SLADE3 vs Source 2 Viewer
SLADE3
slade.mancubus.net
Source 2 Viewer
s2v.appSide by side
| Figure | SLADE3 | Source 2 Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Asset Extractors | 8.1 (#5) | 8.3 (#4) |
| Purpose | SLADE3 is an editor for Doom-engine games and source ports that can view, modify, write, and convert game-specific and generic formats. | Source 2 Viewer browses VPK archives and views, exports, and decompiles Source 2 assets such as maps, models, materials, textures, and sounds. |
| Security | The official pages opened describe product features and support but do not state security certifications or compliance information. | The repository says free code signing is provided by SignPath.io, with a certificate from SignPath Foundation. |
| Support | Users can report bugs or request features through the GitHub issue tracker and discuss SLADE on Discord or the ZDoom forum thread. | The maker directs users to report issues and notes that reports with a file path and error message usually get looked at quickly. |
Plans
In their own words
SLADE3
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.
Source 2 Viewer
Source 2 Viewer is a free, open-source tool for browsing VPK archives and inspecting or exporting assets from Source 2 games. It can search, extract, and create archives, including VPK versions from Source 1. Its renderer displays maps, models, physics, and particles with real-time lighting and animation playback. The tool also inspects textures, audio, shaders, and other Source 2 resources. Maps, models, physics, and animations can be exported to glTF 2.0, with material conversion and batch export; maps, models, and materials can be decompiled into editable formats for Hammer, ModelDoc, and Source 2 Workshop Tools. Texture tools cover channels, depth layers, mip levels, cubemaps, and HDR, with image export. Its audio player supports WAV, MP3, and Source 2 formats. The graphical interface is Windows-only, though the guide describes running it on Linux and macOS through Wine; the command-line utility is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. The GUI is portable and requires no installation. Some data may be lost during export, and reverse-engineered format support is incomplete. The project is volunteer-built and says it is not affiliated with Valve.