Build Mode

Build Mode is currently in an alpha state! There may be bugs! Back up your demos!

Building is the process of editing a demo frame-by-frame, in order to make highly optimized TASes, or to deal with specific, difficult sections in segmented TASes.

Input Explanation

Toggle Build Mode: enter or exit build mode at any time.
Advance Frame: moves forward one frame, using the pending command.
Reverse Frame: go back one frame.
Reset Command: sets the pending command empty (a wait tic). If your command source is an existing buffer, this will not change the command that gets executed.
Toggle Source: switches between editing the command and replaying the existing command.
Fine Movement: adjusts movement commands by 1 unit.
Turn values and the use action are reset every time the frame advances. Other values are kept.
Use build.turbo / b.turbo in the console to toggle turbo on and off (or launch with -turbo).
You can also set values with mf X, mb X, sr X, sl X, tr X, and tl X in the console.
The raven games also support fu X / fd X / fc (fly up / down / center), lu X / ld X / lc (look up / down / center), and ua X (use artifact).

Time

You can freely use the quick key frames and automatic key framing / rewind feature while in build mode.
To jump to a specific tic, you can use the console command jump.tic X. If X is negative, it is relative to your current tic. Positive values are absolute from the start of the demo.
All typical skip features are also available (skip to end of map, etc).

Trackers

You can display extra data about different aspects of the game state using trackers.
- tracker.add_line X / t.al X: track the special value of line X.
- tracker.add_line_distance X / t.ald X: track the distance from line X.
- tracker.add_sector X / t.as X: track the special value, active state, and floor height of sector X.
- tracker.add_mobj X / t.am X: track the health of mobj X.
- tracker.add_player / t.ap: track the last damage dealt by the player.
- tracker.reset / t.r: removes all trackers
You can remove trackers with the same commands, substituting remove / r for add / a.
You can also populate these through command line arguments:
- -track_line a [b c ...]
- -track_line_distance a [b c ...]
- -track_sector a [b c ...]
- -track_mobj a [b c ...]
- -track_player

Brute Force

Brute force is a technique in built tases where you automatically apply different sequences of commands until you reach a desired outcome. A common use case is for performing glides. You can activate brute force from the console.

brute_force.frame / bf.frame frame forward_range strafe_range turn_range [buttons weapon]
- frame is the frame number from the start of brute force (0, 1, 2…)
- forward_range is the range of values for forwardmove. Format: 40:50, -50:-40, etc.
- strafe_range is the same as forward_range, but for strafe values.
- turn_range is the same as forward_range, but for turn values.
- buttons is any combination of a, u, and c (attack, use, change weapon).
- weapon is the number for the weapon to change to if c is given as a button.
brute_force.keep / bf.keep frame
- Keeps the existing command on the given frame
brute_force.nomonsters / bf.nomo
- Performs a faster brute force by ignoring monster activity (may desync)
- Use brute_force.monsters / bf.mo to reset to the regular brute force mode
brute_force.start / bf.start depth [forward_range strafe_range turn_range] conditions
- Ranges are optional and will override frame-specific instructions
- depth is the number of tics you want to brute force (limit 35)
- conditions are comma separated. Format: attribute operator value.
  - attribute has the following options:
    - x (player x position)
    - y (player y position)
    - z (player z position)
    - vx (player x velocity)
    - vy (player y velocity)
    - spd (player speed)
    - dmg (single frame player damage dealt)
    - rng (rng index)
    - arm (player armor)
    - hp (player health)
    - am0 (player bullets / crystals / blue mana)
    - am1 (player shells / bolts / green mana)
    - am2 (player cells / claw orbs)
    - am3 (player rockets / runes)
    - am4 (player flame orbs)
    - am5 (player spheres)
    - bmw (blockmap width)
  - operator has the following options:
    - < (less than)
    - <= (less than or equal to)
    - > (greater than)
    - >= (greater than or equal to)
    - == (equal)
    - != (not equal)
    - These operators look for a best result (by checking all sequences):
      - acap (as close as possible)
      - max (maximum)
      - min (minimum)
  - value is the number to compare against (currently limited to integer).
    - max and min do not require a value
  - Examples:
    - x gt 4, y < -34, vx >= 10 means the player x position must be greater than 4, and the player y position must be less than -34, and the player x velocity must be greater than or equal to 10, all at the same time.
    - y == 0, vy acap 0 means the player y position must be equal to 0. All sequences will be checked, and the one that leads to a player y velocity closest to 0 will be used.
- There are additional conditions that do not follow the above pattern:
  - skip X (skip line X)
  - act X (activate line X)
  - have X (have item X)
    - rkc, bkc, ykc, rsk, bsk, ysk (keys)
    - sg, cg, rl, pg, bfg, cs, ssg (weapons)
  - lack X (do not have item X)
    - rkc, bkc, ykc, rsk, bsk, ysk (keys)
    - sg, cg, rl, pg, bfg, cs, ssg (weapons)
- Basic example: bf.start 2 40:50 40:50 -2:2 x < 1056, vx > 5
  - This is a depth 2 brute force, with possible forward and strafe values ranging from 40 to 50, possible turn values ranging from -2 to 2, and with the condition that x is less than 1056 and x velocity is greater than 5.
- Frame-specific example (different ranges on different frames):
```
bf.frame 0 40:50 40:50 -2:2
bf.frame 1 50:50 50:50 -10:10
bf.frame 2 40:50 40:50 -2:2
bf.start 3 x < 1056, vx > 5
```
Brute force metadata gets printed to the console (conditions, progress, etc).