One map for many iwads?

[schkorpio]

Hi everyone, I'm new to mapping for zdoom ( ultimate doom builder)

Q: Is there a way to make maps so that they universally work across all iwads?

E.g. if I make a map thats mainly for hexen, can the same map file also work on doom and heretic?

Or would it be better to make a version of the map specific to each iwad?

[ramon.dexter]

I'm not sure if this is even possible.
Main problem is that what is decoration in doom, is not a decoration in heretic/hexen/strife. The same goes for textures, skytexture and more. So no, it is not simply possible.
Maybe it could be solved through a zscript eventhandler, check what iwad is loaded and replace map actors according to loaded iwad.
But, I'm not 100% sure if iwad detection is possible through zscript.
And, you mention you're newbie, so this task is really above your present set of skills.

So, my advice is: start small.

[m8f]

1. Textures. You'll need a set of textures independent of the base game. Those textures should probably be not in paletted format.
2. Actors (enemies, pickups, weapons, decorations). Put a bunch of stub classes, like SmallMonster1, SmallMonster2, SmallHealthPickup1, BigGun2, an so on on your map. Replace them with RandomSpawners that spawn real things using replaces keyword. Use filters to write different replacements for different games.

[schkorpio]

Thanks for the advice folks, that's given me something to about. I'm probably being overly ambitious hah!