User:EOBGames/Mapping using StrongDMM

Related guides: Guide to mapping, Understanding SS13 code, SS13 for experienced programmers and Map Merger

A Layman's Guide to StrongDMM

Note, this guide is intended to be used to learn StrongDMM as a mapping tool. It will not include information on map balance or using git to PR your changes. For these, please refer to their respective guides. So, you've decided you want to map, and someone has recommended StrongDMM to you as a tool for mapping.

What is StrongDMM?

StrongDMM is an alternative to DreamMaker, made and maintained by _spair. It can be downloaded from Github here: https://github.com/SpaiR/StrongDMM

Downloading and installing StrongDMM

In order to use StrongDMM, you should first download it from Github. I would strongly recommend downloading the launcher, as it will handle updates and generally make your life easier. Download it, run the installer, and the launcher will fetch the latest version. Congratulations, you have now successfully installed StrongDMM.

Basics

To begin with, you'll want to open a DreamMaker Environment file, or .dme file, as your mapping environment. To do so, click File/Open Environment... and then navigate to your .dme file. Open this and StrongDMM will parse the environment. You will now have access to the object tree, seen on the right. From here, open a map file by clicking File/Open Map...

Welcome to the map editor view. You can navigate via the mouse- holding middle mouse will enable scrolling around the map, and you can zoom via the mouse wheel. Alternatively, the arrow keys can be used to scroll.

There are three placement options available: Tile, Fill, and Select, accessible via the small icons near the top of the editor view, or via the 1, 2 and 3 keys, respectively. Tile places your selected item on the highlighted tile. Fill allows you to place items on every tile in your selection via clicking and dragging. Select allows selecting an area for copying or deletion.

You can select an item from the map by shift-clicking it. This will make it your active item for placing.

==Changing