Dark Messiah SDK - Singleplayer - Installation and Setup

This guide will go through how to install and setup the Dark Messiah of Might and Magic SDK.

Introduction

The following guide will teach you how to install and setup the Dark Messiah SDK for the singleplayer version of the game, part of the Source Engine which the games is build upon, to begin creating maps and mods for Dark Messiah the Might and Magic. Another version of this guide can also be found on the Valve Developer Community (VDC), more on this at the end.

This guide will however NOT teach you how to use any of the tools included with the SDK and it is assumed that the user either already knows afterwards how to use them or is willing to learn more about their usage through both external sources, as well as other guides that may be available elsewhere on steam - when the time comes.

If you are interested in developing maps for the Multiplayer version of the game, start out by following this guide and afterwards follow the multiplayer installation and setup guide to get it to work correctly.

Setting-up the Source Development Kit

The Dark Messiah SDK, also known as an SDK, is a set of software utilities that allow you to create your own missions, weapons, enemies and other gameplay elements. It includes a standalone version of the Source SDK tools that have been updated to work with the Dark Messiah Singleplayer version of the Source Engine and is freely available on Steam.

Download

Unlike other source engine development kits, the one for Dark Messiah is not available on Steam and instead you will need to download the Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Singleplayer SDK files from ModDB and extract the content using something like 7-zip[www.7-zip.org] (p7zip or ark packages if you are using a linux system) to somewhere on your computer like on your desktop or download folder.

Afterwards open the two GCF files individually with GCFScape[nemstools.github.io] (can be run with wine on a linux system) and in the window that appears, select all folders inside and extract them to the directory steamapps\common\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player where you have installed Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Single Player, which can also be found via the steam library

• Go into your Steam library.
  
• Right-click on Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Single Player.
  
• Click on properties.
  
• A new window will open, here click on local files.
  
• Then click the 'Browse...' button to access the folder

Extracting the VPKs

Next you will need to extract the contents of the following Dark Messiah VPK files inside of the /vpks folder with GCFScape to your Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Single Player directory mentioned earlier, because this version of the Hammer Editor cannot access the content of vpk files directly:

• depot_2101_dir.vpk (scripts)
  
• depot_2103_dir.vpk (models)
  
• depot_2104_dir.vpk (materials)
  
• depot_2105_dir.vpk (materials for models)
  
• depot_2106_dir.vpk (materials for levels)
  
• depot_2107_dir.vpk (sounds)
  
• depot_2108_dir.vpk (sounds)

Configuring the Hammer Editor

Once all the files have been extracted, you still need to tell Hammer where to look for these files. To do this, open the GameConfig.txt file located in the /bin folder inside of the Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Single Player directory and replace all its content with the code below.

You also have to correct the $SteamUserDir strings below, after replacing the file's content, to the directory where your steam library is located (examples, windows: C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\, linux: /home/USERNAME/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/):

"Configs"
{
    "Games"
    {
        "Dark Messiah"
        {
            "GameDir" "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm"
            "hammer"
            {
                "GameData0" "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin\halflife2.fgd"
                "TextureFormat" "5"
                "MapFormat" "4"
                "DefaultTextureScale" "0.250000"
                "DefaultLightmapScale" "16"
                "GameExe" "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm.exe"
                "DefaultSolidEntity" "func_detail"
                "DefaultPointEntity" "info_player_start"
                "BSP" "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin\vbsp.exe"
                "Vis" "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin\vvis.exe"
                "Light" "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\bin\vrad.exe"
                "GameExeDir" "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player"
                "MapDir" "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm_content\mapsrc"
                "BSPDir" "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\mm\maps"
                "CordonTexture" "tools\toolsskybox"
                "MaterialExcludeCount" "0"
            }
        }
    }
    "SDKVersion" "1"
}

Running hammer on a linux system

If you are using a linux based system you have to do a little bit more setup to get it running, luckily this has been made so much easier than in the past with the release of Proton which allows hammer to run without much additional setup.

Go into your steam library and click the button on the bottom that says 'ADD A GAME' -> 'Add a Non-Steam Game' and click browse to locate plus add hammer.exe which are inside of the '/bin' folder as mentioned in the section above. When done, right click on its entry in your steam library and go into properties, there give the shortcut a more appropriate name like Dark Messiah of Might & Magic Single Player - hammer.exe so it is easier to find if multiple hammer editor versions for different games are added to your library. Furthermore in the Launch Options field make sure to add 'PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%' and enable 'Proton Experimental' under the Compatibility tab afterwards.

From there on you should be able to run hammer without any problems from your steam library.

Accessing the Dark Messiah SDK

Even through all of the tools included in the download can be accessed without the issues without the use of the SDK launcher itself, one is still present within the download but cannot be opened directly without beforehand giving it the full path to its required scripts or it will just refuse to open.

To do this, create a shortcut to SDKLauncher.exe located inside of bin folder in Dark Messiah's installation directory through steam by adding it as a non-steam game. When done, right click on its entry in the library and add the following parameter in the Launch Options field:

-game "$SteamUserDir\Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player\launcher"

and replace $SteamUserDir with the steam library directory, and you should now be able to launch it like any another standalone Source SDK application installed through Steam.

On a linux based system, prepend the following to the Launch Options field 'PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%' and enable 'Proton Experimental' under the Compatibility tab afterwards, which should make sure both the launcher and all of its tools opens correctly.

Make it easier to create maps with prefabs

Creating a map can take a very long time, especially if you should make a bunch of the stuff from the campaign all by yourself within your own level. This process is not always needed however as I have created a pack of 204 premade fabrications, also called prefabs, which can easily be imported into your level and works out of the box without much hassle to get them working. These prefabs are sectioned into different part: environmental which have some sort of property, interactable where the player is able to make the object do something and world which are mostly static world elements.

The pack covers a wide range of stuff found throughout the campaign for you to use and can be inserted with the click of a button while also being capable of being used multiple times without any conflics between the individual instances.

Download prefabs here[soer4769.dk].

The SDK Package

The Dark Messiah SDK includes the following content:

• Hammer Editor - Source level editor.
  
• Faceposer - Choreography creation tool.
  
• HLMV - Half-Life Model Viewer.
  
• Suite of command line compiling utilities, such as studiomdl and map compiling tools.
  
• Official sources for all the maps featured in the game.
  
• Model sources for the player and orcs.

Where do i go from here?

Go learn more

The Dark Messiah Level Creation page is a good place to go if you are familiar with Source mapping already. If not, you will need to master the basics of Source level design first.

If you want to learn about how to create content for the Source Engine in general, the main page of the Source SDK documentation is a good place to start.

3kliksphilip Tutorials - Beginner Source SDK Tutorials

Bugs and Issues

Post all issues you may have in the Dark Messiah Steam Discussions Board. If you have a bug specific to the Dark Messiah SDK or game and are able to replicate it, perhaps even know a fix, please add it as an entry to the Dark Messiah Bugs page.

See the Source SDK FAQ for answers to general SDK questions. For level design and Hammer editor issues, see the Level Design FAQ.

Community

The Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Videogame Community is from what I know of no longer around due it being an old game, however the Source Engine Community itself is still thriving to this day with new games and mods releasing all the time.

Valve Developer Community (VDC) - Wiki about everything Source.
Source Modding Community[discord.gg] - General Source/GoldSource Modding Discord Server.
Source SDK Steam page - Source SDK Steam Community.
Valvetime Forums[www.valvetime.co.uk] - Source Modifications Forum.
Interlopers Forum[www.interlopers.net] - General Game/Half-Life Forum

The End?

Thanks for taking the time to read this guide and I hope it has provided all of the information you need to begin your journey into creating possible maps and mods for the game.

As stated in the introduction, the majority of the content found in this guide is taken directly from the Valve Developer Community, and is done because I wrote the same content found there and wanted to share it with more of the community found here - as I have read comments from people interested in how to get started mapping for the game but may be unaware of the VDC's existence and also might just want a simple 'How to get started!' guide without having to use too much time searching the web for answers.

It is also a perfect place to find it as this hub is Dark Messiah of Might and Magic's primary community hub at the time of writing - mainly due to it being an old game, and is where people might expect to find it in the first place, as it is where you begin your adventure for more information regarding the subject if you just bought the game on its store page.

If anyone finds any information in this guide misleading, not describing something well enough, contains any spelling mistakes or just unsure of anything; please write a comment below and I, or possibly someone else, will try to answer/fix the problem as good and fast as possible.

I hope to create more content and guides for the game over time, anyways thanks again and have a wonderful day!

[ProxyNode1]

@soer4769 Hi! I managed to get both the hammer and Dark Messiah Engine thing running, thanks.

But now I am wondering, is it possible to read and edit the game's code/make mods similar to how its done for hl2 and source sdk?

[soer4769]

@ProxyNode1
Did you follow the guide correctly? You could also try to open hammer directly from its bin folder without the SDK to see if that works.

[ProxyNode1]

Hey! I am trying to make mods and maps for dark messiah.

So, whenever I try to open hammer editor or Dark Messiah engine from Might and Magic Source SDK, a prompt comes up saying "The configuration information for the game you are trying to edit is invalid".

Do you have some clue as to whats going wrong?

Thanks.