DRD Team

I'm really sorry for this horribly open-ended question but I promise it will go to good use. I recently decided I need to get my feet wet with programming. I always loved modding Wolf3D as a kid (put out a TC in 2003 or 04) and I decided to teach myself how to do this, and put out a cool idea I have for a mod (not to mention finish the second half of my old mod).

So, my horribly open-ended question is: If I want to mod Wolf3D with ECWolf, where exactly do I begin? I assume I need the source code from the ECWolf page, and probably some kind of compiler... but I'm finding this information to be a bit esoteric. Apparently I'm uncommonly ignorant, so that's fun.

Really though, any help will be massively appreciated. Thanks.

Well for a number of things, you don't need to modify the source code at all. In fact, hacking on the source code is kind of discouraged. New enemies, pickups, decorations, etc can be added with DECORATE scripts (see wiki). There are a variety of other script languages in ECWolf for configuring other parts of the engine. Poke around the txt files in ecwolf.pk3 and you can get an idea of what's there.

The wiki contains a mostly complete reference to what features are available in ECWolf. The problem is that it's mostly written by me, so it's not exactly new comer friendly. Because of that, I would highly recommend getting your feet wet by modding for ZDoom. The transition from ZDoom to ECWolf modding is really easy to do since there's just a few syntax additions and then you have to get over the fact that ECWolf is a much more primitive engine. Additionally, ZDoom modding has a much longer history and larger user base so tutorials and stuff are more widely available.

The hard way would be to consult tutorials on getting started with ZDoom and trying to apply them to ECWolf. The thing you'll have to learn on your own are map translators so you can reference your custom things in your maps.

If you want to get into engine programming and hack on ECWolf directly, I could always use help. Even if you're fluent with C++ (which from the sound of it, you're just starting), I would highly recommend starting with creating mods for the scripting languages. That'll give you a basic idea on how things work in the engine, and you'll be able to set reasonable goals for yourself.

That's about all I can give as an overview. If you have more specific questions let me know, I'm happy to answer them.

Man the reply is much appreciated. What you're saying about ZDoom makes a lot of sense, now I'm thinking about doing something of Wolfenstein in Doom, maybe one of the levels, from the original just so I can get a feel. I know all that's been done, but just as practice.

If you'll have a total absolute noob, willing to point me in the right direction for some basic knowledge, I wouldn't mind helping out one bit. I think what you've created is a huge potential boon to the longevity of Wolf3D. Not to get all spiel-y but I (re)realized recently that id really had a hell of a thing with Wolf3D. It's everything -- simple, elegant, has a unique style, it was highly original for its time.. it definitely deserves some attention I'd say.