The Garry's Mod UI is minimalist but powerful. Here's a breakdown of key elements:
The Spawn Menu (Q Key)
This is your primary interaction hub. It's divided into several tabs:
- Weapons: Access all available weapons, including default Half-Life 2 weapons and any addon weapons.
- Entities: Spawn various interactive objects like buttons, doors, lamps, and more.
- NPCs: Spawn friendly or hostile non-player characters from various Source games.
- Props: Spawn static or dynamic objects (props) for building and scene creation. Categorized by game and type.
- Tools: The heart of Garry's Mod. This tab contains the Physgun, Tool Gun, Camera, and many other utilities for manipulating objects and creating contraptions.
- Vehicles: Spawn drivable vehicles.
- Utilities: Access server settings, player options, and other administrative tools.
- Addons: Browse and manage your installed workshop addons.
The Context Menu (C Key)
While holding 'C', you can right-click on objects to bring up a context-sensitive menu. This allows you to change properties of props, NPCs, and other entities, such as making them invulnerable, changing their skin, or setting their health. It's essential for advanced building and scenario creation.