Alternatives to Zone Builder?

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nickblock2000

Member
HI I am new to creating in zone builder and can't fully understand how I can swap a zone into a track even after watching the tutorials it just doesn't make sense to me. Is there any sort of track builder similar to mega maker for mega man that I can use to make tracks or do I need to rewatch the tutorials to get a better understanding of zone builder?
 
"swap a zone into a track"? What do you mean by this?

Also no, there isn't a track builder like Mega Man Maker or, hehe, Trackmania.
 
Rapidgame7 said:
"swap a zone into a track"? What do you mean by this?

Also no, there isn't a track builder like Mega Man Maker or, hehe, Trackmania.
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I mean in the tutorial it refers to the level as a zone like a plat former sonic level but I don't necessarily understand how to use that knowledge to create a track

Also Darnit! I was really hoping there was an alternative. Guess I'll have to go back to tutorials and see if I missed something
 
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nickblock2000 said:
I mean in the tutorial it refers to the level as a zone like a plat former sonic level but I don't necessarily understand how to use that knowledge to create a track
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That's because maps, the things you create in Zone/Doom Builder, are nicknamed zones in SRB2 because... well... they're part of one, and nicknamed tracks in Kart because each map hosts a track.
So for all intents and purposes, "map", "zone" and "track" are one and the same.

Though in Kart, "track" can also refer to the part you actually drive on. Depends on context, mostly.
The Kart Krew Discord has something of a mapping channel as well as a bunch of tips, tricks and guides. You could head over there and ask more questions specific to Kart if you're curious.
 
slade is a viable alternative. it's not quite as user-friendly as zone builder but its a cohesive doom editor with srb2 presets so it should serve your needs. if you're a non-windows user especially i think it's definitely your best bet.
 
tabu said:
slade is a viable alternative. it's not quite as user-friendly as zone builder but its a cohesive doom editor with srb2 presets so it should serve your needs. if you're a non-windows user especially i think it's definitely your best bet.
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Thank you! could you possibly link me slade?
 
Slade is more for resource editing than map editing. Even so map editing in slade is still nothing like Megaman Maker, Trakmania, or heck, Portal 2.

Zone builder is still the easiest way to make maps for SRB2.

that said, you're still going to want slade.
 
slade is seen as just a resource editor because nobody bothers with the map editor despite it being perfectly functional. the only real problem it has is that new udmf features get added in slower but that isn't even applicable to srb2. i think it's definitely preferable in cases where you're working with custom content beyond maps. and in my case on linux both doom and zone builder are possibly the jankiest programs i have ever tried to use through wine fwr and i'm guessing the mac experience is just the same so yeah slade kinda just is your only real option in that case. an actual in-game user-friendly editor would be amazing but i totally doubt that ever happening even if it's probably possible with lua. it would technically be a great idea just with how many un-doom-mapping-savvy kids play this game but yeah, much too tall of an order.
 
Slade isn't even made for SRB2.
SRB2 maps work using lots of hack that Slade probably don't support
 
it's not "meant" for srb2 but it absolutely does work with it. there's an option specifically for it in the map editor and it even has srb2 specific lua as one of the text language options.

slade is just weirdly unappreciated in general despite how cohesive it is
 
It's because Zone Builder is specialised for SRB2 and has more SRB2-specific dialogue so you don't have to look at the wiki as often. Additionally, Zone Builder's visual mode is more accurate to how the level would look in SRB2 since it can more properly account for slopes and such.
 
ah yeah i've got doom mapping bias where 3d floors aren't done nearly as much. not to mention slade still missing outright stupid shit like stair and door generators which i can't imagine would be any problem to add in, though that also applies pretty much entirely to doom. still my point was it still oddly goes unappreciated even in the zdoom ethos where you're likely working with all kinds of custom stuff and can more easily mess with all of it at once instead of having to hop between programs (which usually includes slade anyway lel) like you have to do using doom builder for that kind of thing. this isn't as big of a deal when it comes to srb2 but it's still a thing. if they would just add those three things i could finally stop eating my sour grapes over both builders not working correctly on my os. no idea why doom builder is tied to so much hyperspecific windows api shit or whatever reason it's so dysfunctional through wine.

speak of the devil though as of just yesterday srb2 slope 3d viewer support has now been updated in on top of better support in general it looks like
 
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Now perhaps one day there would be the SRB2 version of Ultimate Doom Builder which itself is a continued maintenance of GZDoom Builder.
 
Blast98 said:
Now perhaps one day there would be the SRB2 version of Ultimate Doom Builder which itself is a continued maintenance of GZDoom Builder.
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Such a version has already been started as part of the move to UDMF (by the same person who started the original Zone Builder project). It is still very incomplete in things like the visual mode though and the full UDMF implementation cannot yet be used for maps released on the forum (at least not until 2.2.11 comes out).
 
Ace Dragon said:
Such a version has already been started as part of the move to UDMF (by the same person who started the original Zone Builder project). It is still very incomplete in things like the visual mode though and the full UDMF implementation cannot yet be used for maps released on the forum (at least not until 2.2.11 comes out).
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That's great to hear.
 
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