Guided Tour

Welcome to 3D GameStudio! This tutorial is intended to give users a guided tour for creating amazing 3D games with the WED editor. Of course, not all functions are covered here in depth - especially not C-script, the programming language of 3D GameStudio. This is covered in the scripting tutorial - and besides, you won't need scripting at first. For a description of all WED functions, click Functions in the left button frame. For a list of the keyboard and mouse shortcuts, click Shortcuts.

And for walking the guided tour, just select one lesson after the other by clicking the buttons on the left side, beginning with Basics.

What You Should Know
In the following diagram you see the workflow and the elements from which a game can be created with 3D GameStudio. Using external tools, like 3D editors or a programming environment, is optional:

External Editors (Worldcraft™, Milkshape™, Truespace™, 3DS MAX™, Bryce™ etc. )

Programming
Environment
C++
or
Delphi™
 
 
   
WED
 MED

Paint Program

 Text Editor 
 Block 
Prefab
(WMP)
Sublevel
(WMB)
Light
Sound
Model
(MDL)
Terrain
(HMP)
Sprite,Decal
(PCX, BMP, TGA)
Textures 
(WAD)
Compiled Game Levels
(WMB)
 C-Script 
(WDL)
Plugin 
(DLL)
Finished Game
( EXE)

A 3D game level - a Map - is built from 3D objects that consist of basic Blocks. Image patterns, named Textures, are mapped onto the surfaces of the blocks. Blocks can be of any shape, and their material can have certain properties, like being passable or impassable. How impressive the level will look depends on the lighting.

Lighting can make or break a game. Lights and shadows are an important feature of the A5 engine and a very powerful tool you have at your disposal. Play around with colored and white lights, they can really add atmosphere to a level. One caution though: don't use lighting as a way to hide a poorly designed level. Good lighting cannot save a bad level. But bad lighting can destroy a good level. Despite GameStudio's 3D engine achieves the same graphics quality as Quake3™, Unreal™ or other high-end game engines, your levels will look amateurish if you don't light them correctly!

The WED editor saves and loads maps and prefabricated 3D objects as WMP files. The textures are done with each paint program and then stored in WAD collections by WED's texture manager. Within a map, further maps can be placed, as well as other objects like Models, Sprites or Terrain. The Engine - this is the 'core' program which runs the game and displays the 3-D world on the screen - needs the level in a final WMB format. This format, which contains some precalculated data - like the BSP Tree and the Shadow Mapping - is compiled from the WMP file and one or more WAD texture resources if you click onto the Build button.

In order to have something happening or moving within your level, like doors or monsters, you can use a script to describe it's behaviour (if you not prefer to program everything in C++ or Delphi). Scripts are also responsible for releasing the special effects built into the engine, like dynamic lights, flares, particles, fog, polygonal sky... Many scripts are prefabricated and included, so you don't have to write scripts for simple games, like shooters. However only self-written scripts let you use the real power of the A5 engine and give you the ultimate flexibility of game programming.


Getting started...
Are you ready to build and walk through your first level? Ok - here we go:

If working with 3D GameStudio, visit http://www.3dgamestudio.com from time to time. You'll find there free updates with new exciting features every few weeks, as well as the current scripting reference manual and tutorial, tons of tools, artwork, prefabs, and workshops for 3D GameStudio. For any questions about your game ideas you can ask the community in the User Forum.