This is the first part of four, which guides you through the methods and functions of creating a map in QuArK's map-editor.

Once you've completed this section, proceed to 'Using brushes (polyhedrons)'.

Before we start, make sure that the build-programs are configured properly in the 'Games' section.

You start the QuArK map-editor, by first selecting what game you want to develop for, in the  Games  menu. For this tutorial, the game 'Half-Life' have been choosen.

Then press the icon shown in the image, to start the map-editor.

Before you proceed, you should be aware of the help you can get in QuArK. Where ever you point your mouse-cursor in QuArK's map-editor, you might get a  "Press F1 for help"  message in the bottom corner of the screen, like this: . If you don't know about the item you are pointing at, then press the F1 key and you will get a help-box up, explaining a little about the item.

When you start the map-editor using the icon described, a default room will be presented for you. This you can use to test to see if the build-programs works, by issuing a  QuickGO!  from the game menu; which is either Quake-1, Hexen-II, Quake-2, Heretic-II, Half-Life, etc., depending on what you have selected in the QuArK-explorer games menu.

If you have any problems calling the build-programs, first check the 'Basic knowledge - A must know for people using QuArK', next the 'Configuration' then the 'FAQs for each supported game' and lastly if you simply can't get it to work, mail your problem to the QuArK-forum; stating for what game you are developing, and a good description of your problem.

There are different views and panels in the map-editor, each with their function, which you will be presented to, through this tutorial. You can also check the 'map-editor reference pages', if you can't wait.

The default room is okay for test purposes, but usually you don't want to use it at all, so how do you get rid of it?

Easy, by deleting it! Mark the three items in the 'Tree-view (hierarchy-view)', as shown in the image, and either press the Delete key on your keyboard, or  drag  them to the 'trashcan' icon and  drop .

You must not, and can not, delete the 'worldspawn' item. This must exist in all maps.

To select multiple items, QuArK's tree-view understands the common method as every other Windows' program do. By holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, and click on items will toggle between selected and unselected. (Just like in Windows' File-Explorer.)

You can also select the first item of a list, then hold down the Shift key and click on the last item, all items in between will be selected. (Just like in Windows' File-Explorer.)

Before moving on, lets look at the 'undo/redo' facility in QuArK. This would be a good time to test it, as we are experimenting deleting the default room.

You activate the undo/redo window, by either clicking on the icon , or from the  Edit  menu select  Undo/Redo... 

In this window, you can see what QuArK allows you to undo and/or redo. You can not do a selective undo or redo, so its better to get some knowledge about how it works. There is also a limit on how much thats available to undo/redo, see 'Memory'.

Try to undo your 'delete selection'. Now the default room and all came back again. You can then redo the 'delete selection'. Try it.

Try to experiment with deleting all items, one item at a time, from the tree-view, and then open the undo/redo window.

Remember to look at the shortcut keys in the menus ('Ctrl+...' and 'Shift+...') and in 'Keys'. Using these will, not only give you a faster work-flow, but also reduce the risk of getting physical-disabilities due to using the mouse too much.

Saving your work is also a good idea. There are several ways to do this.

When you first start a new map, you should save it, using the  Save in QuArK Explorer . This will create a new entry in your QuArK project (.QRK), so you can keep multiple versions of the same map, in one project file.

You can also choose to save it as a QuArK map-file (.QKM), but then its only one map per file.

The last option, is to save it as a .MAP file. However this is not advisable when using QuArK, because you loose all the neat information that is stored in the tree-view, like; groups, duplicators, negative brushes, shared faces, etc. Only save as a .MAP file, if you want others to look at your work, and they use another map-editor than QuArK.

Try using the  Save in QuArK Explorer  a few times. Notice that you will be brought back to the QuArK explorer when using this, so you can see that a new entry is added to your project. You can rename the entries by slowly double-clicking on them, or press the F2 key (Just like in Windows' File-Explorer.)

Also when saving to the the QuArK explorer, you then have to save your project there.