J.A.C.K.

What J.A.C.K. is

J.A.C.K. is a level editor for games built on Quake-style BSP architecture. It is intended for people making levels for classic games and mods, and supports Quake, Half-Life, Quake II, Quake III, and Hexen II. Editing tools include curved surfaces, triangulation, UV-Lock, multiple VisGroups, and automatic selection in 3D views. It supports levels up to 262144 × 262144 units, and users can configure autosave to help preserve projects after crashes or design errors. J.A.C.K. can import and export VMF maps, but that capability is beta and does not include Displacements. Plugins can add brush primitives, texture and model formats, and game configurations with import and export formats. The editor also supports archive extraction and script editing, with formats including PAK, PK3, WAD2, WAD3, MDL, MD2, SPR, SP2, MAP, RMF, VMF, FGD, JMF, PRT, P0-P3, and Quake III shader files. It runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. J.A.C.K. is free donationware; a Steam version is listed at $14.99, paid once.

Who it suits

It suits level designers working on classic games and mods supported by the editor. Its plugin system and map-format support may fit workflows that need import and export options.

Limits

VMF import and export are beta and do not include Displacements. The freely distributed donationware version has no other listed plan limits.

Getting started

1. Visit the J.A.C.K. website.
2. Choose a Windows or Linux package from the download page, or use the macOS platform.
3. Install or launch the editor for your platform.
4. Use the free donationware version, or purchase the Steam version for $14.99, paid once to access beta updates.

Verdict

J.A.C.K. offers a broad set of editing tools for levels in several classic games. It is free as donationware, but VMF import and export remains limited beta support.