Definition Scripts

MapInfo
The MapInfo script is used to define characteristics of the levels. Currently it only can contain map definitions (note: this
doesnʼt seem to be up-to-date information, skill definitions can also be tuned using MapInfo).

Map definition

A map definition begins with the “map” keyword. You can also specify standard characteristics for later map definitions
by using the word “defaultmap” instead.

map <lumpname> <name>

This keyword begins a map definition.

<lumpname> is the name of the lump in wad file.

<name> is a nice name displayed when entering or exiting a map (if graphics are not specified) and in automap.

defaultmap

This keyword begins a default map definition.

levelnum <number>

Defines a number of this map that is used in MapTeleport and StartACS specials.

warptrans <number>

Actual map number in case maps are not sequential. A map with ”WARPTRANS 1” is a map where Vavoom running will
start the game (from the main menu) in Doom 2 and Hexen. All other values are ignored (thereʼs no more ”-warp” option
and the console command MAP takes the mapʼs lump name, not number).

next <mapname>

Map to teleport to upon exit of timed deathmatch or with the normal exit action special

Note (for timed deathmatches): In the normal gameplay, there is no linear fashion in which the game progresses from one
level to another; you just go through a teleport somewhere on a level, and it takes you to somewhere on another level. For
timed deathmatch, the game needs to know what level to proceed to because it isnʼt always just the next higher level.

secret <mapname>

Map to teleport to with the secret exit action special

music <lumpname>

MUS or MIDI to play during the level, replaces entries in SNDINFO script

cdtrack <number>

CD track to play during the level

cluster <number>

Defines what cluster this level belongs to, 0 for no-cluster.

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The game maps are divided into clusters. When you enter a new cluster, you can never again visit any of the levels from
the previous cluster. This makes it so each individual save game only needs to backup map archives for about 6-7 maps,
and provides a milestone marker of sorts for gameplay, like an episode — a Hexen backdrop and some text are given at
the end of each cluster.

If you donʼt enter a cluster, it defaults to 0. Cluster 0 is treated as no-cluster, all maps in cluster 0 are treated as in
different clusters.

sky1 <texture> <speed>

Default sky texture; followed by speed

sky2 <texture> <speed>

Alternate sky displayed in Sky2 sectors ; followed by speed

doublesky

parallax sky: sky2 behind sky1

lightning

Keyword indicating the use of lightning on the level flashes from sky1 to sky2 (see also: IndoorLightning special)

skybox <name>

A skybox is used in this level, old sky will be ignored

fadetable <lumpname>

When set to FOGMAP, the level will have fog, other values are ignored

gravity <value>

This parameter can set the gravity of the whole map, you can combine this parameter with the SetGravity special, if itʼs
not specified its default value is 0. Not that here it uses an integer instead of a float, so “gravity 800” would be the same
as not using the argument, “gravity 1600” would double the gravity and “gravity 400” would halve it.

Episode Definitions

An episode definition begins with the word “episode”. You can also clear previous episodes by using the “clearepisodes”
word. If there is only one episode, then the player will not be prompted.

episode <maplump>

Substitute the map name of the map that you want the episode to start on for <maplump>. <maplump> can be any lump
in the WAD, as long as it is a valid map file.

name <nice name>

This is the episodeʼs name as text. If you do not provide a picname, then Vavoom will display this text.

picname <piclump>

Replace <piclump> with the graphic lump that you wish to use on episode selection menu screen. If you specify an invalid
lump, the invalid graphic image will be used. If you specify “”, no graphic will be used. If you omit this word, then the
name that you provided in name will be displayed instead.

key <key>
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This sets a shortcut key for the menu selection. Any key on the keyboard is valid.

Note: Vavoom doesnʼt implement this currently.

remove

This removes the episode. I donʼt see why you would remove an episode that you have just defined, but the option is
there.

noskillmenu

Disables the skill menu for this episode, instead it always starts on skill 2.

This is for WADs that implement skill selection by an introduction map.

clearepisodes

This clears all previous episodes. This could be used if you wish to have fewer episodes than are originally present in the
IWAD that you are using.

Examples

map 1 "Winnowing Hall"

warptrans 1
next 2
cluster 1
sky1 SKY2 2 ; 2 is the sky scroll speed
sky2 SKY3 0 ; 0 means don't scroll sky
lightning
doublesky
cdtrack 13

map E1M1 "hangar"

next E1M2
secret E1M9
sky1 SKY1 0 ; 0 means don't scroll sky
music D_e1m1

map TOWN "Town of the Apidomb"

warptrans 1
levelnum 1
next CAVE1
cluster 1
skybox town_sky_with_clouds
cdtrack 4
music MD_TOWN

episode e1m1
name "Knee Deep in the Dead"
picname m_epi1
key k

SndInfo
SndInfo contains many sound-related definitions. It allows any sound referred to by its lump name (DSSAWHIT,
DSBAREXP, etc) to be associated with any game event sound such as player pain, or death. The names by which the
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predefined sounds are referred to in SndInfo are fairly self-explanatory, so I will not cover them now.

SndInfo lumps are cumulative. All SndInfo lumps found are read in WAD directory order. This means that you donʼt have
to (in fact you must not) copy all information from the original SndInfo lump if you want to change something.

SndInfo supports the following commands:

sound assignment (logicalname lumpname)

This does not use a specific command. Just write the two names on one line in the file, the logical name (thatʼs
the name thatʼs used in the other commands here, in the game or in other lumps that use sound name) first and
the lumpname of the sound that is to be used second.
$random logicalname { realname1 realname2 realname3 … }
Defines a random sound. The newly defined sound can be used like a regular sound but any time it is used one
of the sounds specified in the list is randomly selected. The number of sounds in the list is unlimited.
$alias aliasname soundname
Assigns a second logical name to an already existing sound. The existing sound can also be a random sound or
another alias. Any change to the original sound in subsequent SNDINFO lumps is automatically transferred to
the new sound.
$limit soundname <amount>
Specifies that at most <amount> instances can be played at once. A value of 0 means no limit at all.
$pitchshift soundname <range>
Specifies how much the pitch of the specified sound may be randomly altered when it is played. <range> may
be in the range of 0 to 7.
$pitchshiftrange <range>
Sets a default pitch shift value that is applied to all subsequent sound definitions.
$playerreserve soundname
Reserves the specified sound name for use by a player. For compatibility with some other ports this command
must come before all other player sound definitions and should not be used in PWADs (Note: Vavoom doesnʼt
have this limitation).
$playersound playerclass gender logicalname lumpname
Defines a sound used by a player. The logical name must first be reserved with $playerreserve before it can be
used here. <playerclass> must be ‘playerʼ for all games other than Hexen. In Hexen it can be either ‘fighterʼ,
‘mageʼ or ‘clericʼ. Gender can be ‘maleʼ, ‘femaleʼ or ‘otherʼ. Here you can find a list of all known player sounds
and their meaning.
$playersounddup playerclass gender logicalname otherplayersound
Defines a sound used by player and copies the sound used from the existing player sound.
$playeralias playerclass gender logicalname otherlogicalsound
Creates an alias to the existing logical sound.
$playercompat playerclass gender logicalname compatibilityname
Defines a compatibility alias for a specific player sound. If any sounds with these compatibility names are
defined later, they will redefine the corresponding player sounds instead. Likewise, if they are played, they will
play the corresponding player sound instead.
$ambient index logicalsound type mode <volume>
Defines an ambient sound which is played when one of the ambient sound things (14001-14065) is placed in a
map. <index> specifies which thing or which parameter for the generic ambient sound thing has to be used.
<logicalsound> specifies the sound to be played, <volume> the volume at which it is played.
type can be one of the following:
point [atten]: Defines a positional sound. The volume at which the sound is played decreases with distance.
The optional parameter <atten> specifies how quickly this decrease occurs. Larger values means quicker
decreases. The value is specified as a floating point value. The default for <atten> is 1.0.
surround: Plays the sound at full volume in surround mode.
world: Plays the sound at full volume regardless of distance. The keyword ‘worldʼ is optional.
mode can be one of the following:
continuous: Plays the sound as a repeating endless loop.
random <minsecs> <maxsecs>: Plays the sound at random intervals. The minimum and maximum length
of this interval can be specified in seconds. Both values are floating point numbers.
periodic <secs>: Plays the sound at regulat intervals. The length of these intervals is specified in seconds 4 of 6
 as a floating point value.
$map mapnumber musicname
This was the way level music was defined in Hexen. It is merely provided for compatibility and should not be
used anymore. Level music should be defined in the MAPINFO lump with the rest of the levelʼs parameters.
$musicvolume musicname factor
Sets a volume scaling factor for music tracks. This is used to compensate for music that has audibly different
volume.
$registered
This command is defined for Hexen compatibility but completely ignored.
$archivepath string
This command is defined for Hexen compatibility but completely ignored.

An interesting note: the Vavoom engine supports different player pain sounds depending on health. In Doom, Heretic and
Hexen there is only one player pain sound, so it is handled like this in SndInfo:

$playersounddup player male *pain100 *dsplpain

$playersounddup player male *pain75 *pain100
$playersounddup player male *pain50 *pain100
$playersounddup player male *pain25 *pain100

The *pain100 used instead of a lump name for pain75, pain50, and pain25 to refer to tells those sounds to refer to
pain100 for a sound lump to play.

If you want, you can change this so that you really have different pain sounds.

SkyBoxes
This script describes how to define skyboxes for use ingame.

Skyboxes are special sky textures drawn similarly to those used in Quake engine games, the game draws a cube filled
with the textures used for each side of the cube, these textures can be in any format supported by the Vavoom engine:
JPG, PNG, BMP, PCX or TGA.

The script is a simple text file, defining each of the six sides of the cube in a separate segment.

Example:

rock_dawn
{
{
// Right
map textures/skies/rkdawnrt.tga
}
{
// Front
map textures/skies/rkdawnft.tga
}
{
// Left
map textures/skies/rkdawnlf.tga
}
{
// Back
map textures/skies/rkdawnbk.tga
}
{
// Up
map textures/skies/rkdawnup.tga

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 }
{
// Down
map textures/skies/rkdawndn.tga
}
}

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