Includes the lines up to the next @END ULT_DOOM_LEVEL_STYLE if the level_style for this game is defined as Ultimate Doom.
@DOOM_2_LEVEL_STYLE Includes the lines up to the next @END DOOM_2_LEVEL_STYLE if the level_style for this game is defined as Doom 2.

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