Mapping manual

See also: Mapping resources & tutorials

There's a lot of resources in the Internet about mapping with the *Radiant tools. This manual is thought as a place where to resume all the mapping knowledge scattered across the Internet.

• Prologue: Development history of Q3A, the IdTech3 engine, OA itself and mapping tools - 100%
• Pre-mapping stage: What makes a good map, the limits of the IdTech3 engine, map planning, the editor's grid, beta testing. - 100%
  • Map gameplay: Floorplan, types of layout, map flow, connectivity, balance, vertical gameplay, weapon/item placement - 80%
• Choosing an editor: NetRadiant 1.5, how to install and configure it - 100%
• Your first map: Creating a first room, with spawnpoint and a light. Alpha/beta tests. - 70%
• Brush manipulation: Clipping, vertex editing, advanced room creation, basic optimization of brushes. - 70%
  • 2D and 3D clipping: The clipper tool, utilities, why use it. - 100%
• Curve manipulation: Patch meshes, Bevels-Endcaps-Cylinders, Curved hallways, recommendations. - 0%
• Textures: Texturizing a level, general procedure on creating seamless textures. - 0%
• Introduction to entities: Common properties of entities, how to insert them on levels. - 5%
• Lighting: Theory about lighting, how it works into OA (the LIGHT stage), how it's added to the maps, the "light" entity. - 100%
  • Advanced lighting: Practical examples of lighting and where to better place it. - 100%
• Weapon and item placement: How and where to place weapons, ammopacks and items. - 100%
• Triggers and movers: Explanation of what the func_*, misc_*, path_*, shooter_*, target_* and trigger_* entities do. - 100%
  • Creating dynamic features: Examples of what can be done with these entities, from teleporters to platforms to hazards. - 100%
• Shaders: Definition, how to create them, how to use them, shaderlist.txt, advices, skyboxes. - 0%
• Terrains and liquids - 0%
• Mapmodels: What are mapmodels, the misc_model entity, the .ase format, how to create .ase mapmodels, other supported formats. - 100%
• Sounds: The target_speaker entity, adding ambient sounds and music to a map - 0%
• Gametype support: Support for each individual gametype and stuff to bear in mind. - 70%
• Optimization and troubleshooting: How to optimize a map for better performance. - 100%
  • Hint brushes: The VIS stage, the hint brushes, and how and where to use them. - 100%
  • Bot play: How BSPC works, the info_camp and item_botroam enqities, clusterportals, how to optimize a map for good botplay. - 100%
  • Troubleshooting: How to solve most problems. - 35%
• The final touches: The worldspawn entity, the info_player_intermission entity - 20%
• Compiling and packaging: - 90%
• Appendix A: Glossary of terms: What some mapping terms mean. - 100%
• Appendix B: Advanced features: How to create advanced features by using the game's entities in creative ways. - 20%
• Appendix C: Modelling a map: How to create a map from models. - 100%
• Appendix D: Editor differences: GTKRadiant, Q3Radiant, QuArK, their differences with NetRadiant 1.5. - 20%
• Appendix E: Default asset sets - 0%
  • Appendix E1: Texture sets: Default 0.8.8 and SVN texture assets - 0% (in the meanwhile: Texture packs)
  • Appendix E2: Model sets: Default 0.8.8 and SVN mapmodel assets - 100%
  • Appendix E3: Sound sets: Default 0.8.8 and SVN sound assets - 0%
• Appendix F: GPL Compliance: How to make your map GPL-compliant - 90%

See also

• Mapping resources & tutorials
• DeveloperFAQ
• Maps
• Multithreaded map compiling (allows to compile maps much faster)