8. File conversion

Besides being a map processing tool, MESS also supports conversion between different map file formats. This can be useful when migrating to a different editor, or for automating .map exports. It's also possible to exclude specific VIS groups or layers, and to exclude anything outside a specific area (cordoning).

See below for some common use-cases:

For all available options, see Convert options.

Converting a map file to rmf or jmf

To convert a .map file to .rmf or .jmf, open a command-line window (or create a batch file) and call MESS as following:

MESS.exe -convert input_file.map output_file.jmf

If the input is a TrenchBroom .map file, any groups and layers will automatically be converted to Hammer or J.A.C.K. groups and VIS groups.

Converting a rmf or jmf to a TrenchBroom map file

To convert a .jmf file to a TrenchBroom .map file, call MESS as following:

MESS.exe -convert -mapformat trenchbroomvalve220 -tbgame "Half-Life" -wad "halflife.wad;liquids.wad" input_file.jmf output_file.map

The -mapformat trenchbroomvalve220 option tells MESS that it should convert groups and VIS groups to TrenchBroom-specific func_group entities, instead of discarding any group and VIS group information. The -tbgame option sets the TrenchBroom game name, and the -wad option sets the map's wad property.

Exporting and cleaning a TrenchBroom map file

TrenchBroom .map files store layer and (linked) group information in func_group entities and _tb-prefixed properties. When exporting a map from TrenchBroom, any layers that are marked as 'omit from export' are excluded, but the func_group entities and _tb properties are still present, which may cause in-game warnings. To remove this TrenchBroom-specific information from a map file, call MESS as following:

MESS.exe -convert -noomittedlayers input_file.map output_file.map

The -noomittedlayers option will remove all layers that are marked as 'omit from export'. Because the default map output format is valve220, which does not support group and layer information, the output map won't contain any TrenchBroom-specific data.