SiegeSmith How Do I

How do I…? — quick answers

One line per question, straight to the control. Deep detail lives in the World Builder Guide and Studio Guide; the full path from nothing to a playable map is Making a Game from Scratch. Press F1 in the World Builder for the controls cheat sheet.

Building terrain

How do I…	Do this
…start a map?	Nodes palette → pick a mesh → Place as anchor.
…lay terrain fast?	Tick 🖌 Paint terrain, then click-drag across the ground.
…place a specific doorway join?	Connect to selected node with explicit door picks (palette + Inspector).
…make a looping corridor?	Select a node → Inspector → Link existing doors.
…swap a tile without redoing its connections?	Select it → Nodes palette → pick the new mesh → Replace mesh on selected node.
…change how a tile is skinned?	Select the node → Inspector → Texture set.
…spot gaps and overlaps?	Tick the Bounds overlay above the Outliner.
…edit a region from the original game?	Region tab → Load a region from the game.

Placing things

How do I…	Do this
…place a prop or monster?	Objects palette (Mode toggles props/actors) → drag it into the viewport, or Place on selected node.
…find anything in the huge template list?	Search box, the tag dropdown, ★ favorites, or Recent.
…plant a forest / spawn a mob pack?	Tick 🌿 Scatter, set count/radius/gap, click the ground.
…move / rotate something?	Drag it · Shift-drag rotates · toolbar 15° rot snap for exact angles.
…set an exact position?	Inspector X/Y/Z boxes — drag the box to scrub or click to type.
…select several things at once?	Ctrl+click each; drag any member to move the whole group.
…line up a fence row?	Multi-select it → Selection page → Align / Distribute.
…swap 20 pines for oaks?	Multi-select them, pick the oak in the palette → Set template from palette.
…reuse my campfire arrangement?	Multi-select → name it → 💾 Save prefab; place it from the Custom tab in any map.

Making it a game

How do I…	Do this
…make one monster a boss?	Select it → Instance overrides → Life (and Scale ×).
…guarantee a loot drop / chest contents?	Select the actor or chest → Instance overrides → Drop = an item template.
…make a guard walk a route?	Select the actor → tick 🚶 Draw patrol route → click waypoints → untick.
…add fire or smoke?	Effects tab → Add fire/smoke emitter (toolbar FX: live animates it).
…put a sign/scorch/carpet on the ground?	Effects tab → Add ground decal → give it a texture.
…light a scene?	Lights tab → Add sun (whole scene) or point light (local glow).
…add fog / rain / snow / wind?	Region tab → Atmosphere (tick Audition fog to tune it live).
…set the music?	Region tab → Mood & music — ambient / standard / battle tracks.
…make something happen when the player arrives?	Logic tab → Add trigger volume → give its row a party_member_within_bounding_box condition and a send_world_message action.
…give an NPC dialogue?	Logic tab → Add conversation → add lines → Bind to selected placed actor.
…start a quest from dialogue?	On the line, set activate_quest to your quest key (Map tab → Add quest defines it).
…see all my logic wiring at once?	Graph tab — click any box to edit it; grey stubs = dangling references.
…check nothing is broken?	Toolbar Validate — red rows name exactly what to fix.
…play it?	Play ▶. After edits, ⟲ Sync game restarts the running session in one click.
…ship it?	The status bar names the packed .dsmap — that one file is your game.

Custom content

How do I…	Do this
…use my own texture / model / music?	Custom tab → Set assets folder → Import texture / mesh / audio.
…make my own weapon / armor / monster / NPC?	Custom tab → Custom templates creator — it appears in the palette immediately.
…make my own terrain tile?	Custom tab → Custom .sno tile (flat or ramp, your texture, walkable).

Modding the original game

How do I…	Do this
…look at the game's files?	Main window → open a tank from the rail — every format has a viewer.
…see what an animation looks like?	Click the .prs — it plays on its rig.
…change weapon damage / monster stats?	Extract the template .gas, edit (live validation), Build Tank from Folder, Build & Install.
…repaint a texture?	Viewer → Export PNG → edit → Custom tab Import texture → ship the .raw at the same path.
…undo my mod?	Delete its tank from Resources — originals are never touched.

When something looks wrong

Symptom	Fix
I can't click a piece	Its family's eye is off in the Outliner, or another piece is in front — try the Outliner or Ctrl+F.
My trigger never fires	Validate (template typo? SCID target?), then check the Graph for grey stubs; is the row start_active?
My quest never appears	The dialogue line's activate_quest must match a quest key on the Map tab — Validate checks it.
A decal shows as a cube	Its texture doesn't resolve — check the name or import it (Custom tab).
I lost my work	%APPDATA%\SiegeSmith\autosave has a packed copy from the last 3 minutes.
What did I even change today?	Map tab → 📸 Baseline early, Diff later.