Dungeon Master Forum

*EDITTED FOR NEW VERSION*
DDM v015b
DSB Dungeon Maker v015b

DDM v-33b
DSB Dungeon Maker v033b

A few notes:
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First, it requires the .NET 2.0 Framework. One way to figure out if you have it is to go to Control Panel -> Add / Remove Programs. It'll be listed as "Microsoft .NET 2.0 Framework", generally at the top of the rest of Microsoft stuff you probably have.
A further note on this - on one of the machines I tested this, it said it had .NET 2.0, but it really didn't. I don't know why (though, it could be because that computer hasn't picked up any updates since it was purchased) - but running the redistributable fixed the problem. The .NET package is available here:

Microsoft .NET 2.0 Dist. Package (x86)

Chances are, though, if you have WinXP(SP2) or above, you'll already have what you need.
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Okay, this will eventually make it into a help file or pdf manual or something, but as it's probably relevant now, here's a quick guide to editting exvars...

Editing Pre-Loaded Exvars
Alot of archtypes have standard exvars that usually apply to them. These are stored in the Archtype Library (see below on how to change these or add your own), and are automatically generated for every instance of that archtype.
Editing them is fairly straight forward. Select the cell containing the value you wish to change (seen here), and begin typing. Alternatively, you can double-click the indicated cell (see the picture) to launch a helper dialog for that particular exvar.

Adding Exvars
Whenever an instance is selected, the Exvar Listing will have a "blank" row at the bottom (indicated here). To add an exvar, simply click into the first cell and begin typing. DDM will suggest several exvars based on what you've typed (shown here). You can choose one of them, or continue typing your own exvar. Pressing 'Tab' or the Right Arrow key will move the cursor to the next cell, so that you can enter a value for that exvar.
If the space isn't large enough, double-clicking will bring up a generic "Zoom..." dialog (seen here) with Cut/Copy/Paste functionality through key-combinations or a pop-up menu (right-click to display).

Deleting Exvars
To delete an exvar, use the Row Select button on the left-hand side of the row (indicated here) to first select the row, then hit the 'Delete' key to erase it. You can select multiple rows as well.

Using Helpers
Usually, double-clicking will bring up the exvar Helper you want (see above). However, if an instance doesn't have the exvars you want to edit, and you want a quicker way to add them than by hand, or if you want to use a different Helper (for example, using "Zoom..." to look at a long table of target values), you can use the Pop-up menu. Merely right click in the Exvar Listing to display the menu (seen here), and choose your Helper.
For example, if you want to add an 'x', 'y', and 'lev' exvar to a staircase, launch the Location helper, select you location, and click 'OK' in the pop-up dialog. The exvars and your selected values will be added to that instance (seen here).

*NOTE* Message choices are also available on the Pop-up menu. However, they do not add a 'msg' exvar' - they merely change the currently selected cell to the message value you choose.

Adding Exvars to Archtypes
*NOTE* This needs to be done prior to running DDM - changes made while DDM is running are not registered.

If you want to add, edit, or remove the exvars that are automatically added to pre-existing Archtypes, first navigate to the 'config' folder of DDM. Inside you'll find several XML files. 'archtypes.xml' contains the Archtype Library information. Open it with your favorite text-editor (Notepad works just fine). Inside you'll find various listings for the archtypes: To add an exvar to an Archtype, find the archtype and merely duplicate this line:With your own values in Key and Value.


And that's about all there is to it. Happy editting.

*NOTE* The Location Helper also lets you choose a value for a 'face' exvar. In the Location Dialog, click "Direction" and use the drop-down list to choose a direction.

What is the status on DDM? Is there a new version coming out soon that incorporates some of the bug fixes and improvements? I'm just restarting on my DSB dungeon after a long hiatus and I'm curious.

I'm curious too. It's been quite a while again... has there been any news on this?

Remy seems to be busy with other things now...