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  • Making a Quake Map 101



    Additional note Aug 11, 2006:

    This information is still valuable, but you should definitely check out http://www.quakeone.com/qadapter and read that first before proceeding. It is a nice "install and go" install of most of the things discussed in this thread with Worldcraft 3.3.

    I setup the QuakeAdapter to get rid of all of the messy problems of finding everything and getting setup.



    Making a Quake Map 101

    All the tools necessary to make a Quake map are free and available on the internet. It really isn't that hard to make a basic map, like a boxy room with doors.

    If you spend a moderate amount of time you can make better things. If you spend a lot of time, depending on your skill level and how hard you work at it, you might be able to make something fairly nice.

    Getting Started

    First, you will need a map editor. One that is freely available and has tutorials for Quake 1 is Worldcraft 1.6a.

    Worldcraft 1.6a: Shareware download

    There is a registered version of Worldcraft 1.6a also. I don't really know what the difference is. Since Worldcraft 1.6 is abandonware, you can probably find the registered version out there.

    There are other freely available map editors, although it is not so easy to find Quake 1 mapping newbie starter information.

    These include:

    Quark
    GTK Radiant
    Valve Hammer

    GTK Radiant, as far as I can tell, is more geared towards Quake 3 maps. It also seems a lot more complicated than Worldcraft to me, but it has some advanced features.

    Valve Hammer is a Half-Life map editor. So why am I mentioning this? Half-Life 1 and Quake 1 map formats are nearly identical and with some experience, you can make Quake 1 maps with it.

    GTK Radiant is free. I don't believe Value Hammer is free, but it is my understanding that QuaRK is free.

    Worldcraft Tutorial

    http://hosted.planetquake.gamespy.co...ft/index2.shtm

    If you are interesting in mapping, do the whole Worldcraft tutorial. Do not skip any section. Do not just read it. You must actually -- to the letter -- do each and every exercise.

    Don't get intimidated. After doing 3 or 4 exercises, and this does not take that long ... maybe an hour or two ... you will be a lot more comfortable with it and -- if you are like me -- find that it is rather easy to get around in.

    Textures

    To make a map, you need textures. Quake has a palette of 256 colors -- 240 in practice, I think. Quake stores textures in a raw graphics format called LMP and places them in a WAD file, which is basically a big bundle of them in a single file.

    To manage textures that are used in a map, one essential tool is:

    TexMex

    This tool is quite easy to use.

    Originally posted by Addition 7/5/2006
    Spirit has assembled a great collection of map WAD files, there are texture sets that work well together.

    http://wads.quaddicted.com
    Entities

    Entities are objects or non-fixed structures in a map. These include buttons, monsters, lights, spawn points, etc.

    There is an improved entity definition file for Worldcraft by CZG, the Insomia author:

    http://czg.leveldesign.org/q/index.html (look for the .fgd file)

    Newer Tools

    One of the more complicated parts of a map is the lighting. There are vastly improved lighting utilities by Tyrann and Aguirre that are much more efficient than the now ancient originals. These lighting compile tools completely replaced the originals for serious mappers long ago.

    http://disenchant.net/utils.html
    http://user.tninet.se/~xir870k/

    (Consequentially, we are lucky enough to actually have both of these individuals as members of this board. Please do not private message them here.)

    Additional Information

    There are some very useful links on the Developer tab in the QuakeOne navigator which should help you locate 80-90% of the tools and things needed to make a map.

    http://www.quakeone.com/navigator

    If you get serious about it, some sources for additional information are reading threads at Func_Msgboard, Google or reading map developer home pages and links such as the following, just to name a few:

    http://www.planetquake.com/fatty/
    http://www.leveldesign.org
    http://necros.planetquake.gamespy.com/

    There are also map source files available with many maps, and maps can actually be decompiled. This is it is very good for learning, but it is considered very rude and inappropriate to actually release a map that uses any of the textures/structures of another map without the author's consent.

    Map Sources:

    These authors were kind enough to release their sources. There are others available, these are just two higher profile examples:



    1. dkt1000: 1000 Brush Quake SP pack
    2. Antediluvian

    Speed Mapping

    If you get any good at making maps, one good place to start getting your first maps reviewed and participating in the map making community are the regular speed mapping sessions at Func_Msgboard.

    Closing

    It is not very hard to start making a map. It is harder to finish a map, and making a quality map is very difficult. But whether or not you wish to make a serious map or just play around and have fun, trying your hand at making a map can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience, especially having your Quake guy walk around in a small little world you just created.

    And no, I've never finished a map but I laid the foundations of a pretty cool stadium map that I will probably never finish and started on a cool map with wind tunnels and got 1/4 of the way thru building a Coagula/Space Station style map with horrendous r_speeds.

    These unfinished maps probably suck by most standards but they were fun to make :d And, this is just about everything I know but should be more than enough to get started.

    And, with this, I have completed a promise I made on Func_Msgboard when I was asking the mapping gods a dozen questions, and that was to aggregate everything they told me into a single source.
    Last edited by Baker; 08-11-2006, 01:51 AM. Reason: Correct a PlanetQuake link 7/5/2006 + added Spirit's WAD archive url
    Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

    So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

  • #2
    I've tried to make a quake map 2 times within the years and always failed because I didn't know wtf I was doing. Plus worldcraft would sometimes crash on me.

    Comment


    • #3
      I always used quark. I couldn't quite grasp worldcraft.

      I think one of my old maps is still available in the downloads section here.
      Chuck

      Comment


      • #4
        I always used WorldCraft. I tried Quark, but I found it too much different than Worldcraft, so I gave up on that. I made one map with Worldcraft, but it was so full of leaks that I just gave up. It works fine on my GLPRO though. If anyone wants it, provide their e-mail address and I'll be happy too. (if it even works on your quake)

        Comment


        • #5
          On Func_Msgboard, they say that the editors are so different it is difficult to switch and that once you use one, it makes it even harder to learn a different one.

          It is my understanding that Insomnia was done with Worldcraft 1.6a. Each map in Insomnia is far larger and more detailed than anything I'll ever be able to make so Worldcraft is a good choice for a beginner just due to the quality Quake 1 tutorials, IMHO. I think RPG uses Worldcraft 1.6a for his maps.

          Some of the others in the mapping community use GTK Radiant and Valve Hammer for giant sized maps that push the limits of map capacity in Quake. Plus GTK Radiant can do Quake 3 maps, so you can learn one map design application and use your skills for multiple games.
          Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

          So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

          Comment


          • #6
            Yeah, thats mainly why I used worldcraft. because insomnia was made with it, the most detailed, pWNAGE map of all time.

            Comment


            • #7
              IIRC TexMex had difficulties with using fullbrights when generating mipmaps, didn't it? I use Adquedit, but that program is HORRIBLY quirky. I hear Wally is good.

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              • #8
                I got my starts in blender, a python based modeling suite, then i found QuArK and started mapping.

                Comment


                • #9
                  i'm having a bit of trouble getting texmex. anyone have an url?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    There is a copy in the Downloads -> Mapping/Development section here.
                    Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

                    So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      /me mentions the BSP editor

                      http://www.bspquakeeditor.com/
                      A signature? Oh dear.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Can some pls help me with teleports. I can't figure out how to set 1 up. I give it a target and it shows on the map that it connects with a blue line but then map doesn't start. I guess I'm doing something wrong so I hope some1 can help me out.
                        It's always a good day when you get laid...

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          oh, I think I got it now.
                          It's always a good day when you get laid...

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I got another question. If I accidentally deleted that quark with the map data and only have .bsp left and maybe .map is there a way to still add more to the map or do I need to redo it all now? Because now when I try to launch it through quark it says

                            Build failed, because it did not create the (+BSP) file:
                            D:\Games\Quake\tmpQuArK
                            \.\maps\jumpheaven2.BSP
                            Build failed, because it did not create the (+PRT) file: D:\Games\Quake\tmpQuArK
                            \.\maps\jumpheaven2.PRT
                            It's always a good day when you get laid...

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I've never used Quark for making a map before, but if you can figure out where the error log is and post it here, I'm sure someone that uses Quark will see this thread.

                              I would suggest the mapping help thread @ Func_Msgboard, but it appears Func_Msgboard is having some sort of "technical difficulties" right now.
                              Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

                              So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

                              Comment

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