MAP Format (Build)

MAP Format (Build)

File:MAP Format (Build).png
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Format type	Map/level
Map type	3D sector-based
Layer count	Unknown
Games	Blood Build Engine 1994 Duke Nukem 3D Extreme Paintbrawl Fate Demo Ion Maiden/Fury Lame Duke Legend of Seven Paladins 3D Liquidator NAM Powerslave Shadow Warrior Shaw's Nightmare 1 Shaw's Nightmare 2 Redneck Deer Huntin Redneck Rampage Redneck Rides Again William Shatner's TekWar Witchaven Witchaven II WWII GI

The MAP Format is used by BUILD games for storing game levels. It is somewhat similar in content (though not structure) to the Doom level format, as both are sector-based. Ken Silverman has written programs to convert Doom maps into BUILD maps.

File format

Version 9

TROR is present in map

Version 8

Limits increased

Limit	value
MAXSECTORS	4096
MAXWALLS	16384
MAXSPRITES	16384

Version 7

This is the main map version for commercially released games

Limit	value
MAXSECTORS	1024
MAXWALLS	8192
MAXSPRITES	4096

Data type	Name	Description
INT32LE	mapversion	File format version number (latest in released games is 7, source ports use 8 and 9)
INT32LE	posx	Player start point, X coordinate
INT32LE	posy	Player start point, Y coordinate
INT32LE	posz	Player start point, Z coordinate
INT16LE	ang	Player starting angle
INT16LE	cursectnum	Sector number containing the start point
UINT16LE	numsectors	Number of sectors in the map
SECTOR[numsectors]	sector	Information about each sector
UINT16LE	numwalls	Number of walls in the map
WALL[numwalls]	wall	Information about each wall
UINT16LE	numsprites	Number of sprites in the map
SPRITE[numsprites]	sprite	Information about each sprite

Each SECTOR is defined as the following 40-byte structure:

Data type	Name	Description
INT16LE	wallptr	Index to first wall in sector ! Index in what units? count? offset?
INT16LE	wallnum	Number of walls in sector
INT32LE	ceilingz	Z-coordinate (height) of ceiling at first point of sector
INT32LE	floorz	Z-coordinate (height) of floor at first point of sector
INT16LE	ceilingstat	bit 0: 1 = parallaxing, 0 = not bit 1: 1 = sloped, 0 = not bit 2: 1 = swap x&y, 0 = not bit 3: 1 = double smooshiness bit 4: 1 = x-flip bit 5: 1 = y-flip bit 6: 1 = Align texture to first wall of sector bits 7-15: reserved
INT16LE	floorstat
INT16LE	ceilingpicnum	Ceiling texture (index into ART file)
INT16LE	ceilingheinum	Slope value (rise/run; 0 = parallel to floor, 4096 = 45 degrees)
INT8	ceilingshade	Shade offset
UINT8	ceilingpal	Palette lookup table number (0 = standard colours)
UINT8	ceilingxpanning	Texture coordinate X-offset for ceiling
UINT8	ceilingypanning	Texture coordinate Y-offset for ceiling
INT16LE	floorpicnum	Floor texture (index into ART file)
INT16LE	floorheinum	Slope value (rise/run; 0 = parallel to floor, 4096 = 45 degrees)
INT8	floorshade	Shade offset
UINT8	floorpal	Palette lookup table number (0 = standard colours)
UINT8	floorxpanning	Texture coordinate X-offset for floor
UINT8	floorypanning	Texture coordinate Y-offset for floor
UINT8	visibility	How fast an area changes shade relative to distance
UINT8	filler	Padding byte
INT16LE	lotag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	hitag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	extra	Significance is game-specific

The original documents suggest there can be a maximum of 1024 sectors in a map.

Each WALL is defined as the following 32-byte structure:

Data type	Name	Description
INT32LE	x	X-coordinate of left side of wall (right side coordinate is obtained from the next wall's left side)
INT32LE	y	Y-coordinate of left side of wall (right side coordinate is obtained from the next wall's left side)
INT16LE	point2	Index to next wall on the right (always in the same sector)
INT16LE	nextwall	Index to wall on other side of wall (-1 if there is no sector there)
INT16LE	nextsector	Index to sector on other side of wall (-1 if there is no sector)
INT16LE	cstat	bit 0: 1 = Blocking wall (use with clipmove, getzrange) bit 1: 1 = bottoms of invisible walls swapped, 0 = not bit 2: 1 = align picture on bottom (for doors), 0 = top bit 3: 1 = x-flipped, 0 = normal bit 4: 1 = masking wall, 0 = not bit 5: 1 = 1-way wall, 0 = not bit 6: 1 = Blocking wall (use with hitscan / cliptype 1) bit 7: 1 = Transluscence, 0 = not bit 8: 1 = y-flipped, 0 = normal bit 9: 1 = Transluscence reversing, 0 = normal bits 10-15: reserved
INT16LE	picnum	Texture index into ART file
INT16LE	overpicnum	Texture index into ART file for masked/one-way walls
INT8	shade	Shade offset of wall
UINT8	pal	Palette lookup table number (0 = standard colours)
UINT8	xrepeat	Change pixel size to stretch/shrink textures
UINT8	yrepeat
UINT8	xpanning	Offset for aligning textures
UINT8	ypanning
INT16LE	lotag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	hitag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	extra	Significance is game-specific

The original documents suggest there can be a maximum of 8192 walls in a map.

Each SPRITE is defined as the following 44-byte structure:

Data type	Name	Description
INT32LE	x	X-coordinate of sprite
INT32LE	y	Y-coordinate of sprite
INT32LE	z	Z-coordinate of sprite
INT16LE	cstat	bit 0: 1 = Blocking sprite (use with clipmove, getzrange) bit 1: 1 = transluscence, 0 = normal bit 2: 1 = x-flipped, 0 = normal bit 3: 1 = y-flipped, 0 = normal bits 5-4: 00 = FACE sprite (default) 01 = WALL sprite (like masked walls) 10 = FLOOR sprite (parallel to ceilings&floors) bit 6: 1 = 1-sided sprite, 0 = normal bit 7: 1 = Real centered centering, 0 = foot center bit 8: 1 = Blocking sprite (use with hitscan / cliptype 1) bit 9: 1 = Transluscence reversing, 0 = normal bits 10-14: reserved bit 15: 1 = Invisible sprite, 0 = not invisible
INT16LE	picnum	Texture index into ART file
INT8	shade	Shade offset of wall
UINT8	pal	Palette lookup table number (0 = standard colours)
UINT8	clipdist	Size of the movement clipping square (face sprites only)
UINT8	filler
UINT8	xrepeat	Change pixel size to stretch/shrink textures
UINT8	yrepeat
INT8	xoffset	Centre sprite animations
INT8	yoffset
INT16LE	sectnum	Current sector of sprite's position
INT16LE	statnum	Current status of sprite (inactive, monster, bullet, etc.)
INT16LE	ang	Angle the sprite is facing
INT16LE	owner	! ?
INT16LE	xvel	! ?
INT16LE	yvel	! ?
INT16LE	zvel	! ?
INT16LE	lotag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	hitag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	extra	Significance is game-specific

The original documents suggest there can be a maximum of 4096 sprites in a map.

The significance of the lotag, hitag and extra variables is decided by each particular game and can sometimes be discerned from the editing documents for the game in question, if available. lotag and hitag are frequently used to set up trigger actions, for example a lift moving in response to a switch being thrown, but may have other uses as well (the Witchaven games, for instance, use the hitag on monster sprites internally to store the monster's hit point value, overwriting anything set there during map creation.)

Version 6

Version 6 had differently ordered variables, no filler variables, smaller bit flag variables for floors and ceilings, lower precision for slopes and no reverse translucence bit flag. It appears in Witchaven and William Shatner's TekWar. ! (Possibly also Powerslave/Exhumed, confirm.)

The header variables are arranged just like in version 7, but version number will be 6.

Sectors: There is no "filler" value, floorstat/ceilingstat are 8-bit values, and the order of variables is different.

When converting with CONVMAP7, the program will set ceilingheinum or floorheinum to 0 if bit 1 of the corresponding ceilingstat or floorstat of a sector is 0. Otherwise ceilingheinum/floorheinum will be adjusted for higher precision.

Data type	Name	Description
UINT16LE	wallptr	Index to first wall in sector ! Index in what units? count? offset?
UINT16LE	wallnum	Number of walls in sector
INT16LE	ceilingpicnum	Ceiling texture (index into ART file)
INT16LE	floorpicnum	Floor texture (index into ART file)
INT16LE	ceilingheinum	! Slope value is treated differently in v6
INT16LE	floorheinum	! Slope value is treated differently in v6
INT32LE	ceilingz	Z-coordinate (height) of ceiling at first point of sector
INT32LE	floorz	Z-coordinate (height) of floor at first point of sector
INT8	ceilingshade	Shade offset
INT8	floorshade	Shade offset
UINT8	ceilingxpanning	Texture coordinate X-offset for ceiling
UINT8	floorxpanning	Texture coordinate X-offset for floor
UINT8	ceilingypanning	Texture coordinate Y-offset for ceiling
UINT8	floorypanning	Texture coordinate Y-offset for floor
UINT8	ceilingstat	bit 0: 1 = parallaxing, 0 = not bit 1: 1 = sloped, 0 = not bit 2: 1 = swap x&y, 0 = not bit 3: 1 = double smooshiness bit 4: 1 = x-flip bit 5: 1 = y-flip bit 6: 1 = Align texture to first wall of sector bit 7: reserved
UINT8	floorstat
UINT8	ceilingpal	Palette lookup table number (0 = standard colours)
UINT8	floorpal	Palette lookup table number (0 = standard colours)
UINT8	visibility	How fast an area changes shade relative to distance
INT16LE	lotag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	hitag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	extra	Significance is game-specific

Walls: The ordering of the variables differs slightly.

Data type	Name	Description
INT32LE	x	X-coordinate of left side of wall (right side coordinate is obtained from the next wall's left side)
INT32LE	y	Y-coordinate of left side of wall (right side coordinate is obtained from the next wall's left side)
INT16LE	point2	Index to next wall on the right (always in the same sector)
INT16LE	nextsector	Index to sector on other side of wall (-1 if there is no sector)
INT16LE	nextwall	Index to wall on other side of wall (-1 if there is no sector there)
INT16LE	picnum	Texture index into ART file
INT16LE	overpicnum	Texture index into ART file for masked/one-way walls
INT8	shade	Shade offset of wall
UINT8	pal	Palette lookup table number (0 = standard colours)
INT16LE	cstat	bit 0: 1 = Blocking wall (use with clipmove, getzrange) bit 1: 1 = bottoms of invisible walls swapped, 0 = not bit 2: 1 = align picture on bottom (for doors), 0 = top bit 3: 1 = x-flipped, 0 = normal bit 4: 1 = masking wall, 0 = not bit 5: 1 = 1-way wall, 0 = not bit 6: 1 = Blocking wall (use with hitscan / cliptype 1) bit 7: 1 = Transluscence, 0 = not bit 8: 1 = y-flipped, 0 = normal bits 9-15: reserved
UINT8	xrepeat	Change pixel size to stretch/shrink textures
UINT8	yrepeat
UINT8	xpanning	Offset for aligning textures
UINT8	ypanning
INT16LE	lotag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	hitag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	extra	Significance is game-specific

Sprites: The order of the variables differs and there is no "filler" value.

Data type	Name	Description
INT32LE	x	X-coordinate of sprite
INT32LE	y	Y-coordinate of sprite
INT32LE	z	Z-coordinate of sprite
INT16LE	cstat	bit 0: 1 = Blocking sprite (use with clipmove, getzrange) bit 1: 1 = transluscence, 0 = normal bit 2: 1 = x-flipped, 0 = normal bit 3: 1 = y-flipped, 0 = normal bits 5-4: 00 = FACE sprite (default) 01 = WALL sprite (like masked walls) 10 = FLOOR sprite (parallel to ceilings&floors) bit 6: 1 = 1-sided sprite, 0 = normal bit 7: 1 = Real centered centering, 0 = foot center bit 8: 1 = Blocking sprite (use with hitscan / cliptype 1) bits 9-14: reserved bit 15: 1 = Invisible sprite, 0 = not invisible
INT8	shade	Shade offset of wall
UINT8	pal	Palette lookup table number (0 = standard colours)
UINT8	clipdist	Size of the movement clipping square (face sprites only)
INT8	xrepeat	Change pixel size to stretch/shrink textures
INT8	yrepeat
INT8	xoffset	Centre sprite animations
INT8	yoffset
INT16LE	picnum	Texture index into ART file
INT16LE	ang	Angle the sprite is facing
INT16LE	xvel	! ?
INT16LE	yvel	! ?
INT16LE	zvel	! ?
INT16LE	owner	! ?
INT16LE	sectnum	Current sector of sprite's position
INT16LE	statnum	Current status of sprite (inactive, monster, bullet, etc.)
INT16LE	lotag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	hitag	Significance is game-specific (Triggers, etc.)
INT16LE	extra	Significance is game-specific

Notes

• All angles are between 0..2047 inclusive. 0 is "north", parallel to the Y-axis, moving away from the X-axis. 512 is "east", parallel to the X-axis moving away from the Y-axis.

Source

• This information comes from BUILDINF.TXT, BUILD2.TXT and the source code to CONVMAP7 in the Build source files, written by Ken Silverman.