Making a switch



So you have mastered the art of making doors, and would like to move on to bigger and better things. Another very important thing to know is how to make switches.

What exactly are switches, you ask? Switches are basically just line types that can trigger certain things, from doors, to lifts, remotely, as opposed to walking up and manually triggering it. For example, you can make a switch open up a door(s) in a completely different area.

I would also like to note that switches can be triggered in a multitude of ways, depending on the line type. Line types usually have a two-letter prefix on them indicating the method of activation (such as S1, WR, DR, etc). There is more information on activation methods at the bottom of this article.

Okay, so now you know what a switch is, so let us get to making one. The example I am going to use for this tutorial is pretty much the same as the tutorial on making doors, but, rather than opening the door manually, we are going to use a switch.

We are first going to start out by making two rooms, with a door (labeled as sector A in the diagram to the right) connecting them in the middle. Lower the door sector to be equal to that of the floor. We are also going to need to give this sector a tag of 1. There will be more information on the purpose of tags later.

We now have the door fully set up the way we need it, so now all that is left is to make a switch. Make a linedef somewhere in the map (highlighted in green on the diagram), where the player can trigger it. Give that linedef a line type of 103 (S1 DOOR OPEN STAY). Also, give the switch a sector tag of 1 (the same as the door).

Basically what we have done here is told the switch linedef to open the door which we have given a sector tag of 1. The last thing we need to do as a final effect, is give the line a switch texture. Switch textures usually all start with SW1 or SW2. These textures change when you trigger a linedef.

Activation methods

 * D - Manual Door (activates sector beyond linedef, no tag required)


 * S - Player presses 'use' on linedef


 * W - Player walks over linedef


 * G - Player or monster shoots linedef (hitscan attack only)


 * 1 - Can be triggered once


 * R - Can be triggered multiple times