News | Forum | People | FAQ | Links | Search | Register | Log in
The TrenchBroom Level Editor
Today I am releasing TrenchBroom 1.0 for Windows and Mac OS X. TrenchBroom is a modern cross-platform level editor for Quake.

Features
- True 3D editing, no 2D views required
- High performance renderer with support for huge maps
- Vertex editing with edge and face splitting
- Manipulation of multiple vertices at once (great for trisoup editing)
- Smart clip tool
- Move, rotate and flip brushes and entities
- Precise texture lock for all operations
- Smart entity property editors
- Graphical entity browser with drag and drop support
- Comprehensive texture application and manipulation tools
- Search and filter functions
- Unlimited undo and redo
- Point file support
- Automatic backup
- Support for .def and .fdg files, mods and multiple wad files
- Free (as in beer) and open source (GPLv3)
- Cross platform (Windows, Mac OS X and Linux supported)

Check out a video of TrenchBroom in action here.

You can download the editor here.

If you would like to give feedback, please do that in this thread. If you find a bug or have a feature suggestion, please submit them at the issue tracker.

If you are wondering where the Linux binaries are then sorry, but currently there are none. The Linux version has a few problems which I could not fix before this release. I will get working on those right away so that the Linux version should be available in a couple of weeks, too.

Finally, I would like to thank necros for all his work over the past year. Without his tireless efforts, TrenchBroom would simply not exist. Or it would suck.

Alright, enough of this. Have fun with the editor!

Update: 2.1 here:
https://github.com/kduske/TrenchBroom/releases/tag/v2.1.0-RC1
Features "cool shit".
First | Previous | Next | Last
Negke 
- A tablet version is a very interesting idea that I have thought about a lot, but I decided it's not within my means for the time being.
- Texture size, grid size, specific filter options for skills + DM; noted.
- Status bar is a no, but I will add something similar (but better).
- Minigame, cool idea actually. ;-)

Quakis, excellent idea! 
Quakis 
I like that idea so much that it's going to be in 1.0.5. 
 
Tablet version - every time I pick up my iPad I think, "Man, it'd be neat if TrenchBroom worked on this thing". :P 
Tablets 
I can imagine two use cases for a tablet.

First, of course, as a standalone editing tool. It would surely be cool to be able to directly touch and manipulate the objects in the map. There is only one problem with it: Your fat fingers. Yes, yours. Because they obstruct your view of what you're actually doing. One idea to overcome this would be to automatically move / rotate the camera when you touch something so that it becomes visible again, yet reacts to your gestures.

Second, it would be cool as an additional input device for TrenchBroom on a desktop PC, because I guess somethings are still easier to do with a pointing device that's not your fat finger, and somethings are much more intuitive to do with the fingers (rotation!). 
 
Oh yeah, there are a ton of interface challenges with it ... I just think it would be neat. :P 
Usability. My Story About Quest Level Editor. 
I've not tried TrenchBroom yet, so I don't know. But, I would like to say:

I used the Quest level editor for many years, instead of QERadiant and GTKRadiant. Why? Because I was able to make a map 10x faster, using Quest's controls.

I take an interest in TrenchBroom because of the single 3D view, because that is how I did it in Quest.

In Quest, I always fullscreen one of the views, and I would use the keys to navigate, and a key to switch from 3d to grid view. The key for switching to grid view was very powerful for me, because I often used the grid to line things up better and visually measure stuff better.

The view in Quest was restricted to 90-degree angles only. I loved this. You could also turn off restrictive view and then rotate the camera to any angle you wish. But, I was always in restrictive view mode, 90-degree camera angles only.

To move around, I used "A" and "Z" which is Zoom In and Zoom Out in grid view, or Forward and Backward in 3d view. The arrow keys "UP" and "DOWN" were for Panning up and down in grid view, and flying up or down in 3d view. Same goes for the "LEFT" and "RIGHT" arrow keys.

The keys to turn the camera 90-degrees to any direction, my favourite keys and these were critical to my 10x speed of mapping, were the key combinations of "ALT+LEFT_ARROW" to rotate camera 90-degrees to left. Same goes for any "ALT+{ARROW_KEY}" combination to rotate the camera 90-degrees towards that direction arrow key you pressed. Same goes in grid view, the view would rotate as well.

I'd like to keep this in mind, and see what you can do about having your editor provide the same type of usability controls as what I've described.

Thanks! 
Deqer 
I'm sorry if this will sound harsh, but the last thing I want to do with TrenchBroom is make it work like another editor that clearly follows a different UI approach.

I suggest that you try TrenchBroom and forget about how Quest works. Use it with an open mind. If it doesn't work for you, then there are plenty other editors out there. 
Your Quick Response. 
So, you didn't think about what I said.

You didn't even give it a thought--nevermind the particular keys being used--but no thought of having an option to restrict the view to 90-degree angles-only and using key combinations to rotate the camera 90-degrees to any direction, and keys to move and pan around at high speeds.

Keys, keys, keys.

Instead, you closed your mind, and immediately responded with a generic and vague "im not changing my editor." liner. Okay. 
 
The big difference with quark vs (afaik) all other editors is that there is a tree view of the entire map where you see individual entities and brushes as nodes in the tree, grouped by brush entities or user made group folders.

qED had this too. it was otherwise a pretty lousy editor but that part was nice; you could move brushes between entities or groups by dragging the nodes around, and you could name the groups too (or the brushes, if you were an OCD masochist with time to burn)

lack of proper group support puts me off diving into TB just yet but pleased to see plans are in place for that. that said i'm eager to try out some of the terrain construction demonstrated above :) 
Deqer 
The controls will be fully customisible in newer versions. But if you want an editor exactly like Quest then why not use Quest? Simple really.
Also, you haven't used the editor by your own admission so why do you think you could improve something you haven't yet tried?

SleepwalkR, wouldn't a 4x4x4 square be a little small? How about a room that is 256x256x128? 
 
SleepwalkR, wouldn't a 4x4x4 square be a little small? How about a room that is 256x256x128?

or just a customisable start template? 
The Start Brush 
is 64x64x16. That's enough to give the user orientation and something to interact with.

rj, I'm not sure what good a customizable template would do. Also, the tree view is on the todo list. 
Deqer 
If you read this thread then you would know that I give a lot of ideas a lot of thought if they make sense in the context of this editor. If they don't, then I dismiss them or modify them until they do.

Your suggestions don't work well with the workflow of TrenchBroom, which is why I dismissed them. I have a very specific vision for TrenchBroom. If that works for you, then fine, and if it doesn't, then also fine because there are many other editors out there for you to choose from. 
 
Also, the tree view is on the todo list.

i did notice :) was just briefly reminiscing

and yeah it was a bit of a retarded suggestion on hindsight. also the last one i make until i try the damn thing... 
No "Intel HD Graphics" 3000 Videocard Support? 
I know it's not a typical gaming video card, but I'm able to playing modern games on it, including TF2--which uses quake engine as well.

So, I must wonder, why TrenchBroom crashes when I press "V" for vertex editing mode, and shows an error like this: http://pastebin.com/UCNGUYMB - mainly the last 10 lines of that paste; so, lines 94 to 103.

"ERROR: 22:1: '' : extension 'GL_EXT_gpu_shader4' is not supported"

What is that? Sounds like it is video card related. But, just seems odd to me that my video card cannot display, but my video card can play games just fine.

The crash always happens when I press "V" on a selected brush. 
Deqer 
Go to the preferences and set OpenGL instancing to "Force off". 
Video Of Me Using TrenchBroom 
This video shows me using TrenchBroom for the first time, and my initial reactions to anything I see or encounter. My first impressions.

I also do a bit of editing with brushes, and textures in this video.

Perhaps someone might find this interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1fEQXDPnpo

Title: "First time, Part 1: Install, Setup, and Experiment | TrenchBroom" 
Texture Mapping Tools 
Hello again, just wandered in here again after a late night of mad brush work inside Trenchbroom. I noticed one thing when working with a large collection of brushes forming a single surface. It can become tricky to line up textures especially when dealing with so many brushes.

So what I was wondering is if there are any plans to add some basic texture projection options? Like selecting a bunch of faces over a series of brushes and then unifying their mapping with planer projection based on an average normal?

Would it also be possible to add the ability to adjust mapping of faces with a gizmo when you have a surface selected instead of using the offset and rotation settings? That would keep you in the viewport without having to get lost in menus. It could be just like the rotate or vertex edit modes but for texture adjusting. Select a surface and then start rotating and scaling the texture right there instead of juggling numbers. This and the basic projection options would be kick ass for helping manage texture alignments for more complex constructions like terrain.

Cheers and again thanks for this epic editing software. I totally lost track of time last night... 
Skiffy 
I'm not sure what you mean by your first suggestion. You cannot change the way textures are projected in Quake.

Texture manip. with the mouse is on the todo list. 
Deqer 
Thanks for the video, I will watch it later. 
Tools To Help With Texture Mapping 
Regarding texture project I am talking about tools in your editor to help manipulate the already build in data that controls the Uv coordinates that is all. No new engine additions for quake itself just handy tools to mass adjust and sync texture orientations and scale with each other. Does that make more sense? 
Hmm 
But you can select multiple faces and adjust the texture parameters in the face inspector already. I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean exactly. 
Deqer 
Some notes:

- Font rendering is broken on your system. This will be fixed in a future version. This has happened to other people as well.
- Shift+Left Drag on Edge and Face handles doesn't work so well. It does not snap the individual vertices of the edge or face to the grid. In these cases, you should move the individual vertices.
- To make a vertex align with another vertex (maybe of another brush), select both brushes, double click the vertex to be aligned and drag it onto the other vertex.
- Generally it is preferable to have vertices on the grid (maybe on a larger grid size than 1). Makes lots of things easier.
- Vertices need laser beams, too. That should make it easer to line them up. 
Skiffy 
Regarding across multiple faces (with the same texture) what I normally do is select the first texture face and make my adjustments and then alt+click the other faces so the settings are carried over. 
 
Did I really say 4x4x4? I meant 64x64x64! :p Nice to see that feature will be added though! 
First | Previous | Next | Last
You must be logged in to post in this thread.
Website copyright © 2002-2024 John Fitzgibbons. All posts are copyright their respective authors.