| Generic Updated 15 Feb 2001 | Upper levels: - QuArK Information Base - 2. Map editing - 2.6. FAQs for each supported g...

2.6.1. Generic | [ Prev - Up - Next ]

This section contains general problems, which spans several or all games, that is supported by QuArK. If you have any questions, problems or find solutions regarding this topic, please post them in the QuArK forum/mailing-list.

Index

- - .PAK files - Part I (15 Feb 2001)
- - .PAK files - Part II (15 Feb 2001)
- - How to give my level a name (15 Feb 2001)
- - Rotating brush-entity rotates wrongly (15 Feb 2001)
- - Func_train entity (15 Feb 2001)

.PAK files - Part I | Decker / Armin Rigo - 15 Feb 2001 | [ Top ]

Question: If I built a level and I use my own textures and my own recorded sounds in it, can I distribute the BSP-file of my level without having to worry about that or do I have to include the textures and WAV-files that I home-created in the ZIP-file along with a manual for placing them correctly in the right directories as I have done on my computer? I mean; are they automatically included in the .BSP during creation, or does the .BSP merely point to those files, so that they have to be placed in the insert-game-name-here directories of the people who want to play my level? Answer: The following game's .BSP files don't store the textures. You have to distribute them together with it. The same is true for .WAV files. You can make a .ZIP file with the directory structure intact if you want to spare the trouble of putting the files in their correct directories from other users. Quake-2, Heretic-2, Half-Life, Sin, Kingpin, Quake-3:Arena, ST:V-Elite Force

.PAK files - Part II | Decker / Armin Rigo - 15 Feb 2001 | [ Top ]

Question: I also saw a few examples of guys distributing home-made PAK#.PAK-files. Answer: Yes, you can do that with QuArK, too. In the main window's Games menu, select 'Output directories', and check 'Always create .pak files'. Then QuArK will build a .PAK file in the 'TmpQuArK' directory, and the created .PAK file will contain the .WAV files too if you store them in the .QRK file, in a 'Files for the game' entry (see the New Files toolbox). Note however that your custom textures will not be stored in the .PAK file. QuArK doesn't try to determine which textures are custom and which ones are not. You will have to add them to the .PAK yourself, by editing the .PAK with QuArK, for example. The advantage of using a .PAK file is that you don't have to explain the map users all they must do with the files in your .ZIP. Once the .QRK file containing your map stores all necessary files, every time you press GO (menu Games), QuArK builds a brand new .PAK file, ready to be distributed. The file is called PAK0.PAK in the "TmpQuArK" directory under your Quake directory. To store files in a .QRK, follow these steps: Open the .QRK file, open the "New Files" toolbox from the Toolboxes menu, double-click on "Files for the game". Then come back to the .QRK and select your new "Files for the game". There is a "new folder" button that appears in the toolbar above. Click on it to make a new folder, and rename it (e.g. "sounds" for .WAV files). The files you put inside this folder will be found by Quake as if you had put them in a "sounds" directory on the disk. Usually, custom .WAV files should be put in a sub-directory of "sounds", e.g. "sounds/yourname/", and your map should refer to them as "yourname/filename.wav". In this case, you need a sub-folder in the "sounds" folder, called "yourname". To actually put files inside these folders, one possible way is to drop them from Windows' Explorer to QuArK. QuArK will ask you if you'd like the files to be actually copied inside the .QRK file (it will make the .QRK file bigger, but you don't need the original files any more), or just make links; in the latter case, the files should be put in the same directory as the .QRK file itself, or QuArK will not find them again later. Either way, it does not change the way QuArK writes the .PAK file. The files are always really included inside the .PAK.

How to give my level a name | Decker / Armin Rigo - 15 Feb 2001 | [ Top ]

Question: How can I set the description that is displayed in the game-console while loading the map? Like set "The Hall of Mirrors by XYZ" instead of just the name of my .BSP file? Answer: Double-click on 'worldspawn' in the map editor. Yes, this is also an entity, and it also have Specific/Args. Find the 'message' specific, its the one you are looking for:
    message         A Fab Map by XYZ

Rotating brush-entity rotates wrongly | Decker / Armin Rigo - 15 Feb 2001 | [ Top ]

Question: I've created a rotating brush-entity, but when playing the map, the entity is rotating in huge circles. Why? Answer: Depending on the FPS-game, all rotating brush-entities must have a pivot-point. This pivot-point is generated by creating a brush (within the entity) that has either the `ORIGIN face-flag` , or `ORIGIN texture` applied to it. This is also called an origin-brush. So in the tree-view, it should look something like this:
    - func_door_rotating
      + ORIGIN        // This cube have been renamed, to reflect that its an origin-brush
      + cube
      + cube
You must study the FPS-game you are developing maps for, to see what method; face-flag or texture, that is used to create an origin-brush. Here is a quick rundown of the most common: Quake-1: Rotating entities can't be done, unless you're using a special PROGS.DAT. Please see the documentation for it. Quake-2: The origin-brush is indicated by face-flag Origin. Half-Life: The origin-brush is indicated with a texture named "ORIGIN".

Func_train entity | - 15 Feb 2001 | [ Top ]

Question: I am experimenting with a func_train and I seem to be unable to predict the exact course that this thing will follow after I put down the path_corners for it. Answer: The general path it will follow is set by the chain of target/targetname that tie the path_corner entities together. When you click on one of the path_corners, QuArK should display the whole path with arrows; if it doesn't, there is something wrong in your target/targetnames, or "show indirect 'target' links" isn't checked in QuArK's configuration. Now to know exactly where the func_train will go: Its lower-left corner is the point that follows the path_corners.

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