Dark Radiant Must Know Basic Intro

Here are just a few things the beginner to Dark Radiant must know as they are mostly assumed in tutorials.
Tutorial writers: Please refer here at the start of your tutorial!

Orthoview

The two dimensional grid views (not the camera view) is sometimes referred to as:

• 'grid' view (even though the grid might be turned off),
• the 'orthoview',
• the '2D view',
• 'xyz view',
• the 'top view', 'side view' or 'front view'

Abbreviations

LMB, RMB, MMB are left mouse button, right mouse button, and middle mouse button - which is often a wheel that you can also press. MMW stands for scrolling the wheel.

The mouse buttons are also often denoted by little icons that show the mouse button to press in red:

• LMB: , RMB: , MMB:

Copy&Paste

Copy & Paste for text in DarkRadiant uses just the standard operating system clipboard. So to copy text to the clipboard, you go to Edit -> Copy or press CTRL + C.

Pasting this text back into an entry field can be done via Edit -> Paste or press CTRL + V.

To copy a texture from one brush or face to another, you need to use Edit -> Copy Shader and Edit -> Paste Shader.

Creating a light

To create a light you can use the in a grid view and select 'Create Light' from the popup menu. This creates a 'light source' object which is represented as a white diamond in the editor. By hitting the J with the light slected you can bring up the light editor where you can change the color and value of the light. The color of the diamond in the editor will change to match the color of the light source so it can easily be referenced in the 3d view (3d view only).

You can also add textures through the light menu.

To create a light with properties in place like torch flames you must create an entity light.

To create a light with a model you must create seperate model and light source or entity light. Or you can save/load a prefab light from the file menu.

Creating an Entity

To create an entity you use the in the grid view and select 'Create Entity' from the popup menu.

• Some entity creations need a brush selecting or creating first while others already include a model shape. Dark Radiant will tell you if you need a brush.
• You cannot use that menu to change the entity of an existing entity:

1. With a model you can change its entity by editing it in the Entity Inspector (default: N)
2. With a brush or patch entity you can use in the grid view and use 'revert to world spawn' first and then 'Create Entity'

Creating (inserting) a Model in your mission

To create a model use RMB in the grid view and select 'create model'. You can change an existing model by selecting it in Entity Inspector and using the choose model button at the bottom of that panel. (not with AI though!)

Models created this way are static and can not be moved in game without adding neccesary properties.

Most moveable models can be created through the entity menu. They contain collision models and props neccesary for the player to be able to interact with them; pick them up, kick them, throw them.

This included loot objects that they player can frob and other frobbable objects like doors.

Adding/Changing/Deleting Properties

• the Entity Inspector can be shown/hidden with default key N or just select its tab on the panel if you can see it.
• In there you can see the properties of a selection.
• You can change them by typing in afresh at the foot of that panel. There is an input box for the property name and one below it for the value. These you need to either press ENTER or click the button to make them effective. Some properties might have special buttons or inputs.
• If the property already exists you can select it then it shows in those input boxes for you to modify.
• Another way is to select the Class Name at the top of the Entity Inspector and then and selecting 'Add Property' from the popup menu. This will show you properties appropriate to that entity if you click the top one item with the entity class name. Clicking each may give you additional info at the bottom. You can also see general properties further down.

Compiling and Playing your Mission: Dmap & Map

DarkRadiant itself cannot compile or play your map. Enter dmap <mapname> and map <mapname> at the console in Dark Mod - see HERE.

However, since DarkRadiant 0.9.5, the editor can issue the dmap commands to the engine, if Dark Mod is running in the background. See the Map menu for these commands.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The keys you can use in Dark Radiant are shown in the Help menu, where you can also change them. Tutorials on this wiki will always show you the default keyboard shortcut, so remember this when you change the shortcuts.

Controls

All the Dark Radiant controls are listed at Dark Radiant Controls, Keys & Mouse.