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Tutorial On Compiling Maps In QuArK
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One of the things that can help to make your first maps a success is to compile them properly. This means doing all four stages of the compilation process and manipulating them so they fit your map. We will start this exercise by opening a premade map (any map you have already made). Once you have this open go to the "Half-Life" menu and select "Customize Menu". A new menu should pop up. Click on the sub-tab that says "QBSP (.bsp file creation)", it should look like this:
Check all the boxes that i have checked above in your menu if they are not already checked.
Now we will look at adding parameters. Parameters are switches that can be used when compiling a map to give you more control over the outcome. A very common parameter is the "- extra" parameter which is used in the HLRAD. Look on your menu, in the space provided after where it says "...additional parameters" in the "compute lights" section, click in the space provided and type "- extra". You have now added a parameter to the HLRAD.
The following is a list of useful parameters and their purpose:
CSG:
1)-wadinclude X.wad: Where X equals the name of the wad you want to include. This parameter embeds a the specified wad file into the .bsp making it far easier for people to download. Only use this for custom wads that other people would not have.
2)-onlyents: This will change any values of entities without having to recompile the entire map (light and light related entities being the exception). You cannot add or delete any entities, nor move any brush based entities, or the bsp will be corrupted, and if you choose to do one of these make sure that you are only running the CSG.
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BSP
1)-maxnodesize 512: To simplify it, specifying smaller numbers here can decrease your r-speeds and make your map run faster. The default is 1024 and it can only decrease by half each time you go lower so you can only use the following numbers: 1024, 512, 256, 128, and 64. You cannot go lower then 64.
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VIS
1)-fast: This parameter makes the vis go in fast mode. If you are finding that your map is taking a very long time to complete the VIS you might want to add this parameters to it. It will make the map compile faster but it will also make the map run slower. Do not use this for final compiles.
2)-full: This parameter forces the vis to run in full mode. Full mode increases the quality of the calculations at the expense of a minor speed hit. (recommended for a final compile.)
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RAD
1)-extra: This parameters causes the RAD to oversample which results in smoother shadows and elimination of step like shadows.
2)-bounce X: Where X equals the number of bounces you want. This number indicates how many times light will bounce off surfaces. It will make the map look smoother. I recommend setting this to eight as eight is the diminishing factor (where it really starts to look good).
3)-smooth 30: Add this parameters to your RAD to get the nicest results possible. The default is 45 but I recommend 30. This does not really affect how long it takes your map to compile.
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A good final compile setup should look like this:
Click on this link to find a complete list of command line parameters for Zoners Tools. When you are satisfied with your compilation set up "ok" your changes and go to the "Half-Life" menu and select "QBSP (.bsp file creation).
Well thats pretty much all you need to know for compiling. With all that said and done you should now be ready to compile your map. To do this open your map up, then go to the "Half-Life" menu and select "QBSP (.map file creation)". The .bsp file will be created in a long procces, and can be found in the TmpQuArk/maps folder located in your Half-Life directory (Default: C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\TmpQuArK\maps). Copy it and paste it in your Mods map folder.
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