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Post by marscaleb on Jun 21, 2017 12:52:42 GMT -5
Okay, I've been doing some research and I found what I was confused about. Quake 2 derives its palette from the one stored in colormap.pcx. And I thought the palette in that image was wrong because at the top of the colormap many of the colors turn white, losing all the definition that exists in the palette. I had assumed that the colormap did a straight normal-to-dark gradient like in Doom, but it actually gives a range that includes simulating "brighter than normal" colors, and I was looking at those bright colors thinking they were normal colors. I have now successfully changed the game's palette by swapping out colormap.pcx
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Post by marscaleb on Jun 20, 2017 0:42:33 GMT -5
Any image editing program will do, it's what everyone of us uses to. Huh? Is the palette stored in each and every image or something?
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Post by marscaleb on Jun 18, 2017 13:18:36 GMT -5
try Grieve's suggestion but Quark is one of the hardest to learn level editors out there, so be prepared. I tried using Quark a couple months ago but it wouldn't even run properly on my modern computer, and all the pages and forums I found for it were out-dated. Also, carving is the worst thing one can do when working with brushwork (not for Unreal) and gives tons of problems, worst case it could force to delete half the map due to compiling and in-game errors. Really? Okay, conceptually I can imagine that it might require a custom BSP tool to calculate everything. Honestly it should be able to create the exact same final result, but someone would have needed to do a lot of work for that. Hmm, if it converts it directly to BSP, then I would need an additional tool that lets me edit the BSP data to add the lights and entities. Anyone seen such a tool? Any idea what that unreal to Quake converter was called? When I try to google it I just get results for the opposite direction. 3. I get the palette from Wally, a program to work with Quake and Quake 2 textures, which you'll probably need. I mean to edit the palette, not just view it. I've seen it already, but I will want to alter it for the project I am working on.
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Post by marscaleb on Jun 18, 2017 3:26:06 GMT -5
I've poked around with a couple different map editors for Quake 2, and there's nothing that I'm *quite* satisfied with. I'd like to find something that can better streamline my process.
To that end, I've got a couple (somewhat vague) questions.
First of all, is there a map editor that works like Unreal Ed? Constantly building everything with strictly additive brushes bugs me, and I would really like it if I could use an editor that lets me work like I did with Unreal. For those unfamiliar, Unreal uses additive and subtraction brushes. You could create one large block, and then carve out the space inside to make your levels by adding what effectively "negative" brushes that cut out geometry, and when needed add some "positive" brushes to fill space. Especially for a game that can't have leaks in the geometry, it seems really absurd that I can't build this way.
Second of all, are there any tools that can convert other files into Quake 2 maps? Right now I'm just kind of wondering about anything at all; I'm not too picky. I'll judge for myself if it is more efficient for me or not. Maybe something that can convert maps from Doom, or some other game. Hell if I could build my geometry in something like Maya and then convert it to a Quake 2 map.
And this last point isn't really on the same subject, but for such a simple thing I don't want to make a new thread. Where does Quake 2 store its palette data, and how can I edit it? I was poking around in the pak files with Slade but could not find it in there, and found nothing in the baseq2 directory. I found a colormap (which curiously seems to be off color for the correct palette) but not the actual palette data.
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Post by marscaleb on Dec 16, 2016 2:53:52 GMT -5
I didn't know Quark was still around and capable of running on modern computers. I just tried it, but it gave me an error when I tried to build that default map, saying it could not find TXQBSP3.EXE, TIMVIS3.EXE, and ARGHRAD.EXE. Also it would not let me select my KMQuake 2 folder for Quake 2.
I did manage to find another program called JACK that actually did manage to compile the test map with no problems. Seems to run great with KMQuake2 even. But it seems to be created by folks in Russia so I suspect it will be hard to get support if I have problems using it.
Well, I did manage to create a batch file to get my Radiant map to compile, so I guess now I get to spend my next day off playing with the editors to see which one I actually enjoy using the most. BTW, what was this "q2mp4" directory in your Quake2 directory? I just have baseq2 and that's where Radiant put my maps.
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Post by marscaleb on Dec 3, 2016 18:43:39 GMT -5
*Sigh* so there's no way to run it directly within the editor, I have to leave a folder open so I can run a bat file. This whole process is going to make it challenging to adjust lighting and make other small tweaks.
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Post by marscaleb on Dec 3, 2016 1:54:49 GMT -5
(Sorry for the lengthy delay; been occupied this last week.)
One, I am certain that I did not select "quetoo" as my game because I've never heard of it before and would not have selected it.
I don't see any of those names in any of my folders for Quake 2 or for GTKRadiant. Honestly I'm not following anything you said in that second paragraph.
If I use an external application to calculate the lighting, like this ArghRad, then how do I set up? Is it possible to have Radiant execute this program directly?
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Post by marscaleb on Nov 22, 2016 0:25:08 GMT -5
Okay, I finally had the time to go through and rename all my directories, but I STILL get the error.
...looking at that myself, I see no file in my directory called "quemap." I don't see it in ANY installation of Quake II I have, in fact.
Maybe I might find something different if I installed from my original disc instead of GOG, but I'm really not in the mood to rummage through all of my old boxes in storage.
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Post by marscaleb on Nov 21, 2016 3:19:05 GMT -5
BTW, KMQuake2 doesn't need its own install path. It cohabitates quite well in a regular Q2 install. Good to know, but I like to keep them separate anyway. One other question on the subject of GtkRadiant. Is there a way to increase the size it displays textures at? Between Quake 2's dark colors and the way low resolution, I can't actually see what these textures look like. Also is there a way to have it display the resolution of the texture? It's not a big thing but it would be nice.
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Post by marscaleb on Nov 19, 2016 18:56:23 GMT -5
I'm completely new at mapping for any Quake games. Right now, I'm just trying to follow this tutorial I found about how to use GtkRadiant. The tutorial seems outdated but it still has been pointing me in the right direction. So all I've done is make a simple block room with the player start in it. I told it to compile the map. But it gives me this error: I'm not sure what the problem is because the file exists and I have WAY more system resources than this program could require.
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Post by marscaleb on Nov 10, 2016 4:19:03 GMT -5
Hm, I certainly do like what I'm reading about KMQuake! I haven't done enough map-making to be familiar with these limits, but I'm not gonna complain if someone removes them.
However, there are some various tweaks I would want to make if I were to use the port. (It doesn't even respond to the same console commands to adjust render settings; I can't set the texture filter to nearest.) What would be a good place to go to discuss editing with KMQuake 2? I can't even find a contact link on that site.
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Post by marscaleb on Nov 8, 2016 14:28:06 GMT -5
Great! I will take a look at that one.
What I'm envisioning for my project is something that I could distribute self-contained (Or at the very least, "self contained but you need to add this resource package from quake 2") so I'm not *particularly* concerned with how many people follow the particular source port. Getting support for it when I'm starting off is more important. Of course, that intention would do best with something open source. But even so, I have been in this tug-of-war with myself regarding how much programming I want to do. (That's why I would like a source port with features already added, so if I do do any programming I can hold it off until I really know what I need.)
...What source port would be best if I was mostly looking for multiplayer features (but still retain the single player ability)? I'm just thinking, I understand that vanilla Q2 has some security holes, and the network code probably needs improvements under the hood anyway for its age. And changes like that are totally beyond my ability, (but adding a "use" key I could probably do.) So if I were to go the route of getting the best multiplayer source port (that still has single player stuff) and then just coding myself any simple changes i need, what port would you suggest then?
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Post by marscaleb on Nov 7, 2016 18:27:38 GMT -5
I'm in the mood to work on a mod for an old-school shooter, and I'm gravitating toward Quake 2. I'm still learning the basics of creating content for Quake 2, but I'm at the point where I want to figure out what source port I want to focus my energy with.
I'm curious what (if any) gameplay features have been added by any of the source ports. I imagine this might sound like an odd question, but it isn't exactly unheard of. I know most of the Doom source ports add a lot of extra gameplay features like jumping, crouching, reloading, and then some so that people can make mods for Doom that play more like modern games. There's even Edge which created a whole scripting system so modders can easily add in new weapons and monsters and whatnot. So I'm curious if anyone has done anything like that with the Quake 2 source ports.
While I am curious about what people have added at all, I also want to ask specifically about a "use" key; have any ports added that into them? That's probably the first thing I would want in my mod, possibly followed by a more robust inventory system.
I'm also curious about extended multiplayer options. My focus is on creating a single-player experience, but hey, might add some multiplayer stuff too. So if there are any notable ports that have added improved multiplayer functionality, I would like to hear about them. I don't mind if they make the multiplayer incompatible with Vanilla Q2.
Most of the source ports I have looked at so far brag about adding graphical capabilities to the engine. That's nice, but not what I'm here for. I'm really just looking for what source ports (if any) add gameplay features or make creating new content easier.
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