How do I begin making levels for RTCW?

WL6 · 2013-09-07 21:18:32 UTC

Grettings!

I’ve always wanted to have a go at making my own maps for RTCW, but have no clue where to begin. I’m used to Doom/Zdoom editing, and have dabbled in the past with Quake 1 + 2 (so I have a grasp of how true 3D mapping works).

My problem is what version of GtkRadiant I should install and how to set up it up. From what I read additional files need to be installed for editing RTCW single player levels?

I am looking for help in how to set up GtKRadiant for RTCW, what version I should get and what additional files I should install - I’ll learn the rest as soon as I’ve got that sorted

PS - how does one go about loading custom levels/editing textures/etc… is there a newbie list of all a new modder should know?

ronboy · 2013-09-07 22:01:34 UTC

Hello, WL6. The version of Radiant you will need depends on whether you want to compile with Q3map or Q3map2.
At the moment, Q3map2 is still buggy with Rtcw sp, but obsidian and other Q3map2 developers may be fixing this issue soon. For the time being, I would use Gtk Radiant 1.2.11, and compile with Q3map.
See here for some Rtcw tutorials.

WL6 · 2013-09-07 22:10:46 UTC

Cheers ronboy, that’s helped a lot.

WL6 · 2013-09-07 22:29:50 UTC

What version of Q3map is recommended?

WL6 · 2013-09-08 02:03:05 UTC

Also, I notice when I try and create certain props (locker for example), the editor reports:

“Failed to create entity”

Is there something I need to setup?

ronboy · 2013-09-08 02:59:30 UTC

Any version of Q3map should be fine. About the props, some require other entities in order to work, some work normally, and some don’t work at all.
Since you’re working with sp, have a look at the link in my signature (ronboymaps.webs.com). There’s a “tips for sp mappers” section there with some advice for sp mappers.

Nail · 2013-09-08 05:23:53 UTC

good stuff, have a cookie

WL6 · 2013-09-08 09:39:28 UTC

Is there a website/info that directly covers this in detail?

Also is there a list of what does and doesn’t work?

EDIT/PS: I notice a lot of websites for mapping RTCW no longer exist… is there a list of current functioning websites that people can list?

ronboy · 2013-09-08 14:26:57 UTC

Thanks, Nail.

[QUOTE=WL6;468704]Is there a website/info that directly covers this in detail?

Also is there a list of what does and doesn’t work?

EDIT/PS: I notice a lot of websites for mapping RTCW no longer exist… is there a list of current functioning websites that people can list?[/QUOTE]

You’re right. Many websites have left the Internet, but there is hope. Try copying and pasting the address of a website that is no longer online into the “wayback machine” search box here.

This site is very helpful with accessing sites that no longer exist. But there is a disadvantage: Some parts of a website may not be archived on the wayback machine, so don’t be surprised if some links don’t work.

WL6 · 2013-09-08 16:07:59 UTC

That’s truly a pity that so much information is dispersed and potentially lost in the long run, it really ought to be archived centrally on a wiki or something.

WL6 · 2013-09-08 16:52:35 UTC

Are brushes allowed to loverlap, or does this cause problems later on?

WL6 · 2013-09-08 19:50:03 UTC

I have Q3Map 2.3.35. but really have no idea how to set it up… the readme doesn’t help much either.

Rather new to Quake based games, Zdoom/GZdoom used to have excellent compilers already installed… can anyone help?

ronboy · 2013-09-08 21:54:56 UTC

You can have brushes overlap, but only certain brushes should be overlapped (like the textures in the “decals” folder). Overlapping other textures usually results in a “flashing” effect when the player makes any movement.
It’s simple to compile. Just click “BSP” on the Radiant menu bar, and choose a compile option. Radiant should do the rest for you.

WL6 · 2013-09-09 13:34:19 UTC

Hello again,

I’ve read the tutorial, but there doesn’t seem to be any information on adding enemies to levels.

Also, is there a place for more in-depth scripting tutorials? I’ve done a bit of scripting for Zdoom, and it uses a very similar syntax.

WL6 · 2013-09-09 14:02:53 UTC

Also, no sound is in the map… not even when the player jumps, etc… I presume I have to set this up… how?

SSF-Sage · 2013-09-09 14:03:58 UTC

I got an amazing list of scripting commands bundled with my GTK. The file is called “scripting_definitions.htm”. Maybe you can find it in your GTK installation folders or internet. This lists all needed commands and explanations how to use them. If you can’t find it I can upload it.

Here is a good link for adding basic AI functions:

http://www.surfacegroup.org/tutorials/rtcw/ai_kim/#walk

Lots of other good tutorials on same site:

http://www.surfacegroup.org/tutorials/

Plus many Q3 engine tutorials are atleast partly valid for RTCW too. W-ET is almost same game from mapping perspective. W-ET has some new entities and commands, that’s about it.

SSF-Sage · 2013-09-09 14:07:30 UTC

This covers simple sounds. Play with the tick boxes of target_speaker.
http://www.surfacegroup.org/tutorials/sounds/

The AI tutorial should cover AI speaking.

Edit.

Check if your game sounds work. Most materials should have some sound for steps. Try different textures. The sound of a surface you walk in is specified in a .shader file (and other effects too) located in scripts folder.

W0lfMan · 2013-09-09 16:26:01 UTC

I only started making maps for Wolfenstein last year this month, so I still remember how I learned. It requires quite a bit of self-study on your part! You will need to put in a lot of effort on your own to study the existing maps. The tutorials are good, but incomplete. Learning to use the Radiant editor efficiently will also take time.

DO NOT start working on your first map that you intend to make. Instead, make a lot of test maps so that you can figure out how things like swinging doors, explosives, enemies, and other details work.

If you want to have high-quality maps, you MUST study very closely the official maps that came with the game. This is your Gold Star quality standard. You should have received escape1 and escape2 that you can look at in Radiant to copy their techniques. To learn scripting, look at the .ai and .script files.

To make the enemies move around, you need to use bspc to generate the .aas files.

WL6 · 2013-09-09 19:09:58 UTC

[QUOTE=-SSF-Sage;468937]

Check if your game sounds work. Most materials should have some sound for steps. Try different textures. The sound of a surface you walk in is specified in a .shader file (and other effects too) located in scripts folder.[/QUOTE]

Ah, not sure what I did (perhaps you can explain)… when I was loading my maps previously, I was typing:

/sv_pure 0
/devmap test

Just now I simply typed in /spdevmap test, and sounds worked (plus I could see the soldier I had placed in earlier but could not see).

what does /sv_pure/devmap actually do/mean?

[QUOTE=W0lfMan;468960]I only started making maps for Wolfenstein last year this month, so I still remember how I learned. It requires quite a bit of self-study on your part! You will need to put in a lot of effort on your own to study the existing maps. The tutorials are good, but incomplete. Learning to use the Radiant editor efficiently will also take time.

DO NOT start working on your first map that you intend to make. Instead, make a lot of test maps so that you can figure out how things like swinging doors, explosives, enemies, and other details work.

If you want to have high-quality maps, you MUST study very closely the official maps that came with the game. This is your Gold Star quality standard. You should have received escape1 and escape2 that you can look at in Radiant to copy their techniques. To learn scripting, look at the .ai and .script files.

To make the enemies move around, you need to use bspc to generate the .aas files.[/QUOTE]

This is practically what I’ve been doing, taking apart literally EVERYTHING from Escape 1/2 and observing how everything works (while making prefabs along the way).

How does I access the other RTCW maps? Is it just a case of opening up the pk3 files?

W0lfMan · 2013-09-09 20:02:23 UTC

[QUOTE=WL6;469028]
This is practically what I’ve been doing, taking apart literally EVERYTHING from Escape 1/2 and observing how everything works (while making prefabs along the way).[/quote]Good!

How does I access the other RTCW maps? Is it just a case of opening up the pk3 files?

Yes, pk3 is actually WinZip.

q3map2 can decompile the .bsp files and turn them back into .map files for Radiant. The process is not perfect, but is usually good enough in most cases.

Talking about scripting, I found this one to be a pretty good tutorial:
http://www.surfacegroup.org/tutorials/rtcw/ai_kim/
(which I see SSF-Sage already mentioned, so it’s another recommendation from me!)