Completely new and need guidance.

[Who is watching?]

Hello, so I have been facsinated by playing jedi academy ever since it came out and I would now like to create my own custom maps, could anyone help with the following..


- What program to use?

- Basic tutorials of some sort?

- General info on getting started?



Cheers, and long live JK.

[kwenga]

You should use GtkRadiant. All you have to know is in various tutorials under this link: https://jkhub.org/tutorials/category/11-mapping/

Start with this topic: https://jkhub.org/tutorials/article/98-getting-started-with-mapping/

 

https://jkhub.org/tutorials/article/69-mapping-video-tutorial-series/ and https://jkhub.org/mapping/richdiesal/richdiesal.htm will give you some basic knowledge and help at the beginning.

[Ramikad]

The above are very good picks. My suggestion before you map, though, is to pick pencil and paper and start drawing concept arts. Being a mapper myself, I find that drawing a good concept art before starting the brush and patchwork in Radiant really helps me better visualize the area I want to create, and have a general idea that can be reworked before the map gets too "compact".

[Who is watching?]

You should use GtkRadiant. All you have to know is in various tutorials under this link: https://jkhub.org/tutorials/category/11-mapping/

Start with this topic: https://jkhub.org/tutorials/article/98-getting-started-with-mapping/

 

https://jkhub.org/tutorials/article/69-mapping-video-tutorial-series/ and https://jkhub.org/mapping/richdiesal/richdiesal.htm will give you some basic knowledge and help at the beginning.

Alright I will download GtkRadiant, are there any other games that use GtkRadiant, is it an older program or modern and still current, these are the details in which I have no idea. Thanks for getting me started and all the tutorials which I now see are even pinned on the forum page.

 

The above are very good picks. My suggestion before you map, though, is to pick pencil and paper and start drawing concept arts. Being a mapper myself, I find that drawing a good concept art before starting the brush and patchwork in Radiant really helps me better visualize the area I want to create, and have a general idea that can be reworked before the map gets too "compact".

Ah yes, sounds like a good idea, I find it amazing how much lighting and textures make a map too and will be interested to get started, is there a database of maps around this community to share our ideas? can I download maps?

 

Thanks again.

[kwenga]

Alright I will download GtkRadiant, are there any other games that use GtkRadiant, is it an older program or modern and still current, these are the details in which I have no idea. Thanks for getting me started and all the tutorials which I now see are even pinned on the forum page.

 

Ah yes, sounds like a good idea, I find it amazing how much lighting and textures make a map too and will be interested to get started, is there a database of maps around this community to share our ideas? can I download maps?

 

Thanks again.

 

Let's be honest, it's not the tool you will find popular or even used by developers nowadays. Jedi Academy uses modified Quake(-ish) engine, and it should give you an idea how old this is. You can still use GtkRadiant for Jedi Outcast or Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, but again - these games are really old right now. So if you're learning this because you want to move further, keep in mind that it won't give you that much of an experience. But it still might be a lot of fun!

About map database... I'm not sure if I understand. This whole site is about modding, so you'll find plenty of finished maps in "Files" section.

Download Radiant, make something simple that works (maybe a room with working doors), just play with this program to get estimated view how it works, what makes what, etc. Use textures and shaders from Jedi Academy, leave making your own for later. You won't learn everything by one night, so be patient.

[Who is watching?]

Let's be honest, it's not the tool you will find popular or even used by developers nowadays. Jedi Academy uses modified Quake(-ish) engine, and it should give you an idea how old this is. You can still use GtkRadiant for Jedi Outcast or Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, but again - these games are really old right now. So if you're learning this because you want to move further, keep in mind that it won't give you that much of an experience. But it still might be a lot of fun!

About map database... I'm not sure if I understand. This whole site is about modding, so you'll find plenty of finished maps in "Files" section.

Download Radiant, make something simple that works (maybe a room with working doors), just play with this program to get estimated view how it works, what makes what, etc. Use textures and shaders from Jedi Academy, leave making your own for later. You won't learn everything by one night, so be patient.

 

Oh ok so it's all here availiable then, this is almost too good.

 

Yes just as I suspected, Gtkradiant is the engine of this game and yes it is not "modern" but I actually feel a fascination with the way it is, and makes the game operate and feel.. this perculier way that is unique to the jedi knight series, this is why I enjoy the game in general, not because it is modern.

 

Alright well I will get into it.. 

[eezstreet]

I appreciate the enthusiasm! We could always use more mappers.

[Fuse294]

I had a brief go at mapping...all of 30 minutes and was stuck scratching my head when it refused to shrink something that had somehow become the side of an Executor Class Star Destroyer....

[Futuza]

Yes just as I suspected, Gtkradiant is the engine of this game and yes it is not "modern" but I actually feel a fascination with the way it is, and makes the game operate and feel.. this perculier way that is unique to the jedi knight series, this is why I enjoy the game in general, not because it is modern.

FYI: GTKRadiant is the mapping tool not the engine, the engine is Quake3 (albeit a modified one).

[therfiles]

Here's a fun resource we have here on the site: https://jkhub.org/page/mapping.html

[Who is watching?]

Here's a fun resource we have here on the site: https://jkhub.org/page/mapping.html

That is a fair bit of stuff to download, just to make a basic map which ones would you actually need?

 

I might just start with the basic elements and download the extra stuff as I need it to avoid confusion..

[eezstreet]

All you need to make a map is GTKRadiant. The latest version is available from our downloads center.

 

Later on you will want to make a PK3 to package your mod. This can be done with simple renaming of a .zip, but for good measure, you should probably use an archiving tool like WinRAR, WinZIP, or 7Zip. You can also use a specialized tool for making PK3s, like PakScape.

[minilogoguy18]

I recommend PakScape as well, so simple and straight forward for PK3 files.

 

Later down the road you may want to dabble with a bit of 3d modeling in a 3d package of your choice, a lot of the smaller detailed parts of maps are models that are imported into Radiant using the .ASE and .MD3 file formats.

 

Mapping takes a bit of time to learn, as well as some other aspects of modding so take your time, have patience.

[Circa]

Just follow Rich Diesal's mapping university and that will give you a great idea of how mapping is done. If you find that you enjoy it, move on to more complicated things, since it only covers very simple mapping steps.

 

https://jkhub.org/mapping/richdiesal/richdiesal.htm