Well I've been silent for quite some time now and you guys might be wondering what massive project I've undertaken. You might be a little excited. Unfortunately up until now I have done NOTHING. Sure I made some textures using MapZone a while back (I seriously recommend this to anybody) but in the last three months: zilch.
The reasons are many:
a) University - I'm studying computer science (mainly programming) and have had little time to work on UnWheel
b) UnrealEd - It's always confusing starting with a new version of the editor, but it seems to be more so this time. I'm getting there, though it would've been nice to know that Subtractive building runs and builds slower than additive.
c) Lack of enthusiasm - I've been working on other things, coursework, socializing, making a bit of music, that sort of thing. I just haven't had the urge to work on a map
So I decided it was time to do something about it and I've solved all three problems with one fell swoop. I've begun managing my time better at Uni, this gives me more time to work on UnrealEd, meaning I can get used to it faster and it means I'm enthusiastic about level design again. Hooray!
It also helps seeing some of Steve's awesome shots he's been uploading.
So what have I been working on?
A corridor. Yeah I know it's not fancy or anything but it's a start. It also contains a custom particle system I made. No custom materials yet.
I'm thinking of making it either part of a power facility of some sort or a weapons factory. I'm leaning more towards weapons factory as I'm eager to play with Kismet and put some awesome set-pieces in (hey if we've got a powerful tool that will add uniqueness to every level we may as well use it!), such as cannonfire and the like. The trouble with UnWheel set pieces is that they can rarely affect the track itself. For instance, you have a cannon that blows up the track just as you drive over it, soaring you across to the next section. How the hell are the players behind going to do it?
You end up with three categories of set piece:
1) Eye-Candy - a set piece that never affects the player, e.g. a volcano exploding in the background
2) P1 set piece - a set piece that only affects one player, whether for good or bad, the other players must still be able to finish the race though. e.g. Player1 drives over a switch which moves the level, giving Player1 access to a shortcut while the other players must take the long way round
3) PAll set piece - a set piece that affects all players, e.g. a constant stream of boulders rolling across the road.
Frankly I would prefer to only use 1) and 3) in my maps, as 2) would make it a bit unfair on the other players, unless it had minimal effect on the players.
Hmm... article over.
Right a screenshot is in order, comments and criticisms would be great
EDIT: me old file hosting site is dying slowly - pic attached instead.
The reasons are many:
a) University - I'm studying computer science (mainly programming) and have had little time to work on UnWheel
b) UnrealEd - It's always confusing starting with a new version of the editor, but it seems to be more so this time. I'm getting there, though it would've been nice to know that Subtractive building runs and builds slower than additive.
c) Lack of enthusiasm - I've been working on other things, coursework, socializing, making a bit of music, that sort of thing. I just haven't had the urge to work on a map
So I decided it was time to do something about it and I've solved all three problems with one fell swoop. I've begun managing my time better at Uni, this gives me more time to work on UnrealEd, meaning I can get used to it faster and it means I'm enthusiastic about level design again. Hooray!
It also helps seeing some of Steve's awesome shots he's been uploading.
So what have I been working on?
A corridor. Yeah I know it's not fancy or anything but it's a start. It also contains a custom particle system I made. No custom materials yet.
I'm thinking of making it either part of a power facility of some sort or a weapons factory. I'm leaning more towards weapons factory as I'm eager to play with Kismet and put some awesome set-pieces in (hey if we've got a powerful tool that will add uniqueness to every level we may as well use it!), such as cannonfire and the like. The trouble with UnWheel set pieces is that they can rarely affect the track itself. For instance, you have a cannon that blows up the track just as you drive over it, soaring you across to the next section. How the hell are the players behind going to do it?
You end up with three categories of set piece:
1) Eye-Candy - a set piece that never affects the player, e.g. a volcano exploding in the background
2) P1 set piece - a set piece that only affects one player, whether for good or bad, the other players must still be able to finish the race though. e.g. Player1 drives over a switch which moves the level, giving Player1 access to a shortcut while the other players must take the long way round
3) PAll set piece - a set piece that affects all players, e.g. a constant stream of boulders rolling across the road.
Frankly I would prefer to only use 1) and 3) in my maps, as 2) would make it a bit unfair on the other players, unless it had minimal effect on the players.
Hmm... article over.
Right a screenshot is in order, comments and criticisms would be great
EDIT: me old file hosting site is dying slowly - pic attached instead.
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