I've complied a list of some of the most common questions I get regarding BUILD. I hope these, in addition to my step-by-step tutorials, will get you started quickly!
For those experienced map builders, if there's something you remember that stumped you in the begining, please let me know and I'll add it to this page.
Ramps and inclines can be made using the '[' and ']' keys. In 3D mode, simply point the cursor at the sector floor (or ceiling) and press the left and right bracket keys to slope the sector. If your floor/ceiling is not sloping in the right direction, see the next question.
To change where sloping starts, go into 3D mode and point the cursor at the sector floor (or ceiling) right in front of the wall where you want the sloping to start. Press ALT-F. That changes the wall the mouse is near to be the "first" wall of the sector and determines where sloping will occur.
To set the LOTAG and HITAG of a sector, go into 2D mode, place the cursor in the sector you want to set, and press 'T' to set the LOTAG and 'H' to set the HITAG.
Move the cursor near the sprite so it is selected (blinking). Now press ALT-T to set the LOTAG or press ALT-H to set the HITAG.
Use the '-map' command line option. Example:
duke3d -map anslem.map
Do not use '/map'! There is a '/m' option to turn off monsters. If you use '/map', DUKE3D.EXE will only see the '/m' and will simply turn off monsters (and not load your map).
BUILD needs the graphics from Duke Nukem to display the 3D image of your map. You'll need to copy BUILD from the \GOODIES\BUILD directory of your Duke Nukem 3D CD to your hard drive. Now, you can place the BUILD files in one of two places:
After BUILD resides on your hard drive, run the BSETUP program to setup BUILD's options. Now when you go into 3D mode, you should be all set!
Sorry, but BUILD is a copyrighted, commercial product that comes FREE with the registered version of Duke Nukem 3D. I cannot redistribute BUILD.
If your CD has been damaged, see page 18 of the Duke Nukem 3D Users Guide (its located in the CD case -- the part that flips open). The Users Guide explains how to return your defective CD for a replacement (my Users Guide says $12.00 US, $13.00 Canada and Mexico, $15.00 all other countries).
A sector effector (commonly referenced as an 'SE') is simply a special sprite. You create one the same way you create a regular sprite (such as a shotgun sprite or medkit sprite). Simply point at the location you want the sprite and press 'S' (this works in both 2D and 3D mode). Now let's make that sprite a sector effector (SE):
You've now turned that sprite in an SE. Sector Effector placement is important so you probably want to place the SE in 2D mode with grid locking turned on.
You're probably using a floor or ceiling texture of BIGORBIT1. There was some talk on the net that in some part of episode 2, Duke was supposed to be able to get a spacesuit, go into an airlock and fly around in space. This feature did not make it into the final game, however, there is a sprite texture leftover that was to be used as a spacesuit icon for Duke's inventory.
Another thing that seems to be leftover from this idea was that if Duke ever entered a sector that had a floor or ceiling texture of BIGORBIT1 he would instantly die without a spacesuit.
Aphelion informed me that if you change the palette of the BIGORBIT texture to 3, Duke will not die when he enters the sector. There will be no visible change in the texture, it just won't kill Duke.
Sheldon Elk also reminded me that the starting point for Duke may not be in a valid player sector. Make sure that you can view the map in 3D mode in BUILD from Duke's starting position before you play it.
Yes, this keystoke was never documented in BUILDHLP. Simply point at a sprite and press ALT-P. Then enter the number you want to set the palette to.
Simply place the boss sprite in your game and change his palette to 21. He will act and appear normal, but once killed the level will not end.
Use the '>' and '<' keys.
Yes. This list was sent to me from 'Magnus'. Thanks Magnus!
When you copied the BUILD files from the CD, they retained their read-only attribute. The file containing the sprites names is NAMES.H. That file must be writeable, or BUILD will not display the sprite names. Use the DOS ATTRIB command or the Windows 95 explorer to turn off the read-only attribute.
This problem is the same as above, but the file that is read-only is SETUP.DAT. Get rid of the read-only attribute and you'll be all set!
Point to the sprite in 3D mode and press 'R'. This changes it's relative alignment. One press of 'R' will make it align to a wall. Another will make it align to the floor. A third will put it back to normal (i.e. it always faces you).
Yes. In the BUILD directory on the CD, there is a program called KEXTRACT.EXE. This is used to extract individual files from the main DUKE3D.GRP file. To pull out an original Duke level, use the KEXTRACT program. This should be in the same directory as BUILD. Example:
kextract duke3d.grp e2l3.map
This will extract the third level of episode two. You can now edit/view that level to learn how 3D-Realms did some of their work.
Patrick Steele
pjsteele@home.com
Copyright © 1996, Patrick J. Steele, Last Updated - 11/06/98 01:24 AM