# ObHack: A random map generator for Doom

ObHack is a random map generator for Doom.  This was the state of the art
in random Doom map generation back in 2007; these days, newer generators
are available here:

* http://oblige.sourceforge.net (Last updated in 2017)
* https://github.com/caligari87/ObAddon/

The home page for this generator is here:

* https://samiam.org/slump/

The reason for this branch is to make a small, compact random map
generator for Doom which I can put on a tiny 50-megabyte hockey-rink
shaped business card CD.

## Running this code

On Windows systems, one can run this code by simply running the 
supplied ObHack.exe file.

On other operating systems, read the section “How to 
compile” below.

## What this is

ObHack is my name for some modifications Fritz and myself have made
to Oblige, a random map generator for the original Doom, Doom 2, and
Heretic. It is name thusly because it is a hacked Oblige, and as a tribute
to the ObHacks posted to the once-great Usenet newsgroup alt.hackers.

ObHack is a fork of version 2 of Oblige (Oblige 0.81-0.97). It has the
following features that Oblige2 does not have:

* Real secret areas that take work to find
* Improved random number generator which allows arbitrary English or 
  Spanish text to be the seed, resulting in a nearly infinite number of 
  possible seeds
* New modes: Single Player + Deathmatch, Deathmatch without exits, and 
  Carnage
* Progressive level size: Levels get bigger as one gets to higher levels 
  in the wad
* Tiny and small level sizes
* Option to have swarms of mosters
* Choice of player starting weapon
* More texture packs, including contributions from Mr. Chris
* Deathmatch starts and extra deathmatch-only weapons and ammo in 
  single player maps
* etc.

## The options

Once the ObHack program is open, a window with various options appears.

### Random seed

This determines how the maps look and are layed out.  In theory, a given
random seed generates the same maps.  In practice, about 5% of the maps
are non-deterministic and will slightly vary, even when generated with
the same seed.  The seed always defaults to `1FreeDoom1`, a seed which
does generate 100% deterministic maps; it can be changed by clicking on
“New Seed”.

### Game

The game determines which particular game we make random maps for:

* Doom 2: Doom 2 
* FreeDoom: Doom 2 with fewer possible monsters (since some monsters
  do not look as good in FreeDoom)

*Note that Hexen is not available.  It is available in Oblige 0.97.*

*Note that Doom 1 and Heretic are not available.  They are available in
the ObHack-8-Final version of this code.*

### Port

This pull down does not have any options.

### Length

* Single Level: One level
* One Episode: A smaller megawad of 10 or so levels
* Full Game: A full megawad with 32 levels 

### Mode

* Single Player: While this mode is optimized for making single player
  maps, it *is* possible to play Deathmatch with these maps; Deathmatch 
  starts are made, and more weapons and ammo are available when these 
  maps are played in Deathmatch mode.
* Co-op: Use this mode for playing Co-op networked games; none of the
  other modes make suitable co-cp maps.
* Deathmatch: This makes special deathmatch maps which do not have
  monsters, have a lot of weapons, and have more connectivity between
  rooms than single player maps.
* SP + DM: This is a compromise between making a single player map and
  making a deathmatch map.  All locked doors can be opened by keys; the
  only “treasures” to be found on the map are weapons, and the maps tend
  to have more powerful weapons than pure single player maps.  There are 
  multiple deathmatch starts, and the starts are clearly marked on the
  map.  On the other hand, the maps still have the hub-and-spoke 
  “puzzle” layout of single player maps. 
* Carnage: These maps have the same architecture as the single player 
  maps generated with the same seed, but the maps have more monsters, more
  weapons, more ammo, but less health than the corresponding Single Player
  maps.  It makes for a more intense game but one with less strategy than
  a standard Single Player game.
* DM (No Exit): This generates pure deathmatch maps which have no exit.  
  This is for ports of Doom where the deathmatch level is updated after
  a given number of frags or a time limit is reached.

*Note that the Capture the Flag more is no longer available.  For people
who want CTF support, use the ObHack-8-Final version of ObHack.*

### Adjustments

* Level size: How big the levels are.  “Progressive” means that initial 
  levels are small, but they get bigger as the player progresses through
  the megawad.
* Steepness: How much difference in altitude there is in the map.
* Monsters (“Players” in Deathmatch mode):  How many monsters are on the map.
  When playing a single player (or Carnage) map in Deathmatch mode, this 
  also determines how many weapons and how much extra ammo the map has.
* Puzzles: How often the player will need to find a key or switch in order
  to open a door when playing a map.  This determines how many weapons 
  there are in pure deathmatch mode.
* Outdoors: How often the map is outdoors.  “More” means that the player
  will usually start off a level outdoors.  
* Switches: If set to “keys only”, there will be no puzzles where the player
  needs to find a switch before opening a door.  If set to “switches only”,
  there will be no keys on the map, only switches to open door.  Otherwise,
  the map will have both types of puzzles.  Note that this has little effect
  on “Single Player and Deathmatch” levels, and no effect on “Deathmatch”
  levels.
* Health: How much health the map has.  “None” is an option geared for
  playing maps in Deathmatch mode, when it is not desirable to allow the
  player to heal after being damaged.
* Ammo: How much ammo we let weapons have on maps.
* Start weapon: We can allow the player to start off with a better weapon
  than a pistol.  Basic is a shotgun in Doom games, and a crossbow in 
  Heretic.  Hardcore is a rocket launcher in Doom games, and a Phoenix Rod
  in Heretic.

### The other buttons.

“Build” will build the map.  “About” describes the game.  “Quit” causes the
ObHack level generator window to close.

## The ObHack 8 branch

From 2009 until 2017, a lot of work was done on ObHack, including 
monster traps, variable room sizes, boss arenas, Blasphemer support, 
basic Capture the Flag support, etc.

The ObHack 8 code is still here, in the Git tag `ObHack-8-final`.  
To get this code, go to this URL:

https://github.com/samboy/ObHack/releases/tag/ObHack-8-final

## Determinism: About 95% there

ObHack, has, until recently, had issues with making completely different 
maps when given the same parameters.  I have updated the code to remove
about 95% of the problems.

If I run the ObHack program with the same seed and parameters, I will
*sometimes* get a given .wad file; multiple invocations will *sometimes* 
give me a file with the same size and exact same contents.

The code which makes the binary `.wad` file from a given generated map
is non-deterministic; I have verified this by having the code instead
generate `.txt` files (some old debug code which Andrew put there) and
verify that all of the files are the same with a given seed.

In about 5% of the generated maps, some non-deterministic code is run.
It is too deep of a “rabbit hole” for me to figure out exactly why this
happens, so I have instead set it up so that, for `MAP06`, we change
the numbers generated by the random number generator (by adding 1234
“empty” runs of the generator) so that the 32-map megawads generated
for Doom2 (actually, FreeDoom) maps are the same if the seed is either
`1FreeDoom1` or `2FreeDoom1` and the default ObHack parameters are 
used.
