Author Topic: Map makers/editors? (Read 18661 times)

ReCycled · « **Reply #15 on:** March 03, 2006, 03:04:58 PM »

Map making is difficult for the novice from many points of view.
1) First there is the technical part to simply learn how to create structures beyond simple cubes. There are multi-shapes, moving elements, texture aligning, lighting and many more.
2) Can you actually make a map with good design and flow? Are the weapons/ammo distributed in a logical fashion....is it interesting visually....is it fun to play or is it sterile....is there a surprise element in it.....have you put in an inadvertant major camping spot....do you spawn facing a weapon nearby or in sight....is it full of repetitive gimmicks.....are the corridors too narrow...is your map too big...is your map too small ...etc ...etc
3) I mentioned lighting in the first point but that part is an art form unto itself that needs a lot of practice and experimentation.

Don't let this lecture put you off from trying but making a map that people genuinely like takes both engineering and artistic prowess.

Medidon[MODB] · « **Reply #16 on:** November 22, 2006, 11:18:13 PM »

Hey im trying Quark and i dont no how to save as a bsp or can u and also it wont let me get n e xatrix weapons ne way around this????

[BTF] Reflex · « **Reply #17 on:** November 23, 2006, 12:52:47 AM »

you might need to point it to where whatever the qbsp prog is,

I dunno exactly for quark, I use worldcraft.

Medidon[MODB] · « **Reply #18 on:** November 23, 2006, 01:05:26 PM »

where can i find that
????
can u post the link

Medidon[MODB] · « **Reply #19 on:** November 24, 2006, 09:56:09 AM »

Ok i figuerd out the problem but i have another problem i need i file called TXQBSP3 and i have searched every where can someone help with this?

Whirlingdervish · « **Reply #20 on:** December 08, 2006, 03:31:19 PM »

you don't need that exact copy of qbsp.

you should use these 3 programs:

qbsp3.exe
qvis3.exe
arghrad.exe

instead of the ones that quark is asking for.
These are much newer builds of those tools.

in the configuration menu, just set these with the browse feature next to the different utils.
put them in there in this order as well (as the first util, second util, third util...)

you can get them here:
http://dervish.tastyspleen.net/files/buildutils.zip

qbsp3.exe will make the basic .bsp file out of your .qrk or .map file. (map will be playable after this util is done, but fullbright)
qvis3.exe will calculate the visibility data and write this to your .bsp file (may take a very long time to finish running.. wait for it)
arghrad.exe will do all the calculations for the lighting and write this to your .bsp file.

Whirlingdervish · « **Reply #21 on:** March 08, 2007, 04:55:59 PM »

I just remembered this thread was here..

magical pig · « **Reply #22 on:** March 08, 2007, 05:03:07 PM »

e-bully!

Whirlingdervish · « **Reply #23 on:** March 08, 2007, 05:05:41 PM »

swine!

magical pig · « **Reply #24 on:** March 08, 2007, 07:31:58 PM »

Mwahahahahahaoink

ReCycled · « **Reply #25 on:** April 29, 2007, 10:14:01 AM »

Quote from: Whirlingdervish(Q2C) on December 08, 2006, 03:31:19 PM

arghrad.exe will do all the calculations for the lighting and write this to your .bsp file.

This reminds me of a problem I've always had with lighting embedded in texturing. When I use WinBSP to convert an existing map (say Edge) to a .map file (so I can import it into my editor) I lose all the textured lighting built into the original bsp. The first time I converted the Edge it was sterile looking and all in shades of grey. And, of course, the lighting was off. You could try to rebuild the lighting back into each textured component but that would be a helluva lot of work - and you would just be guessing at all the missing light values anyway. Any way to get the .map file complete?

PANTONE 7717C · « **Reply #26 on:** April 29, 2007, 12:51:36 PM »

I have de-compiled a lot of maps but never noticed such thing as missing lighting. I think I know what's going on though.

The backwards converted MAP file does contain all the (unprocessed) light information and entities. However a side effect of de-compiling is **leaking**, ie. small brush misalignments and cracks. And because a leak stops both the VIS and LIGHT compile the result is a map with unfinished lighting or with no lighting at all.
The lightmaps can only be built into a BSP after a full compile, so for the compilers to complete their task, any **leaks** have to be fixed first.

In other words, if you convert a BSP to a MAP file you lose the pre-calculated lightmaps but not the source info of the lighting. So when doing a full compile ArghRad will re-calculate and then built the lightmaps into your new BSP again.

peewee_RotA · « **Reply #27 on:** April 30, 2007, 03:54:53 PM »

I swear up and down by Qoole 2.5. It's very easy to use and learn. It has a few down sides, for example it runs based on "scope" instead of using an object viewer. Also it has an issue converting the native type of .qle to .map which is what the compilation programs use.

Qoole v99 fixed all of those problems but has a glitch with rotating entities.

Simply put qoole is the most fun and easiest, it just has some quirks to work around.

If you want serious mapping practice I recommend picking up the DEDIT tools for the Blood 2 engine. (also used in Shogo, AVP, and NOLF)

peewee_RotA · « **Reply #28 on:** April 30, 2007, 03:55:42 PM »

P.S. come to www.zeliepa.com/dna for legacy game editing help. We're a repository for tutorials and files for legacy game editing.

(feel free to remove this post if it violates TOS)

Whirlingdervish · « **Reply #29 on:** April 30, 2007, 04:02:23 PM »

the easiest way to figure out if this was the case in your (ReCycled) problem, would be to import the .map into an editor and make 6 large squarish brushes into a huge cube that completely surrounds everything in the map. match them up perfectly at every edge with the other brushes they touch.. (to make sure your box doesn't leak too..)

then do a full rebuild (qbsp, then qvis, then arghrad)

it might take a while if there was indeed a leaky spot, as the light will spill into the cube and illuminate things that you'd never see in the map, but it will finish eventually and the lighting should be very similar to the original.
(if the conversion from .bsp to .map didn't jack up the lighting values as they were originally stored)

Author Topic: Map makers/editors? (Read 18661 times)

El Box de Shoutamente