Running Mods On ECWolf In Four Steps

ECWolf might be a nice little source port, but what's a source port without some mods to go with it? This guide illustrates how to configure Steam to load add-ons and extensions of ECWolf, using a high-resolution graphic pack as an example.

Introduction

Let's be honest here: the graphics and sound of Wolfenstein 3D are quite ugly. Even when you're running source ports at 60fps and 16K resolution, those blocky guards and endless waves of mazes with identically colored walls are going to bore you sooner or later. Thankfully, ECWolf[maniacsvault.net] was designed to work with mods, and in this guide I'll be showing you how to set Steam to run add-ons to enhance your gameplay experience.

Steps

0.

Replace the original DOSBox copy that comes with Wolfenstein 3D with a copy of ECWolf. If you haven't done this beforehand, simply find your way into the "base" folder where all the program data is stored, delete the original "dosbox.exe", copy over the necessary files from ECWolf, and rename the "ecwolf.exe" to "dosbox.exe". Once that's done, test to make sure the program loads correctly and adjust any settings as needed.



(Pictured above: ECWolf, running normally without mods. Notice the HUD, weapon, and dead guard.)

1.

Time to go hunt for mods! ECWolf uses .pk3 files much like its brethren ZDoom, so if you're familiar with Doom mods, you'll have an easier time with Wolf 3D mods. There's a few options out there, but for the purpose of this tutorial, we'll be using CeeJay's hi-res/enhancement pack [forum.zdoom.org], a mod that upgrades the textures, sprites, and sound effects to match the Macintosh / Jaguar / SNES / 3DO versions of the game. The pack also includes optional soundtracks, which aren't required for this tutorial but will compliment the newer graphics (my advice: the 3DO soundtrack works best for this upgrade.)

2.

Once you download the .pk3 files, simply unzip them into any folder you want. I recommend putting them where you keep the rest of your ECWolf files, but anywhere accessible will work (see photo below.)

3.

On the library menu, right-click on the game, click "Properties", "Set Launch Options", and then type in something to this effect:

 dosbox.exe -file "(location of .pk3 file)", "(location of another .pk3 file)" 

In my case, the coding is typed like this:

 dosbox.exe -file "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Wolfenstein 3D\base\ECWolf_hdpack.pk3" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Wolfenstein 3D\base\ECWolf_hdmus_3DO.pk3" 

4.

Save your settings, click back to the library menu, and load up the game. If done correctly, you should be seeing / hearing your mods play out immediately; if not, go back through the steps again and try to figure out what went wrong.



(Pictured above: ECWolf, running with the high-res pack. Again, notice the HUD, weapon, and dead guard.)

Conclusion

Historically, Wolfenstein 3D modding has never been as easily accessible as its successors Doom and Quake, but a community has thrived nonetheless and with ECWolf's implementation of the DECORATE language used in ZDoom, new hacks are pushing the old raycasting engine to new limits. Tastes may vary, so browse through whatever sites offer mods to download and pick out whatever appeals to you, and if you wish to develop your own mods for ECWolf, a two-part introduction can be located here [maniacsvault.net] for further reading.

[reaper978]

Same as NamelessNP. NamelessNP mentioned you can make a .bat file to get the mods running. Hopefully someone can fill me in on how to do this.

[NamelessNP]

Outdated method unfortunately, either Steam's UI overhaul or an ECWolf update broke the ability to load mods directly with launch options. I can't find any other way to do this now without a more indirect method using a .bat (batch) file.

[TOOCOOLHENPOO]

pls fix
dosbox.exe -file "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Wolfenstein 3D\DOSBox\ECWolf_hdmus_BrainStewX.pk3"

[JonnyLectron]

Hi, thanks for the tutorial. I found the wolfstone extraction tool on the ECWolf website, and have sucessfully made a wolfstone.pk3 file.
However, I cannot get it to load with ecwolf, and the drag and drop method results in a command line prompt window appearing asking me to us the --console trigger to enable seeign the crash file.

any ideas?

[AC13]

Hey thank's for the code for the Shoe Shine mod, your the best man.
:)

[David_Sh]

is there a method for importing custom episodes into ECWolf?

[Shad0wSn1per42]

Need help did everything right but still looks normal pls help

[Zoisite]

good u noob

[Man-Man]

This comes everytime i try to run it: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635243865955237888/710896152962138152/unknown.png

[FranTesla]

you can just add ".\base\" in front of the file name to shorten the path
so you can put all the files in the same directory as the game, because steam runs the game from the root game directory, example:
-files ".\base\ECWolf_hdpack.pk3"

Or just put the files in the game root directory