WDFUSE Tutorial - Introduction

Introduction

Dark Forces uses a 3D Engine called JEDI which renders each of the missions in the game. The missions, and all the accompanying assets, are stored in files called GOBs which are compressed containers like a zip file.

The main GOB files are...

1. DARK.GOB - Stores all the main mission data including the level geometry. Some of the files inside the GOB are described below.
   1. LEV files store the raw level geometry (all the rooms, the walls and their textures)
   2. O files store all the objects (enemies, items etc..)
   3. INF files contain all the game scripting logic (Ex: how to move to an elevator or open a door)
   4. GOL files store all the mission goals (Ex: Find the Death Star Plans)
   5. CMP files store the colormap mapping (Ex: How lighting affects textures)
   6. PAL files store the available colors in the mission. You are limited to 256 colors.
   7. 3DO files store all the true 3D geometry such as platforms or Kyle's ship
2. SPRITES.GOB - Stores all the enemy and item objects files.
   1. WAX files store all the animated enemies and items like stormtroopers or shield pick-ups.
   2. FME files are non-animated decorations and items such as the blaster rifle
3. SOUNDS.GOB - Containers all the sound effects and music for the game
   1. VOC files are all the sound effects such as stormtrooper blaster shots or elevator hums.
   2. GMD files are the mission soundtracks.

When making missions with WDFUSE you will be mostly working with LEV O and INF files. Lets go into more details about each of these components

LEV Files

Each of the Dark Forces missions is stored in a LEV file. For example Secret base is stored in SECBASE.GOB

Sectors

These are basically