Getting started

Like most worthwhile things in life, Gridmonger is not instant gratification. To paraphrase the famous quote about Linux:

Gridmonger is definitely user-friendly, but it’s perhaps a tad more selective about its friends than your average desktop application.

But, alas, worry not — if you are a fan of old-school computer role-playing games and you are able to set them up in emulators, you will get along with Gridmonger just fine!

The user interface is optimised for power users and is therefore operable by keyboard shortcuts almost exclusively. While you could get quite far going by the list of Keyboard shortcuts alone, the more complex features — especially the reason behind them — would not be so trivial to figure out on your own. I very much recommend reading through this manual at least once to familiarise yourself with the complete list of program features. And don’t just read — create a test map, or load one of the included Example maps, and try the features for yourself as you progress through the chapters!

Having said all that, some people are just impatient or want to get a taste of the thing before committing to learning it. For them, I have included a few quick tips in the Quickstart section below.

Requirements

Gridmonger requires very little hard drive space, only around 6-8 megabytes. Windows 7 & 10 and macOS Mojave or later (10.14+) are supported, although, in all likelihood, it will work fine on Windows XP and much earlier macOS versions.

The program uses OpenGL for all its rendering; it works similarly to a game engine. Any graphics card released in the last 10 years should be sufficient, including laptops with integrated graphics.

Installation

Windows

To install Gridmonger on Windows, download either the Windows installer (for standard installations) or the ZIP file (for portable installations) from the Downloads page. Then run the installer or simply unpack the ZIP file’s contents somewhere. First-time users are encouraged to use the installer and accept the default options.

The 64-bit version is strongly recommended as it’s more performant and more thoroughly tested; only use the 32-bit version if you’re still running a legacy 32-bit version of Windows.

Important

If you choose the portable ZIP version, make sure to unpack it into a folder that is writable by normal (non-administrator) users. So don’t put it into Program Files or similar system folders, as that will most likely not work.

macOS

Just grab the program from the Downloads page and move it into your Applications folder. This is an unsigned application, so the usual advice for running such apps applies (you’ll need to grant the necessary permissions, etc.)

Linux

No Linux builds are provided yet, but you can try to build the program yourself by following the build instructions. There might be some graphical glitches when resizing and moving the application window under certain window managers, but otherwise, the program should work fine.

Note for macOS users

The manual only lists the Windows and Linux keyboard shorcuts for brevity, but Gridmonger uses macOS user interface conventions by default.

So when the manual tells you to press the Ctrl + Key shortcut, use Cmd + Key instead.

Similarly, Ctrl+Alt + Key becomes Cmd+Shift + Key, and lastly, Alt + Key becomes Opt + Key.

The program always displays the correct modifier key labels in the user interface. You can also refer to the quick keyboard reference panel by pressing Shift+/ which shows the actual shortcuts.

You can switch to Ctrl & Alt based shortcuts even on macOS in the Preferences dialog.

Quickstart

For the impatient among you, here are a few notes to get you started.

Important

Always keep an eye on the status bar messages at the bottom of the window, as they contain important context-dependent information about the tools you’re trying to use.

Tip

If the user interface text is too small for you, you can set a custom scaling factor in the Preferences dialog.

Help

  • Press Shift+/ to display the quick keyboard reference

  • Press F1 to open this manual in your default browser

Maps & levels

  • Ctrl+O opens a map, Ctrl+S saves the map

  • Ctrl+Alt+N creates a new map

  • Ctrl+Alt+P opens the map properties

  • Ctrl+N creates a new level

  • Ctrl+P opens the level properties

  • Ctrl+D deletes the current level

  • Cycle through the levels of the map with Ctrl+- and Ctrl+=, or PgUp and PgDn

Themes

  • Use Ctrl+PgUp and Ctrl+PgDn to cycle through the themes (or Ctrl+Fn+↑ and Ctrl+Fn+↓ on laptops).

Editing

  • Use the arrow keys, the numeric keypad, or HJKL to move the cursor (these are the movement keys)

  • Adjust the zoom level with - and =

  • Undo with with U, Ctrl+U, or Ctrl+Z

  • Redo with Ctrl+R or Ctrl+Y

  • Hold D and use the movement keys to draw (excavate) tunnels

  • Hold E and use the movement keys to erase cells

  • Hold W and use the movement keys to draw/clear walls around a cell

  • Hold R and use the movement keys to draw/clear special walls; change the current special wall with [ and ]

  • Use 1–8 to place various floor types; press a number key repeatedly to cycle through all floor types assigned to that key (hold Shift to cycle backwards)

  • Press N or ; to add a note to a cell or to edit an existing note

  • Press Shift+N or Shift+; to remove a note