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3 BASIC FUNCTIONS


3.1 THE FILE-MENU

3.1.1 NEW LEVEL AND LOAD LEVEL

It is possible to open more than one level simultaneously. Each level is assigned its own window, if this window is closed, the level is removed from memory (but not to worry ... Devil does prompt you if the level has been changed :-). Selecting either of these options will bring up a file-selection dialog panel.

3.1.2 SAVE LEVEL

The option allows to save the level you are working on. The file-selection dialog allows you to specify a new name for the disk version of the level but this doesn't count as a `real save' ...changes to the original level will still cause a prompt on exit. The quick-save function available via the `F2' key will automatically overwrite the version you loaded the level from.

I advise regular use of this save function ... particularly before using any of the special functions.

Before saving the level, Devil will check many diverse things; for an explanation of these, along with potential error messages, see Section 0.

3.1.3 SAVE LEVEL WITHOUT FULL LIGHTING INFORMATION

This option allows you to save the level without saving information for all lightsources. Only information for lightsources which could change during a game are saved.

See Section 7.2.3.1

3.1.4 SAVE TO DESCENT DIRECTORY

Use this option to save the level directly into the Descent directory. The message issued on a successful save says "as Devil Play level" ... but the actual name appearing in the Descent level list varies according to Devil version ... normally it's "Devil Level".

3.1.5 MISSION MANAGER

The Mission Manager is explained in Section 7.3.4

3.1.6 PLAY LEVEL

This menu option allows you to suspend Devil, invoke Descent to test the level (choose the `Devil Level' mission), and return to Devil again, without thereby changing the status quo in Devil (i.e. all levels remain the same, all tagged objects stay tagged etc.)

Translators Note:

If you find that you need to adjust the default parameters for this load of Descent, check the DESCENTSTART .BAT file specified in the CFG.BAT file in the Devil CONFIG directory. This file should be present in the DESCENTPATH directory.

Windows users may find it easier to load both Devil and Descent in separate windows and use the Alt-Tab function to jump between the two tasks. This avoids the overhead of loading Descent every time. You may find that the displays are not restored correctly when you return, so ensure that you save your level before jumping. It is adviseable to leave the Descent display at one of the menus and not in a level.

3.1.7 CHANGE FULL NAME

With this option you give the level the name which appears on the Descent Automap and level selection list. This is the name displayed on the level window frame in Devil.

3.1.8 SAVE/LOAD WINDOW POSITION

With these options you can place your preferred window arrangement into an external file and load them again whenever you like. The current level, edit position in the level, texture window zoom/pos./size are all saved. Devil normally creates this .WIN file by itself when you exit the editor, but with new installations or crashes this information could be deleted, lost or corrupt.

3.1.9 EXIT

You will be warned about any unsaved changes when this option is chosen. The current state and settings of the various buttons and windows are saved at this time. If you exit Devil with a level open, you current position in the level is also saved.

3.2 NAVIGATION IN THE LEVEL

3.2.1 THE CO-ORDINATE SYSTEM

Translators Note:

The x-axis is an imaginary line drawn horizontally from the left of the screen to the right.

The y-axis is an imaginary line drawn vertically from the top of the screen to the bottom.

The z-axis is an imaginary line drawn from yourself to the screen.

The points in a level are stored in a 3 dimensional co-ordinate system (x,y,z) called Vertices.

These co-ordinates represent distance from an origin (0,0,0) in either positive or negative directions. For example, (20,0,-20) is 20 units "right" parallel to the x-axis in the positive direction and 20 units parallel to the z-axis in the negative direction (i.e., "towards you").

See Section 3.2.5 for aligning to the co-ordinate system.

See Section 7.6.1 for a description of the co-ordinate axis display.

3.2.2 WITH THE MOUSE

If you click in the level window with the right mouse-button and keep it pressed, you can move yourself around in the level (you don't move the level but rather move yourself, as in Descent). The following combinations apply:

* Right mouse button only: Move yourself forward/backward and spin yourself around the z-axis (i.e. the direction of view).

* Shift+right mouse-button: Slide left/right/up/down.

* Left+right mouse-button: Turn around the x/y-axis.

* Shift+left+right mouse-button: Only makes any sense in double view: Turn around the point which bisects both z-axes in the left and right views.

* Ctrl+right mouse-button: Fly forward.

While it is evident here that every mouse-button is used multiple times and the concept may not be dreadfully simple, a similar layout applies to the movement of things and the movement of textures. This is, therefore, the standard Devil mouse paradigm.

3.2.3 WITH THE BUTTONS

If the `Movemode' status is set to `Move you', the six large push-buttons apply to movement within a level in Devil. With the left mouse-button you turn yourself and with the right mouse-button you move yourself around your current position.

3.2.4 WITH THE KEYBOARD

Movement in the level is also possible with the keyboard, for that you use the numeric keypad, you cannot use the up/down/left/right keys in Devil. Be sure that NumLock is activated. You move forward with 'a' and back with 'z' (the Descent default set-up), turn left with '4' and right with '6'. Depending on the state of the "Internal->Move&Display->Flip y-axis" setting the '8' and '2' keys have different meanings. If "Flip y-axis" is set to 'yes', then you will pitch forward with '8' and pitch backward with '2'. If "Flip y-axis" is set to 'no', then it is reversed so that '2' pitches forward and '8' pitches backward. Shift-'4' will slide you left, Shift-'6' slide right, Shift-'8' slide up and Shift-'2' will slide you down. Finally '1' is bank left (rotate counter-clockwise) and '3' will bank right (clockwise rotation). In Section 8.1 you'll find a complete list of available keys in Devil.

3.2.5 SPECIAL ALIGNMENT FUNCTIONS

With `Move->beam to current object' you can `zoom' yourself to the current object and with `Move->align to...', can align yourself (your direction of view) to a particular spatial axis. This function does not apply to aligning an object (side, cube) to an axis if the movemode is set to `move object' ... for that you should rather use the grid option.

Translators Note:

It is easier to maintain symmetry and regular shapes when objects move parallel to the co-ordinate axes. Regularity is often desired, but of course not absolutely necessary. Alignment gives you rounder numbers for co-ordinates without requiring (snap to) grid to be turned on and aligning yourself to an axis means that when you move yourself in or out, you will stay on an axis. Points and sides moved from this position will also tend to stay aligned to the grid ... just try it. Another benefit of aligning to an axis is repeatability. If you are used to looking down on your level along the negative y-axis, you can quickly return to a previous position and orientation.

Example: Assume that you prefer to work in "plan" (like looking at a house plan, from "above"). To view a cube side, you might zoom to a point on the side, align yourself to the negative y-axis, and then back up to view the point and surrounding features from above. If you then move the point, it will slide along the x, y or z-axis nicely. If you had not aligned to an axis, the point would probably move in a direction not parallel to any axis.

You can save view positions with Ctrl+F1 - F10 and restore these again with Shift+F1 - -F10. With Ctrl+F11 you may attain an overview of the level (hereby simply being moved backwards against the view direction as far as is required for you to see the whole level), and with Shift+F11 return again to the position you were before you pressed Ctrl+F11. Ctrl/Shift+F12 applies when making corridors with the corridor-generator (see Section 7.1.7).

3.3 SELECTING THE CURRENT OBJECT

3.3.1 WITH THE MOUSE

The easiest way to select the current object is to press the left mouse-button in the level window and keep it pressed. This enables "scan mode" ... where a white circle appears and inside the circle a max. of three smaller green and violet circles may be displayed (and possibly additional lines displayed outside the circle) which indicate a particular object to be tagged. If you release the left button again, the object selected is the one identified by the green color. You can only select objects which conform to the current mode, i.e. in cube mode only cubes, in side mode only sides etc. Objects to be tagged are indicated as follows:

* Cubes are indicated by a circle through their mid-point and lines from the mid-point to their corners.

* Sides are indicated by a circle in their mid-point and lines from the mid-point to their corners. If the side is joined, the circle is displaced a little toward the inside (i.e. in the direction of the cube mid-point) so that you can differentiate one side from the other.

* Edges are indicated by a circle which is displaced in the direction of the mid-point of the side. Furthermore, three lines are drawn from the circle: a short one to the indicated edge and two longer ones to both neighboring edges on the same side of this edge.

* Points are simply indicated by a circle.

* Walls are indicated by a circle around the intersection of the two wall-marker lines.

Things are indicated by a circle around the intersection of their lines or by a circle around the midpoint of the imaginary line between the two bottom points of the Thing.

3.3.2 WITH THE OBJECT WINDOW, MENU OPTIONS, KEYS

The current object can be selected directly by number in the appropriate window or by simply `flipping' through all the objects (see Section 4 for this.). With the Menu option `Move->go to wall', you can also set the current cube and the current side to the side of the cube which contains the current wall.

With `Move->change to sidecube' you can select the cube next to the current cube, which is joined to the current cube via the current side. This can be quite useful if you want to move through a corridor on one go.

If you set the `Movemode' switch to `Select Cube', then you can select the current Side using the left mouse-button and can change the current Cube using the right mouse-button by clicking on the large arrow-key pointing in the desired direction.

3.4 MOVING OBJECTS

3.4.1 WITH THE MOUSE

You can move the objects of the current mode with the mouse, by initially pressing and holding the left mouse-button as when selecting an object. However instead of releasing the left mouse-button again when the marker is over the desired object, you press the right mouse-button as well and, keeping the left button held down, you can then move the object as follows (the motion is relative to the viewer unless the object is a thing with orientation, e.g. a robot, in which case the motion is relative to the co-ordinate system of the thing, but the movement is always still relative to the co-ordinate system of the user. This may sound somewhat confusing, but with use is hopefully not.)

* Right mouse-button only: Move forward/backwards and turn around the z-axis (i.e. the direction of view).

* Shift+right mouse-button: Slide left/right/up/down (i.e. in the x/y-plane).

* left+right mouse-button: Turn around the x/y-axis.

The layout is the same layout you use when moving yourself. (if this makes sense)

If you press Ctrl before you the press the right mouse-button and keep it pressed, the white circle turns blue and you can move all tagged objects. (All objects affected by this move will turn brown.)

An example: To move the one side of a room made up of four cubes, select one of the Sides and then click on `Tag flat sides' to tag the other three sides. Press the left mouse-button for scan mode, hold it down and press Ctrl as well (the scan circle turns blue). Move the mouse until you have one of the tagged sides indicated in green then press the right mouse-button as well (all affected sides will turn brown). At this point you may release the Ctrl key ... as long as you hold either the left or the right mouse-button down movement affects all four sides as a unit. You can alternate between the left and right mouse-buttons to turn , twist and move backwards and forwards. Press shift to move them up and down.

3.4.2 MOVING TEXTURES

In Side mode you can move the texture on a side instead of the side itself. In order for this to make sense, texture rendering must naturally be turned on and the current side must be visible from your point of view. In this case similar movement rules as normal movement rules apply:

To activate this mode, select the side as normal using the left mouse-button and while holding it down, press Alt as well and then click the right mouse-button once. As long as you continue to keep at least one of the mouse buttons pressed, you can release the Alt key.

The following combinations apply :-

* Left mouse-button only: Rotate texture.

* Left+right mouse-button: Rotate texture.

* Right mouse-button only: Enlarge/Reduce and rotate texture.

* Shift+either mouse-button: Shift texture left/right/up/down.

It must be pointed out at this stage that the moving of points/cubes/sides causes the texture alignment on the affected sides to be re-calculated, so that a laboriously hand-fitted texture would need to be re-aligned. In order to prevent this you must lock the side (see Section 4.3).

3.4.3 WITH THE PUSH-BUTTONS

If the `Movemode' status is set to `Move object' (this toggling is also possible using the `Tab' key), the six large push-buttons (as well as the corresponding keys on the keyboard) apply to the movement of all tagged objects in the current mode. `Current mode' refers to the object mode which is specified by the `Modify what' status toggle-switch and can also be switched by clicking on the object menu-bars. All tagged Things would be moved if the `Modify what' status is set to `Thing'.

How you move the object depends on the type of the object being moved:

Things/Sides/Cubes/Points are moved if you press the right mouse button and you have some of them tagged.

* Cubes: Cubes can be moved in all three spatial directions with the right mouse button. The movement is relative to the viewer, i.e. if you click on the left upper key with the right mouse button then the cube is moved towards you. Cubes are rotated relative to the center of the current side. All tagged cubes and the current cube are rotated with the left and right upper keys, only all tagged cubes are rotated with the left and right lower keys. The first function can be undone by simply clicking the opposite key, the second only if the current cube has not been changed. The second function is more useful if you want to build curved or spiral corridors. With both the center keys cubes can be rotated in an arc about a point perpendicular to the current side.

Translators Note: With the left mouse-button, all tagged cubes and the current cube are rotated according to the keys, but the bottom-left and bottom-right keys only affect the tagged cubes. The right mouse-button only works on tagged cubes

Regarding rotation ... the green edge indicated by the yellow and purple lines becomes the axis, if that makes any sense at all. In fact the axis lies in the middle of the current side.

* Sides: Sides move just as with cubes but cannot be rotated at all.

* Point: Points also move just as cubes move and can naturally also not be rotated. With Points there is the possibility of specifying the co-ordinates directly in the provided window, see Section 4 about this.

* Walls/Edges: Walls/Edges can neither be moved nor rotated (except naturally together with the side upon which they find themselves).

* Things: Things without special orientation (such as those represented by 3D-Crosses) move as Points do - relative to the viewer and they cannot be rotated. Things with orientation (Robots, Player-starts and also Hostages) can be moved and rotated as the user can, as if it were you turning and moving. So a tagged object can travel `forwards' (i.e. in the direction of the large arrow-point) if you use the right mouse-button on the key top-right and in the upward direction (i.e. in the direction the short arrow-point) with the key top-center.

Translator's Note: The complete paradigm for mouse-mode editing is as follows :

* Click on the menu bar for the object you want to edit (Cube, Side, Thing or Point)

* Click in the level window with the left mouse-button and keep it pressed while you highlight the object you wish to edit (within the white scan circle)

* Still keeping the left mouse-button pressed, click the right mouse-button once. (Any lines connected to the object in question will be turned brown.)

* Now move the mouse to shift the object

* Releasing the left mouse-button takes you out of point edit mode.

* For Point mode editing, which is very useful when making major or minor adjustments to cubes or sides, you will need to press the Shift key to enable editing mode.

If you need to move a Thing a long way, i.e., into another cube, the easiest way to do it is to make it the current Thing, make the destination cube current and then select `Move->move thing to cube', which will center the Thing in the current cube.

3.4.4 ERROR MESSAGES DURING MOVEMENT

When rotating or turning cubes and also when moving points and sides it can happen that Devil detects and reports that the cube is no longer convex or that a side of the cube is twisted. By checking these things, Devil avoids creating cubes that Descent can't handle. This check can be disabled in the `Internal' Window. Interested readers can find out more about this in Section 8.3, normal level-builders can simply be content with these messages and try to reach their goal by different means.

3.5 TAGGING OBJECTS

Objects can be tagged in many different ways:

* Pressing the spacebar tags the current object of the current mode. Shift-spacebar tags (or untags) all the objects of the current mode.

* Using the `special tags' as discussed in Section 7.3

* As when selecting, you press the left mouse-button and keep it pressed. If you then also press `Ctrl', the object identified at the time by the green marker will be tagged.

* By using the button in the appropriate element windows, see Section 4.1.

Multiple objects can be tagged simultaneously by drawing a rectangle with the mouse in the level window. For this you firstly press `Ctrl' and keep it pressed, then click the left mouse-button in the level window, hold the button pressed and enclose in the rectangle all objects that should be tagged. Only objects of the current mode within the current visibility-depth will be tagged and then only if they lie completely within the box. Using the right button you can add more objects to those already tagged.


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