LMP v2.0 - A DOOM | DOOM2 Demo Conversion and Launcher Utility
**************************************************************

See LMP20NEW.TXT for a list of changes from LMP10.EXE.

-------------
 DESCRIPTION
-------------
This is a simple menu based program that will convert recorded
DOOM and DOOM2 demos (.LMP files) from one version to another
without the hassle of hard to remember command line options.
As an example,  an LMP file that was recorded with DOOM v1.666,
could be converted, and then viewed in DOOM v1.9; without the
conversion, DOOM would report an error and exit back to DOS.
The program can also change the perspective of the demo to one
of the other players, assuming that it is a multi-player demo.

The currently supported verions are v1.666 - v2.0 for both
DOOM and DOOM2. At the time of this writing, there is no v2.0
and hopefully there never will be! Though LMP20 will not
recognize LMP files that are earlier than v1.666, it can still
convert many of them to the later versions (v1.2 demos are NOT
supported).

LMP20 also makes a good platform from which to launch LMP
files and allows a user to easily select a PWAD to view the
demo in as well as load optional arguments such as -TIMER or
-DEVPARM.

You should be aware that a demo will only play back properly
if it is done so in EXACTLY the same level that it was
recorded in. In many cases, id Software has made minor changes
to the original levels from one version to the next and this
prevents older demos from functioning on those levels. The 1.9
version of DOOM2 has minor changes in AT LEAST the first 3
levels and I'm sure that many of the others have changes. I'm
not aware of DOOM having so many changes, so the chances of
successfully converting a DOOM demo recorded in the original
levels is fairly high. Demos that have been recorded in custom
levels (PWADs), will convert with no problems.

--------------
 INSTRUCTIONS
--------------
To run the program, simply copy LMP20.EXE to your DOOM or
DOOM2 directory and type:

LMP20 [-6 | -7 | -8 | -9 | -2] LMPfile [PWADfile]

Items in brackets are optional. The numerical options (be sure
to include the hyphen) will cause LMP20 to automatically
convert the demo to either v1.666, v1.7, v1.8, v1.9, or v2.0
and load it into DOOM or DOOM2 without displaying the menu
first.

Here are a few examples for starting the program:

  lmp20 map1_x4.lmp

    loads MAP1_X4.LMP into LMP20 so that you can modify the
    demo.

  lmp20 -9 map1_x4.lmp

    automatically converts MAP1_X4.LMP to the v1.9 format and
    then loads the demo into the game for playback.

  lmp20 medi2_x3.lmp medideth.wad

    loads MEDI2_X3.LMP into LMP20 and sets the specified PWAD
    file to MEDIDETH.WAD.

LMP20 does not care about the order that you specify the options
in, so each of the following would be treated as the same:

  lmp20 -9 medi2_x3.lmp medideth.wad
  lmp20 medi2_x3.lmp medideth.wad -9
  lmp20 medideth.wad -9 medi2_x3.lmp

----------
 THE MENU
----------
Starting LMP20 without the numerical options will cause a
status area and simple menu to be displayed on the screen. The
filename of the demo will be displayed in the title bar. If a
PWAD file was specified, it will be displayed in the menu area.
The status area contains the following information:

 DURATION

  This is the running time of the demo in hours, minutes, and
  seconds.

 VERSION

  This is the current version of the demo. v1.7 and v1.7a demos
  are displayed as the same because... well... they're the same.

 SKILL

  This shows the -SKILL setting that was used when the demo was
  recorded.

 PLAY MODE

  This covers Solo, DeathMatch, AltDeath (DeathMatch v2.0), and
  Cooperative modes.

 NO. OF PLAYERS

  That should be fairly obvious...

 VIEWED FROM

  This shows the player whos perspective you are viewing the demo
  from. This will be either Green, Indigo, Brown, or Red.

 MONSTERS

  This will tell you if there are any monsters in the demo or if
  it was recorded with the -NOMONSTERS parameter.

 RESPAWN

  If there are monsters in the demo, this will indicate whether
  they respawn after getting killed, via the -RESPAWN parameter.

 FAST

  This indicates whether the -FAST parameter was used. This
  parameter causes many of the monsters to move and fire at faster
  speeds.

Below the status area, there are several numerical options:

 # 1-5

  These are for changing the demo to another version.

 # 6

  This option allows you to specify a PWAD to view the demo in.
  If one has already been specified, you can change it here. Be
  sure to type the entire PATH to the file if it is not in your
  game directory. Hitting [SPACE] and then [ENTER] will clear
  the current PWAD selection.

 # 7

  Use this to add additional DOOM command line parameters, such
  as -TIMER and -DEVPARM, to the command line that LMP20 uses to
  launch the demo. Hitting [SPACE] and then [ENTER] will clear
  the currently listed parameters.

 # 8

  This will start DOOM or DOOM2, load the optionally specified
  PWAD file and parameters, and begin playback of the LMP file.

If you wish to change the demo to the perspective of one of the
other players, you can use the + and - keys to cycle through the
available choices. The status area will be updated each time that
you make a change. Alternately, you can just type the first
letter of the color that corresponds to the player that you wish
to switch to (i.e. 'B' for Brown, 'G' for Green, and so on).

-------
 WIN95
-------
LMP20 works with Win95 drag 'n drop (probably with OS/2 also,
but that's not where the future lies. Heheh). To do this, you
should create two shortcuts on your desktop or in a game folder.
One shortcut should be to the LMP20.EXE program itself and the
other should be to the LMP20b.BAT batch file. BOTH of those files
should be in your DOOM|DOOM2 directory. Edit LMP20b.BAT so that
it works with YOUR version of the game.

Once you've established the shortcuts, make sure that the working
directory for each is correctly set to the DOOM|DOOM2 directory.
Do this by right-clicking on the shortcut icon, selecting the
"Program" tab, and editing the "Working" text field. You should
also check the "Close on Exit" check-box and under the "Misc"
tab. Make sure that "Allow Screen Saver" is NOT checked. Edit the
entries under the "Memory" tab as needed.

Now all you have to do is drag an LMP and an optional PWAD file
from the Win95 Explorer (or some other/better file management
tool) onto either one of the shortcuts. Dragging them onto the
LMP20.EXE shortcut will load the LMP20 menu so that you can make
changes to the demo. Dragging them onto the LMP20b.BAT shortcut
will automatically convert the LMP file to the proper version and
load it into DOOM|DOOM2.

--------------------------------------------
 SCOTT'S LIST OF HOT DOOM2 DEATHMATCH PWADS
--------------------------------------------
If you're into DOOM2 DeathMatch, check out my WWW pages. The pages
are dedicated to popular DOOM2 DeathMatch PWADs, tho I also have a
good listing of other cool DOOM & DOOM2 WWW sites. From the pages,
you can read a brief description of the levels, read the authors'
text files, view screenshots of each level (most are shots taken
from 3 and 4 player DeathMatches), view a detailed map for each
level, and download any one of them. The current URL, which may
change (if it does, just ask around...), is:

  http://www.gate.net/~scott

That's it! If you have any problems, comments, or suggestions,
e-mail me.


Scott A. Smith

scott@gate.net
scottallyn@aol.com

 
