A - Z Beginner Full Guide Start Here!

written by Fidcal

Introduction

Dark Mod is etc. etc.

This page will be a full guide to just the essential that you need to know or links to it, from install to finished mission. It will point you to things you will eventually need to know in more detail but for now it will give the minimum, simplest, start. Follow it through in easy steps and at the end you should have a fully working zipped up mission. It will not have full details of everything but the simplest summary with links to more. So a door will be just to stick in a default working model door in three sentences then link to the detailed wiki tut on doors.

Installation

link to Komag's site for now. Reconsider when DM ready for launch.

Editor

Dark Radiant

link to DR pages and website etc.

DoomEd

Brief overview for those using the Doom 3 editor

Your First Mission

Making Your First Room

intro to entities, brushes, patches, visportals sealing, leaks etc. link to performance wiki

Adding the Player's Start Point

Right click on any 2d window in the editor, select create entity. There are two folders, darkmod and base. Open base.

Type info and it should bring up info_player_start, now hit the Add button. A large red box about the size of the player should appear in your map. It has an arrow that points the direction it faces. This is the Players Start Point.

Adding Light

one ordinary light plus one ambient

Adding Objects, AI

To add an object right-click on any 2d window (preferably where you want the object to appear). Objects can be static or entity. Select Create Model to create static objects or Create Entity for entity objects. Both types can be viewed in the model viewer (need link).

Sometimes a combination of static and entity objects can be an easy way to make an animated object.

Static objects are models that won't move in game. Furniture, pillars, plants, ect... A candle stick could be a static and get knocked over. The player can't frob them though.

Entity objects are more complex. They use the same models as the statics but properties can be applied through a def file. These properties can range from frobbing to animation and particle attachments. Loot has properties that make it unique so it will be found in the entity inspector (L) under atdm/loot/ atdm:loot_amulet (for example).

Entity types are:

Moveables which are items the player can interact with. They can be frobbed, picked up, rotated, thrown. They could also be a door knob (frobbable) or a rotating gear (non-frob). atdm:item_book_red1

Animated objects have been animated in a 3d program such as Blender, Lightwave or 3dsMax. They could be a non-moving machine that is animated so it's pistons and gears move or they could be anAI.

AI of course refers to characters in the game. Taffers, maidens, servants, rats,... the list goes on. Most human AI will not have a head in the editor, one is attached via def files and will be spawned when the game starts. This allows use of many heads on each body. darkmod/AI/Builder, ect...

Entities can have physics models (ragdolls) such as a bucket with a handle. These are under atdm:env_bucket... Ropes are here. AI's corpses have ragdolls so you can drag them by an arm or leg, ect...

doors

link to doors wiki

Zipping up

link to zip up wiki

Your own Build Design

link to build design wiki