Dark Messiah: Single-Player Level Creation

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Dark Messiah Single-Player Hammer Startup.
Note.pngNote:This tutorial is an edited version of the translation found in the [Steam Users' Forums]. There is also a tutorial on how to setup the 2007/2009 versions of the SDK for developing Dark Messiah maps: Dark Messiah: Single-Player Level Creation (Source SDK 2007/2009)

Setting up the SDK for Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

Requirements

  1. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Single-Player SDK ( Found at: http://www.moddb.com/games/dark-messiah-of-might-magic/downloads/dark-messiah-might-and-magic-sdk )
  2. GCFScape
  3. 7-Zip ( Found at: http://www.7-zip.org/ )

Installing the SDK

  1. Extract the contents of 'mm_sdk_sp.7z' using 7-Zip. It should contain two Game Cache Files.
  2. With GCFScape installed, double-click a Game Cache File to open it. In the window that appears, select all folders and extract them to: Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player

Extracting the Dark Messiah VPKs

Now you need to extract the contents of the following Dark Messiah VPK (Valve Pak) files into your Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player folder, because the editor cannot access the VPK files itself. Use GCFScape again to extract the contents of:

  • depot_2103_dir.vpk (models)
  • depot_2104_dir.vpk (materials)
  • depot_2105_dir.vpk (materials for models)
  • depot_2106_dir.vpk (materials for levels)
  • depot_2107_dir.vpk (sounds)
  • depot_2108_dir.vpk (more sounds)

These VPK files can be found in the Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\vpks folder and need to be extracted to:

Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player

Configuring the Hammer Editor

Once all the files have been extracted, you still need to tell the Hammer editor where to look for these files. To do this, open the GameConfig.txt file located at:

Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin\GameConfig.txt

Replace the contents of the GameConfig.txt with the code below. You may have to correct the whole path: 

"Configs"
{
    "Games"
    {
        "Dark Messiah"
        {
            "GameDir" "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm"
            "hammer"
            {
                "GameData0" "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin\halflife2.fgd"
                "TextureFormat" "5"
                "MapFormat" "4"
                "DefaultTextureScale" "0.250000"
                "DefaultLightmapScale" "16"
                "GameExe" "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm.exe"
                "DefaultSolidEntity" "func_detail"
                "DefaultPointEntity" "info_player_start"
                "BSP" "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin\vbsp.exe"
                "Vis" "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin\vvis.exe"
                "Light" "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin\vrad.exe"
                "GameExeDir" "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player"
                "MapDir" "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm_content\mapsrc"
                "BSPDir" "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm\maps"
                "CordonTexture" "tools\toolsskybox"
                "MaterialExcludeCount" "0"
            }
        }
    }
    "SDKVersion" "1"
}

Using the editor for map creation

Open "hammer.exe" located in:

Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin
Note.pngNote:If you have compiled a map, it might be wise to close hammer before starting the game, otherwise the editor may lock up.

Playing Your Maps

To play a map you must enable the developer console:

  1. Open Steam
  2. Right click on Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player
  3. Click on 'Properties'
  4. Click on 'Set Launch Options...'
  5. Enter 
    -console
  6. Start the game
  7. Access the console by pressing '~', and type: 
    map <mapname>
    Example:
    map sp_tutorialmap


Known Bugs and Issues

Shading Issue

Problem: In the 3D viewport ‘3D Textured Shaded' looks the same as ‘3D Textured'.
Solution: There is no current solution to this. As a workaround, you could create the brushes of your map in a different Hammer editor. Any Source Engine game that ships with the Hammer editor will work for this. You can then later add models and entities in the Dark Messiah editor.

White Textures

Problem: Some textures appear white in the editor.
Solution: Open the affected textures' .vmt files and remove or comment out the "$envmap" and "$normalmapalphaenvmapmask" parameters.

NPC Model Issue

Problem: Some NPCs look like a different NPC type: E.g. a Goblin has the appearance of a dragon.
Solution: This happens when you copy and paste an NPC entity or when you duplicate a NPC entity and change the entity type. Make sure that you correct the model after duplicating an existing NPC.

Links and Citations

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