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Map Editor Launcher

The map editor launcher dialog is used to set up the game configuration and resources to use when editing a map. It can also create new maps and preview existing maps. This page describes the various controls on the dialog, what they do and how they affect the map editor when launched.

The dialog will show up before opening a map in the map editor, and will look different depending on how it is opened. Clicking on the map editor button on the toolbar will open it as above, double clicking a map header in an archive will show it without the map list or preview.

Game and Port

The Game and Port dropdowns allow selection of the game configuration for the map editor. The game configuration determines what map formats are available, what thing types, action specials and sector types are available, what advanced port features can be used, etc.

Earlier versions of SLADE and other map editors will usually have game configurations like 'ZDoom + Doom 2', 'GZDoom + Doom 2', 'ZDoom + Hexen' and so on. This list of configurations could get fairly long and confusing, so for SLADE 3 these have been split into 2 parts - 'Game' and 'Port', which can be mixed and matched, depending on what you want to edit for.

Game selection

The game selection dropdown determines what game the map will be for - eg. if you are creating a map for Doom 2, you should select the game 'Doom 2'. The game selection defines the 'base' configuration, ie. thing types, action specials and sector types for the original game, without any advanced source port features. This also determines what map names are available.

Port selection

The port selection dropdown adds advanced port features to the selected 'base' game configuration. Depending on the game selected, some ports may not be selectable (eg. the port 'Boom' does not support Hexen). The port selection will also determine what map formats are available when creating a map, and whether custom map names are allowed.

Maps List

The 'Maps' section shows a list of maps available in the current archive. Each map in the list will have a tick or cross icon next to it. A cross indicates that the map is in a format not currently supported by the selected game and port.

The 'New Map' button will bring up a dialog to create a new, empty map. This dialog contains controls to select a map format (determined by the selected game and port), and enter or select a map name. After a new map is created, it will appear in the map list. Double-clicking a map in the list will open it in the map editor.

Resources

The 'Resources' section allows for selection of the resources the map editor should use. Make sure to select a base resource archive that matches the selected game configuration.

The list of archives shows what open archives will be used as resources for the map editor. Each archive in the list will have a checkbox next to it. If unticked, no resources (textures, sprites, etc.) from that archive will be used in the map editor.

Underneath the resource archives list there are buttons to open an archive, or open a recent archive.