This is the basic tutorial to teach you how to create basic sectors and how to use textures. To view this map in Shadow Warrior download sectex.zip
I will be discussing different key functions throughout this tutorial, and to make it easier
I will color code them as follows:
Green - Will be for the numeric pad keys.
All other standard keyboard keys will be mentioned in the standard color for this page.
The numeric pad keys are usually located on the far right side of most keyboards. So when I
have the word Enter I am talking about the numeric pad Enter
key and not the big Enter keyboard key.
It should be noted that the Enter key is used to toggle between 2D mode and 3D mode.
To save a map go into 2D mode first and press the Esc key. If you have not given your map a name yet or you want to give it a new name then press the A key (for Save As). Type in the name for your map (i.e. my1 would name your map to MY1.MAP). Do not enter the .MAP extension this is done for you. If you already have your map saved with a name and you just want to resave it then press the Esc key then S (for Save the present named map), and that's it. It is best that you save you map in various stages as you move along in the creation of your map (i.e. MY1, MY2, MY3, etc.). This way if there is a problem you can reload your prior map and try it again.
A sector is an area consisting of a floor, ceiling, and walls that are all connected. A sector can be a room, archway, door, vent shaft, window opening, desk, hallway, step, etc.. You can have sectors inside a sector (i.e. crates in a room). Sectors are what the player moves through and/or the areas that can be seen. If it is not a sector then it is void space. The sprites (i.e. weapons, items, torches, enemies, etc.) must go in sectors. Sectors will give the player a challenge with the puzzle you create that the player must move through to find the exit.
Textures are the graphics used for floors, ceilings, and walls. They are veiwed and changed in 3D mode only while in Build. Textures can be stretched, squeezed, panned, flipped, orenitated to the floor or ceiling (floor by default), copied, pasted, and shaded (probably a few more I haven't thought of at this time). Textures will give the player the feel of the level that you create.
![]() Fig 1. 2D mode of a sector. |
1. In 2D mode, make a sector by pointing the mouse at a starting point for the first wall of the sector and hit the Space bar. Move the mouse where you want the first wall to end and hit the SPACE bar again. Keep doing this until you come back to the starting position to complete the sector. Make sure that you have place the white arrow inside your sector and press SCROLL LOCK for the player starting position. A brown arrow will indicate the SINGLE player starting position and will be under our white arrow at this time. You will notice at each corner of our sector there is a little green box or dot. These are called vertices and are connection points between each wall. You will notice that these walls are white and are called single-sided walls. A single-sided wall only has player space on one side. I call the other side void space and it can never be occupied by the player or anything else. So, our single sector here as player space on the inside, and void space on the outside. To change the size of a sector, place the cursor on a vertice and press the left mouse button and drag the vertice to where you want it to go. Then release the mouse button. For this first sector I pressed the G key (in 2D mode) until I got the biggest grid squares. Then I made the sector 10 by 10 grid squares.
![]() Fig 2. Raise ceiling and add new texture. |
2. Go into 3d mode (Enter toggles), and raise the ceiling by pointing the mouse cursor on the ceiling, pressing PgUp several times while holding down the left mouse button. By holding down the left mouse button the cursor no longer has to pointed at the ceiling. However, if you do not hold down the left mouse button when using the PgUp or PgDn keys, moke sure the cursor is on the ceiling or floor each time that you press one of the keys. Make the height of the room 256 pixels height. To check the height go back to 2D mode place the mouse cursor in the sector and press TAB. On the lower left you will see the pixel height of the sector. In 3D mode, place the cursor on the wall in front of you and press the V key twice. Use the PgDn and/or arrow keys and go to picnum 136. With picnum 136 highlighted press the Enter key and this texture will appear on the wall (see fig. 2). You will notice for this texture that it seems stacked for this height. We can do two things to correct this. Either PgDn the ceiling or stretch the texture. Since, we can easily PgDn it let's stretch it instead.
![]() Fig 3a. Stretching vertically. |
![]() Fig 3b. Stretching horizontally. |
3. As shown in fig. 3a, stretch the texture vertically using the 8 key. The 2 key will shrink it back vertically. If you want to start over press the / key with the cursor still on the texture (of course). Use the 4 key to stretch the texture horizontally (as shown in fig. 3b), and the 6 key to shrink it back down. With the cursor still on the texture, copy it by pressing the TAB key. Now, place the cursor on the other three walls (one at a time in 3D mode) and press the Enter key. To align the textures just place the cursor on the wall you want to start the alignment with and press the . (period) key. The texture will align going to the right (clockwise). It is best that you save you map prior to the alignment. Play with it to get the desired alignment. If you want to pan a texture it is done with the same numbered keys (2, 4, 6, or 8) only this time hold down the Shift key too. I gave the ceiling a picnum of 233, and the floor a picnum of 196. Again, this is done in 3D mode by placing the cursor on the present picnum texture and pressing the V key Twice. Highlight the picnum that you need and press the Enter key. You can shade textures by using the - or + keys (in 3D mode). I shaded the ceiling and floor a little.
![]() Fig 4a. Creating a pillar. |
![]() Fig 4b. Now an island sector. |
4. Using the Space bar again, I created what I term as a Pillar (as shown in fig. 4a). It is inside of our first sector and it's walls are one-sided (white). There is a void space in this area where the player can not go. If you look at it in 3D mode it will be solid walls that go from the floor all the way up to the ceiling (like a pillar). To make a pillar into a sector, place the cursor inside of it (2D mode) and press the Alt-S keys. The white lines will turn red and this type sector is called an island sector (fig. 4b) which is a valid player space. Now, if you look at it in 3D mode the pillar will be gone and you can't tell where this sector is because it looks just like it did before we added the pillar to our map.
![]() Fig 5. 3D view of the Island sector. |
5. In 3D mode, place the cursor on the floor where the Island sector is (make a guess), and press the PgUp key once. Give this floor texture picnum 3547. Now, give the sides of this Island sector the same picnum. Note, you may have to press the / key first on the sides. This is a good habit to get into on the sides of any new sector that you create. As you use the PgUp and PgDn keys to expose the sides, sometimes the textures are not at their default size. Using the / key corrects for this. Shade these sides to be darker using the - key. Ok, raise the ceiling of our island sector using the PgUp key several times (in 3D mode). Adjust the alignment of these upper sides as needed. Give the ceiling picnum 2711 for the lights texture.
![]() Fig 6a. Make a new island sector for a crate. |
![]() Fig 6b. 3D view of crate. |
6. As shown in fig. 6a, create another island sector inside our first island sector. I made the grid squares one size smaller then the biggest gird setting using the G key. As before, raise the floor of this new sector and use picnums 108, and 109 for the crate textures. If you need to pan the floor (top of the crate) texture use the 2, 4, 6, or 8 keys. Important, you must insert ALL island sectors in the order that I have shown you here. You can not make the crate sector first then a bigger sector around the smaller sector. In other words, when you need to have sectors inside of other sectors you work outside in not inside out. If you see a sector kind of fading in and out while playing a game this is what has happened.
![]() Fig 7a. Insert two vertices. |
![]() Fig 7b. Connect the vertices. |
7. In fig. 7a I created an archway and another room (different tutorial). I darken the room using the - key. I want some light to come into the room through the archway and onto the back corner. So, I inserted two vertices and then connect a vertice to the archway vertice, and did the same to the other two using the Space bar.
![]() Fig 8. 3D view of the darken room. |
8. By using the + key, I lightened the floor, ceiling, and the two back corner walls. Shading can make your maps stand out. So, take the time to experiment with shading. Look around you in your house, work, etc. and carefully look at the shading of the floors, walls, and ceilings with different light effects.