DAmnable but Necessary Arx Editor (DANAE)

The released Arx Fatalis source code includes the Game's custom level editor, titled DAmnable but Necessary Arx Editor - or DANAE, which is also the name used for the game's main source file name and central functions, matching the mythological Greek theme of the other subsystem names. DANAE isn't really a separate tool but a special build of the game engine with editor controls.

DANAE only runs under Windows and is not part of the Arx Libertatis sources, but we hope to create our own cross-platform editor at some point.

The engine and editor can load .teo object meshes, .tea animations and .scn scene meshes which were created with the THEO Game Maker tool as well as several other types of files. Object and scene meshes are and converted into baked .ftl and .fts files respectively, which are what is shipped with the game.

DANAE is featured in the making of Arx Fatalis documentary (original, youtube) included in some releases of the game.

See https://dimoks86.narod.ru/index/danae/0-11 for a detailed description of the editor's capabilities.

Screenshots

These screenshots are from Dimoks' DANAE build and not from the original development of the game.

Running the original editor

A few people have expressed the wish to try the original editor. The following sections explains how to build & run it using vanilla Arx Fatalis source. A build of DANAE is also provided by Dimoks as well as some instructions (in Russian):

DAmnable but Necessary Arx EditorDanae.rar1.5 MiB
MD5: c1e9fcaa4057a6e0c1894ae779a82d14

Build

To build DANAE yourself, grab & extract the original source from http://www.arkane-studios.com/uk/arx_downloads.php
```
D:\ArxFatalis_1.21_Sources\
```
Open D:\ArxFatalis_1.21_Sources\Sources\Gaia.sln
Change Danae.cpp line 427 to initialize FINAL_COMMERCIAL_GAME to 0
Comment line 106 of HERMES_PAK.cpp to
```
mode = LOAD_TRUEFILE_THEN_PACK;
```
Change line 2057 of DanaeDlg.cpp to
```
SetClick(hWnd, IDC_NOCHECKSUM);
```
Change line 1354 of Danae.cpp to
```
if (true)
```
Grab unicows.dll & ARX_SCRIPT_DEBUGGER.dll from the original game installation and copy them under
```
D:\ArxFatalis_1.21_Sources\game\
```

Run

First, you need to unpack all the assets. Use arxunpack from Arx Libertatis
```
arxunpak <pakfile> [<pakfile>...]
```
Run
```
D:\ArxFatalis_1.21_Sources\game\arx.exe
```
Specify your data directory by clicking "Choose Dir"
- This folder must contains your pak files, a misc/ folder with the .ttf fonts, and all the subdirectories with the extracted assets (EDITOR, GAME, LOCALISATION, etc.)
Select a Level on the right
Make sure "NO CHECKSUM" is enabled, otherwise you'll get a crash at startup
Click "OK" at the bottom (NOT "Launch Game"!)