Quake MAP Specs in Theory and Practice

Derived from the Niklata's Quake MAP Specs by Andy Patrizio.
Additions and original HTMLization by Thomas Winzig

Working on my levels, I quickly realized that the Quake MAP Specs are good for reference but not very helpful in their current state. All the specs do is list the switches for each entity, but the page doesn't tell you how to use it, especially with all the different editors out there.

The problem is this: entity statements in the original MAP spec showed how they were constructed in the MAP file. That's because the MAP specs were originally written before Quake level editors hit the Net, and I think before Quake even came out. Obviously they were meant to be non-denominational. The MAP specs page hasn't been updated to account for how MAP builders handle spawnflags, etc., nor should it. The original spec should be editor-independent.

So, what I decided to do is take the original specs and add some context to show how they apply to WorldCraft.

This page is a combination of what I've learned from Worldcraft tutorials, people on EFNet #quakeed, and other miscellaneous sources. It's not meant to be a tutorial but a supplement to them. The most common questions in the #QuakeEd channel are people wanting to make monsters move, moving platforms, secret rooms, etc. Basic functions that you won't get just by looking at the Quake MAP specs.

The original document that I used to derive this page is a part of the Unoffical Quake Specs. This standalone version is here to provide you with the most up-to-date information about Quake Map Editing. It is also a part of the Quake Documentation Project.

You can get the most up-to-date version of the Quake MAP Specs from Quake Technical Resources.


Portions Copyright ©1996-97 Niklata and Thomas Winzig.