Since most of the changes in Graydiant stem from the Layers feature, I’ll cover that first.

Using Layers

This feature allows you to not only organize different build elements but allow multiple people to work on individual elements all within the same map.

The layer feature is a complete re-structuring of how Radiant saves map information. Instead of saving information to a single “.map” file, Graydiant saves information into two (or more, depending on the number of layers you create) different files called the Gray Matter Master (“MAPNAME.GMM”), and the Gray Matter Layer (“LAYER.GML”).

The GMM is the master list of all layers associated with the map, and contains the worldspawn information for use in the BSP. The GML is a layer file, which can contain everything you can create in the editor. Starting a new map will automatically create a “Layer1.gml”, and will save it in a folder with the same name as your GMM when you save your map, along with any new layers you create afterward.

The Layers window can be accessed at any time by pressing the “L” key.

The Layers window displays all the layers listed in the GMM, and check boxes for making them visible in the map (“V”), selectable or non-selectable (“S”), and active or in-active (“A”). You can also click the Right Mouse Button on a layer, or anywhere in the Layers window to bring up a menu with the following options:

Add Layer… (Only available if the GMM is writeable.)

New - This creates a new layer by bringing up a dialogue asking you to enter a name for the new layer.

File - This allows you to add an existing GML file as a new layer in the current map. You cannot add a GML with the same filename as an existing GML in the map.

Select… (Only available if you right-click on a layer)

All - Selects all objects in the layer you right-clicked on.

Entities - Selects all entities in the layer you right-clicked on.

Brushes - Selects all brushes in the layer you right-clicked on.

Check… (Only available if you right-click in the Visible [“V”] column or the Selectable [“S”] column)

All - Checks all layers in the column you right-clicked in.

Selected - Checks all selected layers in the column you right-clicked in.

Uncheck… (Only available if you right-click in the Visible [“V”] column or the Selectable [“S”] column)

All - Unchecks all layers in the column you right-clicked in.

Selected - Unchecks all selected layers in the column you right-clicked in.

Move All Selected (Only available if you right-click on a layer)

Moves all selected objects to the layer you right-clicked on.

Save (Only available if you right-click on a layer)

Saves the selected layer(s).

Reload (Only available if you right-click on a layer)

Reloads the selected layer with the version saved on disk.

Merge (Only available if you right-click on a layer)

Merges two or more layers into one layer keeping the layer name of the layer created first.

Clean (Only available if you right-click on a layer)

Deletes all entities and brushes in the selected layer(s).

Delete (Only available if you right-click on a layer)

Deletes the selected layer(s) from the GMM. Does not delete the layer from disk.

Properties (Only available with only one layer selected)

Allows you to change the name and filename of the selected layer. Will create a new GML on disk with the new name, not rename the old one.

File

Import (.map)

New Map - Loads a .map file as Layer1 in a new map.

New Layer - Loads a .map file as a new layer in the current map (GMM).

Active Layer - Loads and adds a .map file to the currently active layer in the current map (GMM).

Export (.map)

Exports the currently loaded map with all layers to a .map file with the same name of the GMM.

Export As…

Exports the currently loaded map with all layers to a .map file of your choice.

Export Visible As…

Exports the currently loaded map with all visible layers to a .map file of your choice.

Game Settings

Game settings such as game directories, bsp directories, and bsp menu commands, are now stored in a game settings file (DEFAULT.GAM). This replaces the project file (.qe4).

Load - Loads a game settings file (.GAM) of your choice.

Save - Saves the current game settings to a .GAM file of your choice.

Edit - Edits the current game settings.

Edit

Map Properties

Displays options to change the name of the map, the filename of the map, the filename of the .map file for Q3Map, and if it’s a multiplayer map or not (this will determine whether the .map is exported to \maps or \maps\mp).

Brush

Clean

Attempts to clean up dirty, dirty brushes. (degenerate, duplicate planes, and bad ones) *NOTE* Save before using this! It is not perfect and may leave bad brushes and delete good ones. Use at own risk!

Patches

HeightMapPatch (Shift+Ctrl+H)

Applies a the selected texture in the texture window, as a height-map to the selected terrain patch(s). The height-map will be scaled by Z. The default of 1 equates to 1 unit for each shade of gray in the height-map, ie. In a height-map that ranges from full black to full white there are 255 shades of gray, a Z value of 1 makes the terrain patch 255 units high. The X and Y values have no effect. The height-map will automatically be scaled X and Y to fit the size of all selected terrain patches. Height-maps must be 256 x 256, Grayscale TGA’s.

Context Menu

There have been some changes to the context menu that can be accessed by right-clicking on the 2D window and now the 3D window as well.

Entity

DropToGround - Drops all selected entities to the first surface directly below the entity. These surfaces include brushes, patches, or the bounding boxes of other entities. The Drop Height set in Preferences applies.

Add Selected - Adds all selected brushes in the worldspawn, to an entity any other selected brushes are a part of. Only works with one entity, other than worldspawn selected.

Remove Selected - Removes the selected brushes from the entity they are a part of, and moves them into the worldspawn.

Ungroup - Moves all brushes in the entity the selected brushes are a part of, into the worldspawn, effectively destroying that entity.

Move to layer

Active - Moves all selected objects to the currently active layer.

[layer list] - Moves all selected objects to the layer selected. Only layers that are writeable will be shown here.