Compiling a basic wad in Slade

[PeterMoro]

I'm compiling a single map into a wad in Slade and have decided to go with the common mymap.wad format, instead of the .pk3 version that I'm used to. For example, something like in the photo. (from a random wad).

I'm a noob at the technical side of Doom and I really don't know the correct way to compile a basic wad. I handle UDB just fine but I don't know what I'm doing in Slade. I don't know what most of those directories do or what they are for. 

I've been searching the net today for wad compilation tutorials but none of them explain how to build a wad in Slade and none really explain what all these directories are and why they are needed. For example, what SSectors is / what the Map Reject Table is / etc. I'd really like to learn all this stuff. I can't find any information and Slade tutorial videos don't mention any of this stuff.

Could anyone recommend a tutorial for making / compiling a wad for GZDoom? I'm not interested in tutorials on custom sprites or add custom textures. There are tons of those.  I'd just like to learn the nuts and bolts of making a basic wad and why these directories are needed and what they do. 

Thanks for your help.

[slowfade]

I suggest you start here: https://doomwiki.org/wiki/WAD It will tell you the basics (along with further links) about what a wad consists of. Essentially most of it is non-human readable binary data generated by mapping tools.

[Gez]

All the lumps from THINGS to BLOCKMAP are bits of map data. In a pk3, each map is stored in a wad that contains all these lumps, too. (Well, depending on format. There are differences between Doom format, Hexen format, and UDMF.)

 

Generally, the one and only thing you'll have to do about these map lumps in your resource manager (like SLADE) is leave them alone and make sure that they get left alone. If other lumps are inserted in the middle of them, it causes problems. If some of them are missing, it causes problem (some ports are okay with missing node and reject lumps, but at the very minimum you need to have THINGS, LINEDEFS, SIDEDEFS, VERTEXES, and SECTORS; as those store the main map data). If the order is messed up, it causes problems.

 

For more general resource management, you just need to know that there's a loose equivalent to a PK3's folder by use of marker lumps, so this allows to put some lumps in a special namespace.

[Stabbey]

If you're making a basic WAD and don't intend to use custom sprites or custom textures, then you don't need deep technical knowledge of the internal structure of the WAD. The editor handles all that for you, that's what it's for. Slade is a tool you use when you want custom sprites and custom textures (and flats) or new sound effects or music.

[PeterMoro]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. The https://doomwiki.org/wiki/WAD link has all the technical information I need to know. I'll read up about it but like Gez and Stabbey said, I don't really need to know the details as Slade handles all that stuff for me.