Goodbye and Good Riddance to QuARK... any other suggestions?
by Mitovo · in Torque Game Engine · 03/28/2004 (7:17 am) · 87 replies
Okay, after running into problem after problem after problem with it I'm dropping QuARK completely.
Now suddenly I can't put the 3D view into textured mode or this "blue" bar shows up and the view freezes. If I put it into solid or wireframe, it's fine. This is completely out of the blue.
Anyway, I'm done with it.
I'm sick of dealing with this rolling train-wreck of a program and am open to suggestions of other, proven, programs to use in its place...
Here are some options I've looked into and am considering, to different degrees, as possible replacements:
Cartography Shop: I've checked this out, and it's a pretty smooth program. I'm not sure of the functionality, though, because from what I got to see it seems a bit limited in what you can do with it. Though that could just be me not looking into it that deeply. It is functional, has some nice-looking lightmapping, and is pretty straight-forward for creating and texturing geometry. Of course the pertinent questions:
- Is there a converter that will properly get its file format (or a .map format if it does that) into .dif?
- Is there documentation of how one goes about naming key entities (portals, lights, etc) in the editor to have them correctly carried over into .dif?
Tread3D: This looks like a nice editor and seems to be quite feature-rich. I've been looking at its various features and the only question I'm left with is how the set-up works. Like, I know in Hammer, you need to have a game setup before you can effectively edit anything. I don't know if it's the same with Tread3D, or if anyone has worked with it and knows how to set it up for Torque... Anyway, it's another option I'm looking into.
Hammer: I would have looked at this, but it's been mentioned that certain restrictions are in place that would make it illegal to use it in any sort of a commercial project.. So I guess that's right out.
3D Editor/3DS-to-.map converter: I've seen converters out there for 3DS-to-map. I don't know how well they work. I remember playing with one back in the Quake2 days and it worked pretty well, carrying over omni lights, and the like where a Quake editor would load them with all intact. I don't know how feasible a solution that is.. but.. I thought of it, so it's in the options list..
Any feedback/suggestions?
Thanks!
Mike
Now suddenly I can't put the 3D view into textured mode or this "blue" bar shows up and the view freezes. If I put it into solid or wireframe, it's fine. This is completely out of the blue.
Anyway, I'm done with it.
I'm sick of dealing with this rolling train-wreck of a program and am open to suggestions of other, proven, programs to use in its place...
Here are some options I've looked into and am considering, to different degrees, as possible replacements:
Cartography Shop: I've checked this out, and it's a pretty smooth program. I'm not sure of the functionality, though, because from what I got to see it seems a bit limited in what you can do with it. Though that could just be me not looking into it that deeply. It is functional, has some nice-looking lightmapping, and is pretty straight-forward for creating and texturing geometry. Of course the pertinent questions:
- Is there a converter that will properly get its file format (or a .map format if it does that) into .dif?
- Is there documentation of how one goes about naming key entities (portals, lights, etc) in the editor to have them correctly carried over into .dif?
Tread3D: This looks like a nice editor and seems to be quite feature-rich. I've been looking at its various features and the only question I'm left with is how the set-up works. Like, I know in Hammer, you need to have a game setup before you can effectively edit anything. I don't know if it's the same with Tread3D, or if anyone has worked with it and knows how to set it up for Torque... Anyway, it's another option I'm looking into.
Hammer: I would have looked at this, but it's been mentioned that certain restrictions are in place that would make it illegal to use it in any sort of a commercial project.. So I guess that's right out.
3D Editor/3DS-to-.map converter: I've seen converters out there for 3DS-to-map. I don't know how well they work. I remember playing with one back in the Quake2 days and it worked pretty well, carrying over omni lights, and the like where a Quake editor would load them with all intact. I don't know how feasible a solution that is.. but.. I thought of it, so it's in the options list..
Any feedback/suggestions?
Thanks!
Mike
About the author
#82
Let me know how it goes, cause I also get the 3d view screw up and it's very frustrating :(
ps, please CHECK what I say, don't take it as fact.
01/14/2005 (10:56 am)
My level-editor pals tell me that while Valve/Hammer has licensing, the version before the guy left WorldCraft 1.6a is still free, unlicensed and available for download. You could try that.Let me know how it goes, cause I also get the 3d view screw up and it's very frustrating :(
ps, please CHECK what I say, don't take it as fact.
#83
01/14/2005 (11:13 am)
I believe that WC 1.4 was slated for non-commercial use for the mod community (it seems that the license reminded me a lot of the Quake mod licensing, but this is from memory). It would be an interesting alternative if it is indeed legal since Matthew's map2dif is Quake/2/3 compatible. I still prefer Quark to old versions of WC, though. As Half-Life modding picked up, it changed for the better. I thought that older versions were quite clunky. 
#84
--Mike
01/14/2005 (11:55 am)
I am using the old version (Worldcraft) which, i thought was licensed by GG for use by Torque developers....--Mike
#85
BUT the WED editor in 3D GameStudio seems to be much easier to use than QUARK. I notice that a number of people seem to find QUARK quirky and counter-intuitive... whereas, in my experience, the 3DGS WED tool makes BSP modeling fairly painless.
The problem, I believe, is that the 3DGS .MAP file cannot be directly loaded/imported into QUARK....
Does anyone know of a TOOL that exists to convert 3DGS .MAP or .WMP files into Quark-friendly files???
How difficult would it be to make one? (I think I'll pose this question elsewhere, as well.)
04/18/2005 (1:56 pm)
I love Torque...BUT the WED editor in 3D GameStudio seems to be much easier to use than QUARK. I notice that a number of people seem to find QUARK quirky and counter-intuitive... whereas, in my experience, the 3DGS WED tool makes BSP modeling fairly painless.
The problem, I believe, is that the 3DGS .MAP file cannot be directly loaded/imported into QUARK....
Does anyone know of a TOOL that exists to convert 3DGS .MAP or .WMP files into Quark-friendly files???
How difficult would it be to make one? (I think I'll pose this question elsewhere, as well.)
#86
It works, and it's free for non-commercial use, kinda big cost if you want to use it for commercial purposes.
Also Constructor should be out soon.
04/18/2005 (2:12 pm)
One word... Radiant!It works, and it's free for non-commercial use, kinda big cost if you want to use it for commercial purposes.
Also Constructor should be out soon.
#87
Some helpful people on another thread pointed out that 3D GameStudio's .map files can be converted using map2dif plus ... One simply has to export/convert the 3DGS MAP file's .wad textures back into .jpgs first and everthing comes into Torque just fine.
This means that if you'd rather not use Quark for BSP modeling... you CAN use the 3DGS WED editor.
04/21/2005 (12:51 pm)
GOOD NEWS Some helpful people on another thread pointed out that 3D GameStudio's .map files can be converted using map2dif plus ... One simply has to export/convert the 3DGS MAP file's .wad textures back into .jpgs first and everthing comes into Torque just fine.
This means that if you'd rather not use Quark for BSP modeling... you CAN use the 3DGS WED editor.
Torque Owner Mz