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XWE Extendable WAD Editor Update

November 09 2004 - Csabo has posted a new update of XWE v1.14, the excellent swiss-knife of DOOM level graphics editing utilities. Forget about WinTex. (I'll post an update with details about the changes shortly.)

XWE edits every aspect of the DOOM IWAD or your PWAD. It will extract any and all resources - textures, patches, sprites, flats, music, sounds, the ENDOOM data - or it will import the same to your PWAD or DOOM IWAD. You can also edit or modify most of the resources in your PWAD with XWE's several different editing modes: it features a paint program, a text editor for the ENDOOM data, a level editor, and coordinate positioning for patches. The interface is simple but ingenious: when you load your WAD file, an index of the entries is listed in a window on the left. Click on any entry, and the data appears in a larger editing area on the right. (Since MAPxx is the first entry in a PWAD, the map editor loads by default, and it loads quickly.) The level editor has ZDOOM support, as well.

Email Address Notice

August 02 2004 - Anyone who has sent email to me at my Verizon address (johnwanderson@verizon.net) since August 1, should resend to my Newdoom address: drsleep@newdoom.com. Temporary glitch.

Doom Builder: An Illustrated Guide Updated to v1.2 for New Doom Builder v1.63 Update

July 27 2004 - I've updated the Doom Builder manual to reflect new features added to the latest release of this terrific DOOM level editor. The editor can be downloaded at the Doom Builder website, and here at the Apothecary on the Editors page of the Downloads section. The manual can be viewed here, or downloaded from the Editors page of the Tutorials section in Adobe Acrobat PDF or Microsoft Word format. (It is no longer available as HTML, since its excessive size makes it impractical.)

Doom Builder v1.63 has several new features, the best of which is the gradient function. This allows automatic scaling of brightness levels from one sector to its adjacent neighbors, allowing for a successive and smooth increase or decrease in light levels. This feature also works for floors and ceilings, so the height of a set of stairs can be set quickly without having to adjust each one separately.

My recent absence was due to the demise of my computer. I had to throw together an old Celeron out of spare body parts, and then my $700 (but ancient) monitor went. It's been one of those years. My DVD player shuffled off this mortal coil a few weeks earlier, right after my scanner blew up. So even when DOOM 3 comes out next week, I won't be able to play it for a while. Kinda discouraging. (Cheer me up and check out  my online bookstore, Event Horizon Books. Heh. The site is going through some major updates and will have a lot more listed soon.)

ZenNode 1.2.1 Important Update Includes RMB Functionality

July 25 2004 - The great nodes builder, ZenNode, has been updated to version 1.2.1. to include nearly all of the functionality of the REJECT utility, RMB (Reject Map Builder). You can get it at the ZenNode website or here on the Nodes page in my Downloads section.

ZenNode has always built the REJECT data with more efficiency than RMB did even in PERFECT mode; but now it recognizes RMB response files as well, which are used to hold parameters for effects like SAFE and BLIND. ZenNode supports the following options: BAND, BLIND, DISTANCE, EXCLUDE, INCLUDE, INVERT, LENGTH, PERFECT, PROCESS, and SAFE. In addition to its REJECT features, ZenNode is still possibly the fastest nodes builder around and is distributed with the level editor Doom Builder, and incorporated with editors such as DETH and XWE.

You can see my article "Optimizing the REJECT" if you're unfamiliar with REJECT tools or what they're for. I'll be releasing a new article explaining ZenNode's new features in detail soon.

Doom Builder Editor and Manual Updates

May 07 2004 - The Doom Builder editor has been updated to version 1.60. The Doom Builder manual has also been updated to reflect these and other changes to version 1.1. The editor can be downloaded at the Doom Builder website, and here at the Apothecary on the Editors page of the Downloads section. The manual can be viewed here, and downloaded on the Editors page of the Tutorials section.

Doom Builder Guide Update; other Tutorials and Editing Clinic Articles Added

April 27 2004 - My first editor manual, WinDEU for Beginners, has had a major update to version 1.1, with 35 pages of extra material; I've also added a chapter from my new project - The PWAD Designer's Reference - a work in progress that features chapters from an ambitious book I'm working on. A chapter called Texture Management: The Unpegged Attribute and Texture Aignment is currently available in the Editing Clinic, as well as the Tutorials section. Also included is a downloadable version of my paper, Optimizing the REJECT, which has been updated and is also viewable online in PDF format.

In addition, Doom Builder: An Illustrated Guide has had a minor update to correct some embarrassing errors. I recommend downloading or reading the PDF instead of the HTML version.

Please visit the Editing Clinic and Tutorials page for full download and viewing options.

 Waters of Lethe is a level I've been working on for about 7 years.  I hope to have it finished "soon." Look for it here. (Click above for a larger image. This screen shot was taken in jDOOM.)

Finally Finished:
Doom Builder Guide Available

Mar 28 2004 - My long absence (as if anyone noticed) has been due to my obsession with writing a guide to the excellent level editor, Doom Builder. After nearly two months non-stop, I've finally finished it - and at a hefty 131 pages.

Doom Builder: An Illustrated Guide has three sections: the first covers the DB interface, the second is a step-by-step walkthrough building a level, and the third covers advanced functions. Fully illustrated with over a hundred screenshots, the guide is available for download in Adobe Acrobat PDF and Microsoft Word Document form by clicking the previous links, or on the Editors page of my Tutorials section. An online HTML version is available here.

In the meantime, the PDF can be viewed online by clicking here, and by going to my Tutorials section.

I had a lot of help from Tolwyn (especially) and CodeImp, who has posted it on his Doom Builder web site. My aim was to help spread the editor's use, since it totally lacked documentation on how to use it. Anyone who knows me understands that I have a mania for advocating quality freeware DOOM utilities, and Doom Builder is as good as they come. Its 3D Edit Mode provides a real-time, fully-textured and lit 3D walk-through of your level, which you can enter at the press of a button. You can modify textures, lighting, and sector heights in a dynamic 3D environment, that no other DOOM editor has. This alone is worth your giving the editor a look. Download it here and in the Editors downloads section.

My sincere apologies to those of you who sent me levels to review a few weeks ago, but I was totally holed up with this manual. I promise to get back to you within a few days, and I thank you again for sending your work my way.

Meanwhile, I'm finally working on my own level, Lethe, which I've been promising for quite some time. I really hope to release it in a few days, finally. I'll also be releasing jDOOM versions of two of my early DOOM II levels, Dante's Gate and Crossing Acheron, in a day or two. Dani J of the Modelyard has been helping me with Doomsday Data Definitions, so there'll be some pretty cool lighting effects. Dante's Gate has had a major facelift, as well.