This menu is for creating and adding objects and object groups to the level. WED looks for objects in the project work folder, the script path, and some predefined folders. The folder path can be changed by editing the data\options.scr file.
| Grouping |
Grouping and scoping are essentially the Object Oriented features of WED. With grouping and scoping, you manipulate multiple blocks as grouped logical objects. You can change the grouping information of an object by using the following menu commands. Add To - Use this command to add the selected object to a group. It changes the selected object's color to orange to show that you have marked it for grouping. Finish - This command takes the current marked or selected objects and groups them together into a new logical object. Ungroup - This command ungroups the selected group, separating the immediate subcomponents into individual objects. |
| Scope |
Scopes are very similar to the directory hierarchy of a file system. WED defines the scope of an object by the grouping of the object's immediate subcomponents. If we ever want to modify the components of an object, we need to enter the object's scope first. WED provides the scope up and scope down commands for this purpose. The down most scope are the surfaces of a block, while the top most scope always contains the entire map. Scope Up - This "exits" the scope of an object. If the current scope is the top most scope in the entire level, and there are multiple objects in the current scope, WED creates a new scope and places all the objects together into the new group. An analogy of this function to a file system would be like going to the parent directory. Scope Down - This "enters" the scope of a grouped object. Normally everything other than the selected object will disappear from the editing windows ( A7 this can be changed in Preferences by activating Draw Top Group). Scoping down hides unnecessary information about the rest of the world when you're working on individual objects in a level. An analogy of this function to a file system would be like entering a sub directory. A7 if the selected object was a terrain, scoping down invokes the Terrain Editor. |
| Add Cube | This submenu provides a set of cubes that you can place into the level. |
| Add Hollow Cube | This submenu provides a set of hollow boxes that you can place into the level. |
| Add Primitive | This submenu provides several primitive blocks that you can use in WED. These primitive blocks include cubes, spheres, triangular and rectangular prisms of different sides, etc. |
| Add Prefab | This submenu provides around 500 prefabricated WMP map objects, arranged in several prefabs subfolders with furniture, doors, vehicles, architectural elements etc. The prefab collection can be extended by the user. All prefabs use 16 bit textures from the standard.wad texture collection. |
| Add Light | Places a static light source into
the map. Its range is indicated by a circle in the four views. When
right clicking onto the light, you can edit the color and brightness
through Red,
Green, Blue (0..255) and the Range of
the light source. If Red and Green both are at 0, the light is white,
and its brightness is controlled by Blue.
The shadow mapping of the level, as well as the Precomputed
Radiance Volumes (PRV) for entity
lighting are computed from static light sources. |
| Add Sound | Places a static sound source (WAV or OGG file) into the map. The sound file must exist in the work folder or the folder path. You can edit the volume (in percent) and the range of the sound source. |
| Add Position | Places a camera position into the map. Positions can be evaluated by the c_scan engine function, and used for any purpose. If there is no player entity, the first position is used as the camera starting position. |
| Add Map Entity | Places a map entity (WMB file), used for doors, lifts, or platforms. The entity file must exist in the work folder or the folder path. The menu shows all map entities available in your work folder and subdirectories. You can create map entities on your own by opening a prefab as a normal map, and BUILDing the WMB from it. When adding new entities, WED places them at the center of the 4 editing windows when you have enabled View Locking (see Lock View). |
| Add Model | Places a model entity (MDL file), used for actors. The entity file must exist in the work folder or the folder path. The menu shows all model entities available in your work folder and subdirectories. You can create model entities using the MED model editor. |
| Add Terrain | Places a terrain heightmap (HMP file). The terrain file must exist in the work folder or the folder path. Terrain maps can be created by MED. Terrain can be moved and scaled, but not rotated. It can be edited by selecting it and pressing Scope Down (see above). |
| Add Sprite | Places a sprite entity (PCX, BMP, TGA, or DDS file), used for grass, trees and the like. The entity file must exist in the work folder or the folder path. The menu shows all sprite entities available in your work folder and subdirectories. You can create sprite entities using a paint program, like Paint Shop Pro. Please take care to save the files in the right color format. |
| Add Path | Places a path in the level, which can subsequently be used by actors. You can give the path a name through Properties; otherwise a default name is created. In Vertex Move mode the waypoints can be created and moved (see Path Editing). |
| Load Entity | Loads an entity file from any directory, places it into the map, and copies it into the map directory. Take care not to overwrite entities of the same name. |
| Load Sound | Loads a WAV or OGG file from any directory, places it as sound source into the map, and copies it into the map directory. |
| Load Prefab | Loads a prefabricated WMP map into the level. By default, the map content is grouped. For ungrouping it - for instance if you want to use a block it contains as a cutter for the CSG Subtract function - select Object / Grouping / Ungroup. If the map uses textures, they must also be made available in a WAD collection or texture folder. |
| Save Prefab | Saves the selected objects as an individual WMP map, for using it in other maps. |