This tutorial was originaly created by Aabra, and was later updated by Tiger.

Getting Started

Introduction

So you want to map for Skulltag? Great! Skulltag has an incredible number of editing features that gives the author more power than ever before. Try not to be too overwhelmed though. Mapping is actually very easy as this beginner tutorial will show you. In this tutorial I'm going to assume that you have absolutely 0 Doom mapping experience. We'll start with the basics while giving you a small glimpse of the power that Skulltag gives you.

While following this tutorial please remember to save often as Doom Builder
unfortunately crashes on occasion. (Don't worry, it's not your computer.) 

Required Files

In this tutorial we'll use Doom Builder 1, a very full featured editor. Download and install it, then get the required files for it. Copy these to your Doom Builder folder and overwrite if needed.

Of course you need Skulltag and your Doom IWADs. If you can play Skulltag you already do. 

A very useful tool for wad editing is XWE. This allows you to change what Doom Builder can't - it can add graphics, sounds, textures, special info blocks, and so on to your maps. We won't be using this program in this tutorial; however, you'll need to learn how to use this (annoying yet powerful) program eventually, so you might want to go ahead and get it now.

Configuration

Are all those programs and files installed? Fantastic! Load up Doom Builder and let's get started! Once Doom Builder is loaded we first need to make a couple quick configuration changes. Select Tools->Configuration from the menu. Then select the Testing tab. Where it says engine you want to direct it to your skulltag.exe file, wherever that may be on your hard drive. Click the browse button and find skulltag.exe (if you used the Skulltag Installer it defaults to C:\Program Files\Skulltag). Doom Builder will now use Skulltag to test your maps!

Now select the Files tab. Select Skulltag 0.97b from the list. Select the Browse button and search for the Skulltag IWAD. What is this? It's doom2.wad of course! Actually Skulltag supports various different IWADS, but Doom2 is the most common (and the one that we will be using in this tutorial). Find your Doom2.wad and select it.

Next, select the Defaults tab. Here you can set all the default textures for map. (and a few other things) The default Sector Brightness is a little dark so we're going to increase it to 160. Just so we can see a bit more. Once you've done this, select ok to save all the settings.

Finally select File->New Map. Under Configuration select Skulltag (Doom in Hexen Format).

The Level Name is not "Hell's Revenge" or whatever you want to call the map. It
is what Skulltag sees the map as - the most common is "MAP01". This replaces
the very first level in Doom 2 with your map. Everybody will easily be able to
find your map if you use this map name so I highly recommend it. Type "MAP01"
in the level name space. 

Special Skulltag Tip - By browsing to and selecting the skulltag.wad file in the Additional Textures and Flats from WAD file box you gain access to hundreds of awesome textures that you are free to use yet don't have to include in your WAD file making your WAD very small in size yet having access to tons of great textures!

Once you have completed this, select OK and we're ready to start mapping!

Your First Map

Drawing a Room

It's time to start mapping! We need to draw the outline of our first room. To do this we need to switch to Linedef (or Lines) mode. We do this by pushing the L button on your keyboard. You can also switch modes by selecting the various icons in the top left hand corner of Doom Builder. Right click to begin drawing your room. Left click 3 times in the various corners and then 1 final click on the original point to finish the square room. Make the room 320x320 units big. (You will see the number of units each side has as you are drawing.)

Connecting another Room

Well, 1 room is pretty boring and Doom requires that you have a minimum of 2 sectors for any map so let's continue this masterpiece! Stay in lines mode and right click 96 units in from the top left hand corner of the room. Move 32 units up and left click. 128 units to the right and left click. Continue left clicking to form a rectangle that is connected to our first room. This area will eventually become a door.

Draw another room connected to the door area that we just made using the same methods described above. Make the room 320x320 units big. (The same as the first room.)

Adding a Player Start

We have 2 rooms and what will eventually become a door! But we can't play the map just yet. Doom 2 needs to know where the Player is going to start the game. To do this we need to enter Thing mode. Enter thing mode by pressing the T button on your keyboard or by using the icons at the top. Right click right in the middle of your first room to place a Thing. Wow! It's our player 1 start! The Player 1 start is the default thing that is placed until we select something else.

Modifying the Player Start

The Player start is facing right however which is a little bit strange don't you think? It should be facing the door! It's time to edit the Thing properties. While in Thing mode, right click on our newly created Player 1 start. A properties box will appear. It's in this box where we can change the thing to a weapon, monster, ammo, or anything else.

Special Skulltag Note - One of the great benefits is that you aren't limited to the basic Doom 2 items for this either. If you browse around a bit you'll be able to find the Skulltag Monsters, Runes, and Weapons among other things which you have access to.

For now all we want to do is change the direction that our player start is facing. In the bottom right hand corner you will find a box labeled Coordination. Change the angle box to 90 manually or you can simply click on the little circular buttons to change the direction the player is facing more visually.

Testing the Map

We are now ready to test our map! You can try your newly created map out by pressing the F8 key or by selecting the Test Map button at the top of the screen. Congratulations! You've just taken your first step into a larger world.