reflex2q3 retrospect

2023 Feb 22 (E: 2025 Sep 10)

• Sample Result
  • A few notes about the output
• Story

reflex2q3 is a video game map converter that converts maps from Reflex Arena to Radiant (Quake Engine) map editors.

• https://codeberg.org/scuti/reflex2q3

Sample usage:

• reflex2q3 -i reflex.map -o netradiant.map

• reflex2q3 -i reflex.map -o gtkradiant.map --gtk

reflex2q3 was originally at teknik: https://git.teknik.io/scuti/reflex2q3.

Sample Result

Here is a basic map (view/download, text, 17.1 kB).

And here is “DNA stairs”.

A few notes about the output

The output might not be sealed from the void

Skyboxes are not automatically drawn for the user. The output from the converter is as-is.

An open-roof map like the basic map in sample result is valid in Reflex Arena but will leak and therefore fail to compile in Radiant. For users unfamiliar with Quake mapping, a leak can be described as a hole in the skybox or a containment breach (imagine an airlock).¹

No changes to texture names

References to textures from Reflex Arena such as structural/dev/dev_black are left as-is. Thus, Radiant will render “Texture Not Found” placeholders for a freshly converted map that has no project directory.

Brush vertices are not snapped to grid

The output may look fine in Radiant. All brushes appear to have their edges aligned, but once the map compiles, there are small rips, seams or other discontinuities between brushes.

Decide on a grid size in Radiant, and use the Snap To Grid tool to snap brush vertices to grid.

Story

Creating a new map for a video game is a lot of work. Newer games like Reflex Arena have an in-game level editor where players can re-use standard FPS controls to create a map. However, game controls can fall short in certain functions needed in a level editor. You can make a well-scaled layout from rectangular prisms in-game, but mirroring or slicing is another story. Thus, this tool can bring a map from Reflex Arena into Radiant, the level editor for Quake Engine games.

Likewise, Quake Engine has a dedicated following of players playing various forks. If they aren’t dueling on Aerowalk, it’s reasonable to expect people want new maps. However, Quake mapping wasn’t (or still isn’t) easy for beginners. In many cases, video tutorials on YouTube will have outdated interfaces that leave new users lost on where to find GUI elements. Additionally, game developers from newer games may find the workflow antiquated.

reflex2q3 was adopted from GitHub/chronokun/ReflexToQ3. The original project was made for an older format of Reflex maps (v6). It did not parse maps from later versions of the game. There was also a nasty bug that made itself known when converting the maps Pocket Infinity, Sky Temples, or any other maps that would present similar cases. Now, the bugs are squashed; the converter can read the latest map format (v8) and also compiles on Linux.

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