The Wolf3D.net FAQ

Welcome to the Wolf3D.net FAQ! This website hopes to serve as a source to answer simple questions you may have about Wolfenstein 3D, and get you set up to either play or create games!

If your question isn't answered here, be sure to visit either the Wolf3D.net Discord or the DieHard Wolfers Message Board for more help!

This page is a work in progress, and will change over time. If you feel something should be included, let me know on Discord.

• What is Wolfenstein 3D?
  • How do I get a copy of Wolfenstein 3D?
    • Shareware Version
    • Registered Version
  • What platforms can I play Wolfenstein 3D on?
  • How do I run the game?
  • What version of Wolfenstein 3D do I have?
  • Was Wolfenstein 3D the original First Person Shooter?
  • Is there a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D?
  • What other games used the Wolf3D Engine?
  • Are there mods for Wolfenstein 3D?
  • Do people speedrun Wolfenstein 3D?

• What is Spear of Destiny?
  • How do I get a copy of Spear of Destiny?
    • Spear of Destiny Demo
    • Full Version
  • Is Spear of Destiny a prequel or a sequel?

• Gameplay Questions
  • Are there cheat codes for Wolfenstein 3D?
    • Debugmode
  • How do I record a gameplay demo?
  • Can I play with WASD and mouselook?
  • What is the weird "Aardwolf" object in the game?
  • What is that code that shows up with my end-game statistics?

• Story Questions
  • Who is William J. (B.J.) Blazkowicz?
  • What is Blazkowicz's relationship to Doomguy and Commander Keen?

For more, see Source Ports.

• What is Wolf4SDL?
  • Where can I download Wolf4SDL?
  • What systems will Wolf4SDL run on?
  • Why play using Wolf4SDL?
  • How do I use Wolf4SDL to play Wolfenstein 3D?
  • Who is currently maintaining Wolf4SDL?
  • Why is Wolf4SDL used for so many mods?
  • How do I use Wolf4SDL to make a mod?

• What is ECWolf?
  • Where can I download ECWolf?
  • What games does ECWolf support?
  • What systems will ECWolf run on?
  • What features does ECWolf provide?
  • Will ECWolf automatically detect my games?
  • Is ECWolf based on zDoom? Can it play Doom?
  • Where does ECWolf save my games?
  • Can I use my original save files with ECWolf?
  • How do I delete my control configurations?
  • Does ECWolf play all Wolfenstein 3D mods?
  • How do I create mods for ECWolf?

• What is LZWolf?
  • Where can I download LZWolf?
  • Who is developing LZWolf?
  • What extra features does LZWolf provide?
  • Can I play ECWolf mods in LZWolf?
  • How do I make a mod or game for LZWolf?

For more, see Troubleshooting.

• Troubleshooting Wolf3D
  • Error Messages
    • "This app can't run on your PC"
  • Gameplay Issues
    • There are black bars on the sides of my game
    • Dead bodies, ammo and other items are disappearing on the screen
    • The menu, borders and other art are mixed up
  • Sound Issues
    • Enemies and sound effects sound like distorted bleep bloops

• Troubleshooting Wolf4SDL
  • "The code execution cannot proceed because SDL.dll/SDL_Mixer.dll was not found."

• Troubleshooting ECWolf and LZWolf
  • ECWolf crashes with "An error has occured (press enter to dismiss)
  • I get a Hall of Mirrors effect, objects appear as exclamation marks (!), or images are missing/incorrect on the main menu

• What is a Mod? What is a Total Conversion?
  • Where can I download mods?
  • How do I play mods?
  • Why does the mod I downloaded only have a few files in it?
  • Where can I learn more about the history of mods?

For more information, see What is modding?

• Coding Questions
  • How do I set up the code?
  • What is a 'tic'?
  • What is the gamestate structure?

• Mapping Questions
  • What do I need to edit maps?
  • What are floor codes? Are they important?
  • What are planes?
    • What is the "Third Plane"?
  • Where can I go to learn more about the art of making maps?

• Sprite/Texture Questions
  • Where can I go to download sprites for my project?

• ECWolf Modding Questions
  • How do ECWolf mods work? Why don't they include original game files?
  • What is a MapInfo file?
  • What is an XLAT file?
  • What is Decorate?
  • How do I find the names of game resources?
  • What are the names of songs in ECWolf?

• Where is the palette located?
• How do I edit the Wolfenstein 3D Palette?

For more, see Code Tutorials

• Setting up the DOS Wolf3D source code.
• Bug Fixes for the DOS Code.
• Saving Memory in the DOS code.

• How do I compile the source for Spear of Destiny or Shareware Wolfenstein 3D?
• How do I add more Map Planes to my game?

• Setting up Wolf4SDL in Code::Blocks
• How do I compile Wolf4SDL for Spear of Destiny or Shareware Wolfenstein 3D?
• How do I enable the built-in features like High Resolution Textures or Cloudy Skies?
• How do I add more Map Planes to my game?

There are many more tutorials for implementing a whole multitude of features available on the DieHard Wolfers Message Board.

For more information, visit What programs do I use to mod Wolf3D?.

• What is WDC?
  • What games can WDC edit?
  • How do I use WDC?
    • How do I set up a new project in WDC?
      • WDC's Project Information
    • How do I edit maps in WDC?
      • Floor Autofill
      • Random Map Creator
      • Support for more map planes
    • How do I edit art/sprites/textures in WDC?
    • How do I edit music/sounds in WDC?
  • What else can WDC edit?
    • How do I edit text fonts?
    • How do I edit the End Screen?
    • How do I change the colour palette of my game?
    • How do I add gameplay demos to my game?
    • How do I edit Tile8s?
    • How do I edit the Read This! manual and End Art?

• What is ChaosEdit?
  • How do I use ChaosEdit?
    • How do I set up a new project in ChaosEdit?
    • How do I make maps in ChaosEdit?
    • How do I edit sprites and textures in ChaosEdit?
    • How do I edit the VGAGraph (Graphics, Fonts and Tile8s) in ChaosEdit?
    • How do I edit sounds and music in ChaosEdit?
    • How do I edit the DOS exit screens?
  • Can I change the window size?
  • Is ChaosEdit open source?
  • Why are my walls all bright green in 3DEdit?
  • Why aren't objects and enemies showing up in 3DEdit?

• What is MapEdit?
  • What does MapEdit run on?
  • Where can I get MapEdit?
  • Why are there so many versions available?
  • Which version should I use?
  • Is MapEdit open source?
  • How do I use MapEdit?
    • How do I set up MapEdit for my project?
      • How do I use MapEdit to mod games that aren't Wolfenstein 3D?
    • How do I edit maps with MapEdit?

To see all community-related questions, see Community.

• Where can I go to talk about Wolfenstein 3D?
• Where can I go to read articles about mods?
• Are there any community modding projects I can get involved in?

Wolf3D.net is an unofficial fansite of Wolfenstein 3D and the other games built on it’s engine, and is not associated with id Software, 3DRealms, Bethesda Softworks or any other publisher or video game company. Copyright and trademarks for any logos, images, games or products mentioned on this website belong to their respective owners.