RanDOOM (1)           DOOM Operating System           RanDOOM (1)




          NAME
               RanDOOM - A smart object placement randomization utility for
               DOOM. 

          SYNOPSIS
               RanDOOM [WADfile][-C<seed>][-M<n>][-W<filename>][-G]
               [-LE<j>M<k>]

               RanDOOM [Wadfile] -D

          DESCRIPTION
               RanDOOM is a utility which will randomize the placement of
               objects in the DOOM playfield. Additionally, RanDOOM has
               some smarts about the manner in which it will randomize
               things - it's designed to never leave you with a pillar
               blocking the exit, or a keycard on the opposite side of the
               door from where you start, or to erase all the DEATHMATCH
               warp-in spots with other objects (preventing DEATHMATCH
               network play), or to replace the endgame bosses with other
               objects (thus preventing the completion of an episode). In
               short, RanDOOM will always leave you with a playable level.
               RanDOOM is also user configurable - it allows you to specify
               the proportion of total objects a given object will comprise
               via a customizable object weighting scheme. This allows you
               to tailor RanDOOM's randomizing to your personal taste
               (and/or masochism ;-).

               At the end of each run, RanDOOM will append to a file called
               RANDOOM.LOG in the current directory information from that
               run. Currently the seed value used for the random number
               generator is saved for future reference.


          OPTIONS
               WAD_file_name - Use this path to the WAD file. If no
               filename is specified, doom.wad in the current directory is
               used.

               -D - Restores the WAD file to its default state. When the -D
               switch is specified, all other switches are ignored. NOTE:
               The restoration function can only restore changes made by
               RanDOOM. If you have made changes with another randomizing
               or map editing utility, RanDOOM will probably be unable to
               undo those changes. Mix and match WAD utilities at your own
               risk!

               -C<seed> - Use a single ASCII character as the seed value

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               for the pseudorandom number generator. The character is
               case-sensitive, so 'K' and 'k' yield different seed values.
               Alternatively, -C accepts a positive integer number
               [0..65535] as the seed value. If no -C parameter is
               specified, a seed value is taken based on the current system
               time.

               -G - Produce a graphic display of the item randomization
               process on the screen (VGA required). This switch was added
               to aid in debugging the selection algorithms. You may find
               it interesting to watch. 

               -M<n> - Use randomization mode n, where n is a single digit
               [0-9]. Currently only three randomization modes (0, 1 and 2)
               are supported. If no -M parameter is specified, mode 0 is
               used by default. 

               -LE<j>M<k> - Process Episode j, Map k only, where 1 <= j <=
               3, 1 <= k <= 9. Multiple -L switches may be specified on a
               single command line. If no level is specified, all levels
               are processed by default.

               All randomization modes attempt to avoid potential problems
               which would arise if a completely random replacement of
               objects were made. Such problems include immovable objects,
               such as a pillar or tree root, blocking a switch or doorway;
               monsters becoming "stuck in the wall" (or tangled up in each
               other!) and unable to move or fight; the replacement of
               player warp-in spots with other objects, preventing one or
               both forms of network play; the movement of keycards or
               skulls to new locations which then become inaccessible; etc.
               To achieve this, RanDOOM maintains lots of data about the
               objects and the DOOM level maps, such as the locations of
               objects, their relative sizes in three dimensions, their
               types, whether the player can move them, kill them, or pick
               them up, the locations of walls, the amount of "headroom" in
               a given area, and so forth. From this information, RanDOOM
               is able, in most cases, to calculate whether or not a given
               object will "fit" into a given location in the map without
               conflicts.  

               Randomization mode 0 takes the objects currently placed on
               each level and rearranges them. No objects are added,
               subtracted, or replaced - if a given level contains 2 Barons
               of Hell, 12 Imps, 32 blue health vials, and a chainsaw, then
               the modified level will also contain 2 Barons of Hell, 12
               Imps, 32 blue health vials, and one chainsaw, rearranged in
               random order.


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          RanDOOM (1)           DOOM Operating System           RanDOOM (1)


               Randomization mode 1 replaces "nonessential" objects with
               other randomly selected objects from the entire range of
               available objects. This randomization mode may place objects
               into a level which would not normally appear there, e.g. M1
               may place Cacodemons in the Hangar level. Those items which
               are needed to complete the level, such as keycards or level
               bosses, remain in their original locations.

               Randomization mode 2 does the same things as mode 1 with the
               addition of weight factors for replaceable objects. These
               weights are user adjustable (via the weight file specified
               using the -W switch) to allow a relative increase or
               decrease in the number of a given item inserted in the game.
               Thus, items with higher weights have a higher probability of
               being selected. NOTE: If the -M2 switch is specified, the -W
               switch (see below) must also be specified. 

               Randomization mode 3 improves on mode 2 by using a "best
               fit" algortihm to approximate the item distribution
               requested by the user (via the weight file) as closely as
               possible. The items to be placed are sorted and placed in
               order from largest to smallest. This prevents a fairly large
               space which could potentially hold a larger object from
               having a smaller object placed into it instead and
               consequently allows optimal object placements. Because not
               all items will fit into all areas without sticking or other
               conflicts, the exact distribution requested may not be
               possible. For example, a distribution of 100% Spider demons
               would be utterly impossible to provide. As with mode 2, mode
               3 requires that a valid weight file be specified on the
               command line with the -W switch (described below).

               NOTE: With randomization modes 1, 2 and 3 ALL objects will
               appear at ALL FOUR skill levels as well as during network
               play; there will be no variation in the number or types of
               objects between "Hey, Not Too Rough" and "Ultra Violence." 

               -W<filename> - Use item weight factors from file <filename>
               in randomization modes 2 and 3. The weight file is a flat
               ASCII text file consisting of a series of <itemname>
               <weight> pairs, one pair per line. <itemname> must be one of
               the predefined names listed in the sample weight file
               (randoom.w), while <weight> must be a floating point value
               greater than or equal to 0.0. In general, the larger the
               weight value, the more occurrences of that object RanDOOM
               will put into the game. There are some exceptions, most
               notably with the larger objects. Because RanDOOM will only
               place an item if it will "fit," some hard-to-place items
               will have a lower effective weight than that specified in

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          RanDOOM (1)           DOOM Operating System           RanDOOM (1)


               the weight file. Take the Spider Demon, for example. This
               sucker is so large it gets stuck just about anywhere. Out of
               the hundreds of available item spots, there may be only one
               or two locations where the Spider would be able to function.
               Thus, even though it's number may come up via the weighted
               selection scheme, its placement may still be prevented. If
               an object is chosen which is too large for the available
               space, another item is chosen until one is found which can
               be safely placed into the current location. 

               Some comments about speed: Those of you who have used
	       earlier versions of RanDOOM will notice that 1.55 takes
               longer to process the WAD file than did its predecessors.
	       This is due to the fact that 1.55 does a lot more work than
               earlier versions, most of it 2-D geometric calculations
               (such as the distances from objects to walls for collision
               detection). After trying several different approaches to the
               "monster stuck in the wall" problem, the method currently
               employed was the best tradeoff in terms of speed and
               accuracy I've found so far. Although RanDOOM makes extensive
               use of integer and fixed-point math and '386-specific
               instructions to speed the many calculations, it still takes
               time to run (several minutes on a 20MHz 386SX test-dog
               system). Of course, any system capable of running DOOM
               adequately will have absolutely no problems with RanDOOM -
               it breezes right along on my 486/33. 

          EXAMPLES
               RanDOOM
                    Display a brief usage synopsis.

               RanDOOM -Ck -M1 
                    Rearrange levels using randomization mode 1 and random
                    seed character 'k'.

               RanDOOM -M0
                    Rearrange levels using randomization mode 0 and random
                    seed based on the system time.

               RanDOOM -D
                    Restore all objects in the WAD file to their default
                    positions. 

               RanDOOM -M2 -Wc:\doom\randoom.w -C23456
                    Rearrange levels using mode 2 with weights given in the
                    file "c:\doom\randoom.w" and using the integer 23456 as
                    the random number seed value.

               RanDOOM c:\doom\doom.wad -CT -G -LE1M1 -LE2M1

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          RanDOOM (1)           DOOM Operating System           RanDOOM (1)


                    Rearrange levels E1M1 and E2M1 in WAD file
                    c:\doom\doom.wad using randomization mode 0, seed
                    character 'T', and display the object placements
                    graphically.

          NOTICES
               This software is copyright 1994 ASRE. You are free to use
               and distribute this software provided that no modifications
               are made to nor derivative works produced from it and that
               no fees are charged for its distribution or use. Although
               RanDOOM has been thoroughly tested, it is not guaranteed to
               be completely free of bugs. Do I even need to mention that
               you should back up your WAD file before running this
               program?

          ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
               The ASRE would like to acknowledge the kind assistance of
               many volunteers who offered their time, effort, and
               suggestions. Your input has allowed RanDOOM to continue to
               improve and become an even greater benefit to DOOM players
               everywhere. Special thanks to: Barry Bloom and Scott Braley
               for their hard work in optimizing the size settings for the
               monsters; Chris Gregg for his kind assistance in coming up
               with additional items to add; and many, many others, whose
               names would easily double the size of this document were I
               to include them all, for suggesting improvements, new
               algorithms, new features, and other enhancements.

          BUGS
               I welcome your comments, suggestions, and bug reports. Input
               from users like you has made RanDOOM into the fun and useful
               utility you see before you today, so don't please don't
               hesitate to let your virtual voice be heard. Please email
               any bug reports and/or comments to tmkk@uiuc.edu. For bug
               reports, please include the following information in your
               message: 

                    The version of RanDOOM you're running,
                    The version of DOOM you're running,
                    The command line switches you used,
                    The random number seed value you used,
                    And a description of the problem.

               The object placement algorithm may still occasionally
               misplace objects, allowing them to become stuck either in a
               wall or in each other. Occurrences of such sticking are now
               extremely rare, especially when compared with earlier
               versions of RanDOOM.


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