Creating a Map
This is the first of a series of tutorials written to introduce the basics of the SLADE3 map editor. Starting off with the most basic of the basics: creating a new, empty map.
First up, we need to select a Base Resource to use for the map we are about to create. As we will be creating a map for Doom 2, we will want to select 'doom2.wad' as the base resource, either by selecting it from the dropdown, or adding doom2.wad to the list if it is not there already (see Base Resource for more info).
Now we will need to create an archive (wad) to contain the map. It is possible to create a map without performing this step first (File -> New Map), but for the purposes of this tutorial we will be doing it this way, so as to show how to create new maps in existing archives also. As we have not opened anything yet, the start page should be showing. Click on the 'Create Wad Archive' link, and a new tab will open for the new, unsaved wad archive.
Next up we have to create a new map in the archive. To do this, either select 'Archive -> Map Editor' in the menu, or click the (M) icon on the toolbar.
This will bring up the map editor launcher dialog. We have to select a few things first:
The 'Game' dropdown is a list of supported games for the map editor. For this tutorial we want to select 'Doom 2'.
The 'Port' dropdown is a list of supported source ports for the map editor. Each port may not support every game in the games list (eg. Boom does not support Hexen). Additionally, depending on the game+port combination, certain map formats may not be supported (eg. Boom+Doom 2 only supports doom format maps). For this tutorial, select the port 'None'. 'None' means the 'vanilla' executable for the selected game.
Next up, click on the 'New Map' button. This will bring up a dialog to select the map name and format.
As we have selected 'Doom 2' and 'None' for the game and port, the map name will show as a dropdown and the only selectable map format will be doom. If an advanced port was selected that allows non-standard map names, the map name dropdown will also allow entry of anything for the map name. Have MAP01 selected as the map name and click OK.
Now we have created the empty map in the archive, it should show up in the list as '(D) MAP01', with a tick icon to the left. The '(D)' before the map name is the map format, where in this case D means doom format. The tick icon indicates that the map format is supported by the currently selected game and port above. Now either click OK or double-click the MAP01 item in the list, which will open up the map editor window with the newly created empty MAP01.
For a more detailed overview of the map editor launcher dialog and its features see here