Q3A Server Browser Modding Info?

[BigMoneyJim]

I'm toying with the idea of modding the Q3A server browser to make it more like the Team Arena browser or ASE, or at least make it so it doesn't suck quite so badly.

If it ever gets off the ground I want to release it as a mod (as opposed to changing code in the opensourced' version).

I'm guessing I'll need to start with info on menu screen modding, and get any info on how to access, parse and/or control the server discovery processes.

But so far all searches for mods end at level modding or 3d modeling.

Can somebody point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

[^misantropia^]

It's mostly a matter of reading through q3_ui/ui_servers2.c and understanding what it does and how it does it.

[BigMoneyJim]

It's mostly a matter of reading through q3_ui/ui_servers2.c and understanding what it does and how it does it.

Thanks. I see that file in a few SVN repositories. Silly noob modder question: Does that file become part of the .exe, or is it in a pak file somewhere?

Legal question: Is there a problem with using the GPL'ed gamecode to create a distributable mod for the retail release?

Thanks again!

[^misantropia^]

The file becomes part of the QVM, bytecode for the Q3A virtual machine (think Java). And to answer the other question: no.

[BigMoneyJim]

The file becomes part of the QVM, bytecode for the Q3A virtual machine (think Java). And to answer the other question: no.

Fantastic! That points me in the right direction. I can find QVM-modifying instructions on the web and get started from there.

My thoughts on how to do this have changed several times since I posted the OP; my latest idea is to yank the Team Arena server browser code and get it working with baseq3 graphics and hommade graphics. From there I can refine, improve or wipe out and start over again based on experience and ideas.

But now that I'm looking, I can't tell for sure if the Team Arena source is open-sourced. Can I take Team Arena code, modify it and redistribute it to people who own Q3A but don't own Team Arena? (Actually I'm not yet sure the TA ui source is even available...haven't found it.)

EDIT: Okay, I installed ioquake3 and see that the TA missionpak files (sans art/music/etc) are there, so if the TA server browser is OS then it will be in with the Q3A source files. If it's in there it's redistributable under GPL. Thanks for all the info. Hopefully I can make something useful of it.

EDIT 2: From the Makefiles it looks like the TA/missionpack ui code is the "ui" directory (as opposed to q3_ui for baseq3), and code/ui/ui_main.c appears to have several server functions that look promising to be the server browser code I want to use.

[BigMoneyJim]

An update, if anyone cares:

I found some good tutorials including menu modding examples, and I got the compiler set up and successfully made a trivial menu modification, compiled ui.qvm and ran it to prove to myself that I can.

I won't be able to copy the Team Arena browser into a Q3A mod because TA uses a scripted menu system (unlike Q3A), and the menu scripts are in TA's pak0.pk3 which is not GPL'ed and presumably can only be used by those who bought TA.

I've dug this far...maybe I'll toy around with redoing the existing interface and make it better.

[BigMoneyJim]

Hey, thanks again for the info. I got this working!

I found script menus for the browser in pak3.pk3 in ioquake3 and a very similar menu in Tremulous. I combined the two, put in a Bitstream Vera-based font and made it work...ugly but working.

I zipped it up, and it goes under its own folder "internet" and launches with +fs_game internet . I included a shortcut in the zipfile w/com_hunk/zone/sound-megs at 128/32/32 and -nosplash.

I'll link it here if anyone would like to test it out. Please read the readme.

http://bigmoneyjim.com/q3/internet-quake3v0.1.zip

Where is a good place to post mods like this? (i.e. not a level, model, shader, etc.)

Notes: Should work with retail Quake III Arena 1.32x on any platform. Might work with other versions. Nothing goes in baseq3. Modifications are unloaded when network game is launched.

[MKJ]

good for you :icon14: