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= WadC ("Wad Compiler")
Jonathan Dowland <jon@dow.land>; Wouter van Oortmerssen
:toc:
:toc-placement: preamble
:toclevels: 5
:homepage: https://jmtd.net/wadc/
toc::[]
== What is it?
A programming language for the construction of Doom maps. Integrated
environment, shows you what the map described by the program looks like at the
press of a key, and gives visual feedback about errors. Saves .wad files that
only need to be BSP'ed. The programming language is a cross between a macro
preprocessor and a lazy functional programming language. Unless you enjoy
both programming & Doom editing, you are unlikely to be interested in this
software.
== Who wrote it?
Since 2008, WadC is developed by Jonathan Dowland <jon@dow.land>.
WadC was originally written by Wouter van Oortmerssen
(link:http://strlen.com/wadc/[Aardappel]) in 1999.
== Version history
See link:release_notes.adoc[Release notes and version history].
== Requirements
- any computer that runs Java 1.8 or better
- any version of Doom
- a Doom nodebuilder (link:zdbsp[https://github.com/rheit/zdbsp] recommended)
== Source code
This distribution comes with full source, which is released under the
GPL (GNU Public License, version 2. see the included LICENSE.txt file.)
== Installation
You need a Java runtime environment installed to use WadC. Get one from
https://adoptopenjdk.net/ if you don't have it already.
Unpack the whole zip to any directory you like. On most systems, just
double-click or activate the "wadc-3.1-jar-with-dependencies.jar" file. From a
command line in the location where you extracted the ZIP, could also run
java -jar wadc-3.1-jar-with-dependencies.jar
To play the .wad files you create using WadC in Doom, you also need a
node builder, such as zdBSP, available from https://github.com/rheit/zdbsp
For a list of other node builders, see http://doomwiki.org/wiki/Category:Node_builders
=== Sneak-peek: command-line interface
There is a very early-stages command-line interface now available. To
launch it, you need to run
java -cp wadc-3.1-jar-with-dependencies.jar org.redmars.wadc.WadCCLI path/to/input.wl
It will attempt to parse, run and write out to path/to/output.wad. Be
aware that this is alpha quality, consider this a tech preview :)
== What else is in the zip?
The zip also includes
examples/:: example WadC files to try out.
include/:: a copy of the WadC "standard library". This is also
embedded in the JAR, but is included so you can read
it and see how it works. See also "Include files",
below.
extra/:: Syntax definition files for editors. Currently only
Vim, and that is in an early stage. Patches welcome!
== Using the GUI
Assuming you got it to run, you will now see the main screen, divided in an
editor part (here you write the program), a 2d map view, and an output
pane (error messages and the like appear here).
The file menu takes care of loading & saving your programs, this should all
be pretty obvious. The default extension for a program is .wl ("Wad Language").
In the program menu, "Run" runs your current program. You should do this
frequently to see what your map looks like. If there were errors parsing your
program the error will be shown in the output pane, and the cursor position in
the source code after the point the error was discovered. If it parsed ok, your
program will run which will generate a map. Runtime errors will be reported to
the output pane, and some runtime errors that relate to particular lines or
sectors will highlight the line or sector causing the error in red. In general
these colours are use in the 2d view:
- white: one sided linedef
- grey: two sided linedef
- green: vertices & unassigned linedef (assigned to sector 0 upon saving a wad)
- red: line/sector that caused a runtime error
- purple: last line (and vertex) the program generated
- blue: things, and lines with special types
- yellow: newly drawn lines (press "Run" to make them green)
- dark grey: grid lines at 64 distance
You can zoom by left-clicking, and zoom out by right-clicking (in both cases,
where you click is made the new center of the map). Additionally you can pan
around by dragging the mouse, larger drags cause larger movements (you drag
whatever you grab to the position you release it on).
Instead of typing commands to draw lines, you can hold down control and click
with the mouse (grid snap = 16 only, sorry), which will draw a line (or a curve
if you hold down alt instead, or just step to a new position using shift)
between the last vertex and where you clicked, and insert the code to draw this
line at the end of the main function (so that, if you press "Run", it will
regenerate itself correctly!). This needs atleast one starting line, and
"standard.h" included. This is a very useful feature for drawing complex shapes,
and for producing "glue code" between functions. After WadC has generated the
code, you can copy it to another function etc. If you made a mistake in drawing
you can simply delete the code from the edit window and try again (keep pressing
"Run" in between).
"Run / Save / Save Wad" runs the program as above, and if succesful writes the
sourcefile, and a .wad to the same directory and with the same name as the .wl
file. Before loading it up in Doom you have to run it through a nodebuilder.
"Run / Save / Save Wad / BSP/ DOOM" as above, but now also runs the nodebuilder
on it, and then your favourite doom port. You can set which bsp / doom port you
want to use and where they are located by modifying "wadc.cfg", (see "configuration
file").
== The Language
For most people it will be easiest to think of the language as a powerful
macro language. It consists of a set of builtin functions that allow you
to draw lines and sectors and such, and a way to abstract over them using
a function.
=== Lexical stuff
The language just knows two literals, integers (23, 0, -1 etc.) and strings
("LITE5"), the latter sofar mainly used for texture names.
Identifiers are made up of lower or upper case characters, and are allowed to
contain digits or "_".
The source is in free format (i.e. it doesn't matter how you layout your
code). Single line comments start with "--" and last for the rest of that line,
multiline comments is anything enclosed in /* */ (not nested).
=== Printing, quitting
print("foo")
Prints the argument to the output pane (or standard output in command-line mode).
die("argh")
Stop evaluating the program and report the argument to the output pane. Useful for
fatal errors.
=== Integer expressions
The following builtin functions allow you to do simple operations on integers:
add(x,y)
sub(x,y)
mul(x,y)
div(x,y)
same as x+y x-y etc.
eq(x,y)
lessthaneq(x,y)
same as x==y and x<=y, returning 1 if true or 0 if false. To do other comparisons
simply rearrange your code :)
sin(x)
asin(x)
sin takes an argument in degrees (not radians) *10, i.e. 90 degrees is 900. It
returns the 1.0 to -1.0 range as 1024 to -1024. asin performs the inverse
transformation over the same ranges.
=== Bitwise expressions
Three bitwise operators are provided. These are mostly useful for setting flags:
and(a,b)
or(c,d)
not(e)
equivalent to A · B, C + D, ¬E.
=== String expressions
cat(a,b)
Just one: `cat` concatenates two expressions into one string.
=== If Then Else
is an expression of the form "exp ? exp : exp" as in C/Java. For example
lessthaneq(a,0) ? 0 : a
returns a, unless it is negative then it returns 0.
=== Concatenating expressions
Writing any two expressions seperated by a space simply creates a new
expression, where the expressions get evaluated in order, but the result is the
value of the second expression. This is equivalent to the "," operator in C/Java
and makes sense if you want to evaluate a number of expressions which are
actually statements (expressions that are used for their side effect, not for
their result). For example:
print("a = ") print(a) a
is one expression that first prints two things to the output pane, and returns
"a" as the result of the whole. This can be used anywhere, for example in an if
expression:
lessthaneq(a,0) ? print(a) 0 : a
if for example you wanted to debug what "a" was when it is negative.
=== Bracketing expressions
You can freely use "{" and "}" to bracket (groups of) expressions to make
more complex cases of if's clear in meaning. for example:
a ? b : c d
both c and d are part of the else part of the if. To prevent this, write:
{ a ? b : c } d
=== Function/Macro definition
This is where the fun starts. WadC's functions are like macros because they don't
evaluate their arguments but just pass them on. But unlike macros they can do
things normally only functions can do like recursive calls.
To define a function that takes no arguments, simply write:
name { exp }
This would allow you to use "name" everywhere and it would result in "exp" being
evaluated. To add parameters, simply add them as a comma seperated list between
parentheses, i.e.:
name(a,b,c,...) { exp }
The parameter names you mention between the parentheses can now be used in
the "exp" part, and to use this function you have to specify values as
arguments. What is cool is that there are no restrictions to what you can
pass as arguments, it can even be any bit of code! As an example:
twice(x) { x x }
twice(print("heh"))
will print "heh" twice. In most languages you would pass the result of print(),
here you pass the actual code. This leads to new coding habits, for example in
designing a map you often need to do something different in a certain case of
your function. So instead of writing:
dosomething(x) {
blah(x)
eq(x,0) ? print("something special has to happen here") : 0
}
dosomething(2)
dosomething(1)
dosomething(0)
You could write:
dosomething(x,y) { blah(x) y }
dosomething(2,0)
dosomething(1,0)
dosomething(0,print("something special has to happen here"))
You can disable this "lazy" way of argument evaluation by giving the
variable a name that starts with an "_", i.e.:
twice(_x) { _x _x }
twice(print("heh"))
will print "heh" just once. There are really very few cases where this
is needed (mostly in recursive functions).
=== Include files
You can include another WadC sourcecode file using "#", for example:
#"standard.h"
this will include the file "standard.h" in your
program (actually, it will append it to the end of it, so if it has any
errors WadC will report linenumbers beyond the end of your file :)
WadC will first look in the directory containing your current .wl file
to find the file you asked for. If it isn't there, WadC will then try
to load it from within the embedded copy of the standard library.
Generally, ".h" is used for files that are only useful when included
somewhere (i.e. don't contain a "main" function) and ".wl" for normal
sources. "standard.h" contains useful macros, it should be included
in any program really.
WadC's set of standard include files contain a wide range of useful
language, doom & architectural macros that are very useful and speed
up editing a lot. You should make sure to get familiar with them.
See <<standard-library,Standard Library>> for descriptions of them
all.
=== The choice operator
The choice operator can be placed between one or more expressions,
and will make WadC choose one at random:
print({ "hi!" | "hello!" | "how do you do!" })
will print one of the three strings at random, giving each 1/3rd a
chance of being picked. What is the use of this? Maps with (controlled)
random features maybe? you figure it out. Look at the "hexagon" sources
for an extensive example.
As a convention it is a good idea to bracket choice expressions with {}
as shown in the example above... but it is not needed. Choice expressions
may appear anywhere where the constituent expressions are valid.
Caveat: WadC makes its choice which expression to pick _when the function
they appear in is called_, not when they are supposed to be evaluated:
blah {
for(1,4,straight({ 64 | 32 }))
}
will draw all 4 lines at length 64, or all at 32, but not a mixture.
This feature is there to make it easier to have a random choice be
repeated, which would otherwise be impossible. To force a random choice
at every iteration, use a function:
len { 64 | 32 }
blah {
for(1,4,straight(len))
}
If you want to use choice in a level but want reproducibility, you can seed
the random number generator:
seed(1337)
This affects any use of the choice operator that follows.
=== random numbers
rand(x,y)
Returns a random integer within the range x to y, inclusive. `rand` uses the
same Random pool as the choice operator, and is similarly affected by the use
of `seed`.
=== Simplex noise
simplex(x,y)
The `simplex` function returns a number between 0 and 1,000,000 based on the
supplied X/Y coordinates into a 2D Simplex "field". This is useful for generating
landscapes or any other structure of feature which requires smoothed noise. To
get smooth changes, use small iterations over X and Y, for rougher transitions,
use larger.
`simplex` is entirely deterministic, reproducible and not affected by `seed`.
=== Tuneable Knobs
When developing maps in WadC, it is sometimes useful to structure a set of
variables as switches for map behaviour. Examples might be turning on "high
detail mode", or setting a global default light level, or ceiling height,
or the number of things in a population, or the size or scale of geometry.
E.g.:
lightlevel { 200 } -- default light level
...
main {
...
leftsector(0, 400, lightlevel)
...
It is possible to mark such variables as tuneable Knobs. WadC provides a UI
of sliders for such variables that can be adjusted to quickly experiment with
different combinations of values. To mark a variable as a Knob, use
`knob(label, min, value, max)`. E.g.
lightlevel { knob("lightlevel", 0, 200, 255) }
The first time a `knob` expression is evaluated, it returns the value
declared within, and registers a Knob with the given label, value, and
minimum/maximum bounds.
The WadC UI provides visual sliders to set a different value for the Knob
within the minimum/maximum bounds.
Subsequent evaluations of `knob` with the same label will return the value
set in the UI. If the subsequent `knob` declarations specify different
minimum/maximum bounds, the value will be clamped within that range and
the registered bounds updated.
Setting the value of Knobs is not currently possible from the CLI.
Several of the examples provided with WadC define knobs. Try loading one
into the GUI, tweaking the sliders and Running the results.
=== Doom Specific Commands
The bit you have been waiting for :)
First let me explain how evaluation and map construction works. At any
stage you always have a current vertex (and also a current line). Besides
that, you have an orientation, which is the direction you will draw in
if you draw a line. Unlike languages like Logo, you can't just look in
any direction, but just in 4: north, east, south, west. The thinking
behind this is that if you could move in an arbitrary angle, it would
be hard to keep track of your imaginary grid, and also that most maps
will have parts that can benefit from rotating to any of these 4 directions,
but more than that is hardly useful. Note that having these 4 directions
doesn't mean you can't draw lines in arbitrary directions, it only affects
which way you are looking.
rotright
rotleft
rotate you 90 degrees, e.g. "north rotright" is equivalent
to "east".
getorient
Tells you the current orientation as an integer: 0 for North, 1 for East,
2 for South, 3 for West.
up
down
control whether the "pen" is up or down. If it is down (default)
moving about will create linedefs (hint, use macros from standard.h
instead of these).
step(forwards_backwards,sideways)
This is the main drawing command. It draws a line from the current
vertex to a new position which will become the new current vertex.
The first value determines how many units to go forwards in the
direction you are looking, if it is negative you will go backwards.
The second parameter determines a sidestep from this, 0 means
straight ahead, positive numbers step towards the right, and negative
ones to the left. For example, if you were looking north, and wanted
to draw a line that goes 45 degrees across a 64 unit square towards
the north-east, you would write:
step(64,64)
Here you see why that 4 direction system is useful: if you were using
arbitrary angles you would have needed to write something like
"rotate(45) step(mul(sqrt(2),64))" which would be horribly clumsy and
imprecise, assuming it would use floats.
To make creating linedefs easier, some shorter macros exists (defined
in "standard.h" to make life easier.
curve(forward,sideways,subdivisions,xoffdir)
draws a 90 degree curve out of linesegments, the number of which is determined by
subdivisions. After the curve, the current orientation is rotated accordingly.
Curve automatically uses and increases the current xoff value to get perfect texturing,
and thus also allows multiple curves to be fitted together perfectly. Remember to
call xoff(0) after a series of curves to reset its value when needed.
xoffdir can be 1 or -1, and determines wether xoff values should be increasing
or decreasing.
leftsector(floor,ceil,lightlevel)
rightsector(floor,ceil,lightlevel)
create a new sector, with given floor/ceiling levels and light level.
the sector will be created from the last linedef drawn before this
command, and either to the left or the right of it (left means the
sector to the left, looking from the one before last vertex towards
the last vertex. Because making sectors always needs to be done after
the last line, it requires a bit of planning in your code (i.e. it
is a lot of hassle to make a sector out of something your are not
currently drawing, though it can be done (by overwriting any line of
it)). These commands can cause runtime errors if you ask to create
a sector out of something which is not closed off, or has some sidedef
already assigned to another sector etc. See also pitfalls below.
innerleftsector(floor,ceil,lightlevel)
innerrightsector(floor,ceil,lightlevel)
popsector
same as the two commands above, but now as extra also assign the other
sidedef to the last sector created before this one, i.e. this new
sector is created inside the last sector.
popsector makes the sector before the last sector the one used for
attaching an innersector to, i.e. you can use this directly after
an innersector command if you want to place another innersector next
to the current one (rather than inside it).
thing
Creates a thing of the current thingtype, with the current vertex
as position (default is playerstart) and the current orientation as
the things facing angle. You can change the type of
thing being added by using
setthing(type)
where type you have to take from uds.txt, or better still use
monsters.h / pickups.h / decoration.h / spawns.h include files instead.
If you need to fine-tune the angle that things are facing, use
thingangle(angle)
angle_east
angle_ne
angle_north
angle_nw
angle_west
angle_sw
angle_south
angle_se
`thingangle` takes a value in degrees, with 0 degrees facing West.
The constants `angle_east`, etc are defined in `standard.h` for your
convenience.
To fetch or adjust the flags used for creating new things, use
setthingflags(flags)
getthingflags
Useful in conjunction with the bitwise operators. See the `thingtypes.h`
library for useful definitions.
setthingargs(tid,zpos,special,arg1,arg2,arg3,arg4,arg5)
Sets thing argument parameters for hexen-format maps. Using this command
automatically changes the output wad to hexen format.
linetype(type,tag)
Sets the current type & tag for lines being drawn. Needs to be reset to 0
manually. (see below for how to use tags).
sectortype(type,tag)
sets current type & tag for the next sectors being creates. Needs to be reset
to 0 manually. (see below for how to use tags).
linetypehexen(type,arg1,arg2,arg3,arg4,arg5)
same as linetype above, only now for hexen/zdoom style wads. Using this command
automatically changes the output wad to hexen format. Note that arg1
in linetypehexen() is the same as tag in linetype().
Check out zdoom.h for some useful macros.
setlineflags(flags)
getlineflags
Similar to the thing equivalents: fine control over linedef flag values.
Useful in conjunction with the bitwise operators. There are some linedef
flag constants defined in `include/lines.h`.
getfloor
getceil
gettop
getmid
getbot
Return the current flat/texture in use.
floor(flat)
ceil(flat)
top(texture)
mid(texture)
bot(texture)
Sets the current texture for any of these items. The first two require a name of
a flat, the last 3 of a texture (not a patch). Names can be easily looked
up/browsed in a Doom resource editor/browser such as http://slade.mancubus.net[SLADE].
Currently WadC doesn't check this is a valid texturename, it just uses it.
The good side of this is that you can use custom texture wads by just using the
correct names and adding the wad to -file. Who knows in the future WadC may
support a texture browser and automatic saving of custom textures, but it is not
a priority. bot/top/mid get assigned to both sidedefs upon creation of the
linedef (using step), floor/ceil are assigned when leftsector/rightsector is
executed.
By default, WadC automatically removes mid-textures on doublesided linedefs.
You can toggle this on and off using the 'midtex' command:
midtex
Tip: wrap all your texture uses in a function:
lite5 { mid("LITE5") }
not only is it easier to write but it will make it extremely easy to experiment
with alternative texture choices in a map.
xoff(offset)
yoff(offset)
set the current texture offsets (used on lines drawn). don't forget to set them
back to 0 when done.
unpegged
sets both lower & upper unpegged. calling it again resets to normal.
impassable
By default, two-sided lines are passable. Setting 'impassable' prevents this.
arch(height,width,depth,subdivision,floor,lightlevel)
(experimental) makes an arch, of a certain base height, starting at a certain floor
level. width is across the arch, depth is into the arch, subdivision should divide
width, i.e. if width = 128, then subdivision = 64 gives you sectors of 2 units wide.
Arch adds to xoff automatically to reduce funny texturing. On the y axis it is best
if you precede arch by unpegged.
archclip(height,width,depth,subdivision,floor,lightlevel,clip)
This is a special-case version of arch which has an additional parameter, clip, to
cut short generating the arch. This can be used to create structures such as gothic
arches.
mergesectors
turns sector merge mode on. In this mode WadC will check for existing sectors
with identical properties when creating a new sector, and if one exists,
assign the sidedefs of the new sector to the existing sector instead. This
will enable you to create maps with very few sectors :)
Only use this option when necessary, as GL doom ports seem to have a hard time
triangulating sectors like this.
prunelines
when this is on, removes all linedefs (when saving) that have the same
sector on both sides, and linedefs with no sidedefs at all. This is often
used in combination with mergesectors, and avoids the "sidedefs assigned
to same sector" error.
lastsector
forcesector(index)
returns the index (not tag!) of the last sector created. you can use this
value with together with forcesector, to add sides to a sector which is not
spacially adjoining it. forcesector will force the next makesector command
to add sidedefs to the sector specified instead of creating a new one. The
properties specified in the makesector command (floor level etc) are ignored.
Clearly there are a few Doom specific types and flags missing, this will
come in future versions.
==== Line splitting/merging
If either a line or a vertex is drawn on exactly the same location as an
existing line or vertex then the drawing command is ignored, i.e. if a
line is drawn multiple times, the properties of the first (textures etc.)
are remembered. This is useful for combining macros that draw complex
shapes.
But WadC supports a more advanced system for combining complex sectors:
for all horizontal and vertical lines it will automatically perform all
splitting of existing lines necessary, and insertion of vertices etc.
This means you can write macros that generate complex sectors, and
combine them with others, without having to worry how they match up.
==== "world coordinates" xoff alignment
If you make maps with lots of detail, and thus many short lines,
setting xoff correctly for each of them becomes unmanageable. For
those kind of maps, you can use "world coordinates" to assign good
xoff values automatically.
undefx
this command "undefines" the current xoff. undefined xoff coordinates
get set automatically by WadC according to the coordinates of the vertices
on both end points. so for example if you have 4 linedefs of length 16,
between vertices (0,0) (0,16) (0,32) etc, then the xoff will be
automatically set to 0, 16, 32 etc (or their negative equivalents,
depending on which direction the line is going). because (sadly)
doom doesn't support texture scale, this can only work for linedefs that
are parallel to either the x of y axis.
If you make your map with "undefx" in mind, i.e. by aligning architecture
to power of 2 grid coordinates, you can align a whole map automatically.
You can still use the xoff() command command for specific lines that you
want to align in specific ways, just make sure to undefx afterwards.
the curve() command is not affected by undefx, it uses its own alignment.
==== Position / Texture memory
This is a language feature specifically meant to make drawing complex
forms easier. Often you will draw a lot of lines and sectors and
change textures, and want to get back to a certain point to continue
drawing there. These two expression do just that:
!name
Store the current position (vertex), orientation, and textures in the (global)
variable "name".
^name
Go back to the position/orientation stored in "name" and restore the textures.
==== Using Tags and Tag Identifiers
These are especially useful in combination with the linetype & sectortype
commands. Simply use any identifier prefixed by a "$":
linetype(88,$exitlift)
sectortype(0,$exitlift)
whereever the same tag is used, a unique tag number is automatically generated and
used.
If you want to generate a new, unique tag without using a tag identifier, you can
use 'newtag'
set("myvar", newtag) -- gets a new, unused tag number
-- ...
linetype(sometime , get("myvar")) -- use it
-- ...
===== Caveats
`newtag` and tag identifiers pull unique tag numbers from the same "pool" so you
can mix and match them. However, if you use bare numbers as tag arguments and use
`newtag` or tag identifiers, you run the risk of clashing the generated numbers
with your hand-chosen ones.
==== Auto texturing
This is a very powerful feature which lets you create "rules" that say
how a map should be textured, instead of doing it by hand.
Only surfaces that have the "?" texture assigned to them, will be auto textured.
This has the advantage that you can still perform manual texturing in those cases
where you can't write a rule to express what you want. You can easily use
autotexall() to set all texture to "?".
You specify rules using the following command:
autotex(type,size1,size2,size3,texture)
This reads: apply "texture" to any surfaces that are of type "type",
and comply with size constraints "size1", "size2" and "size3".
Note well, if you specify multiple rules, then the *LAST* one that is
applicable for a certain surface will be used. So you should start your
list of rules with the general ones, and work towards the specific cases.
if you write a set of rules where none are applicable to a certain
surface, the surface will be given some default texture, so make sure
your rules cover all cases.
type must be one of:
"C" for ceiling
"F" for floor
"U" for top/upper
"N" for middle/normal
"L" for bottom/lower
"W" for any of upper/normal/lower
Texture is a texture name as used in the texture commands above.
The size parameters for any wall surfaces (U/N/L) are:
height, width, sector floor level
for floors, they are:
sector height, sector floor level, sector bounds length
for ceilings, they are:
sector height, sector ceiling level, sector bounds length
width is taken in axial size, i.e. a slanted wall drawn with step(64,32)
would have width 64. levels are +1000 to make them all positive. Sector
bounds length is the sum of the widths (i.e. axial) of all lines surrounding
a sector, so a 64 square sector has a bounds length of 256.
if the size parameter is:
>0, then the surface size must equal to it
=0, then the surface size can be anything
<0, then the surface size must bigger than -(this parameter).
If that sounds confusing, an example should make it a lot easier:
autotex("L",0,0,0,"BRICK6") -- default lower tex is brick6
autotex("L",16,0,0,"BIGDOOR6") -- unless they are 16 high (any width),
-- then we use bigdoor6 as metal strip
-- (for stairs etc).
autotex("N",0,0,0,"BRICK6") -- default wall is brick6
autotex("N",-192,0,0,"ROCK5") -- unless they are higher than 192,
-- then they are outside rocks
autotex("N",0,16,0,"BROWNHUG") -- very thin walls are metal strips
autotex("N",64,16,1032,"LITE5") -- all 64 high 16 wide walls at
-- floorlevel 32 are lights
autotex("U",0,0,0,"BRICK6") -- default upper is brick6
autotex("C",0,0,0,"RROCK11") -- default ceil
autotex("C",-192,0,0,"F_SKY1") -- unless its very high, then its sky
autotex("C",0,0,256,"CEIL1_2") -- all 64 square sectors have a ceiling light
autotex("F",0,0,0,"SLIME13") -- default floor
autotex("F",0,984,0,"LAVA1") -- all floors at -16 are lava1
autotex("F",0,1064,0,"RROCK10") -- all floors at 64 are rrock10
autotex("F",96,-1064,0,"SLIME14") -- all floors at 64 or higher in a 96 high
-- sector are slime14
Once you are able to set up a good set of rules, you'll be able to map
very fast, because 99% of texture application will be "right" without
manual tuning. You can improve the amount of texturing you can do this
way by planning your maps styles around this feature: for example making
all rooms that require a certain floor/ceiling be at a certain height etc.
==== variables and objects
These features are here to make the language a bit more complete as a
general purpose programming language.
set(varname, value)
get(varname)
where varname is a string, and value can be anything. these functions
work like a set of global variables. Both return the current value.
Calling get before a set, will result in an error.
onew
creates/returns a fresh object, with no fields in it yet. Objects are denoted
by integers, and thus pointer arithmetic is possible. Accessing an unallocated
object however results in an error.
oset(object, fieldname, value)
oget(object, fieldname)
Identical in behaviour to get/set, these 2 access fields in an object rather
than global variables.
See `list.h` for an example of how to use these functions to create an
actual datatype, and a caveat on the usage of "onew".
=== Custom textures
There is some basic experimental support for defining new textures.
texture("name", 64, 128)
addpatch("RW24_2", 0, 0)
`texture` starts a new texture definition, with the name, width and
height of the arguments you supply.
`addpatch` adds a patch onto the currently selected texture. It must be
called after at least one call to `texture`. The first argument names
the patch to be added, and the second two arguments define the x and y
offsets of the patch inside the texture.
You can switch between texture definitions and back by calling `texture`
with the same name again.
Hint: you can generate patch names using `cat`; see the file "llevels.wl"
in the WadC examples directory.
If you define at least one texture, the output WAD will contain the
definitions in a `TEXTURE2` lump.
If you have defined any new patch names, a `PNAMES` lump is also written
to the output WAD. For this to work, you have to have configured WadC to
know where your IWAD is.
=== Map type output
By default, WadC targets Doom II. Amongst other things, this means the
output map is labelled `MAP01`. To change it, use
mapname("E1M1")
The default output format is traditional Doom format, suitable for Doom,
Doom II and Heretic. To switch to Hexen-format (also useful for Zdoom),
use
hexenformat
This will happen automatically if you use one of `linetypehexen` or
`setthingargs` as described earlier.
is_hexenformat
This evaluates to 1 if the map is set to hexen format, and 0 otherwise.
If you you are working on a map for a game other than Doom II, you might
find the libraries `doom.h`, `heretic.h` and `hexen.h` useful. They contain
the following helper routines to set up sensible defaults for textures, flats
and map format:
doomdefaults
hereticdefaults
hexendefaults
== Pitfalls
Here are some common things that can go wrong, and which can result in
runtime errors:
- if you get a "sidedef already assigned" error, and it is not obvious
why (the current sector looks fine), it may be the case that for a
previously constructed sector you accidentally made a sector out of
the whole outside of the level (by choosing the wrong side). WadC doesn't
detect whether something is inside or outside, and this will only show
up when defining an adjoining sector.
[[standard-library]]
== Standard Library
We really should document the standard library in this document. This is
a work in progress. The best thing to do would be to read the comments in
the `.h` files within link:../src/main/resources/include[src/main/resources/include]
to see the finer detail.
=== Basic/generic
standard.h:: very basic language & doom macros for very common
things. Many of the macros here are easier to use
then the builtin features they are based upon.
basic.h:: a set of higher level architectural building blocks
based on some conventions of composing sectors. good
to work with for bigger maps. Contains common doom map
prefabs for things like starts, end of level, monster
teleporting and placement, and room segments.
list.h:: lisp-style cons lists
pair.h:: pair type (useful for coordinates, etc.)
math:: some math routines (bit shifts and `pow` so far)
=== Thing definitions
heretic/things.h:: Thing definitions for Heretic
hexen/things.h:: Thing definitions for Hexen
strife/things.h:: Thing definitions for Strife
==== Doom-specific
Note that Doom and Doom II things are not yet separated out. You will need
to be careful if you are writing Doom #1 maps.
decoration.h:: macros for Doom decorations
monsters.h:: macros for Doom monsters
pickups.h:: macros for Doom pick-ups (weapons, ammo, power-ups)
spawns.h:: macros for Doom player and deathmatch starts, and teleports
=== Thing flags
`thingflags.h` contains definitions for thing flags common to all four games
(as well as Boom and MBF additions) and some routines to manipulate them. Some
of these routines were built-in commands in earlier versions of WadC:
easy
hurtmeplenty
ultraviolence
any following things are available only from the said skill and upwards
friendly
toggles the 'friendly' flag of monsters. Friendly monsters are a
http://doomwiki.org/wiki/Friendly_monster#MBF[MBF feature] and will require
an MBF-supporting port to work. It will not work for Hexen.
'friendly' defaults to off.
setflag(x)
clearflag(x)
toggleflag(x)
Sets, clears or flips the given flag value, e.g. `setflag(multiplayer)`
=== Line flags
Some line flag constant values are defined in `lines.h`.
=== Other games
doom.h:: Settings and defaults for Doom/Ultimate Doom
heretic.h:: Settings and defaults for Heretic
hexen.h:: Settings and defaults for Hexen
strife.h:: Settings and defaults for Strife
The above headers are one-size-fits all for inclusion in maps for those
ports; they, in turn, pull in some smaller files in `include/<gamename>`
in some cases.
=== Port/post-vanilla
boom.h:: Boom generalised linedef function and related constants
control.h:: control sector macros, for e.g. Boom special effects
water.h:: macros for Boom-deep water special effects
zdoom.h:: macros for Zdoom-specific special effects (slopes, mirrors)
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