Dark Messiah: Multi-Player Level Creation

← Dark Messiah Level Creation

The Multiplayer version of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic does not come with a separate SDK unlike with the singleplayer version of the game and as so require a longer setup process to function properly, however once done it becomes very easy to create maps for the game and at the same time excludes the use of the now obsolete Source SDK unlike earlier written versions of said setup guide. To be able to get this to work, both the singleplayer and multiplayer version of the game need to be installed (preferably on the same drive), plus it is a requirement that the Singleplayer SDK Installation process has already been completed and that it has been tested locally that being able to build and run maps for the singleplayer version of the game is possible.

VPK Extracting & Editor Assets

Start out by creating a backup of the folders: sound, models and materials located inside of "Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm" by renaming them (example by adding the postfix _backup) as these represent the singleplayer content and shall not get lost so it is always possible to switch back and fourth between developing maps for both game versions. Next you will need to extract the contents of the following VPK files located inside of the Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player/vpks folder with GCFScape to your Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player/mm folder:

• depot_2132_dir.vpk (models)
• depot_2133_dir.vpk (materials)
• depot_2134_dir.vpk (materials)
• depot_2135_dir.vpk (sounds)
• depot_2136_dir.vpk (sounds)

Next you will have to copy the folder /editor, now located inside of the backed up materials folders for the singleplayer version to the current active materials folder, as the multiplayer materials folder do not contain the editor texture files for hammer and therefore the program will not be able to open without it.

Configuring the Hammer Editor

Once all the files have been extracted, you still need to tell Hammer where to look for these files. To do this, open the GameConfig.txt file located in the /bin folder inside of the Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Single Player directory and add the following content above the "Dark Messiah" entry already in the file, in-between the Games clause. You also have to correct the $SteamUserDir strings below afterwards, to the directory where your steam library is located (example C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\):

"Dark Messiah MP"
{
	"GameDir"	"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm"
	"hammer"
	{
		"GameData0"	"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\cfg\base.fgd"
		"GameData1"	"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\cfg\MightAndMagic.fgd"
		"TextureFormat"	"5"
		"MapFormat"	"4"
		"DefaultTextureScale"	"0.250000"
		"DefaultLightmapScale"	"16"
		"GameExe"	"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\mm.exe"
		"DefaultSolidEntity"	"func_detail"
		"DefaultPointEntity"	"info_player_start"
		"BSP"	"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\bin\vbsp.exe"
		"Vis"	"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\bin\vvis.exe"
		"Light"	"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\bin\vrad.exe"
		"GameExeDir"		"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player"
		"MapDir"		"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\mm_content\mapsrc"
		"BSPDir"		"$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\maps"
		"CordonTexture"		"tools\toolsskybox"
		"MaterialExcludeCount"		"0"
	}
}

Post-setup process

At this point it should now be possible to development maps by launching the hammer editor from the bin folder of the singleplayer version of the game and choosing "Dark Messiah MP" configuration when asked. All official map sources are already included with the Multiplayer version and can be found in Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\mapsrc directory, which also can be opened to check that all game content such as materials and models are found successfully by the editor. From here on a basic test map should be created and compiled before creating more ambitious maps to ensure everything works as indented when run by the game. How to create a multiplayer map with the least amount of requirements can be found on either here on the wiki itself or by reading page six in the officially included pdf file inside of Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\Docs.

Note: Some displacement blend materials will still show up as missing and also no compiler configurations besides Full compile -both -final (slow!) will be available from the get go and will require additional setup.

Note: It also might not be possible to run the multiplayer version of the game once the map is compiled as hammer is unable to copy the mapfile outside of the main directory, as such make sure to copy the final compiled bsp map into the Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player\maps directory before running the game.

Where do I go from here?

• The Dark Messiah Level Creation is a good place to go if you are familiar with Source mapping already. If not, you will need to master the basics of Source level design first (Level Design).
• If you want to learn about how to create content for the Source Engine in general, the main page of the Source SDK documentation is a good place to start.

Bugs and issues

• Post all issues and bugs in the Messiah Steam Discussions Board.
• If you have a bug specific to the Dark Messiah SDK or game and perhaps know a fix, please add it as an entry to Dark Messiah Bugs.
• See the Source SDK FAQ for answers to general SDK questions.
• For level design and Hammer editor issues, see the Level Design FAQ.