Instant Doom Levels/Instant.Doom.Levels.-.Level.Master.II.iso/PLAYING.TXT

Text File | 1996-08-13 | 15KB | 307 lines

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Instant DOOM Levels
Sams Publishing
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  Using DOOM-IT to play game levels from the CD-ROM
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If you're tired of playing DOOM and DOOM II by the same old rules and
want something to spice it up a little, you're in luck. With a program
called DOOM-IT you can access features of DOOM and DOOM II not
available through the normal setup program. With the use of these
features you can change nearly every aspect of the game to your
preference. DOOM-IT also simplifies some of the basic setup procedures
by allowing you to save your modem, serial, and network game settings.
All this, and an easy-to-use interface, makes DOOM-IT a must for any
DOOM or DOOM II player.

DESCRIPTION

DOOM-IT is an alternate setup program for DOOM and DOOM II. When using
DOOM-IT to start single or multiplayer games, one can take full advantage
of command-line parameters. These parameters enable you to load multiple
WAD files, record a game, start from any level, turn on development mode,
and much more. The 5.4 version of DOOM-IT provides complete support up to
DOOM v1.666 and DOOM II v1.7a.

INSTALLATION AND REQUIREMENTS

Installation of DOOM-IT from the CD-ROM is simple and painless. Simply
UnZip all files within DOOMIT.ZIP into any directory on your hard
disk. DOOM-IT requires about 175KB of disk space and 200KB of
conventional memory. The memory requirement increases for each WAD
file DOOM-IT reads (about 18 bytes each). All of this memory will be
freed once the program exits to run DOOM. To start the program, type
DOOMIT at the DOS prompt and press Enter. You must use the DOOMIT
batch file for DOOM-IT to work correctly. You cannot run DMLOAD.EXE.

CONFIGURATION

NOTE: You must select DOOM 1 or DOOM 2 from the initial menu before
accessing the menu bar. This is done so DOOM and DOOM II will have separate
settings.

When you run DOOM-IT for the first time you need to configure the
program to work with your hardware. Before you run a Network, Serial,
or Modem game, you need to specify the PORT and COM settings. To
access the hardware configuration menu, press the Alt key from the
main menu. This will bring up a menu bar located near the top of the
screen. Use the arrow keys to highlight the word CONFIG, then select one
of the three connection types. (More information on each of these is
given later on.)

The next step in configuring DOOM-IT is to make sure the path statements
correctly point to the appropriate directories on your hard disk. They
tell DOOM-IT where to find the DOOM, WAD, and DeHackEd files. (DeHackEd
is a helpful utility that will be discussed forthwith.) To modify these
settings, choose PATH from the menu bar then select one of the three
file locations to modify.

To play the game levels on the Instant Doom Levels disc, select Path +
WADS from the menu bar, and enter the appropriate path:

For DOOM:        D:\WADS\DOOM1\PLAY
For DOOM II:     D:\WADS\DOOM2\PLAY

Note: If your CD-ROM is not drive D, substitute the correct letter in
      the path you enter; for example, if your CD-ROM is drive G, the
      correct WADS path for DOOM II would be G:\WADS\DOOM2\PLAY.)


NETWORK SETUP

When you are playing a network game, you and all the other players must
have an identical port number chosen. To configure DOOM-IT with a port
number, choose the network category under CONFIG on the menu bar. By
selecting different port numbers, more than one multiplayer game can be
played over the same network. The default port number is set to 0, which
should work in most cases.

SERIAL SETUP

Before you start a serial game, you must specify which COM port the serial
cable is plugged into. To change this setting, choose the serial category
under CONFIG on the menu bar. Most computers only have an external COM 1 or
COM 2 port for serial connections.

On the same serial-configuration menu, you are given the option to choose a
baud rate. If you use this feature, it will override the setting in your
MODEM.CFG file that DOOM normally reads from. If you don't want to override
the baud rate setting, choose Default.

The final option on the serial-configuration menu determines whether or not
to set the UART to 8250. If you have a faster I/O card and it's not working
properly at the higher speed, you might try using this option to use the
slower setting.

MODEM SETUP

Before starting a modem game, you must specify which COM port your modem is
connected to. To do this, choose the modem category under CONFIG on the
menu bar. Most external modems can only use COM1 or COM2. Most internal
modems can be setup to use COM ports 1 through 4.
As with the serial setup described previously, you can specify a baud rate
for the modem which overrides the settings in your MODEM.CFG file. You can
also set the UART to 8250 if you are having problems at the higher speed.
Once you have your modem configured correctly you can provide the phone
number to dial in one of two ways. You may use the built in phone book
(which is discussed later on) or you may type in the phone number manually
each time. If you choose to be the dialer when starting a modem game, then
you will be given the option.

USING WADS

WAD files are an easy way to add your own levels, graphics, or sounds to
DOOM and DOOM II. When loaded, they temporarily replace some of the
information usually found in the main WAD file (DOOM.WAD or DOOM2.WAD).

If you tell DOOM-IT that you want to load WAD files, then you will be
presented with a list of all files with a .WAD extension in the WAD
directory you configured DOOM-IT for. You can select up to nine different
files to load at one time. To select more than one WAD, highlight each file
and press the space bar to mark it. You will then see an asterisk character
next to the file. Once you have your WADs marked, you can press the Enter
key to continue.

If you chose to load a WAD containing a new level, the program will ask if
you want to warp directly to that level. Doing this will skip the process
of choosing an episode or level number and instead use the WAD's level. If
you have marked more than one WAD level to load, the program will warp you
to the one that occurs earliest in the game.

There are a couple of other features you can use from the WAD-selection
menu. If you wish to change the episode or level number of a WAD level,
then highlight the file and press F1. You will then be prompted to enter in
the new information.

TIP: It is also possible to scan through a large list of WAD files by
pressing a key from A through Z to jump to the first WAD in the list
beginning with that letter. This is very helpful if you have a hundred
or more WADs to look through.

USING DEHACKED PATCHES

There is a great utility for DOOM called DeHackEd that was created by
a fellow named Greg Lewis. This excellent program enables a person to
modify the DOOM or DOOM II executable file. By doing this, you can
alter every last detail about DOOM, such as the speed of weapons, the
behavior of monsters, and the amount of health or armor the player
starts with. Episode 4, Mission 2, Room 1, "DeHackEd v2.2," discusses
the DeHackEd utility in detail.

To load a patch file created with the DeHackEd utility, press P from
the final setup menu. This will bring up a list of all files with a
.DEH extension in the directory specified in your DEHACKED.INI file.
Make sure the DeHackEd directory path for which you configure DOOM-IT
contains both the DEHACKED.EXE and DEHACKED.INI files. DOOM-IT reads
the DEHACKED.INI file to determine where your patch files are located.

Because DeHackEd patch files permanently change the information in the
DOOM or DOOM II executable file, I recommend making a backup of these
settings. This way you can restore the original settings within
DOOM-IT by simply loading a default patch file. To make a patch file
called DEFAULT.DEH, type the following at the DOS prompt:

DEHACKED -SAVE DEFAULT.DEH

This should be done before making any alterations to your original
executable files.

DEFINING DEFAULTS

If you find yourself choosing the same settings over and over for a single
or multiplayer game, you can automate the process by defining a set of
custom defaults. This way you can load the settings you want with the press
of a button rather than going through every menu each time you play.

DOOM-IT enables you to customize five sets of defaults. To edit these
settings, select the Defaults category under MISC on the menu bar. Choose
one of the five available slots and press Enter. You now have the option to
give your settings a menu title. Once you have chosen a title, press Enter
again. You are now presented with a screen showing nearly all of the game
options. Customize the settings to your liking and press Enter a final
time. The settings will be saved permanently for future use.

To load these defaults, press D from the game-selection menu. When the list
appears, highlight the desired settings and press Enter. The only thing
left to do to is select a game type and decide whether or not to use WADs.

PHONE BOOK

The built-in phone book enables you to store the name and phone number of up to
10 different people. To add a name to the phone book, choose the Edit
category under PBook on the menu bar. After you have done this, you are
able to pick one of 10 slots to modify. Highlight a slot and press Enter.
Type the person's name and press Enter again. Now type his or her phone
number and press Enter a final time to go back to the original menu.

RECORDING DEMOS

To keep those great frag feasts for posterity, DOOM-IT enables you to
record and play back your single or multiplayer games.

If you choose to record your game, you will be prompted to enter in a
filename to save the demo into. When typing in the filename, use no more
than eight characters and leave off the file extension. DOOM will use .LMP
as the file extension automatically. For example, if you provide DOOM-IT,
the name DEMO1 for recording, DOOM will save it as DEMO1.LMP.

If you are using DOOM v1.666 or DOOM II, you can record multiplayer games.
You can also specify the maximum size you want DOOM to reserve for the
recording. This is done by using the -MAXDEMO parameter followed by
the number of kilobytes to reserve. Since DOOM-IT v5.4 doesn't directly
address the MAXDEMO feature, you must add it manually to the ADD PARAM
list under MISC on the menu bar. If you enter -MAXDEMO 1024, for example,
DOOM will reserve 1MB for the recording.

When recording multiplayer games, make sure all players choose the Record
option and specify the same MAXDEMO size. The recording of your game begins
right when you start DOOM. To end the recording, press Q or exit the game.

Once you have recorded your demo, you can play it back within DOOM-IT by
selecting the PLAY DEMO category under MISC on the menu bar. If you
recorded the demo from a WAD level, you must load that same WAD again for
the demo to play back correctly. After doing this, you will be prompted to
enter in the demo filename. Type it in the same way as before, leaving off
the file extension.


MOUSE INTERFACE

DOOM-IT provides an interface for using a mouse in addition to the
keyboard. You can use the right and left buttons of any
Microsoft-compatible mouse to perform the same functions as the keyboard.
In general the left mouse button is used to make menu selections and the
right mouse button is used to back up a menu (the same as pressing the ESC
key).

On a single-list menu, use the left mouse button to make your selection.
After doing this, the program will take you to the next menu. On a
multi-list menu (such as the modem config menu), use the left mouse button
to change the settings in each box. Then click the left mouse button on the
parenthesis box in the upper-left corner of the menu.

On the WAD selection menu, use the left mouse button to mark or unmark each
file you want to load. You can also use the left mouse button to click the
up and down arrows to scroll through the WAD file list.

On menus that require a yes or no answer, click the left mouse button on
the word YES or NO to specify your answer.

ID SETUP

If needed, you can run the SETUP.EXE program that comes with DOOM or DOOM
II within DOOM-IT. To do this, choose the ID SETUP category under MISC on
the menu bar. This option is given just in case you need to change your
hardware settings at the last minute. Make sure you exit the setup program
and return to DOOM-IT before starting DOOM.

RESPONSE FILES

Since DOOM-IT uses command-line parameters to pass the settings you choose
to DOOM, the size of the parameter list must not exceed the DOS limit of
128 characters. One way around this limit is to use a response file. A
response file is a feature available in DOOM v1.666 and DOOM II that
enables the command-line parameters to be written to a text file, which is
then passed to DOOM.

CUSTOM PARAMETERS

DOOM-IT enables you to define your own parameters if needed. This might be
necessary if you have an alternate SERSETUP or IPXSETUP file that can
accept non-standard parameters, or if you want to use parameters not
addressed by DOOM-IT. To define them, you need to select the ADD PARAM
category under MISC on the menu bar. You can type up to about 50 characters
of your own parameter text. These parameters will always be added to the
settings you choose when starting a game.

OTHER PARAMETERS

There are other parameters DOOM accepts that are not necessary to directly
address in DOOM-IT. Many of these are listed in the following table. If you
wish to use any of these, you may add them to the custom parameter list.

DOOM
Version     Parameter             Description
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2         -config <filename>         Specifies an alternate config file.
1.2         -devparm                 Is needed to allow certain parameters. With
                            -devparm enabled, you can press F1 during the
                            game to save the screen as a PCX file.
1.2         -recordfrom <#> <name>  This is only available in DOOM v1.2. It enables
                            you to record a game from a saved game (Example:
                            -recordfrom 1 demo).
1.666     -irq <number>             Sets the IRQ for a COM port.
1.666     -port <number>          Sets the COM I/O port that SERSETUP uses for
                            your modem (Example: -port 0x3f8).

A more complete description of many of these parameters can be found in the
README file that comes with DOOM or DOOM II.



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