# Is it possible to load map that isn't in a PK3 file?

**URL:** <https://discourse.ioquake.org/t/is-it-possible-to-load-map-that-isnt-in-a-pk3-file/3145>\
**Category:** support\
**Created:** [June 20, 2026, 3:35pm UTC](https://discourse.ioquake.org/t/is-it-possible-to-load-map-that-isnt-in-a-pk3-file/3145 "2026-06-20T15:35:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Dylan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e95f7d/32.png) [@Dylan](https://discourse.ioquake.org/u/Dylan)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 3:35pm UTC](https://discourse.ioquake.org/t/is-it-possible-to-load-map-that-isnt-in-a-pk3-file/3145/1 "2026-06-20T15:35:14Z")

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Hi,

I’m currently making a Quake 3 map. Is there a way to test it without having to put the BSP file into a PK3 file each time?

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![IcyChills](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.ioquake.org/icychills/32/696_2.png) [@IcyChills](https://discourse.ioquake.org/u/IcyChills)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://discourse.ioquake.org/t/is-it-possible-to-load-map-that-isnt-in-a-pk3-file/3145/2 "2026-06-23T19:41:11Z")

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You can directly launch it with “ioquake3 +set sv\_pure 0 +devmap ”  
Or launching it from the in-game console.  
All that matters is setting sv\_pure 0 and that the bsp is in the maps folder.

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**Author:** ![Dylan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e95f7d/32.png) [@Dylan](https://discourse.ioquake.org/u/Dylan)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://discourse.ioquake.org/t/is-it-possible-to-load-map-that-isnt-in-a-pk3-file/3145/3 "2026-06-24T16:50:07Z")

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Nice one, thanks! 👍

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**Author:** ![IcyChills](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.ioquake.org/icychills/32/696_2.png) [@IcyChills](https://discourse.ioquake.org/u/IcyChills)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://discourse.ioquake.org/t/is-it-possible-to-load-map-that-isnt-in-a-pk3-file/3145/4 "2026-06-24T22:09:17Z")

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No problem. Seems there was a part of the command cut out or I messed up as I was quite tired when I wrote it.

I’ve added sv\_cheats to it as well in case you want to test with cheats.  
“ioquake3 +set sv\_pure 0 +sv\_cheats 1 +devmap mapname.bsp"

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**Author:** ![WofWca](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.ioquake.org/wofwca/32/795_2.png) [@WofWca](https://discourse.ioquake.org/u/WofWca)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2026, 8:47am UTC](https://discourse.ioquake.org/t/is-it-possible-to-load-map-that-isnt-in-a-pk3-file/3145/5 "2026-06-27T08:47:06Z")

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See [GitHub - ioquake/ioq3: The ioquake3 community effort to continue supporting/developing id's Quake III Arena · GitHub](https://github.com/ioquake/ioq3/#pk3dir)

> _ioquake3_ has a useful new feature for mappers. Paths in a game directory with the extension “.pk3dir” are treated like pk3 files. This means you can keep all files specific to your map in one directory tree and easily zip this folder for distribution.

You put this dir in `baseq3/.pk3dir` IMU.

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**Author:** ![Dylan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e95f7d/32.png) [@Dylan](https://discourse.ioquake.org/u/Dylan)\
**Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://discourse.ioquake.org/t/is-it-possible-to-load-map-that-isnt-in-a-pk3-file/3145/6 "2026-06-30T21:35:08Z")

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Doesn’t +devmap enable cheats anyway? I know it allows noclip which I use a bit when testing.

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**Author:** ![Dylan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e95f7d/32.png) [@Dylan](https://discourse.ioquake.org/u/Dylan)\
**Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://discourse.ioquake.org/t/is-it-possible-to-load-map-that-isnt-in-a-pk3-file/3145/7 "2026-06-30T21:36:28Z")

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Thanks for this. I set it up just now. Will be very handy 🙂