To make a new level, choose New Level from the File menu. Hellmaker will ask you what type of level you want to create: you can choose between a DOOM II, DOOM I or Hexen Level. Once this is selected, Hellmaker will try to load the appropriate textures and then display an empty editing window.
Opening and saving:
You can open DOOM or Hexen levels by selecting Open from the File menu. Hellmaker shows all files with a type of ".WAD" or "HXwd". Once a WAD file is selected, Hellmaker show a list of all levels as appropriate (i.e. either ExMx levels or MAPxx levels), with the levels in the WAD file highlighted. Click on a level to select it for loading, then click on the open button to load it.
 
To save a level, you can choose Save, Save into New WAD or Save into Old WAD from the FILE menu. Save attempts to save the level into the same file you loaded it from, replacing the original level in the file. (Note: Hellmaker will not allow you to save into DOOM.WAD or DOOM2.WAD). Save into New WAD will create a new WAD file, and your level will be the only level in it. Save into Old WAD will allow you to select an existing WAD to save into, and you may either overwrite a level or add a new level to the file.
The editing window:
When you choose New from the File menu to create a new level, or open an existing level, an editing window is displayed. The editing window consists of three parts, which are, from top to bottom: the properties area, in which the properties of any selected objects are shown and can be changed; the information line, which provides various information, such as the cursor position; and the map area, which shows the level in map form, and in which you do most of the editing.
 
The map and the grid:
Once a level has been loaded, it will be displayed in the map area. You can change the scale of the map by choosing Zoom In or Zoom Out from the Scale menu. You can scroll the map area by using the scroll bars below and to the right of it.
A grid may also be displayed in the map area, by using Show Grid from the Scale menu. The grid size may be adjusted using Enlarge Grid and Shrink Grid from the Scale menu. The minimum grid size is two units.
Choosing Snap to Grid from the Scale menu forces most editing operations to be confined to the intersection of grid lines.
Modes:
Hellmaker has three editing modes. Your current mode may be selected by using the mode menu or its keyboard equivalents. The modes are:
1) Map mode, which is used to edit the positions and properties of the walls, floors and ceilings of the level; i.e. the vertices, linedefs, sidedefs and sectors.
2) Thing mode, which is used to edit the positions and properties of all things on the level; i.e. player start positions, weapons, ammo, monsters, obstacles, teleport destinations and keys.
3) Group mode, which is used to associate linedefs and sectors into tag groups, i.e. assign the same tag number to a group of linedefs and sectors. You can also edit linedef and sector properties in group mode.
For more detailed descriptions of the modes, see the following sections.
Mouse clicks and modifiers:
Most of the time, a mouse click in the map area is used to select an item, i.e. a vertex, linedef, sidedef or sector while in map mode; a thing while in thing mode; or a tag group while in group mode. In many cases, the shift, command and option keys can be used to modify the effect of a mouse click. Their use is described in general terms below. For more detailed explanations of their effects in the various modes, refer to the sections below.
The shift key is used, in conjunction with a mouse click, to add or remove something from a "set" without affecting the rest of the set. A "set" can be a set of selected items (in map or thing mode), or a tag group (in group mode).
The command key is used to add an item: a vertex (and possibly a linedef and sector as well) in map mode; a thing in thing mode; and a new tag group in group mode.
The option key is used for special functions, which may depend not only on the mode, but also the item on which the mouse is being clicked. In this version of Hellmaker (v1.1) , the option key has four uses. When used while clicking on a sector in map mode, it prevents the sector's vertices from being selected. When used while clicking on a linedef in map mode, it prevents the linedef's vertices from being selected AND also directly selects the linedef, rather than any associated sidedef. Thirdly, when you option-click in a box that requests the name of a texture, it brings up the texture selector. Finally, holding down option while you draw the final linedef of a sector will prevent the sector from being created.
The control key is also used as a shortcut for adding or splitting sectors. See the following sections for more details.
