Do have inheritance I think. Doesn't quake.def contain an abstract definition for lights from which all other lights inherit? 

All i want to know is how to stop my maps deleting themselves? 

.ent files are XML
The ones used by Netradiant atleast are. 

oh then that's not what i was talking about in my previous post then.
.ent is the plain text format used for QE3, which is just QC block comments with a description of the entity.

i doubt i'll touch the netradiant one, at least until i can get gtkr/qe3 <-> fgd working.

if it's xml though, it should probably be easier than parsing FGDs since i could just use the java xml parsers, but it's beyond the scope of what i want to do for now. 

not many mac users here, thats why there's not many answers.

Try what negke said though - open the .map file in a text editor. If there's still stuff there them your level editor is broke. Maybe try Toetag, which I think is 'the' mac level editor for quake.

If the .map is empty in a text editor then its an OS problem - no idea. 

urban terror?

Expertise here is focused on q1, sorry. 

not many mac users here, thats why there's not many answers.

Try what negke said though - open the .map file in a text editor. If there's still stuff there them your level editor is broke. Maybe try Toetag, which I think is 'the' mac level editor for quake.

If the .map is empty in a text editor then its an OS problem - no idea. 

Ok, I'm trying to dust down the mapping cobwebs so I'm a bit rusty. I have but one question:

I traditionally use bengt jardrup's tools - which bsp.exe should I be using - TxQbsp, or TreeQbsp - and why? 

txqbsp. he worked on that one more iirc.
also, strictly speaking, you shouldn't be using the original aguirre tools except for the bsp program.

Willem and Tuna successfully got multi threading going on vis based off his version ( http://www.quaddicted.com/tools/wvis_20100119.7z ), and MH has an excellent version that adds coloured lighting while retaining all the old light functionality (sun, outdoor minlight, attenuation5, etc...) ( http://mhquake.blogspot.com/2010/11/bengtlightcoloured-r2-is-out.html ) 

Is there an official Quoth minimum package, with no maps skyboxes and all the extra stuff? 

What would be the point? 

cheers - Tx it is :}

i'll look into the other stuff too :} 

so regarding mh's BengtLightColoured - do I have any reason to switch to using it over bengt's original if I'm not implementing coloured light?

Using coloured lighting in Quake is a bit like trying to "improve" a Piranesi etching with a box of Crayola. 

 

-threads 

# 

oops, yes, i forgot to mention, there's also multithreading, so even if you're not using the coloured lighting, it's still way faster.

and i wouldn't discount coloured lighting entirely. i certainly don't advocate neon greens and blues, but subtle shifts can really add a lot to an area. even just tinting outdoor sun minlight slightly blue can make shadows look deeper and more natural. 

Ah cool, I'll have a look at the threading shizzle :}

Regarding coloured lights - I only use WinQuake so won't ever see them. These fancy GL-based engines do horrible things to the look of Quake's textures and lightmaps. Texture filtering in Quake is about as appropriate as a J-Pop soundtrack in a Fritz Lang noir. Jesus >_<. 

Fitzquake + gl_texturemode 3 ftw

Or if you're adventurous, there's the Qbism engine which is a high-limit software port with support for colored lighting as stuff.

Btw. running BJP's light with the -gate 1 speeds it up considerably without visible downsides. Not sure if the multithreading light has that too (would make it a one second job, I assume). 

http://www.quaddicted.com/engines/software_vs_glquake 

mh's light is based on aguirre's light, so it has everything + coloured lights and multithreading. 

I tried gl_texturemode 3 with GL-based engines but you still don't get that crucial striated effect with the lighting, and besides, circular particles are just wrong.

It's a bit like getting Optimus Prime for christmas only to discover you've been bought the Chinese knockoff version instead.

Qbism looks less offensive than most engines I agree. Pol Pot was also less evil than Hitler.

I've always used -gate 1 btw... 

circular particles are just wrong.

r_particles 2 

kinn's overflowing with similes today. ;) 

r_particles 2

Hehe, learn a new thing every day.

I'm still not using a custom engine though.