dodbits

Text Editors.

There are some Tools to make life a little easier when modifying the HUD.

You can use the default Windows Notepad... it’s OK but not very friendly to use.

There are other text editors you can use. Here are a few from basic to more complex...

Windows WordPad... Better and does not seem to suffer from the problem pictured above. Still basic.

Microsoft word... it works. It’s a bit over the top for editing a config file, opening Word on lower spec PC’s takes time.

Notepad++... recommended.

• It numbers each line for reference.

• It adds an entry to the right click menu in XP.

• It can open another document in a tab (like the Firefox browser). This is handy when you are working on a lot of separate files ... or ... you want to look at a default file, just set the line number at the top and click between the two versions, using the tabs this way makes it extremely easy to spot differences and errors.

• It opens a vast amount of file types and has a huge range of tools.

• It’s fast and easy to read. Best of all... it is Open Source.

• Read more and download it here.

The VGUI Build Mode editor.

Note: Pre Orangebox dods ... this was working, now it's a little buggy, check the below link for future updates it may have.

There is a more visual way to move objects around the screen and save their positions.

If you have HL2 / Day of Defeat Source you already have a tool built-in. It’s called the VGUI Build Mode editor.

	...	Its a bit strange to get used to but very handy for a rough layout when you are starting a new screen.You can use it to get the basic positions of items and tidy it up with a text editor. It does have a few quirks and is a bit of a head scratch when you start using it. Normally when you want to start on an area, you extract a standard file from VALVe’s GCF files and edit it. When using the editor, you don't have to. Say you want to edit the Teamselect screen. You start up the game, bring up the teamselect screen, this stops the game (as far as that screen is concerned) and puts the game in an “edit mode”.
	...	Press “SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+B”... the editor will pop-up. Click on an item, like a button or an image, move it around with the mouse. Say you want to make the button bigger, press the “~” key this will escape into the Game Options/Console area of the game. Have a look at all the settings in the box, you can edit these and save the file.
A new file called teammenu.res will be created in the dod/resource/UI/ folder. Note: If you open this file with Windows notepad... it will look like a bit of a mess... get WordPad or higher to view the file the VGUI Build Mode editor makes.

There is another interesting thing I have seen this editor do, when I extract a file from the GCF files and compare it with one made from the editor... there is sometimes more information in it!

Why... I don’t know ;) Just keep an eye on that when you use the editor... you could find something new :)

Important! Maps can speed things up a lot!

That's right, a map. The size of a map is very important... the bigger the map the more time and system resources it will use.

If you are editing a file and you refresh the resolutions to show the changes... a small map can mean a time difference of 20 seconds..or more!

For DoD:S, to speed up editing, use these two dod maps they load very quickly and do not use much of your PC's resources. One was made from haircuts tutorial dods map The other from TOP GUN Mav tut map.

If you want to make your own, save a bit of time and alter haircuts version (.map format) files here . Those two maps have some text in the map description..binds and some hints.

For CS Source or other mods, use one of the small AIM maps.

Don't forget to set the map time to "0" so it won't load up big map... right when you are in the middle of something :)

When you choose a map in dods... "Create Server" in the pop up window that comes next, there is another tab to save that setting.

Turn off antivirus and other memory/system intensive services, use the smaller resolutions and test in the higher ones when you have a few things done.