No UDB for UZDoom?

[MrLemonNIkRealms]

So i wanted to get back into trying to make doom wads for over a few months now but these past few days Ive stumbled on to a problem witch is that UZDoom on doom builder begins to error when use it. after some time tho i realized that the program was telling me that UZDoom needs something called UDB to work. what is that and what did i do wrong?

[Kappes Buur]

UDB stands for Ultimate Doom Builder which is the successor of Doombuilder2.
Open Game Configurations (F6), choose the UZDoom configuration you want and select the appropriate resources and test source port.

[Enjay]

Yep, and just to expand on that:

after some time tho i realized that the program was telling me that UZDoom needs something called UDB to work.

UZDoom does not need Ultimate Doom Builder (UDB) to work. As Kappes Buur said, UDB is the successor to DoomBulder2 (Via GZDoomBuilder). It's a map editor. The game engine does not need a map editor to run. However, if you want to make maps, then you do obviously need something that can be used to make maps (just like when doom.exe needed map editors to make new content). UDB is up to date and constantly maintained, and so it supports any new features that appear in UZDoom.

UZDoom itself has no interdependency specifically on UDB. Any map editor capable of making a map should be able to make one that UZDoom can run. If you are just making a map in the original Doom format, then even an editor from 1994 would do (if you can get it to run).

At the present time, there isn't much difference between maps for GZDoom and UZDoom. So, any editor that supports GZDoom will also make UZDoom compatible maps with most/all of the advanced features available to you. A modern editor (of which UDB is probably the most popular) should support modern map formats such as UDMF (Universal Doom Map Format) which allow far greater control over everything in your map. UDMF has been supported by GZDoom for several years now. So, again, if the editor you use supports that, then it can make maps that will run in UZDoom with most/all of the bells and whistles of a modern map format.

However, it is worth pointing out that UDB does now have configurations specifically for UZDoom. UZDoom is still being maintained and improved and new features will be coming along which, I assume, UDB will be updated to support in due course. So, if you want to access those features, then UDB is arguably the best choice. Some people use the map editor built into Slade, which is also a reasonably popular choice. I'm not sure how closely it has been following UZDoom's development, but Slade is also still maintained and updated and is a very useful and powerful utility even if you don't use the map editing element of it.


So, I guess the TL:DR version of the above is that to make maps for UZDoom, you need a map editor of some sort and UDB is an excellent (arguably the best) choice. However, UZDoom itself does not need UDB and other map editors are an option if you want to make new content.

[Kappes Buur]

Coming back to the subject of UZDoom and UDB with respect to Doombuilder2.
They are all independent programs and used as such. UZDoom is for playing the iwads and enthusiast made pwads (wad and pk3 or ipk3).

UZDoom is simple to use, download the app and run it, see Installation and execution of ZDoom for ways you can do this.


DB2 was created in 2007 (version r0) and has been updated and forked several times until it is now in 2026 UDB (version r4307) as of this writing. My suggestion to understanding how to implement mapping with UDB is to watch some Youtube videos on the subject. My favorite videos are by Alysium.

I'm looking forward to what you come up with.