How To Install GTKRadiant for Linux

Preface

So what is this Tutorial about? I've tried to help someone installing and configuring GTKRadiant under Linux and for my favourite Game World of Padman.

I ran into a bunch of questions and problems with this task. But I think I've got it working now, so I want you to not have these troubles. The main reason for the difficulties is the lack of documentation and the flawed Mapping-Pack for WoP.

What do you need to follow me is some free time, general knowledge about your computer and an internet connection. Using all of them you may go ahead to the next chapter.

The Files

Obviously you'll need some files before you can start mapping. Here's what I used.

When you have downloaded and extracted all of them we can start. You need to have WoP installed on the computer you use for mapping. There are two reasons: First; because you need the game's files, i.e. textures and shaders. Second; You need to test your maps somehow.

There is no download-link for 'alien', as you might not even need it. If your Linux-distribution uses .rpm-files you can skip the next chapter and simply install the Radiant right now.

Converting the Radiant

Some distributions like Ubuntu don't support .rpm files. You could also try to compile the Radiant manually. But I for myself didn't succeed with this and I find it rather more difficult than converting an existing package.

So we need to convert the Radiant-File you downloaded in chapter 2. First get 'alien'. To do so, start your package-manager to search and install it. You might also need the package 'rpm'. Fire up a terminal, cd into where you saved the .rmp and run the following command.

sudo alien gtkRadiant-1.5.0-2006-03-02.i386.rpm

If it succeeds you should now have a converted package named 'gtkRadiant_1.5.0-8_i386.deb'. Install it as you usually do install .debs.

Configuring

Now we need to copy all the configs and files to their right location. In the following text I assume that WoP is installed to /usr/local/games/WoP/ and Radiant is in /opt/gtkradiant/. If not so, you'll need to adjust the paths I use.

What you need to do first is copying the contents of the WoP GtkRadiant Pack into /opt/gtkRadiant/. Note that you might need root rights to do so. For testing purposes start the Radiant and see whether you can select World of Padman as a game. I won't go into the details of configuring the Radiant according to your needs, read its manual or any good mapping-tutorial.

If you need the Padpack for mapping copy it into /usr/local/games/WoP/wop/. The WoP Mapping Pack goes into /usr/local/games/WoP/, too. You also need to copy the default_shaderlist.txt, which is located at /wop.game/wop/ inside the GtkRadiant Pack. Copy and rename this file to /usr/local/games/WoP/wop/scripts/shaderlist.txt. If you forget that step, shaders won't be compiled into your map!

Now you should be done. If there are still textures or shaders missing you need to copy them to the correct folder in /usr/local/games/WoP/wop/.

Epilogue

I hope this did help you. As there is almost no support for mapping for WoP with Linux it is quite difficult to get started. Things that still need to be fixed are the WoP GtkRadiant Pack and the missing bot compiler. One more sidenote: If you're using Compiz the Radiant might not work as expected, you'll need to deactivate Compiz before starting the Radiant.

Additional Information

For those who are interested in why I told you to do things this way.
I already said why I converted the Radiant instead of compiling it. So there are only the paths for the files left. Where do they come from and what are they good for?

Altough one should use local folders this would require much more work and troubles than if you just copy everything into /usr/local/games/WoP/. All the programs involved in mapping will look inside this folder, so no messup with a dozen separate local folders.

Like I said before, the WoP GtkRadiant Pack has some mistakes in it, so I consider creating a fixed version. But don't expect it's download too soon.

Update

I have built my own Radiant package, use at your own risk. It includes a fixed Pack for WoP and all plugins for the Radiant (except for ufoai and gamepacks of other games). It bases upon NetRadiant, an improved version of GTKRadiant. Furthermore I have included the standard bspc compiler and a version of q3map2 which supports WoP.

Download it here. Please note that I complied it with Ubuntu 9.04 x86, so it might not work with other distributions.

Update to the update: Now there's a 64bit build. It's based upon a newer version of NetRadiant but has the same gimmicks.