How to Set Up the DETH and HETH .ini and .cfg Files

In order to make DETH user-configurable, it is necessary to use configuration files. These can be confusing, and ordinarily do not need to be edited, as long as you have unzipped DETH with the -d parameter in order to retain DETH's directory structure.

This is what your directory structure should look like after unzipping DETH:

There are only two files that you may need to edit: the DOOM2.CFG and the DETH.INI. (If you're editing HEXEN, naturally the files are HEXEN.CFG and HETH.INI.) DETH needs to know where your DOOM.WAD and DOOM2.WAD are stored, and the default locations are shown in the CONFIG files.

DOOM1.CFG (for DOOM I and Ultimate DOOM)

• # Location of the main IWAD.
  [wad]
  c:\doom\doom.wad

DOOM2.CFG (for DOOM II)

• # Location of the main IWAD.
  [wad]
  c:\doom2\doom2.wad

HEXEN.CFG (for HEXEN - HETH only!)

• # Location of the main IWAD.
  [wad]
  c:\hexen\hexen.wad

If your DOOM 1 and 2 and HEXEN directories are on different drives, or named differently than the above, you will need to put the proper reference in the areas shown above in bold red text. (Likewise for the HERETIC.CFG for HERETIC.)

That's all there is to it!

DETH is set up by default to edit DOOM II - HETH for HEXEN - assuming the above. If you want to edit DOOM 1 or The Ultimate DOOM, you will have to change one area. And you should always check to make sure the references are correct. The default values are shown below in bold red text:

In the DETH.INI:

• # LOAD OPTIONS
  # Game data to use.
  gamedef = config\doom1.cfg
  gamedef = config\doom2.cfg
  gamedef = config\heretic.cfg
  # Default game to edit, MUST be either 'doom' 'doom2' or 'heretic'
  game = doom2

In the HETH.INI:

• # LOAD OPTIONS
  # -+-+-+-+-+-+
  # Game data to use.
  gamedef = config\config.hex

A "#" in front of a line means that the line is ignored. However, the game option has been made a bit simpler with the game = option; so if you want to edit Ultimate DOOM, for instance, simply change the doom2 to doom: game = doom.

DETH has a new option for defining a path to your PWAD directory. If you have trouble with this, or just don't want to use it, put a "#" in from of the third line below. Otherwise, modify it to reflect the directory containing your PWADs.

• # Path to your pwads.
  # if you don't want to use this feature, just comment it out.
  pwads = d:\pwads

There are many other options in the DETH.INI that can be changed to reflect your own personal default options for DETH each time you use it. It is a good idea to get familiar with the DETH.INI file. Here are some other areas you may want to look at:

DETH is set to run in 800x600x256 mode 3 by default. If you have a decent monitor, you may wish to run DETH in a higher resolution such as 1024x768x256 (this is what I like and is quite viewable on a 15" monitor. If you have a super-duper humongous monitor, you can now use a video resolution of 1280x1024x256. To do so for any of the above, simply change the video = 3 number to 4 or 5. (For more info on this, have a look at the "Using GO32 in DETH" documentation for setting up the GO32 environment and specifying drivers for your video card.)

• # DISPLAY OPTIONS
  # 0-standard VGA, 1-640x480x256, 2-640x480x256, 3-800x600x256, 4-1024x768x256, 5-1280x1024x256
  #bgi = VESA
  video = 3
  # this setting goes from 0 - 4 and can also be changed via F7
  gamma = 0

You may also wish to configure DETH to use your favorite Textures and Flats each time it starts. To do this, check out the Preferences Menu section:

• # PREFERENCES MENU (F5)
  # -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
  # Default Textures and preferences. You may want to change these values...
  walltexture = BIGBRIK1
  uppertexture = BIGBRIK1
  lowertexture = BIGBRIK1
  ceiltexture = FLOOR7_1
  floortexture = RROCK09
  doortrack = DOORTRAK
  doortexture = BIGDOOR4
  upperstep = STEPTOP
  lowerstep = STEP6
  teletexture = GATE1
  ceilheight = 256
  floorheight = 0

To change or use any or all of the above lines, remove the "#" from the line you wish to use, and enter in CAPITAL LETTERS the exact name of the texture/flat you wish to use. That is, DO NOT enter brick6. It must be BRICK6. Otherwise you will get invalid Pname errors when DOOM tries to run.

These options can also be set from within DETH itself using the F5 key, but the changes are only good for the current editing session, and will reset to default values if you exit DETH.

If you receive the following error message when starting DETH

• GrSetMode : Unknown AdapterType In Driver

look for the following statement in your autoexec.bat file:

• mode con codepage select = 863

If it's there, remove it (or type REM in front of it: REM mode con codepage select=863) and your problems should go away. If the statement isn't there, then try DETH Slim v3.88. If that still doesn't help, send me e-mail with the type of video card you're using, system information (type of machine, amount of RAM, etc), and I'll try to help.

That's about it. We are hopeful to have an automatic configuration function for DETH sometime in the future; but for now, there are other more pressing areas for further development to make DETH even better. I know: How much better could it get?

Your suggestions and comments matter. Please e-mail any and all to:

Antony J. Burden antony@cis.compuserve.com
John W. Anderson (Dr Sleep) drsleep@ionstorm.com