UEd pros

[WiLD2]

This question is for anyone who actually understands how to us UEd.
Did you ever just feel like you wanted to learn how to create your own levels for UT? I just saved all the beginners guides off of http://www.planetunreal.com/unrealed . Do you think it is possible for someone with lots of ambition to learn how to make maps could do it in a short amount of time? At least a month or so? I'm talking about making more than just square boxes for rooms. I'll learn it anyway, but I'm just wondering how long it took YOU to effectively use UnrealED.
BTW, I have UEd2, if it makes a difference.

[Zaphrod]

Its pretty easy, once you have read the tutorals, to make more than square rooms but what you will probably wind up doing, when you figure out how, is add too much detail with Geometry rather than relying on the textures to add the detail and your first few maps will be unplayable due to the poly count. If you just keep trying by making as many maps as you can for a couple months you should be able to make a decent map by then.

My first complete map, after I had made about 8 practice maps,was AS-Alcatraz and it was very nice. It was as close to an exact scale version of alcitraz as possable while still making it interesting.

It was HUGE when I was done and there isnt a computer on the planet that could have played it smoothly. In fact it was so big, it was 4 times as large as the biggest original UT map and I had 1 zone for the whole map *cringe*.

Anyway after realising on my own that what you want to do is create all your solids with no interiors first or vise versa for an outdoor map, then make a brush that encompasses the whole thing and intersect it or deintersect again depending on the type and export that brush then open a new Map and import that brush to the new map and subtract or add it depending on whether its an indoor or outdoor level. It takes some practice to know which way to go with a map but not much. Then you hollow out the insides of the "rooms".

If you haven't tried Unrealed or haven't read any of the tutorals this might not make much sence unless I explain that the Unreal world is NOT an empty place that you have to fill with things, it is a SOLID that you have to Hollow out. Kinda like sculpting a clay block but from the inside.

Good luck.

[Hetemti]

I made a level in four days. Paths, lighting, et cetra ad nausium.

Sure, it's a "basement" level, ie, no windows, outside, basicly 2D in layout, two main textures, but it's fast and furious. And I like basment levels. :)

(I'm allmost thinking of sending it to Booty if it wasn't for the fact that it'd get a 38.)

Anyway, ALLWAYS do a full rebuild before any testing. ALLWAYS!

Save often.

Play with the brush, it's really neato.

Get used to Shift and Ctrl. They love you. An you will love them...or they will kill you.

Can't think of any other tips other than just play around with it. Oh, and remember that in the Pawns menu, where all the nifty guns and stuff is, allways check for a "Tournament---", since Unreal 1 items are still supported by UEd2.

[Mambo]

I've been mapping for a while now, and i've been learning all that time, and still am - there is so much to learn, so if you are new to ued, you will probably want to spend a decent amount of time on your map. Don't rush it, because it will just end up crap. You'll notice that so many maps at nalicity are crap because people try and finish maps for the sake of finishing maps. People like faceless and akuma don't release maps very often because they take the time to put in the effort required. of course, once you are a kickass mapper, and know all the tools of the trade, you'll be able to churn out maps. probably the best piece of advice to offer is get as many people as you can to test your map(s) before you release them - it may save you some embarassment!

[Fuzzpilz]

I don't think anyone ever really stops learning. It took me two or three hours to figure the basics out when I started editing (no Internet access, so no tutorials) for Unreal, and I didn't dare to load any texture packages then because of a lack of both physical and virtual memory, so what I did was to use the textures in the UnrealI package. You can probably imagine the outcome. With tutorials, I think you'll become able to do nice-looking things in about two or three months.

[WiLD2]

Thanks everyone, but I, uh, just noticed something. None of the tutorials I saved are for UnrealED2! I know they are basically the same, but when the tutorial describes to you that the texture box is on the right hand side and instead you have to open it up in "View" it can get confusing. is there anyway to go back to the original Unrealed that came with UT before the 428 patch without having to install UT over again? Or does someone know where I can get tutorials for UEd2?

[X]

Yeah most of the unreal ed tutorials are for ued 1 but why go back? this one kicks ass, they are the *exact* same(besides layout and the extra features in ued2) just read thru the tutorials and look around the editor, it's a good way of getting accustomed to ued.

It didn't take me long at all to be able to make a average map in ut, about a month, but here i am 3 months later, making nicer maps/more economical maps(ones that get thier looks by lighting and texturing) which i'd have to say a tad over average but i won't be sure ti'll i actually let one of them go. Hopefully my next map dm-Bah!(HEH) will get finished!

oh and this might not seem like a big thing (for me it was when i found out) for you but ou can subtract from added areas and to get better lighting in skys use cylinder lights (under lighting> effects). Also vertex editing, clipping, intersect and de-intersect are your freinds,read up on them to see what they can do.

[WiLD2]

Thanks. Well, I jumped the gun and uninstalled UT so I could get UEd1 back... that was right after my last post, but I backed everything up. I think that may have helped me because now I understand how to subtract stuff from the level and add textures, lights and stuff. But there are a few things that I don't understand how to do. One, for example, is how to erase a cube (brush I think it is called?) that is textured. I can erase anything like lights and barrels, etc, but not the brushes.
Oh yeah, there is another thing. I tried to add jump pads to a level using the "classes" then "effect" I believe. The little "turkey" symbol shows up, but when the level is played and I walk over the texture were the "turkey" would be, I don't jump.
Also I can't figure out how to get the transporters to work. I use "visible transporter" I think, and set a "favorite transport" to the map, but no luck. And I also have a problem with UT weapons re-spawning. They don't. I know I just started out last night, and it should take me a while to figure these out, but I made a pretty cool 5-cubes map (by my standards) and wanted it to work out with everything that I didn't want problems with :(
Hey, X, if you wanted to release your maps to someone, before you do to everyone, who could give you an honest opinion on them... and not too bad of an opinion, you could e-mail your maps to me and I'd test them. I'm into pretty much any type of game-play. I'd really appreciate getting maps, from anyone. My e-mail address is provided under my posts.

[X]

Okay, by erase you mean delete right? well when you can't delete a brush by pressing "del" you can always right click and go to "delete" or edit then delete.

To do jump pads(kickers in unreal) you go to classes->triggers->kickers and place it, then you need to set it up by right clicking on the kicker and going into it's properties then go to kicker then set its X,Y,and Z values.That's all you need if you don't want bot support but bot supports basicaly a must so for the rest look at the http://www.planetunreal.com/unrealed kicker tutorial.

For the weapons, have you actually placed them into the level? if so then i don't know why they wouldn't respawn into the leve

I'd help you with the teleporters but i haven't used them yet, sorry

[Mambo]

teleporters aren't too hard to use. basically there are two types that you want to deal with. When you find the teleporter in the classes browser, it has a cross to expand it. You need to use visible teleporters from this, plus teleporter.
There are two ways you can do teleporters:

1. two 'visible teleporters' that go back and forth or
2. a one way teleporter - this uses a 'visible teleporter' and a normal 'teleporter'

For the first method, just select visible teleporter, then, in your 3d view, right click on the spot you want it to go, and hit 'add visible teleporter'. Do this for the destination place too. [you can always move them later if you want]

now go to the first visible teleporters properties and go to its 'TAG' and give it an independent name such as 'wild2'.

now go to the other visible teleporter and set it's URL to the same thing - ie: wild2.

Now open the TAG for this teleporter and give it a DIFFERENT name such as 'icecream', and make the URL of the first teleporter 'icecream'.

This should make the 2 interchangerble *i think - i haven't used teleporters for a while*

method 2.

If you want a one way teleporter, you want the visible teleporter to take you to an invisible teleporter (so you can't get back) The invisible teleporter is just the 'teleporter' [you can actually go through one of these even though you can't see it, but if you set it up properly, it won't unless you want it to]

Place the visible teleporter where you want to be teleported from and make the URL something like 'cartman_has_a_fat_ass' . DON't put anything under TAG. No go add your teleporter at the destination, and make its TAG 'cartman_has_a_fat_ass'.DON't put anything under URL.

this should work. If this doesn't work, it just means they are around the wrong way - ie, you will have to have a tag for the first one, no url, and a url but no tag for the second. pretty sure i was right the first time tho...

hope you can understand all that rubbish

[Mambo]

Also, to delete a cube, or whatever, you have to do that from a 2D view - not the perspective. just select it by clicking on it, then press delete (or right-click -> delete)

It will imediately disappear from the 2D views, but you have to rebuild geometry before it disappears from the 3d view

btw, i emailed you an extremely useful tutorial on ut ai, it should help you with lots of things

[WiLD2]

Heh, thanks for all your help everyone.
I have since re-installed the patch to get UEd2 BACK, it is a whole lot nicer to use! Also, there is a new hosted site on PU, "UED Resource Laboratory". I haven't checked out the tutorials yet, but there are lots there (for UEd2) that should answer all my questions (because I've got a lot of 'em).
Thanks again, editing is getting pretty easy ;)