HOWTO: Making custom ENDOOM screen with PabloDraw

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darkhog
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HOWTO: Making custom ENDOOM screen with PabloDraw

Post by darkhog »

I wasn't content with ENDOOMER or anything like that, so I've decided to figure out a way to use PabloDraw instead. And so I did, even though probably not many people will see my endoom screen.

You'll need Pablo Draw, a hex editor (I recommend XVI32 on Windows) and some tool to upload your ENDOOM to the wad (I recommend Slade). Last step won't be covered as if you're going to replace ENDOOM, you probably know your way around Slade, XWE or similar tools.

First step is to download and install PabloDraw. I won't cover that as it is easy and the link to PabloDraw can be found on the wiki (can't remember whether it was zdoom wiki or regular doom wikia).

Next step is to obviously launch PabloDraw and create new file. In the screen that follows, select Text Document (default option) and hit OK. You should be seeing something like this:

Image

Now, let's go into some technicalities regarding the artwork: ENDOOM is a single screen, meaning it's 80 columns wide and 25 lines long. So try to confine the actual artwork to those limits. What do I mean by "actual artwork"? More on that in a moment, for now don't worry. Draw something nice! Also please remember to not use bright colors (right side of the palette) as the background colors otherwise text will be blinking when put into actual wad, unless that's what you want. My guess is that using bright colors as bg triggers blink bit or something. Because I don't want to make anything good right now, I've drew this:

Image

Isn't that a beauty? Anyway, now I'll get to what I've meant by "actual artwork". Well, if you try to save it as is and upload to Slade, it will be borked as file will be too short and there will be weird sauce thingy at the end of it put there by PabloDraw. We don't want that to happen. So scroll few lines past line 25 and put something in, even a single character. In lower-right corner you get current position of your text cursor so it's easy to see your coords. What you should have now is something like this:

Image

Now click save. Remember to use .bin extension, otherwise it won't work. Now open XVI32 or your favorite hex editor and open that file in it:
Image

What you need to do is to go to the address 0xF9F and delete every byte past that (but leave byte 0xF9F in, meaning delete everything from and including FA0!). Save it in the hex editor. Now load it into SLADE and have your ENDOOM fun!
Image
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Boingo_the_Clown
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Re: HOWTO: Making custom ENDOOM screen with PabloDraw

Post by Boingo_the_Clown »

Yes. I used Pablodraw to make the new ENDOOM for The Ultimate Chex Quest two years ago, and it worked great. I plan on using it to do my ENDOOM entries from now on.

I didn't edit my pic in hex though. I used the old DOS ENDOOM editor TED. I loaded the pic I exported from Pablowdraw into TED, then resaved it, and that did the job.
darkhog
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Re: HOWTO: Making custom ENDOOM screen with PabloDraw

Post by darkhog »

Good for you.
However my workflow doesn't depend on some dos program that may or may not work (DOSBox, while very good software, isn't perfect in emulating some dos games and software, namely AlphaWaves/Continuum and NeoPaint for DOS and sometimes new release breaks compatibility with the stuff that worked, namely I couldn't get to work Jazz Jackrabbit on DB 0.63 even though it worked on almost every version before and after that), just PabloDraw and any hex editor of your choosing.
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Boingo_the_Clown
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Re: HOWTO: Making custom ENDOOM screen with PabloDraw

Post by Boingo_the_Clown »

Just presenting an alternative that also works, and is easy. Don't get mad about it.
We both agree that Pablodraw is a great way of making a new ENDOOM screen, and that is what is important. Right?
darkhog
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Re: HOWTO: Making custom ENDOOM screen with PabloDraw

Post by darkhog »

Right. What we disagree however about is whoever workflow is easier. Let's compare:

- My workflow: User has to download PD and a hex editor.
- Your workflow: User has to download PD, DosBox (if he doesn't have it already) and a dos program of non-descriptive name (when googling TED you're more likely to get links to TED talks or social media profiles of people named Ted than to that program). Which then may or may not work depending on DosBox version and configuration.

One of the workflows is clearly easier while the other is harder.

Also no one is getting mad at anyone (unless you're getting mad at me). It's just the way I'm presenting my points in a forum discussion. Sorry if it came off as me getting mad at you.
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wildweasel
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Re: HOWTO: Making custom ENDOOM screen with PabloDraw

Post by wildweasel »

It should really just be up to the user, honestly; do you want a DOS program or a hex editor? etc etc. There's no reason both workflows can't be talked about.
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FoptionMapping
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Re: HOWTO: Making custom ENDOOM screen with PabloDraw

Post by FoptionMapping »

I normally use ChaosEdit for my ENDOOM screens, and there is no hassle. FYI ChaosEdit's a Wolfenstein editor.
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torridgristle
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Re: HOWTO: Making custom ENDOOM screen with PabloDraw

Post by torridgristle »

http://artscene.textfiles.com/viewers/dos/poster12.zip

I've only ever found one bitmap to ANSI converter and it runs in DOS if anyone wants to figure it out.
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