WolfEdit 2 is a custom level editor for the Macintosh edition of Wolfenstein 3D. It is a top-down map maker that allows for wall, enemy, and object placement, including weapons and powerups that can be collected by the player.
Mechanics
Each level is comprised of one or more rooms, separated by doors, and will also contain at least one “lift control”, or elevator tile, in order for the player to successfully complete each of the levels, also known as “floors”. A scenario is comprised of at least one floor, with each floor designated by a number ranging from “1-0” through “9-9”. (Each floor must also contain at least one enemy, treasure, and secret door, each of which were now placed by default in the upper left-hand corner of each new floor map.)
Features
WolfEdit 2 was a major upgrade from earlier versions. Besides incorporating all of the 2nd and 3rd Encounter functionality which had only previously been achieved via plugins and special patches, new tools and features were now available. Most famously, WolfEdit 2 allows the user
to add custom graphics to the game, which lead to an explosion of new artwork from the fan community. (The original in-game guard, wall, and door graphics are available as macgfx.sit.) It could also now save directly as a Wolfenstein 3D Third Encounter scenario file.
Included with the v2.0.4 download is a ResEdit patch, WolfEdit Extras. As stated on Laz Rojas' website, WolfEdit Extras "adds improved cicn's for some of the enemies. It also makes three new wall textures available for use: fake lift door, fake locked door, and fake regular door."
History
WolfEdit was initially developed for use with Wolfenstein 3D: First Encounter. Because First Encounter was a shareware demo and only contained the first three levels from the full game (known as Wolfenstein 3D: Second Encounter), the number of objects in the game was reduced to only those necessary to complete the demo. Consequently, WolfEdit 1.0 was developed with only First Encounter objects, enemies, and wall types available.
As Wolfenstein 3D: Second Encounter became more common, demand for new levels increased, particularly those that made full use of all of the game’s available features. Ewing’s answer to this was WolfEdit 1.1. While new functionality was not added directly, a new “extension” system was developed that allowed users to load third-party plugins when opening WolfEdit. David Rager then developed these plugins for Ewing, and they were included with WolfEdit 1.1 on release. They add nearly all of the remaining enemies, objects, and wall types, as well as additional music, which were now available in Second Encounter.
Because level data is embedded in the resource fork of Wolfenstein 3D: First and Second Encounters (as part of the custom BRGR resource type, named after Bill “Burger” Heineman), it is not possible to load scenario files directly from the game. Instead, a scenario has to be “installed” manually from the WolfEdit program to a copy of Wolfenstein 3D: First or Second Encounter. (This replaces the original scenario data, and the user is warned accordingly.)
Once Wolfenstein 3D: Third Encounter was released (and subsequently the Commercial Edition that was sold in stores), Ewing developed a patch (1.1C) which modified WolfEdit’s scenario installation behavior, making it compatible with Third Encounter’s now separate scenario files (and the functionally equivalent Commercial Edition, for which the patch was named). With 1.1C, instead of installing directly to the program file, users can now select an arbitrary scenario file that comes installed in the Levels folder of Wolfenstein 3D: Third Encounter or the Commercial Edition, and load that from the scenario selection screen.
As the 1.1C patch made WolfEdit incompatible with First and Second Encounter, Ewing developed Wolf FKEY as a workaround.
Later, Ewing would release WolfEdit 2, a major overhaul of the software, which added all Second (and Third) Encounter items and features to the program. It also introduced the ability to add custom graphics and music, among other things.
WolfEdit 2 was released as shareware in July 1996 and was sold and marketed by WolfAddict Software, and users could register copies for $15. Initially, the shareware version of WolfEdit 2 prevented the placement of various objects and guards, as well as limiting which graphics could be customized. WolfEdit's creator, Greg Ewing, would later release a new version of the WolfEdit 2 demo (v2.0.2) that only prevented certain graphics from being customized before registering.
Although Third Encounter and the Commercial edition were now available, demand remained for scenarios that were still compatible with First and Second Encounter. In response, Ewing released the 1st/2nd Encounter Patch, a patch file that added new options to WolfEdit 2's Edit menu that would disable any incompatible objects for the selected version. Scenario files could then be loaded by these players using Wolf FKEY.
In December 1999, Ewing released WolfEdit 2 as freeware, with v2.0.4 being the final release.
Links
Download WolfEdit 2 at Macintosh Garden