*** WHAT'S NEW -- QuakeMap 2.3 ***



Release : 11.11.96. For Windows 95.

THIS VERSION OF QUAKEMAP IS SHAREWARE. IF YOU USE IT, YOU MUST REGISTER.
See at the end of file QMAP23.TXT for more information.

Import Wizard : a great help to import the great new things you found on the
Internet - new monsters, new code patches you would like to make a level for,
etc.

Interactive Duplicators : you can move their copies with the mouse, it updates
the Duplicator's 'offset'. Use it to create any number of copies of some brushes
and entities, with one Duplicator for each, and move them anywhere else in your
map.

You can use any Progs.dat file as the base that compiled code patches,
instead of just Quake's original Progs.dat. This allows you to reuse your
favorite Progs.dat for which you don't have the source, and add new patches
to it.

You can bind an 'Impulse' to anything, not just a key, with the completed
'Autoexec' QuakeC command

Better 'New entities' coding : you can now define new kinds of entities with
their own icons, spawnflags and help texts, and all this through a Wizard.


*** What were new in QuakeMap 2.2 (4.11.96) ***

Polyhedrons are displayed in the hierarchy list : every group that directly
owns polyhedrons has a new sub-item in this list, named "n polyhedrons".
Double-click on it to select the first of these polyhedrons, and then use
"<" and ">" buttons to walk trough the list. This is very useful to let you
see which polyhedrons are where, logically.

Holding down Ctrl while dragging things around force them to snap to grid.
It also works to force to grid everything in a group.

The "Zoom" button now also let you zoom in and see the selected polyhedron(s)

Tested the QuakeC compiler : succeeded in adding tens of thousand of line of
code to the existing Progs.dat ! It seems that QCC isn't able to handle so
much code. If you have trouble with that, try out QuakeMap !

Multiple brush selection : just click and drag the mouse to draw a selection
rectangle. Every polyhedron within it will be group-selected.

Spacing problem with brush substraction : the resulting brushes where
correctly glued together, but QBSP sometimes though they where not, which
created small spaces between them. Fixed this with a new substraction
algorithm.

Better grid-aligned Cut and Paste

The "Quake" menu is customizable : you can add your own entries and change the
existing ones to do exactly what you want (QBSP, LIGHT, VIS or not, and with
which parameters)

.qme files are more often flushed : this prevents .qme files from being
corrupted if QuakeMap or Windows crashes, which has been reported to happend
sometimes.

...and, guess it, minor stuff.


*** What were new in QuakeMap 2.1 (28.10.96) ***

Polyhedrons and entities (and whole groups, also) may be moved by using
the arrow keys.

You can gray out anything but a group. This allows a more conceptual approach
to the "gray out of view" feathure.

If the mouse leaves the window while dragging entities, it will force it to
scroll, like it does in any text editor.

Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V now also work to cut/copy/paste text, not only
entities or QuakeMap Explorer entries. With this, you can paste QuakeC code
in the QuakeC editor from the clipboard. Prior to this, Shift-Ins was the
only way to do it.

Gives more information when opening a .map file fails (line number,...)

Several bug fixes and improvements in the QuakeC compiler

More options for SpawnFlags : so can tell in which modes individually each
entity must appear : for example, in easy mode and deathmatch only, or always
except in deathmatch.

And other minor stuff...


*** What were new in QuakeMap 2.0 (19.10.96) ***


You can use your own textures, and import/export them from/to .wad,
.bsp and .bmp files, as well as the clipboard. The TextureDef entry
type stores your new textures. To down-scaled textures from .bmp's
or the clipboard, a smoother algorithm is used than just dropping
pixels. Looks good, I find

DOS Run-Time ! You may distribute your .qme files and anyone can run
them directly, thanks to this DOS version. The DOS version includes
a QuakeC patch compiler, a .map extractor, a .bsp rebuilder, a
texture extractor (from Quake's .pak files), and so on - everything
required to achieve the same result as if you had clicked on the
"GO!" button in QuakeMap. Source code available (for Borland Pascal 7)

Help about entities. I just took back what I found in id's .qc files
so that you can have it displayed when you work about entities

Can edit Specifics and Args of several entities at once

"Duplicators" : build one stairstep and tell it to duplicate this x
times. Duplicators are live, i.e. you can modify the original step,
and modifications will propagate to the other steps. Can also be used
for round stairs, or to build a lot of columns, or also as a mirror,
to allow you to build only one half of a complex yet symmetrical room

New example .qme files. Shows you how to create your own crates, with
your own textures, and use them the same way as "misc_explobox"es

Completed documentation

You can measure distances (like the "height" to give to a lift) : the
distance you have made while dragging an entity or a polyhedron is
displayed

Group dragging - each group now has a handle, and not only the
"(selection)" one

Optionally draws axis in the map

QuakeMap won't expect floats written with a "," instead of a "." even
if the country-specific information says so

Better error messages from the compiler

Better error handling while loading a .map file - QuakeMap doesn't
completely refuse to load them any longer

Textures now look good in 256 color screen modes

The "group" button, in the left of the QuakeMap Editor screen, now
group-selects the sub-items of a group instead of the group itself

And various minor stuff and bug fixes, as usual


  [ Dropped What's New from previous releases ]



 *** SHAREWARE ***

This is the final QuakeMap 2.3.
You may *not* use any longer the previously released beta versions.
QuakeMap 2.3 is Shareware. Registration cost is not too much ($20).

Please read the corresponding instructions at the end of file QMAP20.TXT


 *** What is QuakeMap Explorer ? ***

  It is no more centered on MAP files, altough you can still use it as
  you did with version 1.1; instead, it is centered on a proprietary
  file format, near than PAK files, which allows me to store some
  information about maps that couldn't be stored in a standard MAP file,
  like grouped polyhedrons.

  More interestingly, we can now regroup several other datas than maps
  in this proprietary file format. For example : new textures, or new
  files to replace or complete ID standard files, like sound and model
  files.

  Consider this : large maps often require A LOT of computing power, a
  lot of time, and a lot of RAM to compile (I've "only" 16Mb - and I'm
  having trouble compiling some large maps). That's why it would be
  useful to distribute BSPs instead of (or with) MAPs. But BSPs are
  large files, and it is illegal to distribute them, anyway, because it
  usually contains some of ID's original textures. So I added the
  ability to import BSP files, textures removed, in QuakeMap's files.
  Not only does this reduce size, it makes the distribution of BSPs
  legal. Then, on another computer, QuakeMap reconstructs the original
  BSP, using textures from the local computer's PAK (or unPAKed) files.

  Right now, I have even included parts of the REACC program I made and
  distributed (see DEACC & REACC). REACC is a compiler like QCC, which I
  wrote without knowing that ID would release QCC. The purpose of
  including REACC into QuakeMap is double.
                                                First, it will provide
  another way to distribute QuakeC patches - a better way, because you
  will distribute only portions of files that changed, not full files
  like now. The interest of it is to allow you to use several patches at
  once. This is usually not easy with the current method of distributing
  complete modified files : to play with several of the patches,
  you have to figure out what really changed in which file, and regroup
  yourself the changes. QuakeMap's integrated patch compiler should be
  able to deal with multiple patches from multiple sources.

  Second, it will allow us to associate QuakeC patches with particular
  levels. We'll then be able to build level-specific programs, like we
  did in Hexen. For example, we could do something like Hexen's first
  level, where there are walls that make a half turn, fire a few fireballs
  on you, and then rotate back in place. This could be done in a standard
  QuakeC patch, but associating this patch with the level make it far
  easier to use, and prevent oneself from playing the level without the
  patch or vice-versa.
                
  It also provides a consistent way of assigning actions with new keys -
  you know, "impulse" commands. You'll be shown a list of new actions the
  installed patches provides, and you'll have to choose a key for each
  of them. QuakeMap will then automatically remap impulse numbers as
  needed (useful for several patches from serveral sources) and
  write the "autoexec.cfg" to bind them with the keys you choosen.


  I have also made a light-weight DOS run-time, easily distributable
  and configurable, which can expand files of the proprietary file
  format into playable files, with the correct directory structure, add
  textures to BSPs, as well as compiling QC patches and prompting for
  key assignment.


 ***

Any comment, suggestion or bug report is welcome.

You may distribute this program on any support, as far as you conform to
the requirements found at the end of file QMAP23.TXT.

As usually, I won't assume any responsability for whatever might occur by
using my program, either directly or indirectly. No warraties !


Armin Rigo.                           (armin.rigo@p22.gnothi.fn.alphanet.ch)