ACE Engine v2 - DOS Doom II [vanilla++?]

[kgsws]

I have resumed progress on my ACE Engine - a DOS Doom II modification using code execution exploit.

The progress will be slower but i hope people will make a use of this.

 

EDIT:

Official version 2 release: https://github.com/kgsws/doom_ace/releases/tag/v2

And documentation: https://github.com/kgsws/doom_ace/blob/master/doc/main.md

Release wad itself only contains ACE Engine. It is not a demo wad. Use this release as a basis for your mods.

 

Demo WAD for version 2: https://doomshack.org/uploads/ademo1.zip
Before you run demo WAD: Mare sure you have correct sound setup that works with original Doom2!
 

To play this properly, you have to use mouse and setup keys for jump and alt attack (or mouse button).

 

Here's full playthrough video. It even includes spoiler for my super secret puzzle!

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by kgsws

[Redneckerz]

I can't.

• First you demonstrate mini games and fog in vanilla Doom
• Then you have Doom and Heretic run within itself
• And now you present a WAD file that somehow has a DeHacked parser, meaning Vanilla Doom with this wad gains DeHacked support

You are a Programmer's Mondrian, KGSWS.

[kgsws]

Slowly working on features. Graphical loading screen is back again!

Meanwhile, here's the code execution explained. Finally.

 

[Ludi]

This is incredible! The fog is very Hexen-esque. Are you some kind of wizard?

[kgsws]

20 hours ago, Sr_Ludicolo said:

This is incredible! The fog is very Hexen-esque. Are you some kind of wizard?

Thanks! I will get to the fog effect in future episode ... when i implement it into ACE Engine (again).

 

I hope people will decide to use ACE Engine for mods. Yeah, right now it can only parse DEHACKED. It's too early.

In future there should be DECORATE, Hexen map format, ACS and more. Hopefully all compatible with ZDoom features. So mods for ACE Engine will work in ZDoom / GZDoom too.

 

And i would not mind porting those features into another source port, if there is any willing to have such features.

(Imagine having those features in official ports ...)

[Dusty_Rhodes]

14 minutes ago, kgsws said:

Thanks! I will get to the fog effect in future episode ... when i implement it into ACE Engine (again).

 

I hope people will decide to use ACE Engine for mods. Yeah, right now it can only parse DEHACKED. It's too early.

In future there should be DECORATE, Hexen map format, ACS and more. Hopefully all compatible with ZDoom features. So mods for ACE Engine will work in ZDoom / GZDoom too.

 

And i would not mind porting those features into another source port, if there is any willing to have such features.

(Imagine having those features in official ports ...)

I for one will gladly watch your next move! These experiments are incredible.

[user76828904]

On 8/13/2022 at 9:17 PM, kgsws said:

Slowly working on features. Graphical loading screen is back again!

Meanwhile, here's the code execution explained. Finally.

 

That was beautiful.

[kgsws]

Thanks. I hope there will be more. I am currently way ahead of my video series with actually implemented features.

Subset of ANIMDEFS is working, subset of SNDINFO is working, subset of DECORATE is in-progress.

Edited August 24, 2022 by kgsws

[forgettable pyromaniac]

On 8/24/2022 at 7:08 PM, kgsws said:

Thanks. I hope there will be more. I am currently way ahead of my video series with actually implemented features.

Subset of ANIMDEFS is working, subset of SNDINFO is working, subset of DECORATE is in-progress.

that

 

is fucking

WHAT

 

that's actually sick, vanilla Animdefs? This is absolutely nuts. I know there's not a lot of buzz or hype or whatever, this is super small, but for idiots like me who enjoy mapping in vanilla and running their maps through DOS, this is cool.

[Redneckerz]

On 8/25/2022 at 1:08 AM, kgsws said:

Thanks. I hope there will be more. I am currently way ahead of my video series with actually implemented features.

Subset of ANIMDEFS is working, subset of SNDINFO is working, subset of DECORATE is in-progress.

Ofcourse that works. Ofcourse. I feel the Ace Engine V2 or whatever this is needs a lengthy article one day, because this is a god send on Vanilla.

 

Pardon my stupidity though, but key to seeing things like these actually taking off is on ease of use. How is Doom Builder support for this? Or can one just map for a source port and some kind of black magic converter makes this for Vanilla? Or (i assume) am i thinking way too many steps ahead?

 

Because i can see all this falling in a new category of some sorts, blurring the line between straight vanilla mapping, and mapping for a source port.

[user76828904]

It's magic.

[Azuris]

On 8/14/2022 at 2:23 AM, Sr_Ludicolo said:

Are you some kind of wizard?

 

He is, he clearly is.

[kgsws]

On 8/26/2022 at 1:13 AM, forgettable pyromaniac said:

that's actually sick, vanilla Animdefs?

Yes it is!

 

On 8/26/2022 at 1:31 PM, Redneckerz said:

Pardon my stupidity though, but key to seeing things like these actually taking off is on ease of use. How is Doom Builder support for this? Or can one just map for a source port and some kind of black magic converter makes this for Vanilla? Or (i assume) am i thinking way too many steps ahead?

It's very simple ... with a small catch i mentioned on the top. So a special tool could be useful if you want to know if that happened. But you don't need that. Just copy two special lumps to the top of your WAD and it will most likely work (but still, make a backup!).

Well, only ACE_LDR (or rather it's data) has to be on the top. And technically it is possible to have "black magic tool" that would hide it. OK ... it is possible to hide ACE_CODE too, with minor changes. I just thought this is a simplest way.

 

Here's a small demo WAD. It's not an official release (v2) yet since there's broken stuff! But as a demo it works.

Can you "solve" it? (It's not really a puzzle ...)

 

Remember: You have to run the game using doom2 -config ademo.wad or it won't work!

Oh. And by the way, this will work in ZDoom since .. well, all the features are based on ZDoom (documentation, not code).

ademo.zip

 

EDIT: Replaced screenshot with animation.

Edited August 27, 2022 by kgsws

[rparhkdtp]

I can't even say Hello World. Just an ordinary player.
I understood that this is a source port in pwad format.
If this evolves, is it possible to run Boom-style pwad on vanilla or Choco Doom?

(not want slaughter maps, just question)

[Dark Pulse]

46 minutes ago, rparhkdtp said:

I can't even say Hello World. Just an ordinary player.
I understood that this is a source port in pwad format.
If this evolves, is it possible to run Boom-style pwad on vanilla or Choco Doom?

(not want slaughter maps, just question)

I dunno if it'd work in Choco. Choco aims to preserve the feel and the bugs, but it does definitely do some changes under the hood, so it might not work with ACE engine.

 

Of course, I could be wrong.

[Gez]

1 hour ago, rparhkdtp said:

If this evolves, is it possible to run Boom-style pwad on vanilla or Choco Doom?

Running Boom wads in vanilla-launched ACE is perfectly possible to imagine.

 

However, there's no way you could launch ACE in Chocolate Doom. ACE basically exploits known vulnerabilities to perform code injection so that vanilla Doom ends up running ACE code. Such vulnerabilities do not exist in Chocolate Doom, and even if they did it would be highly version and build-dependent.

[rparhkdtp]

Yeah I just tried it on Chocolate Doom, and the fullscreen stat bar in the github introduction doesn't work.

Edited September 7, 2022 by rparhkdtp

[OpenRift]

1 hour ago, rparhkdtp said:

Yeah I just tried it on Chocolate Doom, and the fullscreen stat bar in the github introduction doesn't work.

It's not meant to run in Chocolate Doom, it only works in the DOS version.

[kgsws]

On 9/7/2022 at 7:54 PM, rparhkdtp said:

If this evolves, is it possible to run Boom-style pwad on vanilla or Choco Doom?

It is possible to add Boom features. However, since i am adding more advanced features (DECORATE) i have no plans for Boom support right now. There's DEHACKED support right now.

It wont ever run in Chocolate Doom. Though, it would be possible to create a fork that would implement the code i added to ACE Engine.

 

 

Anyway. Here's an update.

 

I have added many new features, it's quite complete already. Release soon.

DECORATE, SNDINFO, ANIMDEFS ... And save / load rewrite. With previews!

I might be able to add MAPINFO support in v2 release but i do not know yet.

I will also make a demo WAD with new release. Because otherwise nobody would know about new (cool) features.

[Redneckerz]

^^ give this user a award.

[THEBaratusII]

1 hour ago, kgsws said:

It is possible to add Boom features. However, since i am adding more advanced features (DECORATE) i have no plans for Boom support right now. There's DEHACKED support right now.

It wont ever run in Chocolate Doom. Though, it would be possible to create a fork that would implement the code i added to ACE Engine.

 

 

Anyway. Here's an update.

 

I have added many new features, it's quite complete already. Release soon.

DECORATE, SNDINFO, ANIMDEFS ... And save / load rewrite. With previews!

I might be able to add MAPINFO support in v2 release but i do not know yet.

I will also make a demo WAD with new release. Because otherwise nobody would know about new (cool) features.

 

This really gives off BUILD Engine vibes (Save/Load Game menus)

 

Great work!

[user76828904]

@kgsws Nice work. :)

[Dark Pulse]

18 hours ago, Redneckerz said:

^^ give this user a award.

Aww, thanks for saying I deserve an award, Redneckerz!

 

More seriously - Codeaward for sure.

Edited September 13, 2022 by Dark Pulse

[kgsws]

23 hours ago, Redneckerz said:

^^ give this user a award.

 

5 hours ago, Dark Pulse said:

More seriously - Codeaward for sure.

 

There was an award for ACE already ...

Biggest award for me would be people actually using this for cool mods.

[Dark Pulse]

ACE is one thing, getting all this stuff working under Vanilla is a whole different beast.

[Dexiaz]

46 minutes ago, kgsws said:

Biggest award for me would be people actually using this for cool mods.

 

I'm definitely going to use it for mod... you know which one ;)

[Redneckerz]

7 hours ago, Dark Pulse said:

Aww, thanks for saying I deserve an award, Redneckerz!

For most perpetually annoying? ;)

2 hours ago, kgsws said:

 

 

There was an award for ACE already ...

Biggest award for me would be people actually using this for cool mods.

Sometimes one Codeaward doesn't cut it.

 

I really wish to expand the info on ACE eventually with a manual of what is possible though. I reckon that will become a thing whenever you finalize this.

[Dark Pulse]

3 hours ago, Dexiaz said:

I'm definitely going to use it for mod... you know which one ;)

Brutal Vanilla Doom confirmed.

[Herr Dethnout]

On 9/7/2022 at 2:41 PM, Dark Pulse said:

I dunno if it'd work in Choco. Choco aims to preserve the feel and the bugs, but it does definitely do some changes under the hood, so it might not work with ACE engine.

 

Of course, I could be wrong.

ChocoACE when?

[kgsws]

On 9/13/2022 at 8:37 PM, Dark Pulse said:

ACE is one thing, getting all this stuff working under Vanilla is a whole different beast.

"Vanilla" in quotes, because i am adding new code using ACE.

 

On 9/13/2022 at 8:55 PM, Dexiaz said:

 

I'm definitely going to use it for mod... you know which one ;)

Definitely! :)

 

On 9/13/2022 at 10:17 PM, Redneckerz said:

I really wish to expand the info on ACE eventually with a manual of what is possible though. I reckon that will become a thing whenever you finalize this.

Yes, there will be full documentation when v2 is out.

 

 

Still working on completing new features for v2 ... but it's getting closer!

Edited September 16, 2022 by kgsws