Glossary

A

Attribute

An attribute or flag represents a setting used to set the actions Things, LineDefs and Sectors perform. These properties are set by DeePsea for each editing mode by pressing enter. See each type of dialog for attributes as they apply to each type.

B

BOOM

A port of the DOOM engine by TNT. Removed most of the limits that were in the original DOOM engine. Used as a basis for other DOOM ports, such as ZDOOM and rorDOOM

Binary space partition

A binary space partition (BSP) divides (or splits) a level into nodes. The BSP speeds hidden surface removal by the game at runtime. DeePBSP is a nodebuilder that accomplishes this goal in record time. The only time you may be concerned with the technicalities of nodes is in HEXEN (for polyobjects). For the curious, binary (in the BSP context) means split in 2 which is how the trees gets built, splitting each area in 2 until it doesn’t need to be split anymore.

C

Configuration files

The different files DeePsea uses to support different games. These store the texture and map creation options selected. There are 3 different files, PRJ, TCF and CFG files. Combined, they control the game, level(s) and defaults chosen by you when editing. In addition, they give you the flexibility of configuration each WAD project with it’s own set of defaults and PWADs. These are your own Projects. Read in the Project and all the associated files and options come along right with it.

Context menu

Short for context-sensitive menu, this refers to a menu of options relevant to the current selection.

D

Deaf	The deaf attribute applies to the enemies in the game. Enemies set to deaf can’t hear and will not attack until the player attacks the enemies or comes within the line-of-sight of the monster.
DOOM	The first-person-perspective shoot-em-up that started it all. It came out at the right time, was marketed as shareware and most people now had computers fast enough for real fun.
DOOM ][	DOOM ][: Hell on Earth is the next version of DOOM. It added a few monsters, weapons and linedef types. Overall the same as DOOM.
Door	A door is a sector that moves up and down. The sector always has a height of zero to start with. The linedef attached to the door determined the kind of door, that is press the use key, press a switch, walk over, etc. Doors can be made in many shapes, but they always mimic the basic format: a sector whose ceiling height and floor height are identical; two of the sector’s linedefs should also be two-sided, facing in opposite directions, and have their type set to trigger a local door.
Duke Nukem 3D	One of the games DOS DeeP can edit graphics for and display detailed level information. Made by 3D Realms.

E

Enemy

Why the baddies of course. These are the things that attack the player.

F

Flags	A flag or attribute represents settings used to set the actions Things, LineDefs and Sectors perform. These properties are set by DeePsea for each editing mode by clicking the Right mouse button or pressing enter. See each type of dialog for attributes as they apply to each type.

G

GL nodes

Some of the newer GL enhanced ports use GLBSP to add new GL lumps for improved game play

H

Hall of mirrors	Undesirable image distortion, looks like you’re in a hall-of-mirrors, caused by making some mistakes. See overview for more information.
Heretic	One of the games for which DeePsea is designed.
Hexen	One of the games for which DeePsea is designed.
ID Software	ID Software makes the games DeePsea is designed to edit.
Impassable	An attribute on a linedef. Setting the impassable attribute blocks all who attempt to cross. Typically 1-sided walls are always impassable.

J

K

L

Linedef

A linedef defines a line segment between two vertexes. Each linedef may have one or two sidedefs associated with it based on whether the player can ever see the back side.

M

Map	A map or level is stored within a WAD file. There are 11 (12 Hexen) logical parts to a map. Maps are also referred to as mission. DOOM levels are named E#M# (#=number) HERETIC levels are named E#M# DOOM II levels are named MAP## HEXEN levels are named MAP## STRIFE levels are named MAP##

N

Node building

When a map is saved, quite a bit of information must be generated before the map can be used in a game. This information is allows the game engine to quickly choose which walls need to be drawn for the player, avoiding time intensive computations at run-time. This process is referred to as node building.

O

Object	A general term used to refer a thing, vertex, linedef, or sector. These are the objects that can be selected in map editing. Sidedefs are selected via the LineDef menus.

P

Pcode	Pcode is and abbreviation for pseudo-code. Pseudo code refers to an set of instructions that do not exist on any hardware, but instead rely on an interpreter to decode them. BASIC is a well known example of pseudo code. Hexen uses pseudo code for the scripts. DeePsea compiles the scripts (using DEEPACC) and creates a compact form of your higher level source code comprised of pseudo code.
Polyobject	A polyobject is a method chosen by Raven to enhance the Doom engine in a quick way to get swinging doors, rotating walls and other moving architectures. The object location is resolved at map load time, hence they can be difficult to construct if the object crosses subsector boundaries.
Project file	This is the game configuration file (PRJ). DeePsea uses this file to support different games using the DOOM engine. You can also create your own new project files. Refer to the Project - Change Game, read and create topic for more information.
Property	A general term for describing the overall status of an object. For example, LineDef properties include a class type (door, lift), attributes (passable, blocks sound), and other information.

Q

Quake

A game from Id Software. DeePsea views and exports any texture file in a Quake BSP, PAK or WAD file.

R

Raven Software	The company that licensed the Doom engine from Id Software and created Heretic and Hexen
Rubberband	In DeeP, this refers to the operation where the user selects an area within the current level for selecting all item within the rectangle drawn. Name describes action, since this acts like a rubber band as you drag and stretch the rectangle (like a rubber band of course).

S

Script	Only Hexen has Scripts. Scripts are a series of instructions to modify the actions that take place in the game. To see what a script looks like, press F6 to get the HEXEN menu and select decompile script. Use Notepad to open the file created (or whatever editor you like as set in the editor option in F5).
Secret	Sectors can be set with the secret attribute. Each time a player enters a Sector with a secret, they get one more credit for secrets as shown at the end of each level.
Sector	A sector is a map entity that defines lighting conditions, floor and ceiling heights and textures and tags. Technically, a sector is NOT a room area as such (see narrative on this), but typically a sector and a room tend to be same.
Sidedef	A SideDef defines how a linedef appears when viewed from a given side. As the name infers, it is a side of a line.

T

Thing	Each object within the map is called a Thing. Most things interact with the player in some way, although some are decorative only, for example, trees and columns. A few more examples are weapons, ammunition, and enemies.
Texture	A texture is the bitmap image applied to floors and ceilings by the Doom engine.
Transparent Color	The color value index used by DeePsea to determine the transparent areas of a sprite graphic. DOOM does not actually use a transparent color, but rather DeePsea uses that color to create the DOOM graphic format with "holes".

U

Undo	The undo feature allows the user to reverse the effects of the last editing operation.

V

Vertex

A vertex defines a single point within a map via Cartesian coordinates. For those who don’t remember geometry, a Cartesian coordinate is a pair of values typically listed as (x,y).

W

WAD file	The term is coined form the ending .WAD present in the data files used with the DOOM game (and derivatives, note that Quake .WAD files are graphics files). For DOOM, there are 2 types of wadfiles. Refer to the A detailed look at WAD files for more information.

X

Nothing

Yet

Y

Nothing

Yet

Z

Zebra
ZDOOM	A port of the DOOM engine by Randy Heit.