Can I combine func_wals from nearby places in the map into one bigger func_wall?

YES! As long as they aren't too far apart. Sometimes the engine can start to render them badly if the bounding box becomes too big. They might become invisible from certain angles etc. Typically if they are in the same area and not separated by any walls, then you can group them.

Do trigger_counter and trigger_relay eat up a precache slot everytime I use them in the level?

trigger_relay does not use a model precache, since it is just a point entity. However, I think the counter does. All the other solid triggers take up a precache too.

If you don't want a trigger (for example, a trigger_secret) to take up a precache slot, you should set flag 1 (in Worldcraft it's labelled "entity only"). This way, no model is precached and no touch field will be spawned. 

This really helps a lot :)
I didn't know about the "entity only" solution 

you can make the trigger_counters point entities, too. ;) 

I was worried already that I have to cut something out. Yesterday I have panically deleted some triggers to get below the limit :) 

What is going on here?
v = (a.d * (CVector::crossProduct(b.n, c.n))
+b.d * (CVector::crossProduct(c.n, a.n))
+c.d * (CVector::crossProduct(a.n, b.n)))
/ denom;
Are you dividing a vector? How the hell does that even work? Is / denom; the same as * (1 / denom);?
This is why I don't like operator overloading. :( 

I've forgotten completely. I don't even remember what denom was.

Here's the CVector declaration for the / operator.

inline CVector operator / (float s) const { s = 1/s; return CVector(x*s, y*s, z*s); }

So er, yeah, dividing a vector I suppose.

I think I assigned it that operator because some tutorial in a book or on the net had done that, and I really liked operator overloading.

I don't think I ever understood the maths for this part of the compiler, I just accepted it and got on with the other shit :)

Why are you interested in this stuff, btw? Are you making a game of some sort, writing a tool to export from .map to .3ds/whatever or something more sinister involving dancing badgers?

Anyway, like I said before, you can have the source if you like. The game and all the really badly written documentation can be found here: http://than.spawnpoint.org/files/clayer_full.zip (10mb, sorry, it includes the game and some other shit.)

SHIT! I just looked in the zip and found probably the exact file that you need. I looked it up on google just now and found a link for you http://folk.uio.no/stefanha/MAPFiles.pdf 

the google results also included the file linked in a reply to a question I asked on Flipcode, back when it was running. 

Time dulls the mind, again.

Which Quake level had the pharaoh-looking monster that rose out of the ground? 

Do you mean the dudes with the staves in Dissolution of Eternity? 

You got it, thanks. 

those 'dudes with the staves' are bad models with utterly abominable animations. The skins are pretty good, but that doesn't save them. Please don't put them in a map. 

So, are there any good tutorials about this on the net? 

http://zippy
egoboo.sourceforge.net/tutorial_1.htm
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/AY2000/cs4455_spring/planetquake/modediting.html
http://www.xs4all.nl/~renep/qmehelp/tutmyfirstmdl.htm 

Yes, now I have seen it again, I agree that it's not too clever.

I was only thinking about the code for making a monster rise out of the ground. I didn't realise that it was done via animation - I though it would be the opposite of a sinking dead monster. 

So anyway, hub, spokes, rim... 

...axle? 

Jeez, I doubt that I'll manage two wheels! 

even one needs an axle, otherwise you don't have a wheel, you just have a disk. 

Wheels don't need axles to be wheels, they need axles to work as wheels.

That's rather like the notice you can see in the Chinese by the traffic lights at the bottom of the hill: 'This door must be kept closed when not in use'

Hardly mapping but an interesting paradox if you think a little laterally. 

can a mapper get tabledance 

a tabledance 

"no valid wadfiles in worldmodel"
i do get that warning when trying to bsp a map with txqbsp..
the map was imported from a wc map..
i tried different wad files, but no change..
the bsp is therefore not usable..

what is this worldmodel? (sry new to mapping) 

Check if your map file is pointing on the correct .wad path you want to apply on.. I guess it is the problem... Map files give the path to a gfx directory where wad file(s) is(are) explicitely named..
If you point wrongly, you may have this kind of warning... 

you can look at the .map file with a text editor to see to what .wad and path it is pointing to, it's right there in the beginning. 

i looked into the map file with an editor and set the complete path to wad.. the bsp file was usable.. thx!
but, the reason i changed from wc to radiant was that i had probs on my map like rotating packs, no blood on lg hit, no boomstick smoke at walls except at the ceiling.. (jago told me that it must be an engine problem, should there be onyl the pure original quake.exe in the quake folder?)

well in order to check that, i rebuilt the map purely in radiant, so no importing issues..
but what happens now on bsping the map is weird.. 4 warnings..! :( (no wad files in specified worldmodel, no valid wadfiles in worldmodel, No entities in empty space -- no filling performed)
i checked the map file and there isnt even a line that says wad or messag or light..
just "classname" "worldspawn" and brush coordinates..
do i have to set it somewhere? the wad files are in my ID folder, which is correctly recognized by radiant.. and where can i set the map message?

i hope u guys can help me :/