Even though the editor won’t be released in the next build as originally planned, it is still very useful to me when it comes to fixing the remaining rendering issues in DarkXL. There was already a quick shortcut to go from 2D mode to 3D mode and vice versa. Now I’m putting in a similar shortcut that saves the level to temporary files, builds the appropriate GOB, launches Dark Forces using DosBox and immediately launches your level. In addition the start point is moved to the current camera location, so you instantly show up in the same view and location in Dark Forces. This allows me to quickly test sector/wall flags and other situations and verify the rendering is correct.

As I’m verifying and fixing rendering issues, I’m doing some of my testing in some of the more complex user made levels. While Dark Tide 4 loaded before, this is the first time that it actually looked correct. The main reason is that I somehow neglected to support compressed BM’s, which I’ve fixed. Sector tessellation was also an issue in the past, though it is no longer. I’ve also fixed various other problems, such as when VUE’s cause objects to pass through many sectors (causing problems with Harkov’s Defection).

Here’s some screenshots of user levels that I’ve been using to test. The goal is to have these levels look completely correct for the next release, as well as the 14 original levels. The idea is that if the most complex user made levels render correctly, then most likely most of them will. If any do not, they will hopefully be found in testing. There are still some issues to fix, however.

Screenshots from DarkTide 2

Screenshots from DarkTide 4

Screenshots from Harkov’s Defection