# OBLIGE Level Maker

by Andrew Apted. July 2007

## INTRODUCTION

OBLIGE is a random level maker for the following games: DOOM 1, DOOM 2, Final DOOM, FreeDOOM, Wolfenstein-3D, Heretic 1 and Hexen 1. These games all share the same basic level structure (except for Wolf3d which is much more limited).

OBLIGE will have the following features which set it apart from existing programs (like the famous SLIGE by David Chess) :-

- higher quality levels, e.g. outdoor areas!
- easy to use GUI interface (no messing with command lines)
- built-in node builder, so the created levels are ready to play
- uses the LUA scripting language for easy customisation
- can create Deathmatch levels
- Heretic and Hexen support!

## STATUS

OBLIGE 0.94 is the current version. The GUI interface is simple but very usable. The battle simulator produces reasonable ammo and health to fight the monsters in the map.

NOTE WELL:The 0.94 release does have some problems. I am releasing it so that I can begin rewriting the level-building code to fix these problems (and also to generate better architecture). For example, you might get an error message saying that some stairs or a switch could not be added into a room. The only workaround is to try a different SEED value.

See below for the status of each game

There is still a lot to do however. There is no support (yet) for the special levels, such as the end-of-episode levels of DOOM 1 and the end-of-game level (MAP30) of DOOM 2. Other desirable features are: nicer (non-square) architecture, player teleporters, and better lighting.

## CHANGES IN 0.94

    +  new prefab system, lots of cool prefabs.
    +  new theme system for more consistent levels.
    +  different sized rooms.
    +  greatly improved Hexen support.

    -  new adjustments for level size and puzzles.
    -  adjustments for deathmatch games.
    -  secret areas and levels.
    -  balconies.

    -  experimental Wolfenstein-3D support.
    -  later levels get progressively harder.
    -  slightly better Heretic maps.
    -  more DOOM themes.

Note: some things also broke in this release, e.g. traps :-(

## CHANGES IN 0.85

    +  Hallways!  Crates!  New Exits!
    +  better algorithm for choosing floor/ceiling heights.
    +  user adjustments for health/ammo/monsters/traps.
    +  current settings are remembered when you quit.

    -  support for FreeDOOM, TNT Evilution and Plutonia.
    -  levels are watermarked with some Oblige logos.
    -  delete temporary wad when build has finished.
    -  collect all log messages into a file (LOGS.txt).
    -  removed the unnecessary menu bar.

    -  fixed the (rare) non-working switches and lifts.
    -  surprise traps: improved placement, fairer monsters.
    -  tweaked battle simulation to provide more ammo.
    -  neater placement for health and ammo items.

## SCREENSHOT

(Created with SEED = 1234)

## USAGE GUIDE

The graphical interface for OBLIGE is quite easy to use.

At the top is the Settings panel, which contains the most important settings.

The first control is the "SEED" number. Each SEED number produces a unique, distinctive level. Using the same SEED number always produces the exact same level (as long as the other settings are the same).

Other settings include:

- the "Game" type (DOOM, WOLF3D, HERETIC or HEXEN),
- the "Mode" of the game (SINGLE-PLAYER, CO-OP, or DEATHMATCH)
- the "Length" of the output wad (SINGLE-LEVEL, ONE-EPISODE, FULL-GAME).

In the Adjustments panel you can control the size of the created levels, as well as how much health, ammunition and how many monsters and puzzles are added. OBLIGE also implements the different skill levels for each map (e.g. Hurt-me-Plenty vs Ultra-Violence).

After you've chosen the desired settings, press the "Build..." button, which will open a Save-File dialog asking you what the output file should be. Enter something appropriate, e.g. TEST, and after that OBLIGE will starting building the levels.

In Wolfenstein-3D mode, the "Build..." button does not bring up a dialog box. OBLIGE simply creates the output files in the same folder where it is installed. These files are called GAMEMAPS.WL6 and MAPHEAD.WL6 and you need to copy them into your Wolf3d folder (after making a backup!).

To exit, press the "Quit" button in the bottom right corner.

The levels created by OBLIGE are ready to play. There is no need to run the output WAD file through a node-builder program, since OBLIGE does this automatically.

You should use a Source Port to play the levels, because the original DOOM.EXE, DOOM2.EXE (etc..) may not cope with the architecture which OBLIGE creates. For example, you might get the "Visplane Overflow" error which quits the game.

## STATUS OF EACH GAME

DOOM 1: fairly well tested and working well.

DOOM 2: the most well tested game and produces the best results.

HERETIC: tested and working quite well, though very lacking in different themes and scenery.

HEXEN: tested and works pretty well (greatly improved since the last v0.85 release). The sequence of hubs is not working properly yet.

WOLF 3D: very buggy and incomplete at the moment. It lacks : pushwall secrets, patrolling enemies, treasure rooms, proper episode endings, and may create levels with too many actors or static objects.

## DOWNLOAD

Windows Package: oblige_094_win.zip (609 KB)

Linux Package: oblige_094_linux.tar.gz (??? KB)

Source Code: oblige_094_src.zip (??? KB)

## ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Derek "Dittohead" Braun for making a whole swag of Prefab structures, which kicked off some big improvements to the way OBLIGE builds stuff.

Thanks to JohnnyRancid who also created heaps of prefabs for OBLIGE.

Thanks to DoomJedi for his help.

I'm grateful to everyone who provided positive feedback, bug reports and ideas for improvements, both in email and on the various forums. Cheers guys!

OBLIGE uses the cool FLTK widget library (http://www.fltk.org).

## COPYRIGHT and LICENSE

OBLIGE Level Maker

Copyright (C) 2006-2007 Andrew Apted

OBLIGE is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

OBLIGE is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

## CONTACT DETAILS

Email: <ajapted@users.sf.net>

Website: http://oblige.sourceforge.net/

Project page: http://sourceforge.net/projects/oblige/

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