Serious Editor 3 is the editor used with Serious Engine 3 and Serious Engine 3.5. It was created by Croteam.
Serious Editor 3 is the third version of Serious Editor. It has been included with Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter and Serious Sam 3: BFE. The Serious Sam 3 version is called Serious Editor 3.5, but little seems to have changed in the version released to the public when compared to the Serious Editor 3 released with Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter.
Compared to Serious Editor 2, some new tools have been added. The material tool allows one to define how parts of a model interact with the environment, while the mesh editor allows one to create basic models in the editor. However, the actual interface of the editor has not changed since Serious Editor 2 and all of the tools are still in one program.
A further updated version, the Serious Editor 2017, was released for Serious Sam Fusion.
Tools[]
Animation editor[]
Animation editor.
This tool lets the user create new animations or edit existing ones. When combined with the Skeleton Editor, it lets the user have complete control over creating animations.
Collision editor[]
Collision editor.
The collision editor allows one to define the collision boxes on a model. This is used to help define how a model interacts with a level, other models, and, for killable models, where a model can be shot at. Unlike its Serious Editor 2 counterpart, this one seems to be more complete.
Destruction editor[]
Destruction editor.
The destruction editor lets one create gibs from an existing model. This is handy for creating gibs that look like they are coming from a model instead of being a generic pile of meat that appears after an enemy is killed (or dismembered and bloody body parts in the case of a human player). It can also be used on non-enemy models, such as palm trees, to create accurate gibs and states of destruction for them.
This tool also allows the user to define the damage amounts, weapon classes, and damage types that can trigger a model's destruction, as well as the maximum delay (in seconds) between damages received - for example, it is possible to allow player gibbing to be possible with any amount of Crushing damage and without any delay between damages in Serious Sam 3 by modifying Player.dtn after opening any player character's model (.mdl) file.
Material editor[]
Material editor.
The material editor is used to define how parts of a model interact with elements like light. For example, if one were to create a model and wanted it to have a shiny chest that reflects light, they could use the material editor to define its chest texture as reflecting, while the rest of its body doesn't. The material editor can also be used to create bloodmaps for enemies - that is, they can look bloodier the more damage they take.
Mesh editor[]
Mesh editor.
The mesh editor lets the user create models inside the editor by doing things like adding polygons. This is useful for things like making basic props. However, larger and more complex models are more suited for external editors, such as 3DSMax and Blender. The mesh editor works well for creating small props, though.
Model editor[]
Model editor.
The model editor lets one import models into Serious Editor 3's model format and view how they will look in-game. In addition, it lets one view a model in wireframe and non-textured or textured modes to see how it looks in various states. It can also be used to play a model's animations to see if they're working correctly when not in the animation editor.
Skeleton editor[]
Skeleton editor.
The skeleton editor lets one create a skeleton for a model or edit an existing one. This gives animators a base for them to create smooth animations for a model. Needless to say, the Skeleton Editor is often used in conjunction with the animation editor.
It is also used to create and view the level of details for a model to see what it'd look like at certain distances for various reasons.
World editor[]
World editor.
The world editor is Serious Editor 3's level editor. This tool lets one create a new level or edit an existing one. Shapes like rectangles can be used inside the editor to create levels. Entities such as enemies and items can be added to a level from this editor in order to give a level actual gameplay. The world editor can be combined with external LUA files to script events, such as enemies spawning in or a door that opens only after two keys have been collected and used on it.
Other tools[]
Other tools include the ability to convert a texture to Serious Engine 3's texture format or export a texture to a readable .tga format, insert new fonts into a game, and modify certain behaviors and variables for enemies and weapons.