ETF Mapping/More to explore

More to explore
This section discusses additional noteworthy features of ETF mapping (not just related to entities) and provides links to further online resources.

Compiling with q3map2
Here is the complete manual to q3map2: Q3Map2

Make sure you use  ,   and    switches on each phase of the compile (bsp, vis, light)

Example of a .bat used to compile etf_2stoned: "C:\Program Files\GtkRadiant-1.4\q3map_2.5.16\q3map2.exe" -v -game et -fs_basepath "D:\Games\Wolf-ET" -meta -custinfoparms -fs_game etf "D:\Games\Wolf-ET\etmain\maps\etf_2stoned.map" > compile-recent-bsp.log

"C:\Program Files\GtkRadiant-1.4\q3map_2.5.16\q3map2.exe" -fs_basepath "D:\Games\Wolf-ET" -fs_game etf -game et -vis -saveprt "D:\Games\Wolf-ET\etmain\maps\etf_2stoned.map" > compile-recent-vis.log

"C:\Program Files\GtkRadiant-1.4\q3map_2.5.16\q3map2.exe" -fs_basepath "D:\Games\Wolf-ET" -fs_game etf -game et -light -fast -q3 -samples 2 -bounce 8 -dirty -patchshadows -shade -v "D:\Games\Wolf-ET\etmain\maps\etf_2stoned.map" > compile-recent-light.log

Decompiling BSPs into map files
A good way to learn is to examine how specific map features are implemented in an existing map. With the q3map2 tool included with GtkRadiant, you can take a .pk3 archive with the map, extract it and decompile the contained BSP file into a .map file:

q3map2.x86 -convert -format map -game et -fs_basepath /path/to/enemy-territory/etf /path/to/etf_map.bsp

The created etf_map_converted.map file is suitable for viewing with GtkRadiant or a text editor.

Particle system
ETF includes a particle engine for making light effects, sparks, etc. To add a source of particles to your map, create an entity like the one in the example below:

{   "classname" "misc_particlesystem" "origin" "8 0 80" "script" "spirit/maps/muon_blue_sparks.spirit" "dir" "90" }

The "script" attribute refers to a script file in one of the *.pk3 archives available to the game engine. To see examples, extract the *.spirit files contained in the pk3s shipped with ETF.