EDITOR  
for Qfrag

SETUP

In the menu SETUP/CONTROLS/MISC there is a key bind for the Editor and in the start server menu SERVER/ADMIN there is the on/off selection of the map editor.  Also if you use your mouse to move in the game it would be advisable to bind a additional key to move around will using the Editor, due to it usage of the mouse for it functions.



CONSOLE COMMANDS

editor
Starts the editor. Actual editing is all done by the menu-system which this command starts. To stop the editor, select "Exit" from the editor menu.

editsave ( type nothing else)
Saves a map config of the map name.  This command automatically saves a map config with the map name.  The "Save Changes" in the Editor menu does this for you so the console is not required.  Example: If the map your editing is q3dm12 when you select Save Changes the file is saved for you as q3dm12.cfg in the maps folder.

editsaveas
Saves a map config. This command requires the console but it makes thing easier. If you want more than one .cfg of a specific map then this command is required.  I will explain it to you by example. Example: If the map your editing is q3dm12 then type /editsaveas ctf and the output file name will be q3dm12_ctf. cfg . The map name and Underscore( _ ) is automatically added.  Don't get carried away with your added text or the filenames will get awful long. Do not specify an extension.

editload
Loads a map config. Specify the filename after the command. Do not specify an extension.


CONSOLE VARIABLES

name type values/default synopsis
ge_DefaultOverride boolean 1 = enabled (default)
0 = disabled		 Sets behaviour of auto-loading configs with the same name as the BSP.
ge_Extension string "cfg" Determines the extension to use for map-configs. This applies to saving AND loading of config files. Changing this to "cfg" can be used to resolve a purity issue for listen servers (if they have to run with purity on).

enable_Editor         Cvar       1 = enabled    (default)                     
0 = disabled		 Allows use of the Editor. There is a menu select called LOCKOUT EDITOR which will disable the editor and restart the map to make sure all players are locked out.  The console command /enable _Editor 1 is the only way to unlock it in the game.

MESSAGES FROM SERVER-ED

ServerEd refers to the "Server-Side Editor" (also referred to as SSE). Server-Ed is the only piece of the complete editor which is truly in control and is always running. The other two components (UIED and CSED, User-Interface-Editor and Client-Side Editor respectively) are dormant most of the time and do little in terms of access control or any real work.

ServerEd occasionally generates messages with degrees of importance. These messages generally fall into 3 catergories and are denoted by the way they begin - as follows:

ServerEd:
These are notifications. They are generally just a response to a command or a piece of information that may be useful. They can safely be ignored.

ServerEd: WARNING:
The editor was asked to perform an action which has failed (or was denied). The message indicates what went wrong. No state was lost and the editor is still functional.
If this was in response to a UIED or CSED command, the offending client may have their visual editor terminated.

ServerEd: ERROR:
These are bad. The editor has aborted internally due to either a state condition or bad data. State has been lost and the editor may have shutdown completely (requiring a map-change to reset it).


TIPS & TRICKS

If you are a map-maker you can use this mod to generate your item layout. Produce your BSP as normal with no items. Play the mod with some friends and drop into edit-mode to move stuff around and tweak the layout while you play. Use "Save Changes" or the console command "editsaveas" to save the variation. The file that the editor creates is bonafide ".map" compatible format (minus the geometry - worldspawn - information) which you can simply copy & paste back into your real map file and recompile.

Configs are ".cfg" compatible and as such can be editted manually. Anything that Q3Radiant produces can be added to a map-config and it will load as if Q3Radiant has produced it. A config is capable of far more complex item arrangements than the visual editor exposes. eg. The editor generally doesn't involve itself with "targets", but these can be added to a config manually and they will work.

F2, F3 and F4 can be used to snap and/or lock any of the three axes. Each time your press one of these keys the respective axis cycles through it's snap options; n/a, 5, 10, 20, lock.

F5 can be used to resolve item selection issues where more than one item exists in the same location. Pressing it repeatedly cycles through all items that appear within close proximity to each other. Moving the focus (too much) during this time will reset the selection mechanism.

F8 toggles "menu locking". When activated, the menu becomes locked on it's current selection until you press either mouse button or F8 again. This can be useful when trying to focus a "hard to get" item and simultaneously get the menu option right.

SPECIAL: There are special circumstances where you may need to edit a item location more than once.  Using q3dm3 map as a example the rocket launcher when picked up spawns a plasma gun next.  It has a multi-spawn location and there is 1 rocket launcher and 2 plasma guns that have to be changed for the effect.  The catch is that when you edit the first plasma gun the item disappears and doesn't return.  You must Save Changes then exit the editor and do a map restart to get it to work again.  Then pick up the items over an over until you see the 2nd plasma gun that needs editing and again Save Changes and exit the editor do a map restart and there it is.


Frequently Asked Questions

Because at least two of my friends would kill me. Besides, configs are tiny and clients don't require any download to play a modified map.

Probably not. Although this is feasible, it requires the client to have the editor (or at least some portion of it) and that's something I want to avoid.

Probably a purity issue. Listen servers have really screwy rules for purity. Sometimes the files can be opened and sometimes purity denies it. Either switch off purity or change the cvar "ge_Extension" to "cfg".

When running on an impure server, "Show Changes" -> "All clients see this" is a lie. For a client to actually see the changes, said client must have the complete editor mod.

Think of it as a feature and the problem goes away. There is a single global UNDO list, each change made is logged into the list at the time it took place.

You can't. When a config loads, the editor can't actually tell the difference between something which has changed and something that is as it was. Everything is defined by the config, not just the changes.

The editor is protecting you. Quake3 gets upset if it can't find any spawn-points. During load-time the editor remembers two of the spawn-points from the original BSP and brings them into existence if the config doesn't have any of it's own (which keeps Quake3 happy).


CREATOR OF EDITOR

Andrew "D!ABLO" Ryder
www.shadowflare.com