Edit An Existing Mao

GloryKing

Hey, REALLY new to the mapping community but I kinda had a wierd idea while watching LOTR. I know there are some CS maps about LOTR and I have them all. Is there anyway to open up these maps and edit them to make them NS worthy? I still can't find a way to open .bsps (if there is a way) but i'm planning on reading up on it. So any help or tutorials anywhere for this, cause I can't find them. Thanks guys.

-Glory

Arawn

No, sorry, you can't do that, you need to have the source and I'm afraid you would be hard pressed to make the owners give it up..plus if you've played the game or read the forums at all most people are a stickler for theme/atmosphere/originality. Your submission would have been plagiarizing in a sense, the atmosphere wouldn't fit ns and the game definitely isn't based off of LotR.
Edit: Oh yeah, alot of people have a healthy distrust of CS on here..so they really wouldn't go for it.

DarkATi

Hey and welcome to the community!

Editing other people's maps is not something to do. As a matter of fact it is a cyber-crime. You're taking someone else's work and changing it.

However from a technical standpoint it is possible though you'll end up with a shoddy looking map. Once BSPs get created it's not possible to FULLY decompile them.

Your best bet is to learn how to map and then create your own LotR Masterpiece! I have compiled some awesome resources for you to look into and if you feel the need to really pursue this thing then PM me or AIM me (FX5800Ultra) and I'll be happy to help you out!

<a href='http://collective.valve-erc.com/' target='_blank'>VALVe ERC Collective</a> - Get your map editor and some tutorials here.
<a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=4&t=21248' target='_blank'>XP-Cagey's Compile Tools</a> - Get your Compile Tools here. VHE will tell you how to set up your compile tools once you install it. (VHE being the map editor.)
<a href='http://www.vlatitude.com' target='_blank'>69th Vlatitude</a> - Awesome Tutorials for Adv. Mappers and Beginners Alike.

<a href='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/mappingguide/MappingGuide.php' target='_blank'>ChromeAngels NS Mapping Guide</a> - Everything you need to know about mapping for NS and then some!
<a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/Mapping_Guidelines.html' target='_blank'>OFFICIAL Mapping Guidelines</a> - ChromeAngel is great but this is the official mapping guidelines for Natural-Selection maps.

I hope this helps.

P.S. Lucky you ran into me, or I ran into you. Most people here would flame you for even asking about decompiling a map, though I've shared my views on that in other threads, no need to state it here.

Good Luck!

~ DarkATi