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SPECIFICTION
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DarkRadiant vs GtkRadiant

DarkRadiant

darkradiant.net

GtkRadiant

icculus.org

Side by side

FigureDarkRadiantGtkRadiant
Price fromFreeFree
Free planYesYes
Free trial——
Open source—Yes
WindowsYesYes
macOSYesYes
LinuxYesYes
Plans published12
Spec score · Game Level Editors8.1 (#7)8.6 (#3)
Intended usersThe project's stated goal is to provide the fan-mission community with an editor for creating The Dark Mod missions.The project describes its audience as commercial developers and individual modders making levels for supported id Tech games.
PurposeDarkRadiant is an open-source level editor for Doom 3 and The Dark Mod.GtkRadiant is an open-source, cross-platform level editor and toolchain for games powered by id Tech engines.
SupportThe project directs users to The Dark Mod forums for discussion and its bugtracker for reporting issues.Support options listed by the project include forums, IRC, tutorial sites, and a GitHub issue tracker.

Plans

DarkRadiant

  • DarkRadiantFree

DarkRadiant pricing →

GtkRadiant

  • GtkRadiantFree
  • GtkRadiantFree

GtkRadiant pricing →

In their own words

DarkRadiant

DarkRadiant is a free, open-source level editor for Doom 3 and The Dark Mod, with additional listed support for The Dark Mod 2.0, Quake 4, Quake 3, and XreaL. Its workspace includes a media browser, inspectors for surfaces, patches, and lights, plus layers, grouping, and selection sets. Model and material tools include a particle editor with real-time preview, model scaling, model and skin browsers, and UV editing. It imports classic Quake and idTech map formats and exports to Doom 3, Quake 4, and Quake 3 formats. Plugins for The Dark Mod cover Stim/Response, objectives, difficulty, and conversations, alongside AI and Readable tools. A Python script interface is available, and preferences can specify fs_game for working with other Doom 3 modifications. DarkRadiant runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, although the FAQ says macOS builds are not fully tested. The editor does not install game resources; users must point it to a supported game before editing maps.

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GtkRadiant

GtkRadiant is a free, open-source level editor and toolchain for games powered by id Tech engines. It includes map compilers, data authoring tools, and Q3Map2, with tools for 3D levels, terrain, and entity placement. The GtkRadiant 1.6 page lists support for games including Quake III Arena, QuakeLive, Urban Terror, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, Quake2, Quake2: Remastered, Quetoo, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, and Jedi Academy. Support for a game can depend on an active developer to test and address issues; some titles may require an older version or third-party fork. GtkRadiant reads and writes assets in a game's directory, and the project recommends installing the game first. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Linux distribution is through Flathub as a Flatpak; the Mac version requires XQuartz, MacPorts, and other dependencies. Volunteers maintain the GPL-licensed project, which is provided as-is without warranty or support. Listed help options include forums, IRC, tutorial sites, and a GitHub issue tracker.

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