However, since then many new alpha and beta versions have been released that have many new features, and include support for many new games. The latest stable version of QuArK was 6.3, released in January 2003. With the release of version 5.0 in 1998, Python support was added for plugin capabilities. QuArK soon expanded to support Hexen II with version 4.0, and Quake II not much later. Version 3.0 was the first release under this name.
It is named so in reference to the game engine series it supported, the Quake engines, and for Swiss Army knife, because it could not only edit maps, but included a model editor and texture browser as well.
In 1997 a contest was held to rename the software and QuArK, which stands for "Quake Army Knife", was selected. Initially it could only edit maps for Quake, but editing capabilities for QuakeC, sounds and compiled maps were added in version 2, which was released in October 1996. QuArK started out as a Delphi program called " Quakemap", written by Armin Rigo in 1996.
QuArK is also used as a mapping tool in scientific studies. QuArK is probably the second most popular tool for level editing for Half-Life, after the official Valve Hammer Editor. QuArK is the most popular tool to access WAD files. QuArK is one of the two most popular editors for Quake II, GtkRadiant being the other. QuArK is one of the three most notable level editors for Quake, together with Radiant and Worldcraft.
It also runs on 64-bit operating systems (in 32-bit mode), Windows Vista and higher, and it can run under Unix-based platforms by using the Wine compatibility layer. QuArK supports the Win32 platform, including Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4, 2000 and XP. That amount depends on the game-mode selected and the size and complexity of the map or model being edited.
QuArK itself has very low system requirements, although a lot of additional resources are taken up by the loaded game data. More information about this can be found in the QuArK Infobase. It is possible to add plug-ins, written in 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. Īlong with support for most games based on engines developed by id Software, QuArK also has support for other game engines such as Source, Genesis3D, 6DX, Crystal Space, Torque, and Sylphis 3D. 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. QuArK also has a built-in leak finder in order to prevent holes in the map. Additionally, for engines that support it, Bézier surfaces can be used to create curved surfaces. To assist, more advanced features are available, including constructive solid geometry functions such as brush-subtraction. QuArK is a brush-based editor, that works by adding brushes into an empty space, building the map block-by-block. Views have three modes: wireframe, solid color and textured, and supports transparency and lighting in OpenGL mode. This view can be rendered with a built-in software, Glide, OpenGL or Direct3D renderer. It also offers multiple editor layouts, including 2D wireframe and 3D textured views, where it is possible to see how the map or model will look in-game. The interface is based upon VCL and includes a multitude of flyover hints and other forms of in-program documentation. These compilers can be fully configured using their command-line parameters, and once done, QuArK remembers these settings so they can be used every time. QuArK uses external compilers (like Q3Map2) to produce the actual level-file used by the game. 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 is released under the GNU General Public License and has the ability to edit 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.