DESEDIT

Welcome to the DesEdit on-line manual.



The World Coordinate System in DesEdit

In DesEdit, the X, Y, and Z axis are oriented in the same way as they are in Descent. Descent uses a left-hand coordinate system, which means that with the Y-axis pointing up towards the top of the screen, and the X-axis pointing to the right of the screen, the Z-axis points directly into the screen. By 'points', I mean the unit vector from the world origin with the component of +1, where is the axis, is oriented towards that direction, and the unit vector with the component of -1 is oriented in the opposite direction.

The standard cube in Descent is 20x20x20 units. The initial cube in a new DesEdit level is that size, with its center at the world origin. Thus, for example, the four verticies on the top side of the standard cube have a y component of +10.

The camera's "Home" position is centered on the Z-axis (which means its X & Y coordinate values are zero), and is a ways back (about 150 units) down the negative Z-axis. The camera's cylinder origin starts at the world origin (0, 0, 0). Thus, the camera is "pointing" down the positive Z-axis, towards the world origin.

Next Section: Selecting Things in DesEdit.