I read there are several versions of the BSP format, one as high as v38 I believe. My question is.. is the format/structure for this protected in any way so if we were to use an editor that creates this type of file that we develop an engine to parse and use, would we be stepping on anyone''s toes? Also.. can someone provide a web site / link to where this information (current) might be maintained for current versions and the structures thereto? Any help appreciated. Thanks!

You cannot copywrite a format or technique, you can, unfortuneatly, patent one. As far as BSP goes, I would guess it is not patented. In particular it''s a very old technique, and has been used by Carmack and Id for a long time. Id has been very hostile to software patents in general, so if they have one I would guess it''s still safe to use, so long as you don''t patent anything and then try to get royalties from Id.

You never actually know that something is free of a patent, and just because the normal way of doing something is free does not mean that a particular extention or refinement could not get you into trouble, i.e. LZ78 vs LZW


I don''t know of any sites that maintain current info on Id''s structures, or the structures of particular games.