UT3 UnrealEd mapping for Dummies Q's

[{RA}SKYFURNACE]

UT3 Mapping For Dummies PART I: Tut Links, Q's 1-20


Tutorials Specific to UnreadEd for UT3. Please Start Here:

Hournces FAQ: http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3faq.htm
Hournces Terrain: http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3terrain.htm
Hournces Physics: http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3phys.htm
Hournces Materials: http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3mated.htm
Hournces Movers: http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3mover.htm
Hournces Sound: http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3sound.htm
Hournces Particle Editor (Cascade): http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3cascade.htm
Hournces Light Functions: http://www.hourences.com/book/tutori...htfunction.htm
Hournces Light Mapping Meshes: http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3lightmap.htm
Hournces Real Time Reflections & Cameras:http://www.hourences.com/book/tutori...eflections.htm
Hournces Foilage Volume:http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3foliage.htm

ArcadiaVincennes: Kismet Tutorials http://www.avld.org/pages/tuts/tuts.htm

BBukart: Optimizing Your Map http://evilmrfrank.com/Optimizing.html

IceCreamYou UT3 Tutorial Page from BU http://www.icecreamyou.com/ut3.html

eXo FAQ: http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=587894

GOW editor Vids here: http://www.veoh.com/series/HouseofUnreal

Roboblitz on Wiki: http://www.roboblitz.com/RoboBlitzEd...le_Of_Contents



1) Where is the Editor?

A) The Editor can be run from the START/Unreal Tournament 3/Unreal ED*Thank You "3DTexturizer"

A) The Unreal Frontend can get you to the editor - as you know - but that's not its function. It's more for preparing maps to be cooked to the Xbox, and maybe PS3. You can pretty much ignore the frontend for PC development (as far as I know)*Thank You "ArcadiaVincenne"



2) Where are the Materials (Textures) and how do i get at them?

A) FWhen you check the materials and/or textures box then below in the directory under "packages" you right click on any of those directory names and choose "fully load" then it loads all the textures.

A) you have to fully load the package to see it's complete contents. Packages are loaded when you open a map because the map references objects in those packages. If a map does not reference objects in a package, that package will not appear until you open it manually. If you open the editor and don't open a map, then you see the default packages that load when the editor loads - default game contents. So even if you don't open a map - and you fully load the available packages, it's not the full game content. You have do file...open - and then a, some, or all of the packages to truley see the entire games' content. *Thank You "ArcadiaVincenne"



3) Clip Tool & Vertex Edit Tool where are they?

A) Yes - you can still vertex edit and cut BSP. Hit the geometry mode button - the top right cube button - and you'll get a little pop up geometry mode dialog box. To use vertex editing - simply click on the three dots icon on the top right. That's vertex mode. In order from right to left, it's vertex mode, edge mode, poly mode, and object mode. The left-most button is to open a new pop-up that lets you change 'modifiers' for each of the different modes. For cutting BSP you need to select object mode. Now click the 'Edit Modifyer' mode button and the new window will pop up. On the upper portion, click the 'Clip' radio button. Now you can place the cut points and clip as usual. To close the edit modifyer mode, click the edit modifer button again. *Thank You "ArcadiaVincenne"

A) Flipping the Clipmarker on the "Clip" thumbtacks is used by using the "widget" Tool by clicking one the pushpins and moving it to the opposite side of the other pushpin.
*Thank You eXo @ Epic Forums.



4) Cooking & Publishing Maps / File Structure

READ THIS FIRST: http://www.unrealplayground.com/foru...415#post552415


A) Offical Epic Answer: http://utforums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=585642
Maps that are saved in the game editor are written to the Unpublished directory by default. This is the working directory for mod authors, and can be found here:
…\Documents and Settings\<UserID>\My Documents\My Games\Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\Unpublished\CookedPC\CustomMaps
By default, however, the game recognizes only the Published directory when loading content. If you want to test Unpublished content, you can add the -useunpublished flag to the commandline. (The expected mod workflow is to iterate development on levels and content and run the game with -useunpublished.) When a map is ready, a final Publish will write cooked content to the Published directory, and these loading-optimized files will be ready for distribution.

The Published directory is located here:
…\Documents and Settings\<UserID>\My Documents\My Games\Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\Published\CookedPC\CustomMaps
Saving a game in the editor should create the Unpublished folders. Publishing a file should create the Published folder. If either of those directories don’t exist, you’ll need to create them manually. When you download a map and want to play it, put it in the Published folder and it will then be recognized by the game and appear in the in menus. Note that files that are not in the proper directory will not be recognized by the game and will not load properly or appear in the menus.
*Thank You Entropy @ Epic


A)You need to do the following...
1. Make sure you saved your map with a gametype prefix in the file name such as DM-Test
2. Look to see if the following folders exsist, if not you will need to manualy create them.

C:\Documents and Settings\your_user_name\My Documents\My Games\Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\Published\CookedPC\CustomMaps

3. Perform a Build All and then perform a Publish command on the map.
4. Launch the game, select IA and apropriate gametype. You should see your map at the bottom of the list of available maps.
*Thank You to eXo @ Epic Forums.

A) Post below: http://www.unrealplayground.com/foru...09&postcount=6
*Thank You Angel_Mapper



5) How do i find a Material (texture) used in a map in game.("C:\Program Files\Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\CookedPC\Maps")

A) Here's a handy trick.
If you want to get a sense of what packages are what, open a stock map... right click on the mesh or material in question, and choose "Sync Generic Browser".
This will pull up the browser window to the package in question, allowing you to quickly see what is in there.*Thank You Hort,

A) All maps are located in CookedPC\Private\Maps.*Thank You "Owen" @ BU
*Actually there are 2 locations, there are a few in the directory:"C:\Program Files\Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\CookedPC\Maps"

A) Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\CookedPC\Environments holds the materials*Thank You "LP" @ BU:



6) I see materials in the editor with the following label that cannot be applied to BSP: Streamed 1024x1024[dx1/3/5]*the dx number changes i know what it means. What are the function of these / and why are the labled as "streamed"?

A) That texture you are trying to use could be an instance. Streaming as i understand it gives you the ability to dynamically added objects to your level cutting down loading times. Hourences has a tutorial that explains it better.
*Thank You |*BILLY$CLINT*| @ BU



7) when working with materials on BSP, i am assuming the number of "textures" & "instructions" you want to keep low for various materials? does it matter much when applying materials to BSP?

A) You are not going to want to have a lot of BSP areas in your maps stick to static meshes. But if you do use BSP and apply a material to it the instructions for that material are only limited by your video card. If you have a crappy video card then your materials complexity are going to be limited. As far as I know putting a material on a BSP is no different than putting it on a mesh. *Thank You |*BILLY$CLINT*| @ BU


8 ) UT3 Doesnt use skyboxes anymore, you have to use a skydome "Mesh" which provides the sky, this is set up so you can design additive geometry as opposed to subtractive. Which Packages contain sky domes (sky's for maps)?
A) UN_Sky (4 skydomes / star sphere (ala Deimos) / Sun & Planets/Rocks



9) Where can i find a character/player model to use as a scale reference, and what are the Scale specifics for UT3?

A) In the Generic browser select 'Skeletal Mesh' and in packages under CH_AnimHuman -> Mesh you can find 3 skins, select one then right click anywhere on your map and go to Add Actor -> Add Skeletal Mesh:SkeletalMesh CH_AnimHuman.... blah blah blah*Thank you Nix

A)
Character: 96 high
Corridor 320 width 256 high
Wide corridor 384-416 width
Small corridor 128 width 192 high
Medium room 1536 width 512 high
*Thank You Hourences @ BU



10) Lighting Tips and Properties, Skylight, Point Light, Spot light?

A) Skylight (adds light to everything, much like "ambient Light") is in the Actor menu, Default light (right click on map) is "Point Light".


A) Lighting is really quite similar to previous UEds. Get to know "Falloff". It's a better way to affect how far a light reaches. Adjusting radius works too but that's a hard line of demarcation. Falloff seems to give a much more even graduality.

Also- you can place lights inside a static mesh and in one click turn off the meshes shadow generation. This allows an easy way to create light with a single source, as in those round paper lanterns.*Thank You Hort,

A) Under static mesh properties-->StaticMeshActor-->Lighting-->CastShadow

Another trick mentioned in the tut is you can put actors in groups... say you have twenty light actors arranged how you want. You can assign them to a group, then call on and deploy that group later.

For example- I'd see creating certain "suites" of lighting to go along with certain meshes. Then you can save those groups and use them in later maps.*Thank You Hort

A) the shortcut to place a light actor: hold "L" and click on a surface.*Thank You Hort,

A) Ctrl+L and click on a surface creates a small light that matches the colour you click on.*Thank you Share_The_Pain


A) Sky Light = Ambient light all over the level, even indoors.
Directional Light = This is basically your sun light. Be sure to turn shadow casting off on your sky dome.
Ctrl+L+LMB click on a surface = Samples the light there and creates a bounce light to help you more accurately represent radiosity.
*Thank you Willhaven @ Epic

To get an ambient light across the whole level, add a SkyLight actor and make it really dim (.1 or less is common). If you need ambient light in an area, first light the area, then Ctrl+L+Left Click on a surface to sample the light there and create a "bounce light" which you can tweak to help fill in dark areas with simulated radiosity.*Thank you Willhaven @ Epic



11) hi all, I have been working on a map, messing the builder brush in vertex mode and without warning the three axis's go from normal to crooked. example if i move 2 vertexes from the top viewport to the left they will go left and down in both view ports. and the worst part is i cant make it go back to normal even after shutdowns?

A)Hit ~. It switches between world and local space. That looks like a classic local space setting issue to me.
Thank You Willhaven -from Beyond Unreal



12) Where are the Item, Ammo, & Weapon Pick ups?

A)In the actor browser, but instead of weaponbase and pickups having their own tree, they're now under navigationpoint - then look for weapon base, ammo, pickups etc its all there.

Dont forget to use the option to 'add pickup lights' *Thank You Jonny @ Epic Forums

A) navigation point>pickupfactory>bunch of names after that. *Thank You jackrustycog @ Epic Forums



13)Is there any way to turn the Editor's random autosaves off?
*Solace @ Epic Forums
A) Uncheck the box far down in the right corner. *Thank You EasyT @ Epic Forums



14) I place a player start in a "Team" map (CTF, vCTF, War, Team Deathmatch) and i always spawn on one side (red or blue). How do I correct this for the teams?

A)Fix it by using UTTeamPlayerStart instead of PlayerStart. (adjust Properties)
*Thank You Flying_Killer



15) Where are all the Red / Blue Team Icons, Flags, Materials?

A) For Materials look under "UN_Team->Materials" & "CTF_Hydrosis->BSP->Materials"
For Static Meshes "UN_Team"
For Team Banners First get the Fog Mesh in "Engine_Volumetrics->Fogsheet->Mesh->S_EV_Fogsheet_01" Then use the 2 team materials "UN-Team->SM->Materials->M_UN_Team_Banner_Red_Inst" or "M_UN_Team_Banner_Red_Inst"



16) What about Team Lighting?

A) For Light Cones there is 1 mesh and a Red or Blue Material. Get the Mesh in "LT_Light->SM->Mesh->Lightcone_01" Then for the team Material use "VCTF_Sandstorm->Lightbeam->Instances-> there is your Blue or Red material.

Typical Blue Light Examples:
B: 249 / 218 / 237 / 197
G: 146 / 184 / 152 / 197
R: 118 / 150 / 101 / 148

Typical Red Light Examples:
B: 98 / 45 / 133 / 145
G: 109 / 65 / 136 / 148
R: 191 / 147 / 205 / 200




17) Where Are the Water Meshes, & How Do i Make Goop??
A) "UN_Liquid"

A) You just need to apply the same material to a static mesh, in this case they used WP_BioRifle>Mesh>S_Bio_Blob_01.*thank You Owen @BU

A) The blobs in deck are static meshes, not sure about those other smaller ones but those are probably decals. I would use decals over using flat bsp brushes.*Thank You BBukart @ BU

A) The liquid is created by placing a staticmesh actor (EngineVolumetrics.Fogsheet.Mesh.S_EV_FogSheet_01)

and then overriding the material assignement in the Rendering / Materials section of the StaticMesh Component of the objects properties to use this material (HU_Deck.Materials.M_HU_Deck_Goo_Translucent), For the Damage cause portion of "Goop" Look into the UT Slime Volume in the Actor Classes (Brush/Volume/PhysicsVolume/WaterVolume/UTSlimeVolume) *Thank You MelMonkey @ Epic Forums


18 ) Jump Pads how do i make it work?

A) First find the UTJumpPad in the browser under the "Actor Classes" tab. Go to "Navigation Point, then select "UTJumpPad". Right Click in your map then choose the UTJumpPad.
Then you have to place a path node, then open the properties of the path node, click on "object" get the path node name, set the "Tag" field the same as the name field. Then go to your jump pad click its properties click "UTJumppad" Then put the pathnode "Tag" into the "Jumptarget" field. If you get an error or its not working, you may have to go pack into the properties of the Jump pad, and again under "UTJumpPad" and adjust the arc/boost of the jumpad, its labled as "JumpTime".



19) How to Hide & Unhide Static Meshes Shortcut
A) Use the "W" Key. *Thanks to PointlesS @ Epic Forums.


20) Where is the Ruler?
A) Yes, simply click and hold down the middle mouse button and drag.

[3DTexturizer]

The Editor can be run from the START/Unreal Tournament 3/Unreal ED

The vertex editing tool is in the same place, you just get a popup panel asking how you want to select.

[{RA}SKYFURNACE]

is it an icon? or in a menu, the vertex edit tool?

is the clip/cut tool gone or is it somewhere else as well?

[ArcadiaVincenne]

Originally Posted by {RA}SKYFURNACE

Ok,

1) I assume the editor is accessed from the "Unreal Frontend" App that is in the UT3/ Binaries Folder ("C:\Program Files\Unreal Tournament 3\Binaries")? When opening that i click on the "Editor" text in the upper right section across the top? (at least thats the way i have been opening it)..

I don't have UT3 yet, so go with what 3D said. The Unreal Frontend can get you to the editor - as you know - but that's not its function. It's more for preparing maps to be cooked to the Xbox, and maybe PS3. You can pretty much ignore the frontend for PC development (as far as I know)

Originally Posted by {RA}SKYFURNACE

2) Textures are materials I know that, i read Hourences tutorial here: http://community.hourences.com/tutorialsindex.htm
So i open the editor and i open the browser (so i can see what is at my disposal) and i click on "material" and i go down the drop down list under "package" and i cant seem to find any regular "wall, floor, ceiling" type "materials" I see lots of materials for vehicles, weps, 3d objects.. etc. but nothing to apply to BSP. Do i need to load packages, or open specific ones like in the old editor (if so whats the directory?)?

A) Found the answer to this. When you check the materials and/or textures box then below in the directory under "packages" you right click on any of those directory names and choose "fully load" then it loads all the textures. .

This is only 1/2 the answer. You are correct - you have to fully load the package to see it's complete contents.

Packages are loaded when you open a map because the map references objects in those packages. If a map does not reference objects in a package, that package will not appear until you open it manually. If you open the editor and don't open a map, then you see the default packages that load when the editor loads - default game contents. So even if you don't open a map - and you fully load the available packages, it's not the full game content. You have do file...open - and then a, some, or all of the packages to truley see the entire games' content.

Originally Posted by {RA}SKYFURNACE

3) I was building some basic bsp, and i couldnt find the vertes edit tool, or the "cut" BSP tool, are these tools gone or hidden? If so its going to be hard to mess with editing BSP without making lots of squares... how would you make a beveled or angle on BSP?.

Yes - you can still vertex edit and cut BSP. Hit the geometry mode button - the top right cube button - and you'll get a little pop up geometry mode dialog box. To use vertex editing - simply click on the three dots icon on the top right. That's vertex mode. In order from right to left, it's vertex mode, edge mode, poly mode, and object mode. The left-most button is to open a new pop-up that lets you change 'modifiers' for each of the different modes. For cutting BSP you need to select object mode. Now click the 'Edit Modifyer' mode button and the new window will pop up. On the upper portion, click the 'Clip' radio button. Now you can place the cut points and clip as usual. To close the edit modifyer mode, click the edit modifer button again.

Originally Posted by {RA}SKYFURNACE

4) yes there is a file structure / directory in "My documents" how does this interact with custom maps? (i know this is not an easy question).

I haven't played with this portion myself, but I know some people over at the Epic forums in the Gears and UT 'map & mods' sections have been digging into them.

I hope all that helps.

-AV

[{RA}SKYFURNACE]

ArcadiaVincenne,

thank you very much for the detailed simple explanation.

when i open a map, and it loads the packages, is there an easy way to tell whats been loaded, i.e. whats been added as opposed to the default packages? or is it a matter of just remembering what the names of various packages are?

[Angel_Mapper]

Jim Brown posted an explanation of the custom map directories on the Epic forums:

Originally Posted by Entropy

We've gotten a lot of questions about how cooking and publishing work in UT3. If you're looking to create a new map and play it in the game (offline or online) this should help get you started:

Publishing and Cooking UT3 Community Maps

The CookedPC naming convention may seem confusing, but it’s a relatively simple process once everything is set up properly. “Cooking” bakes out unnecessary content from the map file, creates the shader cache information needed to properly load and run your map, and improves performance and loading times. “Publishing” sets up the files for distribution and puts everything into the proper directory so that other people can play what you’ve created.

Regarding the Published and Unpublished behavior:

Maps that are saved in the game editor are written to the Unpublished directory by default. This is the working directory for mod authors, and can be found here:

…\Documents and Settings\<UserID>\My Documents\My Games\Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\Unpublished\CookedPC\CustomMaps

By default, however, the game recognizes only the Published directory when loading content. If you want to test Unpublished content, you can add the -useunpublished flag to the commandline. (The expected mod workflow is to iterate development on levels and content and run the game with -useunpublished.) When a map is ready, a final Publish will write cooked content to the Published directory, and these loading-optimized files will be ready for distribution.

The Published directory is located here:

…\Documents and Settings\<UserID>\My Documents\My Games\Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\Published\CookedPC\CustomMaps

Saving a game in the editor should create the Unpublished folders. Publishing a file should create the Published folder. If either of those directories don’t exist, you’ll need to create them manually. When you download a map and want to play it, put it in the Published folder and it will then be recognized by the game and appear in the in menus. Note that files that are not in the proper directory will not be recognized by the game and will not load properly or appear in the menus.



I'll try to update this thread as necessary with new / relevant information.

Happy mapping!

[{RA}SKYFURNACE]

TY Angel.

P.S. thank you for the sticky

[share_the_pain]

Originally Posted by {RA}SKYFURNACE

2) Textures are materials I know that, i read Hourences tutorial here: http://community.hourences.com/tutorialsindex.htm
So i open the editor and i open the browser (so i can see what is at my disposal) and i click on "material" and i go down the drop down list under "package" and i cant seem to find any regular "wall, floor, ceiling" type "materials" I see lots of materials for vehicles, weps, 3d objects.. etc. but nothing to apply to BSP. Do i need to load packages, or open specific ones like in the old editor (if so whats the directory?)?

Textures are image files imported from a 2D application such as photoshop and CANNOT be applied directly to ANY(that includes BSP) surface. Materials include the textures as well as other effects (such as glow, shading, etc, I could imagine).

[niX]

Originally Posted by {RA}SKYFURNACE

9) Where can i find a character/player model to use as a scale reference?

In the Generic browser select 'Skeletal Mesh' and in packages under CH_AnimHuman -> Mesh you can find 3 skins, select one then right click anywhere on your map and go to Add Actor -> Add Skeletal Mesh:SkeletalMesh CH_AnimHuman.... blah blah blah

[HortonsWho]

Originally Posted by {RA}SKYFURNACE

P.S. thank you for the sticky

[Jaakko]

One noob guestion how do I change brush size? I have used only UT editor and I could change the size in properties but now I see no properties for the brush.

I have a material but when I put it to a surface the surface is just black I don't understand this. Also where are all the maps I can open with the editor and where are the map materials? This new editor feels really strange.

I don't see how this new editor would be easier.

[HortonsWho]

Brush size- do you mean the buidler brush or an add/subtract? For the builder-right click on the icon.

Materials/black: check your view- you may need to switch to "unlit" until you add a light.

Did somebody say this would be easier? It's a little like learning a new language- I will say, once I figure out the new way of doing things- this may actually be easier to get better-looking results USING STOCK MATERIALS. For custom work, they're suggesting not one, but at least 2-3 outboard programs like Maya, Mud and Photoshop to effectively create quality custom meshes and textures. That's a lot of software, learning curves and, potentially, a lot of pirating

[{RA}SKYFURNACE]

Originally Posted by Jaakko

..... Also where are all the maps I can open with the editor and where are the map materials?

I don't see how this new editor would be easier.

this question is answered up above in the FAQ.

Hort, i saw your room preview, i like all well the lighting was done, can you give some tips on how you set up your lighting properties?


I cant seem to find the "Duplicate" option for meshes/Brushes... i keep having to copy and paste which is a waste.

[HortonsWho]

I'm still having the hardest damn time finding materials/textures, though.

When I try to open a file I see a bunch of empty folders- then it's almost like I find by accident.

[DeadMeatGF]

Originally Posted by HortonsWho

I'm still having the hardest damn time finding materials/textures, though.

When I try to open a file I see a bunch of empty folders- then it's almost like I find by accident.

I've only glanced at the Ed, but there's a right-click options something like "completely load" which seems to do just that for the selected package.