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ded:episode_syntax
Episode {
  ID = "";
  Start Map = "";
  Title = "";

  Menu Help Info = "";
  Menu Image = "";
  Menu Shortcut = "";
  
  Hub {
    ID = "";
    
    Map {
      ID = "";
      Warp Number = 0;
      Exit {
        ID = ""; Target Map = "";
      }      
    }         

    # Other Map definitions for the hub...
  }
    
  Map {
    ID = "";
    Warp Number = 0;
    Exit {
      ID = ""; Target Map = "";
    }      
  }
  
  # More Map definitions for the episode...
}   
  

ID

A unique identifying name (string) for the episode. Used when referencing the episode in other definitions.

Start Map

URI of the map at which the episode begins. If no starting map is defined, or no map data can be located, then the episode will not be playable (it will also be omitted from the games' episode selection menu).

Title

Title for the episode. This is used in menus, status messages and any other context in which the episode is presented to the user.

An explanation/notification about the episode that is displayed in the games' episode selection menu (when the relevant menu item has focus).

Typically episodes should not require an explanation. In the default configuration, this is only used for Heretic's sixth episode, to inform the user that it is not designed for single-player.

URI of an image to use in place of the episode title in the games' episode selection menu. Presently, this should be a known patch resource (support for other image resource types will be added later).

A keyboard shortcut used in the games' episode selection menu, to shift focus to the relevant menu item when invoked. In this context, shortcuts are described in “event-descriptor” notation (but omitting the 'key-' device name for the keyboard). For example:

Menu Shortcut = "d"; # Focus on this when 'key-d' is pressed

Hub

Presently hubs are only supported in Hexen (and the Deathkings expansion).

Group of one or more maps which should be treated as a “hub”. An episode may consist of any number of hubs containing any number of maps. The order in which hubs (and maps) are defined does not matter.

When play transitions from one map to another and the destination map is in the same hub as the current map; the game plugin may elect to perform special case and/or game specific logic.

Hexen, for example, will clear the inventories of all players unless the destination map is in the same hub. In which case the items the players have collected and the state of all maps within the hub will be remembered.

ID
A unique identifying name (string) for the hub. Used when referencing the hub in other definitions.

Map

Describes the position of a map in the map-connectivity graph of the episode. An episode may consist of any number of maps within any number of hubs (if used). The order in which maps (and hubs) are defined does not matter.

ID
URI associated with the map data. In id Tech 1 format maps, this is typically either “ExMy” or “MAPxy” depending on the game plugin and/or game mode.
Doomsday 1.15 adds support for arbitrary map identifiers, allowing any name to be assigned to the map data. (The map data is now recognized independently of the id).
Warp Number
A reference used when warping to the map. (A cheat for changing the current map according to the user-supplied warp number).
Exit
Describes an outbound connection to another map in the episode. The game plugin uses exits to determine a destination map when the associated map-exit condition is met (e.g., a player found the exit button). If no exits are defined for a map, the game plugin will interpret this to mean the game has been completed.

The Exit ID must be one of the following:
ID Description
next The default/fallback exit. When no other exits are defined, this one is used.
secret When a secret-exit-line is crossed, this one is used. (Not Hexen)

Target Map: URI of another map from the episode. This is the map that play will transition to, when the associated map-exit condition is met.

ded/episode_syntax.txt · Last modified: 2017-03-17 06:32 by skyjake