BSP HQ Logo by QuakeGod
BSP Headquarters Logo by QuakeGod

Back to Previous Lesson                    Go to next lesson

Lesson 9 - Wind Tunnels


One of the really cool features of Quake is the ability to make wind tunnels. These add a new dimension to the game by allowing different sorts of transportation for the player to take advantage of. Wind tunnels aren't that difficult to make, but there are some things to watch out for. As usual, we'll need our map from the previous lessons. I've provided a copy here (with the leak fixed) if you need it. Make a copy of this file, call it lesson9.map and load it into BSP.


Okay, let's get started. In the Top View, draw a 64x64 brush, centered on (-192, -64). Switch to a side view, set the bottom of the brush at 88 and stretch the top to 408. Go ahead and apply 'COP1_1' as a texture. Make a copy of this brush and drag it so that it is centered on (-384, -64) and is at the same vertical position as the first one. Don't worry, we'll hollow these out later.

Next, let's draw a brush (in the Top View again) from (-352, -32) to (-224, -96). Set the top of this brush at 408 and the bottom at 320 on the Z axis. These three brushes provide the structure of our tunnel, but they're still solid. Let's hollow them out now. Draw a new 48x48 brush, centered on (-192, -64). Set the top at 400 and the bottom at 80. Now subtract it from the map and delete it.

Do the same thing in the other vertical shaft. Draw a 48x48 brush, centered at (-384, -64), with its top at 400 and the bottom at 80. Subtract it and delete it.

That should hollow out our two vertical shafts. Now let's hollow out the top horizontal shaft. Draw a new brush from (-368, -40) to (-208, -88) in the Top View. Set the top at 400 and the bottom at 328. Subtract this brush and delete it. We now have a hollow tunnel extending up from one room and down into the second room.


Okay, now to make our wind tunnel actually work, we need to use the 'trigger_push' entity. This entity, when activated, will push the player in the direction of its angle setting. Unlike some other entities, this 'trigger_push' entity can be any size you want. That way you can push the player a long way. (You can even simulate a river current - I'll show you that in the next lesson).

In the Top View, draw a 48x48 brush, centered in the first vertical shaft. Align the bottom of the brush with the bottom of the shaft and stretch the top of the brush to 336 on the Z axis. Switch to the Entity Window and make this brush a 'trigger_push' entity with an 'up' angle. This entity will propel the player upwards into the tunnel. You'll notice that the entity stops at the top of the shaft. That way the player stops at the top and our next brush can push him sideways.

Switch back to the Top View and draw a new brush from (-368, -40) to (-168, -88). In the Side View, set the top of this brush at 400 and the bottom at 328. Make this into a 'trigger_push' entity and give it an angle of 180. This will push the player horizontally.

That completes our wind tunnel. Go ahead and compile your level and run it in Quake. Stand under the vertical shaft in the first room and jump up. The tunnel should carry you into the next room and deposit you there, with a bit of a hard landing. You'll notice that it's awful dark in the tunnel. You can put a couple of soft lights in there if you want, so the player can see where he is going, but it's not necessary. One idea that might work well for a trick is to put a silent teleporter inside the wind tunnel. Then the player will have no idea where he is when he comes out the other side; he might not even know he was teleported. It could make for a nice disorienting trick.

There are other things you can do with wind tunnels, though. Switch back to BSP and let's add a grenade launcher to our map. Draw a brush somewhere near the wind tunnel and make it into a 'weapon_grenadelauncher' entity. You can even add a case or two of grenades if you want, so you'll have some ammo to play with. Now run your map in Quake. Grab the grenade launcher and stand near the door so that the door opens and you can see the exit of the wind tunnel. Shoot a grenade up into the wind tunnel entrance. Hopefully, it will run through the tunnel and exit in the other room before it explodes. The first picture shows a grenade being shot up into the tunnel. The second picture shows it coming out the other side. Pretty cool, huh?

Quake Screenshot Quake Screenshot

Now it's possible that your grenade might not make it through the tunnel. If it bounces off the sides too much as it goes through, it will explode before it makes it all the way. I've found the best way to make it work is to stand directly under the tunnel and shoot it as straight up as you can. The problem lies in the fact that we have right angles in our tunnel. This makes places where the grenade can bounce around and impedes its progress through the tunnel. In a straight tunnel, you can shoot grenades much farther without them getting hung up. I just wanted you to see it work.

Well, that's about it for wind tunnels. Next lesson, we'll get into water, slime, and lava, the only three types of brushes that the player can move around inside of. We'll also use the 'trigger_push' entity to simulate a river current. Till then, take it easy. Happy Quaking!

Back to Previous Lesson                    Go to next lesson

BSP is the sole creation of Yahn Bernier. I am only a dedicated user, reporting news and making tutorials so Yahn can spend more time enhancing BSP. QUAKE is a registered trademark of Id Software, Inc. QUAKE(r), the stylized reproduction of the QUAKE(r) trademark, including, without limitation, the Q in QUAKE(r), and the images depicted in QUAKE(r) are the copyrighted property of Id Software, Inc. So there :-P

This web page was created and is being maintained by me (DeadMeat). The main logo for this site was made by QuakeGod. Most everything else was made by me.

All content appearing on this site after August 30, 1997 was written by DeadMeat. Also, DeadMeat's BSP Tutorials were created entirely by DeadMeat. All unauthorized use is prohibited. (c) 1997