Intro notes for UnrealEd. Viewports The black viewport is 3D, the others are orthogonal views. 2D Navigation [moving the camera] Drag opposite the direction you want to go in Pan = LMB Pan = MMB Pan twice as fast = RMB Zoom = LMB and RMB Zoom = scroll MMB 3D navigation walk through = LMB turn around = RMB major moves = LMB AND RMB Ctrl-LMB = X Ctrl-RMB = Y Ctrl-LMB and RMB = Z Browsers Actor Anything not architecture – weapons, emitters, pickups, etc. Groups Collections of actors Music Don’t use it Sound Ambient and triggered sound fx Textures Mesh Obsolete Prefab Obsolete Static mesh High[er] poly count architecture Can import from other programs -- .ase or .lwo Shows face count [triangles] Animation You can play an animation file here Other Some stuff for splines and scripting – we probably won’t be using Build options: Geometry, not lights or paths Lighting, and Changed lighting Paths for AI to navigate level and Changed paths All Build settings Test Saves as a temp file to play the level Help – there is none Advanced View/Advanced options ... Editor/Advanced ... Default -- Autosave and about 5 minutes is essential Open UT2k3/4/Maps folder, View/Details to see the newest file. Reopen the editor, and open the file. If everything looks normal, save it as the level you were working on and continue from where you left off.
UseAxisIndicator – set to false if you want Making a hole for the rain to come in ... The BSP comes completely filled, so we have to first cut away a space BSP We create what are technically actors – special actors -- called BSP brushes. BSP = Binary Space Partitioning. Binary Space Partition; static data structure method used by game programmers to determine correct front-to-back polygon visibility, so that scenes are rendered realistically. Note – there are placeable and non-placeable actors. Non-placeables includes the HUD [heads up display] triggers, weapon projectiles, etc.
Cube, etc ... if Hollow is set to True,
the cube's Wall Thickness can be set. Can be set to Tessellated,
which shows each face as two triangles instead of one square.
If AlignToSide is left True, the edges of the cylinder will line up with the grid. If set to False,
the vertices at the corner will line up with the grid. AlignToSide can
also be set as with cylinders. The active
brush Displayed as a wireframe of dotted red lines. AKA as the Red Builder Brush, or RBB. There is only
ever one RBB in a map. As there is always a builder brush, eventually you will want to set whatever one is last active aside, or scale down to .1x.1x.1. Making and moving a brush We start out with “nothing” that is actually a single vertex:
Start in a 2D viewport. Click the toolbox cube and a cube appears in the v-ports. You will see a square. Ctrl-LMB to move the cube. Ctrl-Alt also moves the brush Shift-LMB causes the grid to appear to move while the selected brush will appear to stay in position The little guy on the right is the camera. You will see him in the ortho views.
Grids Keep 16 to 64 Do not turn off grids Feel the brush object snap to grid at the pivot point
Note – lights and triggers do not snap. Rotating Have the rotation toggle on, set to snap to 1.
Rotate = Ctrl-RMB or,
with Ctrl-LMB, use the tool: it rotates around the pivot, of course ... Position the mouse pointer away from the pivot [like on an outer corner of the object] and pull opposite the direction you want to rotate towards.
Scaling Use whole numbers:
Better to use
this: Vertex manipulation Select in 3D v-port then, Alt-drag in 2D v-port.
Right click a vertex to force it to snap to grid You can also reset/move to origin. This is the vertex
editing tool: Used to select 2 vertices, then Ctrl-drag. can also be used with 1 vertex. Making a room with Subtract The room is basically negative space. World Geometry is this subtracted space. The wire for subtractive will be YELLOW [after we hit subtract – not yet!] The objects we make are called CSG – Constructive Solid Geometry. Right click cube, set this size, and hit build.
Select a texture
Abaddon, load entire package
Select walls
Click the texture you like
Close map browser Hit subtract You did it, you built a room:
Click on a plane to change the texture [hold Ctrl to select multiple planes] ... Or, select a texture and Alt-click the floor plane ...
Ctrl click ceiling plane, pick texture Note – if you need to deselect a plane, click it again.
Place an actor to get a sense of scale
Right click the floor
Aligning textures Right-Click a plane [or ctrl click several] and go Alignment/Planar Walls/Planar Floor or ... Select Surfaces/Matching Brush then right click and hit Alignment/Box
Scaling floor Select one of these ways: F5 Right click it
in the 3D viewport/Surface Properties. .3 looks right for my floor:
Walls/select adjacent ... U ... pan side to side V pan up and down Click around on th U an V settings to get what you want:
Ceiling
If you need to tile a map do it here [For now we will be tiling at planar or default]
Textures can also be panned and rotated with tools. Panning Ctrl plus left or right mouse buttons to pan U and V Rotating Ctrl plus either mouse btn Make a pillar with Add The wire for add will be BLUE Scale the Active brush down and move it aside. Use the Add button (next to Subtract) to place a few pillars near the sides.
Choose a texture for your pillars and align them. Make other rooms Use Subtracts to make hallways leading from your room to others. If we wanted to make another room at the end of the hallway exactly the same as our first one, we can easily duplicate it. Selecting and duplicating brushes There are two ways to select all of the brushes that make our room. Ctrl click on each of them in the 2D views. or ... With the Camera button in the left toolbar selected -- move the mouse past one corner of the room, above or below and off to one side in one of the 2D viewports. Ctrl and Alt, then left-click and drag your mouse to the opposite corner. You should see a red box form around the room. Let go of the mouse button and everything that has a vertex inside the box will be selected.
Right-click part of it and hit Duplicate.
The duplication
appears one grid unit below and to the right of the original. Now
you can move them as one to the end of the hallway. If you make any changes to BSP brushes or if you duplicate brushes, you will have to use the Rebuild button in the top toolbar to see changes.
Note – build options are here – leave at defaults rof now:
Use subtract to create a hallway. Scale the brush AFTER the subtract button is hit. Note – do not overlap subtractive spaces, to avoid a possible HOM [hall of mirrors] effect. Note – active brush is moved off to the left. Active Brush is RED You cannot delete the active brush
Review the process: 1 Set brush size. 2 Build. 3 Subtract – default ugly texture appears. 4 Move the active brush out of the way. It will be sitting on top of the subtract you just made. Subtracts are yellow. The active brush is red.
Each time you hit subtract you get another room
Change the active brush attributes and hit build
Subtract and move, and you now have a large room
Hit the cylinder and change the properties and now the active brush is a cylinder for a column:
Hit the ADD tool and move the column into place. Active brush is RED ADD object is BLUE Subtract is YELLOW
Build Hit Build to see the adds and the subtracts together. Note – the active brush is red
Eventually, hide the active bush by scaling down and moving
If you need to change a large subtract that has adds inside it, change the order of that large room to first:
Adding lights Right click the center of the ceiling
Hit Rebuild all
Double click light to see properties and increase brightness
Rebuild Add Player Start Right click the floor
Play! [Note – you do not have to rebuild first]
Tilde [~] to close console then type exit to go back to desktop Tip – do not have your maps on a CD or other media if you don’t want to possibly have errors or fail to execute play successfully. World size Maximum is 6 miles square [524,288 Unreal units] Character size and Collision Room height must be at least 2x the character height plus 2 [would be extremely tight fit] Better to add 5 Most characters: 96 tall = 6 ft Crouch height -- 64 16 Unreal units = 1 ft. Example – a rock 3.5 feet high 3.5 ft x 16 = 56 Unreal units Scaling for jumps Jump height = 64 Double jump = 132 Dodge = 320 Dodge-jump = 720 If you want a recess in a wall, align it to the wall so edges are on the same axis
It is very common to change snap to 2. The other hint is to set grid to 16 and make your brushes in multipliers of 16.
Note on snapping Ctrl-RMB click any vertex of the brush to force snapping Make another larger room subtraction that buts up to the other side of the window edge
Make a light on a wall and move to center of the room. Ctrl-W to duplicate:
Note – you can duplicate multiple objects at once. Viewports with dynamic lighting
Adding static meshes
Opening a static mesh from Busby’s book
Right click add static mesh ...
There it is ...
Scale
Add and position railing the same way
Stairs ...
Notes: Make sure all your static meshes are in the right place, ie, in the UT2400 StaticMeshes folder .. Static meshes are always additive, never subtractive. |
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