Crowbar vs SLADE3

Crowbar is a free modding tool for working with GoldSource and Source models and game packages. It can decompile MDL and related files into QC, SMD, and other related files, and can compile models when the game’s authoring tools or SDK and Crowbar’s studiomdl.exe are available. Viewing models likewise requires the game tools or SDK and Crowbar’s hlmv.exe. For archives, Crowbar can unpack, view, and search Valve VPK, Garry’s Mod GMA, Bloodlines VPK, Tactical Intervention FPX, and Fairy Tale Busters APK files. It can pack folders into VPK and GMA packages and supports batch extraction. Workshop functions allow downloading and publishing items for supported games. Game setups can link a game folder to its compiler, viewer, and package tools. On Windows, file associations and drag-and-drop can open VPK, QC, MDL, and folder inputs. The requirements page lists.NET Framework 4 and Windows XP or later, or Linux or Mac OS with a way to run a.NET Framework program. Crowbar is listed at free; donations are optional.

SLADE3 is a free editor for Doom-engine games and source ports, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It handles archives and the resources inside them: users can create, open, save, import, export, order, convert, and revert entries, with several archives open in tabs for copying and pasting between them. Supported archive formats include Doom WAD and ZIP/PK3, Quake PAK and WAD2, Build GRP and ART, Shadowcaster DAT and LIB, and Amulets & Armor RES. Its map editor covers Doom, Hexen, and UDMF maps, with 3D editing and automatic sector generation. The text editor offers syntax highlighting, calltips, autocomplete, auto-indent, and find-and-replace. Graphics can be viewed, converted, palette-remapped, and exported to PNG; Doom composite textures can also be edited. SLADE3 plays several audio formats, including MUS, MIDI, XMI, HMI, and HMP. Stable release 3.2.12 is listed alongside beta 3.3.0 Beta 2, which may have bugs, crashes, or unfinished features.