This tutorial is dedicated to sharing a few tips for organizing your Doom WAD project. As someone
who has made numerous WADs since 2009 and gone through numerous different workflows in that timeframe,
I always strive to make my WAD editing workflow as clean and simple as possible. The importance of a
good workflow can not be understated, as it can speed up the compilation process significantly.
So without further ado, here's a number of tips I feel like sharing as far as organizing your WAD
project is concerned.
1. Put different assets into their own subfolders. If you've ever worked on a (G)ZDoom project,
you're likely familiar with the .pk3 archive format that the ZDoom port family supports. The suggested .pk3
file structure, as described here, lays
a very clear and well-organized structure for projects utilizing the format. But you can also adapt the same
file structure for .wad files, which is what I've personally been doing lately, in particular with the
community projects I've hosted. Patches go into a subfolder called patches/, maps go into maps/,
music tracks go into music/ etc. The build process won't be as simple as zipping everything up, but having a
clearly laid-out folder structure with different types of assets in their own subfolders can make
compiling your .wad file that much less headache-inducing.
Here's an overview of the general folder/file structure I personally use:
flats/ floor/ceiling textures
graphics/ TITLEPIC, CREDIT, CWILVxx and other graphics
maps/ maps (each in its individual .wad file)
misc/ DeHackEd patches, MAPINFO, demos etc.
music/ music tracks
patches/ wall textures
Other (non-asset) files, such as compiled .wad files, spreadsheets etc., I simply put into the project's root
folder.
2. Use a cloud service. Setting up your WAD project in a cloud service such as Dropbox
can be very beneficial, especially if you have multiple different computers that you jump back and forth between.
Instead of copying your files into an external storage device and moving them between computers that way, you can
eliminate that middle hand by making a folder for your project in the cloud. One very nice benefit to using a cloud
service is that your files will always be up-to-date and backed up in a (more or less) safe place in case one of
your computers dies. You also won't have to worry about having two different versions of the same file and wondering
why one of them isn't the latest one even though it "should be".
3. Make a spreadsheet. I can't understate how much I've grown to love spreadsheets over the past few years, or
how much having one for your WAD project can improve the workflow. There are no hard rules as to what you must or should
put into your spreadsheet - that's entirely up to your own discretion. Generally, though, spreadsheets come in handy for
keeping track of map-specific information in bigger projects such as megawads. With great scope comes great need for
being able to reference information quickly, and a well-organized spreadsheet makes referencing said information easy.
Once again, you can put whatever information you wish into your spreadsheet - map titles, par times, music track credits
etc. The important thing is that you organize it in a way that makes sense for yourself.
4. Use DoomMake. Trust me, it's a godsend.
That concludes this list of tips for organizing your WAD project.