Adding a Strife Monster to Doom 2 (actors, flags, sprites)

[pwnsevelt]

I'd like to add this monster to Doom 2 and I'm having trouble finding tutorials, even given the scale of discussions here and at Doomworld.

Alot of hosted screenshots, images and how-to sites are down or no longer exist. I think I have a rough idea of what is needed. I have a side goal of creating better technical documentation for doom and this is one area that seems under served by clear explanation.

Specifically, this is the monster I'd like to add to Doom 2:

http://zdoom.org/wiki/Classes:Sentinel

These are the rough list of tasks I can think I need to complete:

1. Create new entry, via Slade, in Decorate for this monster, including new DoomEd # (so I can place it on a map in DoomBuilder).
2. Add Strife actor flags to Doom...not sure how to do this yet
3. Add monster sprites
4. Load pk3 resource to Doom builder and add my new monster
5. Load doom and shoot at it.

I'm really obsessed with clear instructions and would love to codify the techniques to do this - as well as use them to make a fun mod too.

Does anyone happen to know of an existing wad that combines Strife and Doom monsters already? Am i going about this wrong?

Thank you!

[Kappes Buur]

Open Slade3.
Load your pwad and strife1.
Copy/paste the sentinel sprites SEWRxx into your pwad (between S_START and S_END markers).
Make a lump DECORATE.
Add the text, for example: actor securityorb : sentinel 15555 {} into DECORATE and save.

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Save your pwad.
Close Slade3.

Open your pwad in a map editor.
Insert the securityorb, DoomEd Number 15555.
Save your pwad.
Close the map editor.

Play your pwad, shoot at the securityorb.

[pwnsevelt]

Open Slade3.
Load your pwad and strife1.
Copy/paste the sentinel sprites SEWRxx into your pwad (between S_START and S_END markers).
Make a lump DECORATE.
Add the text, for example: actor securityorb : sentinel 15555 {} into DECORATE and save.

---

Save your pwad.
Close Slade3.

Open your pwad in a map editor.
Insert the securityorb, DoomEd Number 15555.
Save your pwad.
Close the map editor.

Play your pwad, shoot at the securityorb.

Thank you so much for this! This gives me a framework and a general process I did not have before. My knowledge is still a bit incomplete, unfortunately...

I have an otherwise blank pwad and the Strife1.wad loaded in Slade. I can find the sprites for the monster I'd like to duplicate in Doom. I've even copied those sprites. But I'm not sure where to paste them. My Slade screen always looks different from tutorials and I always thought it was that my version was more recent than theirs. Is there a different view or something? I'm missing something big and essential but I cant figure out what it is.

Here is what I'm looking at:

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[Kappes Buur]

Is there a different view or something? I'm missing something big and essential but I cant figure out what it is.

I usually have rhe Archive Manger closed. Maybe that's why it looks different.

From your screenshot it is impossible to tell what this berserker.wad is.

• Is this your empty map?
  How enpty is it?
  What mapping format was used? It must be DiH or UDMF.

[Graf Zahl]

Add the text, for example: actor securityorb : sentinel 15555 {} into DECORATE and save.

If you just want to assign an editor number to an existing actor, using the 'doomednums' section in MAPINFO is clearly the better option than using DECORATE and creating a separate actor class.

[Gez]

Yeah the MAPINFO stuff is a cleaner and simpler method that is possible now.

Before the MAPINFO method was added, my preferred approach was to use a randomspawner, like this:

Code: Select all

actor securityorb : randomspawner 15555 { dropitem "sentinel" }

The reason was that this way, it was precisely exactly the same actor and not a derived actor. It was important for stuff like GLDEFS if you use them, as they are not inherited.


As for SLADE looking different from Kappes Buur's screenshots: KB replaced SLADE's lump type icons with custom icons of his own, so that's why on his screenshots you see color-coded squares.

[pwnsevelt]

Sorry for the poor screenshot before!

How does this look? How much "stuff" needs to be in the pwad in order for it to work?

I've Copy and pasted the following:

• PLAYPAL (the color palette)
  P_START
  P_END (not sure if i need these)
  SEWR sprites
  DECORATE entry with "actor securityorb : sentinel 15555"

Re: the MAPINFO method, would I create a new archive entry named MAPINFO?

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[Kappes Buur]

Because the sentinel is already defined in the game engine, you have learned so far, that it is possible
to add the sentinel in two ways. Pay attention to the placement of the lumps.

1. DECORATE
Just a text lump, no compiling is required.
You simply create a new actor and give it an unused DoomED number.
Then you add this new actor in a map editor. See Gez's post.

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2. MAPINFO
Just a text lump, no compiling is required.
As Graf Zahl suggested, add the sentinel by simply giving the sentinel
a new DoomED number in MAPINFO.
See http://zdoom.org/wiki/MAPINFO/Editor_number_definition

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3. concerning the MARKERS
The sentinel is a sprite. Therefore use S_ markers, not P_ markers.
See http://zdoom.org/wiki/Namespace

[Beed28]

Don't forget, you'll also need to include its associated sound effects as well, or else it won't make any noise at all.

[pwnsevelt]

How will Doom deal with the different color pallettes in Strife and Doom 2?

Is it best to repaint these sprites in Dooms color palette? I only have the most rudimentary knowledge so far and it seems I'm limited to a single palette of 256 colors per Map.

How would you deal with the additional colors?

[Kappes Buur]

Take a closer look at my screenshots.
The sprite images in my pwad are in png format. So, what I did, I exported the STRIFE sprites as png, using Slade3, to some folder

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and then dragged them from this folder into my pwad, again using Slade3, between S_ markers.

[Kappes Buur]

Before the MAPINFO method was added, my preferred approach was to use a randomspawner, like this:

Code: Select all

actor securityorb : randomspawner 15555 { dropitem "sentinel" }

While this works in both ZDoom and GZDoom, the drawback of this decorate method (at least for me) is
that the editor does not display the actor image.

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[pwnsevelt]

Ok, I'm very excited to have gotten this far - below is the layout of the wad that is adding the Strife monster to Doom2. Thank you so much to Kappes and Gez.

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I've built my Wad like so, using the DECORATE method rather than MAPINFO, at least until I understand the latter. I am able to see the Strife monster, it reacts, moves around, attacks, and can be hit etc. It's really amazing how easy the Doom engine makes something like this.

But now I'm dealing with the color palette issue:

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Is there a way to support Strife and Doom2 palettes in the same map? Aren't I limited to 256 colors, or is there another way to beautify this?

***EDIT*** I removed the PLAYPAL lump on a hunch and the Strife monster looks great. I'm not sure how this is happening. Is this because I exported the sprites as a PNG? Did that get around the 256 color palette limits?

Also, should I add any of the contents (see link) of the Sentinel Actor to the Decorate entry? Here is what I'm looking at: http://zdoom.org/wiki/Classes:Sentinel

Thank you again to everyone who has helped me!

[MaxED]

Remove PLAYPAL lump from your wad. It isn't needed, because the sprites from Strife were exported as .png.

[pwnsevelt]

Remove PLAYPAL lump from your wad. It isn't needed, because the sprites from Strife were exported as .png.

Thank you!