BSP2, engine support, features

The extended map format, BSP2, is supported in some other engines now; there is good support in FTE, and beginning support in Darkplaces (and hmap2). There were some requirements for minor tweaks by the DP camp, which are agreed upon and should be implemented one of those days. When that happens, we will have BSP2 support in three engines.

I want to mention that FTE also supports our protocol 999, this means that it should be able to playback RMQ demos and host RMQ servers. Awesome.

I tested the most recent FTE from SVN and it looks like Spike has optimized it very nicely – it beats the RMQ engine in a timedemo (not to mention it beats Darkplaces so hard it’s not funny). Good job Spike, I was impressed. It really is a very nice engine with a fast renderer that supports everything under the sun, plus it is truly crossplatform, and more people should give it a try. There is a little menu that pops up now when the engine is first started, asking you what kind of visual style you prefer – answering “Normal” emulates Quake as closely as possible, while “Nice” gives you realtime dynamic lights and that kind of stuff. There is also a fully realtime setting. Very easy to choose the graphics settings you want.

FTE also asks you if you want to save any unsaved config settings now, which is a really nice touch.

Spike has really been going out of his way to support RMQ, even if the mod uses a number of things that aren’t very FTE / DP friendly such as the ladder code from extras, or func_water. Some problems still need solving, but we’re getting closer to playing nice with each other. The switch that enables support for big maps (as in RMQ) is sv_bigcoords 1.

I wonder if RMQ will run on Android devices some day, since there is a version of FTE for Android.

Forethought Entertainment : FTE

Lastly, for those who didn’t know it, Spike is the one who added basic CSQC support to the RMQ engine, which means we can have a CSQC HUD and other nice things that come with it. We have quite a few HUD ideas that we’ve been discussing. Our contributor Gnounc actually coded up his own CSQC HUD a while ago.

As for RMQ the mod, we’re discussing some ways of adding interest to the gameplay, both regarding level design and high level features. Shooting monsters is why we play FPS games, but we have a lot of space to fill and some more non-combat interaction wouldn’t hurt. What have you always wanted to see in a mod? Have some ideas? Just poke one of us, we often do listen to requests.

I’m going to implement basic support for charms in the QC now, which are items you can find in the game that give you certain benefits (not quite stat boosts, since we don’t really have stats in RMQ, but stuff like walljump ability and so forth). I can see us going hog wild with those, if you remember the Rage ability you have in RMQ (double damage and regenerating health when near death) this is the kind of stuff you can expect to become collectable charms. I’m thinking fall damage and diving related stuff as well, plus probably more. I’m taking ideas.

We also pretty much want to do something with the “unholy altars” you might remember from old Quake. These might actually become interesting.

There’s more, but I prefer to go and start implementing before spoiling it. Suffice to say that the core gameplay should be getting a little richer. Players spend so much time in our levels between shooting monsters and pushing boxes that they might appreciate some added opportunities. I know I do.