Hexen source code
From DoomWiki.org
The Hexen source code, the C language files from which the HEXEN.EXE file can be generated by a compiler, were released on January 11, 1999,[1] by Kenn Hoekstra of Activision, acting in concert with Raven Software, shortly following the release of the Doom source code by John Carmack of id Software. It was simultaneously released with the Heretic source code.
Contents
Licensing[edit]
The Hexen source was initially released under a standard Activision EULA which limited the legal ability of many source ports, particularly those which had transitioned to the GNU General Public License in late 1999, to use the code. This was later corrected in a re-release by James Monroe after a long campaign by the community to have the license changed.
Technical details[edit]
Unlike the Doom source release, which was based on the Linux sources to avoid release of any of the proprietary DMX sound library's API or code, the Hexen source as released is for the original DOS version of the game, as most of the other existing ports of Hexen were to other architectures such as game consoles. As a result, the sources as released cannot be compiled without substantial modification to remove dangling calls to the DMX API.
The Hexen game engine is a direct modification of the Heretic code base, and retains most of the new functionalities added there while extending some of them further. Significant technological additions made by Raven to the Doom engine for Hexen include a hub save system allowing non-linear progress through interconnected sets of maps (similar systems would later be used in Strife and in id's own Quake II); a C-language-based scripting language called ACS which allows for implementation of map- and hub-specific logic; a new extended map format with parameterized actions; the ability to move walls within the game world in the form of polyobjects; storage of data on maps, sounds, music, and sector sound sequences inside text script lumps; support for CD audio music; and a player class system, allowing the player to play as any one of three different characters. In addition, network gameplay capability was expanded to accommodate up to eight players.
Files[edit]
| Files | Description |
|---|---|
| a_action.c | Additional action functions for non-enemy objects such as trees, pottery, suits of armor, earthquakes, etc. |
| am_data.h | Two-dimensional line models for the automap, included into am_map.c |
| am_map.c, am_map.h | Automap, retaining most modifications made in Heretic. |
| ct_chat.c, ct_chat.h | Re-implementation of multiplayer chat, partially derived from Doom's hu_stuff.c |
| d_net.c | System-independent networking code |
| defs.inc | Watcom assembler header containing various macro definitions for rendering code |
| f_finale.c | Finale screen code; entirely rewritten from Heretic, this is used only at the very end of the game. |
| g_game.c | High-level game stuff: transitions between game states, level exits, main game event responder, setting up new games, demo recording |
| h2_main.c | Main program module; initialization, main loop, command-line parameters, WAD file loading, demo sequence. |
| h2def.h | Constants used throughout the source code |
| i_cdmus.c, i_cdmus.h | Support for playback of Redbook Audio CD music; DOS- and Watcom-specific code which requires the MSCDEX driver to be loaded. |
| i_cyber.c | Code for interfacing with the Logitech CyberMan 3D mouse. This code was also used by the DOS version of Doom. |
| i_header.h | Header for the low-level sound engine code, for both digital sound effects and music. |
| i_ibm.c | Main entry point; sound and music; joystick, mouse, and keyboard code; low-level screen update and video mode initialization; DPMI and timer initialization; low-level networking. SNDCURVE lump is used here. |
| i_ibm_a.asm | x86 assembly for a division by zero exception handler which causes the error to be ignored, and low-level joystick interfacing. |
| i_sound.c, i_sound.h | Additional system-dependent sound code; interface to the DMX library |
| in_lude.c | Hexen intermission, for display of stats during deathmatch. Also handles inter-hub text message screens. |
| info.c, info.h | Tables of data used by the game: sprite name table, thing data table, frame table. Generated by id's multigen tool from a script. |
| linear.asm | x86 assembly versions of Doom core drawing routines R_DrawSpan and R_DrawColumn. |
| m_misc.c | Miscellaneous functions: text rendering, configuration file loading, writing screenshots |
| mn_menu.c | Hexen menu system, based on Heretic's. |
| p_acs.c | Implementation of the ACS scripting system's bytecode interpreter. |
| p_anim.c | Parsing of ANIMDEFS lump to obtain data on animated flats and textures; global animation of textures and lightning effects. |
| p_ceilng.c | Ceiling movement |
| p_doors.c | Door movement |
| p_enemy.c | Monster AI |
| p_floor.c | Floor movement |
| p_inter.c | Object interaction: item pickup functions, object damage functions |
| p_lights.c | Animated lights |
| p_local.h | Global header for functions in the p_* section |
| p_map.c | Object movement: collisions, teleportation, detecting for injury |
| p_maputl.c | Library functions for p_map.c: blockmap code |
| p_mobj.c | Basic object control functions: creating/destroying objects, movement, etc. |
| p_plats.c | Lifts and platforms |
| p_pspr.c | PSprite (weapon sprite) functions |
| p_setup.c | Loading of map data and setup |
| p_sight.c | Line-of-sight/visibility checking for monsters. Highly notable for containing the faster but buggier LOS algorithm also used by Doom 1.2 and prior versions. |
| p_spec.c, p_spec.h | Special effects: texture animations, line triggers, floor/ceiling/lighting changes |
| p_switch.c | Wall switches |
| p_telept.c | Handling of teleporter lines |
| p_things.c | Linedef and ACS script actions for manipulation of actors. |
| p_tick.c | Base thinker code |
| p_user.c | Player point-of-view code (weapon bobbing, player object thinker, etc.) |
| po_man.c | Polyobjects |
| r_bsp.c | BSP tree traversal |
| r_data.c | Initialisation of data (textures, etc.) for use in the rendering code |
| r_draw.c | Fast drawing functions |
| r_local.h | Header containing declarations for all r_* modules; significantly larger than in the Doom source release. |
| r_main.c | Entrypoint into rendering code |
| r_plane.c | Rendering of planes (floor/ceilings) |
| r_segs.c | Rendering of walls |
| r_things.c | Rendering of sprites |
| sb_bar.c | Hexen status bar and HUD code, based on Heretic's but with substantial modifications. Also handles cheats. |
| sc_man.c | Generic text script parsing system used for MAPINFO, SNDINFO, ANIMDEFS, and other similar lumps. |
| sn_sonix.c | Sound sequence engine for customization of sector sound behaviors; loading of SNDSEQ lump. |
| sounds.c, sounds.h | Sound/music tables |
| soundst.h | Declarations for the high-level sound and music code. |
| st_start.c, st_start.h | Implementation of the graphical startup loading sequence, which replaced Heretic's text mode loading screen. |
| sv_save.c | Reimplementation of saving and loading games, with support for the hub system. |
| tables.c | Lookup tables for fast sine/cosine |
| textdefs.h | String constants used throughout the source code. |
| v_video.c | Generic image patch rendering (for menu, etc.) |
| w_wad.c | WAD loading code |
| xddefs.h | Basic data structures used to represent levels on disk, in Hexen's new map format. |
| z_zone.c | Zone memory allocator |
Non-source and obsolete files[edit]
Several non-source-code and obsolete source files were included with the Hexen source release.
| Files | Description |
|---|---|
| drcoord.h | An Objective-C header file, probably from one of id's development tools such as DoomEd. |
| dstrings.h | String constants formerly used throughout the game engine, including episode end texts. All are left over from Doom and Heretic. Redundant to the new file textdefs.h, which replaced it. |
| hex.lnk | Linker directive file for Watcom's linker, to generate the executable from the compiled objects. |
| license.txt | Copy of the official text of the GNU General Public License, version 2.0 |
| m.bat | DOS batch file used to run wmake, Watcom's make program, with up to nine arguments. |
| make.bat | DOS batch file which simply runs wmake with no further arguments. Likely unused. |
| MAKEFILE | Primary MAKEFILE for compiling, assembling, linking, and stripping the hexen.exe file, and appending the DOS extender stub. |
| oldd_net.c | An obsolete version of d_net.c left over from Heretic. |
| SourceReadme.txt | Plain-text readme file stating the factuals of the source release by Activision and Raven. |
| t.bat | DOS batch file for playtesting a fresh build of the game. |
| template.c | A mostly empty C source code file with Raven's standard code header and section delimiters, as used in most of their new modules created for Hexen. |
| vgaview.h | Another Objective-C header, probably part of id's development tool chain. |
| w.bat | DOS batch file to run id's wadlink tool |
| wadlink.wl | Script for building the various versions of the Hexen IWAD using wadlink |
See also[edit]
- Doom source code
- Doom source code files
- Hexen source ports
- Heretic source code
- Raven source code licensing
- Strife source code
External links[edit]
- The Heretic and Hexen source code at Sourceforge
- Unofficial repository on GitHub
- The recreation of various revisions of Hexen source code by gamesrc-ver-recreation on Bitbucket
References[edit]
- ↑ Staff (11 January 1999). "Heretic and Hexen source code release page." Raven Software website (archived 🏛). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
