twinfalls@netcourrier.com

What is Dungeon Builder ?

With this kit you can make dungeons that have a likeness to the famous Dungeon Master game.

You will find an editor: TwinEd,
a set of blocks: Walls, Corridors, Doors, Stairs, Monsters, Traps
. . . and dungeon samples.

To fully enjoy this kit you need the Heretic II CD by Raven Software . This game is based on the Quake engine.
Without this CD, you can use TwinEd as a mapper, assembling 2D tiles.

My kit is expandable. You can make and add your own tiles to it. You can replace all the tiles with yours if you like.

Quick start

1 With TwinEd create, edit and save your dungeon.
2 Hit Build. . . . .Processing will get you ready to play in your dungeon.
3 Build precompiles, then exports your dungeon. It is imported in HereticEd where it is compiled then exported to the game engine. Finally the game is launched with your dungeon.

Instead of using automatic processing, the steps after hitting: Build can be done manually as detailed below.

How to install TwinEd ?

Download     TwinEd.zip    05/19/2001    390 K.
Extract to any place you like. It will not spill files all over. All is contained in one folder. No DLL. No entry in the registry.
De-installing is simple: Suppress one folder and all its contents. No trace left.

How to use TwinEd ?

Execute TwinEd.exe .You will see a Tool box, and a work area .
Click on LOAD . Pick a dungeon among the .TWF files. You now see a Top view of this dungeon's first floor.
Making changes to the dungeon should be self explanatory.
One can delete a tile from the Top view, select a tile from the Tool box, paste a selected tile into the Top view.
The selected tile can be rotated, and also mirrored, before it is pasted.
Right clicking on the Top view reselects the pointed tile.
One can go to the upper or lower floor. Type on the Page Up or Page Down key when the Top view window is active.
To save your changes, click on SAVE . Put your dungeon in a new .TWF file or replace the one you loaded.
To start from a blank dungeon, LOAD the NULL.TWF file.
To export your dungeon, click on BUILD . This makes a .MAP file which is your dungeon in the format required by HereticEd.

How to proceed with HereticEd ?

You use HereticEd to make a .BSP file from the .MAP file made by TwinEd.
The .MAP file must be moved or copied in the HereticEd work folder : Heretic II \ base \ maps \
Start HereticEd. Use the Bsp menu, pick : bsp_FullVis(grad -extra) .
Be patient, this a lenghty processing on large maps.

How to play your game ?

The .BSP file must be in the folder : Heretic II \ base \ maps \
Start the Heretic II game. Activate the console, with the ESC key.
At the console line, type: MAP MYGAME assuming your game file is MYGAME.BSP

How to make new tiles ?

You need a fair knowledge of HereticEd, which I found easier to use than other Quake Editors. You need a good practice with files and folders.
Dungeon Builder is built around the TwinEd.exe engine and text files. With no change to the engine, you can tailor what it does to your needs, regarding changes on the text files. You have full control and visibility with text editors like Notepad .

In the TwinEd folder you have:

TwinEd.exe :	The engine, together with: TwinEd.ini to define user options and: TwinPost.bat for post processing.
A set of .bmp files :	The 2D tiles. Open with Paint, you will see that they are 32x32 256 colors images. Empty.bmp must be here. Unknown.bmp must be here too.
A set of .map files :	The 3D blocks. Open with HereticEd, you will see that they are cubes with various contents, all the same size.Open with Notepad. They are text files that I made with HereticEd and verified with Notepad.
Works :	Another folder that contains the dungeons you make.
	In the works folder you have :	-	A set of .twf files: Open with TwinEd or Notepad. Null.twf must be here, it is an empty file.
		-	A set of .map files: Open with HereticEd or Notepad.

When making changes do not change this file organisation.
To add a new tile, you must add two files in the TwinEd folder.
1 Make MyNewTile.map with HereticEd. It is wise to verify it with Notepad.
2 Make MyNewTile.bmp with Paint.

How to use links?

A link is used when you want, for instance, a button in a tile to open a door in another tile.
To work with links, check the Link box. Your mouse buttons do not update tiles anymore, they update links.
To set a link: Push the left button, drag the mouse, release the left button.
To remove a link: Do the same over that link.
The right mouse button is to show links at a selected tile, all other links are hidden.
To set a link between different floors: Push left button, start drag, change floor with the PageUp or PageDown key, finish drag, release left button.

How to make new tiles that will be linkable?

HereticEd creates names like "t1" "t2" "t3" when you make links with Ctrl K . Keep this as is for links inside a tile.
TwinEd gives a special meaning for the name "t0".
"t0" is the hook to attach links between tiles.
A trigger tile has one ( or more ) entity with "target" "t0" . See: WallLever.
A target tile has one (or more ) entity with "targetname" "t0" . See: DoorRotating.
A tile may be trigger and target. See: Door2Buttons. The two buttons are triggers while the door is a target.
When you link "trigger and target" tiles, do not create a loop. It cannot work, the game crashes as soon as Corvus activates that loop.
An exception: To link for teleportation, use:     "target" "k0"     "targetname" "t0".

Changes from version 01/29/2001 to 05/19/2001

- Post processing: TwinPost.bat is provided to perform all tedious work after TwinEd builds your dungeon.
- Options: In TwinEd.ini . The block size can be user defined. Any size you like to make Death Match arenas
- Texture locking is fully under control. No constaint on the values of texture shift and texture strech. No constaint on brushes size and alignement.
Old version     TwinEd.zip    01/29/2001     340 K.

Changes from version 09/20/2000 to 01/29/2001

- No need for the tileset.cfg file. The list of available tiles is made by scanning for *.bmp files.
- A new feature: Links between tiles. Links inside tiles were already supported.
- More tiles. Some names changed.
Old version     TwinEd.zip    9/20/2000     300 K.

Why this tool?

To make a dungeon with HereticEd is not that easy when it becomes large with many floor levels. Hence I made this editor to quicken this work.
Two kinds of programmers can work together, with my TwinEd.
1 Dungeon makers that use already made tiles. They are mostly concerned by their scenario. They want tiles that are easy to use, that mesh well together, to make complex combinations
2 Tile makers. They meet the challenge of providing such tiles. They workout and debug the technical details inside tiles.

Enjoy !
Start with very simple things. Save regularly under different names.