How to compile the Quake 3 engine source

Well....I'm new to DevMaster and i was just wondering if you guys could help me with a problem i seem to be encountering... Well my problem is that i have downloaded the Q3 source B) and i was just wondering how do i compile it? and if you guys could just point me in the right direction for a decent engine if Q3 source isnt good....I plan to make a FPS, some networkin stuff may be good, but i dont see my networkin stuff anytime soon, so could you guys give me any suggestions?

To compile Quake3, unless you're really a masochist, you need Visual C++ .NET. With this, you can just open the workspace and hit the build button. You can get the Academic version of VC++.NET for around 100 dollars the last time I checked, so it isn't *that* expensive.

You could probably get it to work very easily in Visual C++ 6.0, but it would be a bit more difficult. I wouldn't try to get it to work on a GCC variant, though. There are little changes in syntax here and there and it'd take a few days to make it work and there may be bugs from the switch. It would be very difficult to debug something like Quake3, especially when you don't know the structure of the engine.

well... i have like the free shell of msvs c++, so anyone know how to use the command prompt to compile it?

Originally Posted by Jordan

To compile Quake3, unless you're really a masochist, you need Visual C++ .NET. With this, you can just open the workspace and hit the build button. You can get the Academic version of VC++.NET for around 100 dollars the last time I checked, so it isn't *that* expensive.

Why not get the VS 2005 Beta edition. I think it is still free, and it would get you started.

Spree

I wasnt able to find the beta of it...could anyone plz post it?

I think this is the main dl site

http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/expres...c/default.aspx

It only works for a limited period of time though, but it might get you a deeper understanding of the code to be able to do it yourself

Spree

A good resource for all things Quake source related is this website:

http://www.quakesrc.org

Although the tutorials/articles are outdated, the forums are very active with many people modifying the Quake 1, 2, and 3 engines.

Good luck!

Bah, your best of not working with the Quake source code if you hate poor coding conventions. Sure the engine is widely used & powerful but it has a good deal of weaknesses. The code can be quite cryptic & too many new developers are lured into coding with one of the three quake engines.

You might prefer working with ogre3d or crystal space. I personnally think that the developers for those engines know much more about good coding convention then the famed Mr. Carmack.

thx for all of the replies, i am thinking about using the Crystal Space engine for this project...I was wondering if there is a way of compiling it on Windows 98. I havent been able to successfully compile it yet...But thanks for everything so far!!

Yes John Carmack is a genius, but not in engine design. His genius lies in understanding the complexities of a vast array of graphics hardware and making an engine that can run optimally on any of them. It's amazing really, and I could never hope to be that good, but it says nothing about the organization and understandability of the code. If you want to push the limits of this years hardware, Carmack is gold, but frankly hardware advances so quickly that all the optomizations he did for the origional Quake mean squat now, and even Quake3 doesnt help you that much. But I digress...

What compiler environment are you using?

Originally Posted by dudefromaz

thx for all of the replies, i am thinking about using the Crystal Space engine for this project...I was wondering if there is a way of compiling it on Windows 98. I havent been able to successfully compile it yet...But thanks for everything so far!!

Good choice, you will learn alot using the Crystal Space engine.

And NomadRock Carmack intelligence lays in his intense studies in math and C Programming. Aside from that he isn't as smart as people make him out to be. He is well known for his poor people skills that would make any nerd feel charismatic .

Would Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition work?

Oh and, Visual C++ Express works for an unlimited time, you just need to register it within 30 days. Registration is free though.