GtkRadiant/Getting it into the game

Everything should be set and done by now and you are probably full of eager to actually try the map out ingame. To begin, we need to compile the map. This means that the simple code a .map file is in will be translated into code the id Tech 3 or Quake 3 engine can understand. Compiling a map will also render shadows and lights round the map. Compiling this small room should just take a few seconds, but compiling larger, more detailed maps can take longer, much longer, sometimes even days.

Starting the compile process is simple, just open the Build (in GtkRadiant 1.4 this is called Bsp) menu and select any of the entries with (test) in them. If you have not yet saved the map, you will have to do this now. Later you will learn about the different options, but this should do it for now. When you click the menu item three console windows should open, one for each compile stage. They won't open all at the same time, but after the previous one is done.

After all three have closed, check the folder where you saved the .map  file, there should now be a .bsp file in the same folder with the same name as the map. If this is the case, start up the game you are mapping for, in this case Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy and get into the ingame console (SHIFT+KEY BELOW ESC). Here, type /devmap mapname where you replace mapname with the name of your map file without the extension. So if your compiled map file would be called firstroom.bsp you would type /devmap firstroom and hit enter.

Your map should now load and you should spawn where you placed the spawn point. If you spawn but can't move, the spawn point is probably halfway inside the floor or the wall. If you get an error message, write about it on my talk page and I will add it to an error section of this book.

If it all works, then Congratulations, you have just made your first map! You should also have gotten some experience with GtkRadiant so I guess you can make other maps pretty soon. Good Luck!

Ingame Errors

 * Can't find maps/yourmap.bsp
 * This means that there is no file called yourmap.bsp in your GameData\base\maps folder. Remember that the .bsp file is not the same as the .map file. When compiling the map, that's what you do when that DOS window appears, the .map is turned into a .bsp, which the game can load. So usually, this error means something went wrong during the compile. Check the compile log (O) log for errors.

OR type this in console:

/sv_pure 0

Compile Errors

 * Map Leaked
 * This means that your map isn't totally closed off from the . Or a part of your entities is outside the map. A red line should appear telling you what and where.