using custom maps

[not_l33t]

how do you use custom single player maps in a mod.

[Spirit]

Put them in /yourmod/maps?
Make sure you read the txt and/or ask the author for permission.

[not_l33t]

i did that but it still didn't work

[Dr. Shadowborg]

Try running quake like this:

Quake.exe -game yourmod +map yourmap

Or, alternately, type "map yourmap" at the console.

[not_l33t]

ok that finds the map but (theres aways a but) it sayscouldn't spawn server maps/test.bsp and dose not load the map. also what is the should the map be saved as .map or .bsp i have read that its .map but this has me thinking otherwise.

[Entar]

.bsp - you'll need a compiler ( I recommend hmap2 which can be found at the DarkPlaces site http://icculus.org/twilight/darkplaces ) to make a .bsp file out of a .map.

[not_l33t]

i got that but i can not get it to work and its not real clear in the read me on how to use it

[HeadThump]

if the engine refused to spawn the map it could also mean that you don't have a player start entity in your bsp file.

[Entar]

if the engine refused to spawn the map it could also mean that you don't have a player start entity in your bsp file.

Yeah, but it usually tells you that's the problem (i.e. "No info_player_start")

[not_l33t]

i have that. i need to compile the .map to a .bsp

[HeadThump]

okay, here is the quick and dirty way to get a map to compile into a bsp. I'm skipping editor set ups and the like. There are smoother ways to do this but I like to do things manually.

Down load these two files:

http://user.tninet.se/~xir870k/txqbspbjp.zip

http://user.tninet.se/~xir870k/visbjp.zip

put the executables light.exe, vis.exe, txqbsp.exe in a folder. I use c:\maps, same structure I've used for years. Put your .map file along with them. Bring up the Notepad program, assuming you are on a Windows based platform. Write this out, 'txqbsp mymap.map
vis mymap.bsp light -extra mymap.bsp'.

Save this as something like, mymap.bat in the same folder with everything else. It is important to save it with the .bat extension.
Double click on the new bat file, and things will process. When it is finished, open up the file labled, Qbsp_Log.txt, and scan down to the bottom. There you will find your errors, like, 'WARNING: No entities in empty space -- no filling performed' (though that one is just a warning, it is still a decent example).

Now, go to this site, http://user.tninet.se/~xir870k/tooltips.txt
look up your errors, and fix them according to the directions given. When your map is error free, it will compile into a bsp which can be played by using the command lines quoted in post above.

[not_l33t]

i did that but the thing opens and closes realy fast. i also don't get a file called Qbsp_Log.txt i get one called VIS.txt wtf

[HeadThump]

the compile process will generate Qbsp_log.txt, vis.log and light.log (among other files like, mymap.vis, mymap.prt). Even if a bsp file isn't created, it will generate the Qbsp_log.txt, if the .bat program is written correctly and if the txQbsp.exe file is in the same folder (you can use other folders but it requires a slightly more complex instruction set in the .bat file).

mymap.map
txqbsp.exe
vis.exe
light.exe
mymap.bat

all in the same folder. the .bat file (a simple text file with a .bat extension) written out like this:

txqbsp.exe mymap.map
vis.exe mymap.bsp
light.exe -extra mymap.bsp


Extra is not really necessary in the light compilation, but who wants to see jaggies. Keep trying from the start if it doesn't work the first dozen times or so. Likely you have a spelling error in the bat (short for batch) program you created.

[not_l33t]

ok its working now. the problem was that is didn't have the .bat file wrong, which i thought i had done and if u hadn't replied today i was going to have another look at it.

thanks

[HeadThump]

When I began mapping, I was the noobiest noobie in all of Noobiedom. Nothing I tried ever worked as it should on the first go at it.