Quake3World

Hey guys is there a utility that will convert a quake 1 bsp file to quake 3 bsp file?
I tried Quark, but it's so buggy and never saves it.

I don't know of any direct BSP conversion program, but there is a possible way by first converting the Quake BSP to a MAP file (by the BSPC utility), then converting it to Q3A format, and finally compiling it. Well, it is tedious, and usually not worth the effort.

I have written a command line utility called 'map2q3' that can convert Quake and Quake2 maps to Q3A format. Most entities are retained, and there are options for scaling map geometry and light levels. The program has already been discussed in this forum, and Obsidian said he would add it to the collection of utilities stored on quake3world. In case if you cannot find it here, get it from my WEB page:

http://menczel.extra.hu

It is in the 'download' section somewhere I hope you will find it useful.

I'll definitely give it a shot. Thanks!

Good luck!

I am curious though: Do you need the BSP converter so that you can convert Quake maps to Q3A? If this is the case, I can offer you some suggestions/advice. I have done a couple of such conversions (see e.g. my maps 'q3_ultrav' and 'q3_elkdm2' on LvL) so I know the pitfalls as well as some good tricks to make it easier.

One thing is absolutely sure: you are usually better off remaking the whole thing from scratch. Unless the original author is kind enough to give you the Quake map he/she created, in which case perfect conversion is possible. BSPC will make a map from a BSP file, but it will be very messy with lots of weird shaped brushes difficult to work with. On the other hand, this map can be very useful for determining sizes and distances between objects.

Yep I'm converting quake maps to quake 3.

I'm curious what you mean when you say, "Unless the original author is kind enough to give you the Quake map he/she created."
Isn't the bsp file the map? I don't actually know because I don't own quake 3, but am just using the map format for my engine.

Note: This is Speaker, but I must use my second account because the f@$#ing board engine messed up the old one again (my password does not work). Obsidian, DooMer: please, do something so that I can use my normal account. I am getting mad.

@tritonfix:

Your reply is interesting. What kind of engine is that?

Anyway, a MAP is an ASCII text file (at least in the case of Quake games) that specifies the geometry of the map (brushes) as well as the positions of game entities. Map editors like GtkRadiant save the map info in such format. A BSP file is a binary beast into which the info in the MAP is compiled to a format that can be efficiently interpreted by the engine. In theory, an engine could directly interpret a MAP file, but that would be horribly inefficient. BSPC reverse engineers (decompiles) the BSP file and tries to create a MAP file using the info found. However, the original compilation process chops up the neat brushes you used for the map geometry. This is an essential step in constructing the Binary Space Partition (BSP!). For this reason, there is no way to automatically reconstruct the original MAP brushes from the info stored in the BSP.

Sorry Speaker... check your PM's for your new password.

tritonfx wrote:Isn't the bsp file the map? I don't actually know because I don't own quake 3, but am just using the map format for my engine.

You don't even know which file the map is but use its format for your engine?!

@dichtfux,
No , I thought the bsp file is the map since that's what I'm rendering. I didn't know if there were any differences between a .map and .bsp file.

@speaker,
Just using it for a rendering engine of mine.

.map is the format read by the editor. GtkRadiant for instance. The engine can't do shit with this. A compiler does funky stuff with it and create a .bsp that is read by the engine.

decomplie quake1 maps .. they should open in quake3 but the scale will be off and no textures

damn i had a quake1 to quake3 converter long ago .. even had a quake3 to doom3

check link for Debsp
http://www.vivamexclan.com/index.php?sh ... id=1997757

believe it or not ..I remember all of the quake 1 .map files being released a long time ago. I could be wrong though. It was many years since it happened.

They were recently released by Romero