Making a new map, eh? Your first map? xD
You dont know how to make a rotating door, and want to copy it from de_inferno?
OK!!
As maps are compiled in GoldSrc by converting MAP to BSP, they can also be decompiled from BSP to MAP. Now this can be real useful when :-
- You want to copy off a prefab from a map.
- You wanna change/edit the original map.
- You want to explore the secrets of the map to enhance gameplay (non-modders)
Now there are two tools that are currently available in the goldsrc market (xD) namely WinBSPC and BSP2MAP.
WinBSPC - Its by Mr Elusive(sounds familiar). I think this is a better option than the latter because it has a GUI (the other one lacks it). By GUI, I mean it has a menu interface that makes work easy for not-so-pro(s). Morever, it has a .PAK & .SIN extractor, so it can be used for those texture extraction purposes also.
Decompiling is easy. Select "Convert" from the file menu, browse to your desired BSP map and let the magic happen. And for noobs, after selecting the file, another set of settings, select the MAP checkbox and browse to your output folder. Dont change the rest of the settings unless you know what you are doing.
MAP options :-
best match texturing - The decompiler tries to match the textures of your original map as much as possible.
no brush merging - During decompiling by default, brushes are merged to minimize file space. This option disables that option.
no liquids - No liquid textures are decompiled for the map.
The progress will be shown on the right black side of the screen. After decompilation, you will get a MAP file which can be opened with Hammer or any other goldsrc mapping utility (is there any?)
BSP2MAP - The last version of it was v1.4b by Skyler 'Zipster' York. Though it has advanced options and features, (rather, extra features) most users found it difficult working with command prompt and the parameters. But there is an easy method (drag n drop) which is simple but you wont get the functionality of extra parameters as the map will be decompiled with the default settings.
Decompiling is, eh.. much easy!! Just drag your BSP over the icon. BSPTwoMap is a command-line application, much like the original compile tools. If you are familiar with these compile tools (HLCSG, HLBSP, etc.), then BSPTwoMap operates in the same way. If you are not familiar, then to run BSPTwoMap you can either a) drag the BSP file over the EXE file or b) open up the command prompt, go to the directory BSPTwoMap is located, and run the application with the appropiate parameters. A console window will open showing the progress of the application, and when it is finished a MAP file will be generated in the same directory as the original BSP file, with the same name. Also, the textures of the desired map and a log file showing the decompilation process is generated.
The following are acceptable command-line switches:
-notextures Do not extract included textures.
-xpcagey Use when the map was compiled with XP-Cagey's tools and optimizers.
-origin N Change the dimensions of created origin brushes to NxNxN.
mapname Name of the BSP to decompile.
Note that both softwares are quite good in their own way. WinBSPC provides simplicity with all features while BSP2MAP provides simplicity considering extra features but offers much greater usability when used with features, though it is not so easy decompiling alongwith.
Well, I couldn't post any screenshots of BSP2MAP for it has no GUI, so if there is any queries/doubts, please say.
Conclusion
Show, the tutorial explains the two ways of decompiling goldsrc maps. Objective completed. But with every solution comes a snag. Yeah, this one has too..None of the softwares listed are not capable of decompiling the map "properly". By "properly", I mean that after coversion, when you open the MAP file in Hammer (or any other software) you would find them very difficult to work with unless you are someone like DaveJ or Barney xD. Misplaced textures, invalid brushes & entities are some of the snags of GoldSrc decompilation. So, a pre-decompiling warning and adieu!!
I have been fried through the bacon grease for learning by others going the route of decompile maps , but this is the most common way to learn , new mappers don't be discouraged , hey Hazard you did some mapping for dod once ..right?