Editors & Tools
id Tech provides a combination of editors and tools you can use to create your mod.
This page uses the following terms:
- A tool is something you use to perform a specific task, like setting up an encounter or creating a spline.
- An editor is a collection of tools you use to achieve something more complex. For example, the World Editor enables you to build your game's levels, or you can change the look and feel of Materials inside the Materials Editor.
Some of the editors or tools may have similar names. This page provides an overview of the major editors and tools available to you in id Tech.
The use of various id Tech Engine tools is covered in detail in feature-specific documentation. Links to relevant documentation are located after each section below.
idStudio Editors
World Editor (2D) & World Camera (3D)
The World Editor is the primary editor for constructing gameplay levels. This is where you create maps by drawing brushes, adding different types of entities (such as models or lights), and adding gameplay elements like triggers. By default, when you create or open a project, id Tech will open the World Editor.
Example Usage:
- Build a test map to test out your newly created mods
- Design a new map in the game
- Add new entities (triggers, pickups, enemies, architecture, etc.) to an existing map
For more information, see: World Editor & World Camera
Material Editor
The Material Editor is used to create and edit materials that will be rendered in the game. This editor presents structured material data (such as assigned material textures or shaders), and allows the user to easily create and edit this data.
Example Usage:
- Create a new material that represents an effect, such as water or sparks
- Create a new material for a model or character
For more information, see: Material Editor
Material Painter
The Material Painter allows the user to paint over a model (or set of models) with more than one material. This editor provides fine control over material blending on a model. The Material Editor is used almost exclusively in environment art.
Example Usage:
- Make different pieces of a wall look mossy, or muddy, or broken, instead of all rendering with one material
For more information, see: Material Painter
Animated Model Editor
The Animated Model Editor provides several tools that are useful while editing the id Tech proprietary MD6 animation format. This editor provides options for animation tagging, gore wound setup, and AI collision setup. The Animated Model Editor is generally used for AI character art and animation setup.
Example Usage:
- Set up the animations for an imp (how it moves/runs)
- Tag the animations so the imp has footstep sounds as it moves
For more information, see: Animated Model Editor
Static Model Editor
The Static Model Editor is used to preview the look, collision, and destruction of Static Mesh entities, as well as to set and manipulate their properties.
Example Usage:
- Preview the looks of a newly imported model
- Set up model Level of Detail (LOD)
- Set up a destructible model
For more information, see: Static Model Editor
Logic Designer
Logic Designer is a complete gameplay scripting system based on the concept of using a node-based interface to create gameplay elements from within idStudio. This editor allows the user to create an immersive, interactive environment by outlining how different entities interact during gameplay.
Example Usage:
- Design a chain of events to work together for specific gameplay
- Make a screen light up only when the player looks at it
- Trigger a cut scene
For more information, see: Logic Designer
Scene Director
Scene Director is the primary tool you will be using to create cinematic content (cut scenes) in idStudio. id Tech contains robust cinematic tools enabling you to create animated and cinematic sequences. With a level loaded in World Editor and entities to be animated, you can pilot cameras to create level fly-throughs, animate lights, move objects, animate characters, render output sequences, and more.
Example Usage:
- Create a cut scene in the game that progresses the narrative by showing the player interacting with an NPC
AnimWeb Editor
The AnimWeb Editor is used to build AI movement and state-driven behaviors. This editor uses a decl graph to define different states that an AI moves between.
Example Usage:
- Set up an AI’s walk/run/attack cycle animations (e.g. when does an AI run toward a player and when does it attack)
Particle Editor
The Particle Editor is one of the primary tools used to create visual effects (VFX) inside idStudio. It helps effects artists create the particle systems used to simulate things like fire, smoke, weapon impacts, and other visual effects.
Example Usage:
- Create a particle effect that looks like fire
For more information, see: Particle Editor
FX Editor
The FX Editor is used by effects artists to combine particles, sounds, lights, and other effects into an FX decl, which can then be used in cinematics, MD6s, maps, etc.
Example Usage:
- Package the entire effect for a fire (light/sound/particles)
For more information, see: FX Editor
Environment Editor
The Environment Editor allows a designer to create or edit an environment decl which can be applied to an environment area in a map and will alter certain render parameters in the area during runtime. An environment decl may define settings for color correction, HDR, lens effects, sun and sky, water, and other environment-related parameters.
Example Usage:
- Create a dark, moody sky
For more information, see: Environment Editor Reference
Decl Editor
The Decl Editor displays all available variables for any code object that can be loaded in the game. The base decl sets the initial values of these variables, but these variables can be easily customized by making changes to the decl. The Decl Editor allows the user to edit all of the data associated with any decl.
Example Usage:
- Modify the ammo count of the super shotgun
For more information, see: Decl Editor Reference
Table Editor
The Table Editor is a specialized decl editor for editing table decls. Table decls are used to assign changing parametric values to a property of an entity (described as a curve on a graph). Table decls are useful in situations where values need to change over time, such as setting up flickering lighting effects, or adding acceleration and deceleration curves to moving entities.
Example Usage:
- Change the spawn rate of an entity over time (described as a curve on a graph)
For more information, see: Table Editor
String Editor
The String Editor is used for modifying, adding, or deleting language in the game. Any written words in the game (menu options, voice-over scripts, objective lists, tutorial language, codex information, etc.) can be edited using the String Editor.
Example Usage:
- Edit the character codex
For more information, see: String Editor
World Editor Tools
Below is a list of tools used for world editing in idStudio.
While many of these tools use the name editor, they are considered tools and are accessed via the Tools Menu in the World Editor toolbar.
Animation Preview
Animation Preview allows the user to preview animated entities' animations inside World Editor.
Example Usage:
- Preview a traversal
- Preview an animated door
- Preview geomcache alembics (streamed geom animations)
For more information, see: Animation Preview
Surface Inspector
Surface Inspector is used for modifying the material textures applied to brush surfaces.
Example Usage:
- Change the scale of a material on a brush (make it fit the brush or make it have more repeats)
For more information, see: Surface Inspector
Traversal Editor
The Traversal Editor is used to generate and place traversal entities that AI will use to traverse the environment.
Example Usage:
- Create a traversal entity so an AI will jump over a chasm or climb a wall
For more information, see: Traversal Editor Reference
Decal Editor
The Decal Editor is used to place and manipulate decals on static meshes in the environment.
Example Usage:
- Place dirt, grime, blood, lettering, stripes, algae, symbols, etc.
For more information, see: Decal Editor
Spline Editor
Splines are a flexible system for creating any linear feature that needs to conform to a Landscape, and can even push and pull the terrain to better facilitate building these features. They are created and edited using the Spline Editor.
Example Usage:
- Create a path that a camera might fly down or a mover will traverse
For more information, see: Spline Editor
Entity Inspector
Use the Entity Inspector to modify the selected entity in the level.
Example Usage:
- Modifying an entity’s spawn data
- Modify light falloff/intensity
For more information, see: Entity Inspector Reference
Encounter Manager
The Encounter Manager provides features for creating complex combat encounters. Use this tool to set up an encounter script that controls the spawning of AI throughout an encounter.
Example Usage:
- Create a fight with multiple waves of AI upon entering a room
For more information, see: Create An Encounter
Groups
A level can be made out of hundreds or even thousands of parts. Managing these pieces can quickly become overwhelming. Creating a group for your entities can help you quickly select all items in a logical group. The Groups tool allows you to assign entities to groups and toggle visibility and selection states of those groups.
Example Usage:
- Assign geometry to the nav group to build the nav mesh
- Hide all gameplay entities (triggers, volumes, traversals, encounters, etc.)
For more information, see: Groups Tool Reference
Layers
Layers allow the user to spawn or despawn groups of items. A layer can be activated/deactivated immediately or on next map load. Layers can be used to add checkpoints, improve performance, change level geometry and control complex logic.
Example Usage:
- Hide or show certain entities based on a player's progression through the map
- i.e. A map might be pristine the first time a player passes through, but may replace some of the geometry with post-explosion, damaged geometry the second time a player passes through.
For more information, see: Layers Tool Reference
Map Manager
The Map Manager allows you to create, view, and switch refmaps within the current map. A reference map is typically used to group related entities into one map. For example, a root map may contain all the level geometry and contain reference maps for AI traversals, encounters, lighting, sound, effects, clip brushes, item pickups, and so on.
Example Usage:
- While editing the level, use the Map Manager to allow you to work with only decals, or only lights, in the map.
For more information, see: Map Manager
View Options
The View Options tool provides all of the rendering settings (displayed as toggles) for the viewport. These toggles control which types of entities are visible inside the World Editor
Example Usage:
- Use this tool to display things like nav mesh and target lines in your map.
For more information, see: View Options
Map Info Tool
The Map Info tool articulates the budgets and usages for resources in the currently selected map. By using this tool, you can easily determine whether you have reached a hard limit in memory or if a level could perform better with certain changes.
Example Usage:
- View your usage of render models, static & dynamic lights, etc. to address performance issues
For more information, see: Map Info Tool