View source for Software:Quake Army Knife

{{Short description|3D asset developing program}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Quake Army Knife
| logo = QuArKIcon.png
| logo caption = 
| screenshot = QuArK-MapEditor.png
| caption = Screenshot of QuArK's map editor
| collapsible =
| author =
| developer = QuArK Development Team
| released =
| discontinued =
| latest release version = 6.3
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2003|1|15|df=yes}}
| latest preview version = 6.6.0 Beta 7
| latest preview date = {{Start date and age|2021|5|2|df=yes}}
| repo = {{URL|https://sourceforge.net/p/quark/code/HEAD/tree/}}
| programming language = [[Delphi (programming language)|Delphi]] and [[Python (programming language)|Python]]
| operating system = [[Software:Microsoft Windows|Microsoft Windows]]
| platform =
| size =
| language = English
| genre = [[Software:Level design|Level design]] tool
| license = [[Software:GNU General Public License|GPL]]<ref name="license">{{Cite web|url=https://quark.sourceforge.io/features.php|title=The Official QuArK website - Features|website=quark.sourceforge.io}}</ref>
| website = {{URL|https://quark.sourceforge.io/}}
}}

'''Quake Army Knife''' (aka '''QuArK'''), is a [[Freeware|free]] and [[Open-source software|open-source]] [[Computer program|program]] for developing [[3D computer graphics|3D]] assets for a large variety of [[Software:First-person shooter|first-person shooter]]s,<ref>{{cite web |title=Design and implementation of games based on existing graphics engines |author=Pawel Lekki, Grzegorz Labuzek |publisher=Institute of Computer Graphics Szczecin University of Technology Szczecin / Poland |url=http://old.cescg.org/CESCG-2006/papers/Szczecin-Labuzek-Grzegorz.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204101928/http://old.cescg.org/CESCG-2006/papers/Szczecin-Labuzek-Grzegorz.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=4 December 2018}}</ref> such as video games using the [[Software:Quake engine|Quake engine]] by [[Company:Id Software|id Software]] or the [[Software:Torque (game engine)#Original Torque Game Engine|Torque engine]].<ref name="3DGPAi1" /><ref>Derek Nofsinger, ''Graphic Software Used in Game Design'', April 11, 2006, {{cite web |url=http://faculty.fortlewis.edu/adams_e/CLASSES/CS496SeniorSeminar/CS496W06/StudentPapers/Nofsinger.doc |title=Archived copy |access-date=24 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630060202/http://faculty.fortlewis.edu/ADAMS%5FE/CLASSES/CS496SeniorSeminar/CS496W06/StudentPapers/Nofsinger.doc |archive-date=30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Playas: Homeland Mirage |author=Jack Stenner, Andruid Kerne, Yauger Williams |publisher=Texas A&M University |url=https://ecologylab.net/research/publications/playasHomelandMirageMM05.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307054119/https://ecologylab.net/research/publications/playasHomelandMirageMM05.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=7 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Murdock |first=Kelly |title=3D Game Animation For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)) |date=10 June 2005 |publisher=For Dummies |isbn=0-7645-8789-7}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Mateevitsi |first1=Victor |last2=Sfakianos |first2=Michael |last3=Lepouras |first3=George |last4=Vassilakis |first4=Costas |title=Proceedings of the 3rd international conference on Digital Interactive Media in Entertainment and Arts |chapter=A game-engine based virtual museum authoring and presentation system |pages=451–457 |year=2008 |doi=10.1145/1413634.1413714 |isbn=9781605582481 |s2cid=17580889 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221038689}}</ref>

== Overview ==
QuArK is released under the [[Software:GNU General Public License|GNU General Public License]]<ref name="license" /> and has the ability to [[Software:Level design|edit]] [[Software:Level (video gaming)|maps]] (either directly or through an intermediate compiler process), and can import, export, manipulate and convert models, sounds, textures and various other game assets, or create any of these assets from scratch.<ref name="Summers">{{cite web|title=Summers, E, Getchell, K, Miller, A, Allison, C. In: ''Proc. 8th International Postgraduate Symposium on the Convergence of Telecommunications, Networking and Broadcasting, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.'' 2007. |url=http://lava.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/publications/Generating-3D-Multiplayer-Game-Maps-from-2D-Architectural-Plans.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201725/http://lava.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/publications/Generating-3D-Multiplayer-Game-Maps-from-2D-Architectural-Plans.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> It is also possible to move or change dynamic game objects without the need to recompile the whole map which makes the fine-tuning of details quicker. QuArK uses external compilers (like Q3Map2) to produce the actual level-file used by the game. These compilers can be fully configured using their [[Command-line interface|command-line]] parameters, and once done, QuArK remembers these settings so they can be used every time.

The [[Graphical user interface|interface]] is based upon [[Software:Visual Component Library|VCL]] and includes a multitude of flyover hints and other forms of in-program documentation. It also offers multiple editor layouts, including 2D wireframe and 3D textured [[3D computer graphics|views]], where it is possible to see how the map or model will look in-game. This view can be [[Rendering (computer graphics)|rendered]] with a built-in [[Software rendering|software]], [[Software:Glide (API)|Glide]], [[Software:OpenGL|OpenGL]] or [[Software:Direct3D|Direct3D]] renderer. Views have three modes: [[Wire-frame model|wireframe]], [[Shading|solid color]] and [[Texture mapping|textured]], and supports [[Transparency (graphic)|transparency]] and [[Computer graphics lighting|lighting]] in OpenGL mode.

QuArK is a [[Software:Brush (video game)|brush-based]] editor, that works by adding brushes into an empty space, building the map block-by-block.<ref name="3DGPAi1" /> To assist, more advanced features are available, including [[Constructive solid geometry|constructive solid geometry]] functions such as brush-subtraction. Additionally, for engines that support it, [[Bézier surface]]s can be used to create curved surfaces. QuArK also has a built-in leak finder in order to prevent holes in the map.<ref>{{cite web|title=Quake Level Editing|access-date=2011-05-21|url=http://www.mindspring.com/~win32ch/Leveledit.htm}}</ref> Items can be added to a map simply by selecting them from a list of available entities, and their properties can be edited once they are placed in the map.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quark.sourceforge.io/infobase/maped.tutorial.entities.html|title=Using entities|website=quark.sourceforge.io}}</ref>

It is possible to add [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-ins]], written in [[Python (programming language)|Python]], to extend the capabilities of the editor, or to make changes to the official Python files to alter the way QuArK's functions work. More information about this can be found in the [https://quark.sourceforge.io/infobase/ QuArK Infobase].

QuArK itself has very low system requirements,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quark.sourceforge.io/features.php#sysreqs|title=The Official QuArK website - Features|website=quark.sourceforge.io}}</ref> although a lot of additional resources are taken up by the loaded game data. That amount depends on the game-mode selected and the size and complexity of the map or model being edited. QuArK supports the [[Software:Windows API|Win32 platform]], including [[Software:Windows 95|Windows 95]], [[Software:Windows 98|98]], ME, [[Software:Windows NT 4.0|NT 4]], [[Software:Windows 2000|2000]] and [[Software:Windows XP|XP]]. It also runs on 64-bit operating systems (in 32-bit mode), [[Software:Windows Vista|Windows Vista]] and higher, and it can run under [[Software:Unix|Unix]]-based platforms by using the [[Software:Wine|Wine]] compatibility layer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=1532|title=WineHQ - QuArK|website=appdb.winehq.org}}</ref>

== Usage and popularity ==
QuArK is one of the three most notable level editors for ''[[Software:Quake (video game)|Quake]]'', together with Radiant and Worldcraft.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Westlake |first1=Simon |last2=Deloura |first2=Mark |date=January 2001 |title=Front Line Awards |magazine=[[Software:Game Developer (magazine)|Game Developer]] |publisher=Jennifer Pahlka}}</ref> QuArK is one of the two most popular editors for ''[[Software:Quake II|Quake II]]'', [[Software:GtkRadiant|GtkRadiant]] being the other.<ref name="Summers"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Quake II as a Robotic and Multi-Agent Platform|author=Chris Brown, Peter Barnum, Dave Costello, George Ferguson, Bo Hu, Mike Van Wie|url=ftp://ftp.cs.rochester.edu/pub/papers/robotics/04.tr853rev.Quake_II_as_robotic_and_multi-agent_platform.pdf}}</ref> QuArK is the most popular tool to access [[Doom WAD|WAD]] files.<ref>{{Cite book | last=W. Lecky-Thompson | first=Guy | title=Video Game Design Revealed (Revealed (Charles River Media)) | year=2008 | publisher=Charles River Media | isbn=978-1-58450-562-4 }}</ref> QuArK is probably the second most popular tool for level editing for ''[[Software:Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]'', after the official Valve Hammer Editor.<ref>{{Cite book | last=Laukkanen | first=Tero | title=Modding Scenes-Introduction to user-created content in computer gaming |date = October 2005| isbn=951-44-6448-6 }} [http://tampub.uta.fi/handle/10024/65431]</ref> QuArK is also used as a mapping tool in scientific studies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Learning Plan Networks in Conversational Video Games|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |url=https://www.media.mit.edu/cogmac/publications/orkin_mastersthesis_2007.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812190200/https://www.media.mit.edu/cogmac/publications/orkin_mastersthesis_2007.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=12 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Harvey CD, Collman F, Dombeck DA, Tank DW | title=Intracellular dynamics of hippocampal place cells during virtual navigation. | journal=Nature | year= 2009 | volume= 461 | issue= 7266 | pages= 941–6 | pmid=19829374 | doi=10.1038/nature08499 | pmc=2771429 | bibcode=2009Natur.461..941H }}</ref> A more recent editor is [[Software:TrenchBroom|TrenchBroom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/make-quake-with-trenchbroom|website=Rock Paper Shotgun|title=Make Quake With TrenchBroom|first=Craig|last=Pearson|date=2013-03-12|access-date=2023-09-17}}</ref>

== History ==
QuArK started out as a [[Delphi (programming language)|Delphi]] program called "Quakemap", written by Armin Rigo in 1996. Initially it could only edit maps for ''[[Software:Quake (video game)|Quake]]'', but editing capabilities for [[QuakeC]], sounds and compiled maps were added in version 2,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://users.yknet.yk.ca/dmckay/qmap/inter.html|title=Interview with Armin Rigo - Feb. 12th 1997|date=April 30, 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970430160107/http://users.yknet.yk.ca/dmckay/qmap/inter.html|archive-date=1997-04-30}}</ref> which was released in October 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bluesnews.com/archives/oct96-3.html|title=Blue's Quake News -- October 19-25, 1996|website=www.bluesnews.com}}</ref>

In 1997 a contest was held to rename the software and QuArK, which stands for "Quake Army Knife", was selected.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://users.yknet.yk.ca/dmckay/qmap/docs/qmap2qrk.htm |title=From QuakeMap To QuArK |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970430171055/http://users.yknet.yk.ca/dmckay/qmap/docs/qmap2qrk.htm |archive-date=1997-04-30}}</ref> It is named so in reference to the game engine series it supported, the Quake engines, and for [[Engineering:Swiss Army knife|Swiss Army knife]], because it could not only edit maps, but included a model editor and texture browser as well. Version 3.0 was the first release under this name.

QuArK soon expanded to support ''[[Software:Hexen II|Hexen II]]'' with version 4.0, and ''[[Software:Quake II|Quake II]]'' not much later. With the release of version 5.0 in 1998, [[Python (programming language)|Python]] support was added for plugin capabilities.

The latest stable version of QuArK was 6.3, released in January 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quark.sourceforge.io/newsarticle.php?ArticleID=215|title=The Official QuArK website - News Article|website=quark.sourceforge.io}}</ref> However, since then many new alpha and beta versions have been released that have many new features, and include support for many new games. A small (and incomplete) overview of the major releases since 6.3:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quark.sourceforge.io/archivednews.php|title=The Official QuArK website - Archived News|website=quark.sourceforge.io}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: left;"
|-
!Version
!Last Release Date
!Most Notable Changes
|-
!{{rh}} | 6.4.1 Alpha
| September 2003
| Support for ''[[Software:Doom 3|Doom 3]]'' and ''[[Software:Half-Life 2|Half-Life 2]]''.
|-
!{{rh}} | 6.5.0 Alpha
| July 2006
| Ability to display HL2 materials.<br/ >Fixed light entity dependency for OpenGL transparency to work feature.<br/ >Added Quick Object Makers, to quickly create simple geometric shapes.<br/ >Support for ''[[Software:Quake 4|Quake 4]]''.
|-
!{{rh}} | 6.5.0 Beta
| December 2007
| OpenGL rendering available in all editor windows.<br/ >Fixed the Software & Glide lock-up and smearing problems.<br/ >OpenGL lighting and transparency support.<br/ >Fixed a whole load of memory leaks.<br/ >Added ''QuArKSAS''.<br/ >Initial support for ''Star Trek: Elite Force II''.<br/ >Ability to save .md3 models.
|-
!{{rh}} | 6.6.0 Beta
| May 2021
| Support for ''[[Software:Call of Duty 2|Call of Duty 2]]'', ''[[Software:Team Fortress 2|Team Fortress 2]]'', ''Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.²'', ''[[Software:Prey (2006 video game)|Prey]]'', ''[[Software:Nexuiz|Nexuiz]]'', ''[[Software:Warsow (video game)|Warsow]]'', ''[[Software:Portal (video game)|Portal]]'' and ''[[Software:American McGee's Alice|American McGee's Alice]]''.<br/ >Major support improvements for ''Star Trek: Elite Force II''.<br/ >Ability to load and save .ase, [[STL (file format)|.stl]], .md5 models, [[Software:Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life 1]] models and ''[[Software:Medal of Honor: Allied Assault|Medal of Honor]]'' models, and load .gr2.
|}

=== Ports ===
There were plans to make a [[C++]] version of QuArK that reuses the existing [[Python (programming language)|Python]] files,<ref>{{cite web|title=Quark++ |url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/quarkplusplus/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306234749/https://sourceforge.net/projects/quarkplusplus/|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 March 2019}}</ref> plans to port the program to [[Software:MacOS|macOS]] and [[Software:Linux|Linux]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://trino.sourceforge.net/|title=Trino - Multiplatform Level Editor|website=trino.sourceforge.net}}</ref> and plans to do a complete rewrite of QuArK in C++ and Python,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quark.sourceforge.io/quark7/|title=The Official QuArK website - Main Page|website=quark.sourceforge.io}}</ref> but development on all these projects has ceased.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

== Utilities ==
QuArK comes with several stand-alone utilities:
* QuArKSAS: The ''QuArK Steam Access System'', or ''QuArKSAS'', is a [[Command-line interface|command-line]] program that allows the user to extract files from the [[Software:Steam (service)#Software delivery and maintenance|Steam filesystem]].
* grnreader.exe: Used to convert .gr2 files into QuArK-loadable .ms files.
* NVDXT: [[Company:Nvidia|Nvidia]]'s DXT converter, used to create [[DirectDraw Surface|.dds]] files.

== Unofficial packages ==

There are several unofficial packages available:
* [http://www.skinhat.com/3dpack/ 3D Development Pack] is a custom installer to allow people to quickly and easily develop a 3D game using QuArK. It combines QuArK, [[Software:Lazarus|Lazarus]] and [[Software:GLScene|GLScene]].<ref group="Note" name="NotUpToDate">The version of QuArK used in this package is not up-to-date.</ref>
* [http://www.skinhat.com/Quark Quark For GLScene] is an install for QuArK that includes [https://web.archive.org/web/20080517065004/http://www.osmanturan.com/ OpenBSP] as the default compiler and doesn't need ''Quake'' installed.<ref group="Note" name="NotUpToDate" />
* The [[Company:GarageGames|Garage Games]] website offered a custom installer, which will install QuArK with some additional files so it's ready to go and configured for Torque: [https://web.archive.org/web/20081204142021/http://www.garagegames.com/docs/tge/general/ch09s02.html Torque Game Engine Documentation].<ref group="Note" name="NotUpToDate" />

== Notes ==
<references group="Note"/>

== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="3DGPAi1">{{cite book |author=Finney, Kenneth V. |title=3D Game Programming All in One (Course Technology PTR Game Development Series) |year=2004 |publisher=Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade |isbn=1-59200-136-X}}</ref>

}}


[[Category:Free 3D graphics software]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in Python]]

{{Sourceattribution|Quake Army Knife}}