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UDK Thread: Unreal Development Kit

T

The M.O.B

Member
Blizzard said:
Here are a couple of things that I thought were interesting, if not overly flashy.

I seem to recall Portal 2 used some sort of flow maps for its water. Here is a blog entry about animating water using flow maps:
http://graphicsrunner.blogspot.com/2010/08/water-using-flow-maps.html

And here is some work done for a dissertation, involving dynamic weather effects with shaders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YPgVlBbtcs
Click to expand...

It doesn't seem like these things ever get put into an actual full level.
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
The M.O.B said:
It doesn't seems like these things ever get put into an actual full level.
Click to expand...
There could be performance reasons (maybe the UDK is getting more and more bloated with worse performance), I'm not sure. The flow maps specifically are probably used in games, however, like Portal 2. I suspect using the dynamic weather shader effects could cause a lot of extra work making texture/shader/material stuff though, so perhaps that's why? It might be easier to just make one unchanging version of textured meshes.

At any rate, maybe if I post them someone will be inspired and use them in an awesome leve. =D
 
?

(._.)

Banned
I'm working on a multiplayer map but playing it in viewport just brings up basic first person attributes. On the other computer when I see it tested in viewport they player already has UT3 attributes and a gun. How do I set mine up so I can test my level like that? I noticed Blizzard yours has that when you are playing in viewport. What did I do wrong? :[

thanks
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
(._.) said:
I'm working on a multiplayer map but playing it in viewport just brings up basic first person attributes. On the other computer when I see it tested in viewport they player already has UT3 attributes and a gun. How do I set mine up so I can test my level like that? I noticed Blizzard yours has that when you are playing in viewport. What did I do wrong? :[

thanks
Click to expand...
Are you using one of the builds from the last couple of months? If so, then it's easy to fix, and this question gets asked a LOT. :p They cleaned up the game type stuff so you start with a more generic game rather than the default UT3-ish stuff, but for people who still want that, I think you need to go into world properties and change your game type to UT3Game or something like that.

Let me know if it works!
 
?

(._.)

Banned
Blizzard said:
Are you using one of the builds from the last couple of months? If so, then it's easy to fix, and this question gets asked a LOT. :p They cleaned up the game type stuff so you start with a more generic game rather than the default UT3-ish stuff, but for people who still want that, I think you need to go into world properties and change your game type to UT3Game or something like that.

Let me know if it works!
Click to expand...
alright cool that works, thanks!
 
M

Mik2121

Member
Fezan said:
so i just started learning udk using eat3d videos...its much harder than i anticipated :)
Click to expand...
It is, indeed. But once you get used to it, it's really intuitive and easy to use. I have played around with CryEngine too and while I think CE is more powerful, UDK is just so much easier to use I never bother with CE :/
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
I imagine the UE3/UDK engine team doesn't even read the UDK forums. However, it makes me sad that the rules are set up so that posts get deleted if people are even offering suggestions or explaining procedures for doing things that involve other engines. For instance, some system to make creating roads feasible/easier would be awesome since the only ways to do it (lofted spline actor?) apparently involve limitations and headaches compared to other engines. But, if people make this observation or suggest such a feature, everything gets shut down, which seems kinda like actively encouraging your engine not to improve or be competitive.

I understand the intention is probably to avoid forum spam and flamewars, but it seems like it shuts down possible discussion and improvement to me. And no, I wasn't even the person involved.

On a different note, I ran across this very odd game some people have made from a few months back...basically, naval warfare, in space, with guys running back and forth loading cannons? Looks both kind of boring and kind of creative (note the minimap screen with the cannonballs flying).
http://www.spocean.net/media/
 
?

(._.)

Banned
I have a quick question. I'm applying materials to surfaces but they wont add or change after I have built the scene. Am I able to edit/add materials after I build the scene? Why wont it let me change them?
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
(._.) said:
I have a quick question. I'm applying materials to surfaces but they wont add or change after I have built the scene. Am I able to edit/add materials after I build the scene? Why wont it let me change them?
Click to expand...
Are you applying a material to BSP, or to a static mesh? In general I wouldn't be surprised if you needed a build for BSP updates to take effect. You can try skipping the lighting build if you're wanting to save time, and/or I can try to look up the proper settings so you can skip the Lightmass build and only use dynamic lighting.
 
?

(._.)

Banned
Blizzard said:
Are you applying a material to BSP, or to a static mesh? In general I wouldn't be surprised if you needed a build for BSP updates to take effect. You can try skipping the lighting build if you're wanting to save time, and/or I can try to look up the proper settings so you can skip the Lightmass build and only use dynamic lighting.
Click to expand...
It is just a default static mesh made with CSG add and the cube brush. It started working fine again but the problem came back just now. I think it is a bug since the program runs really weird for me.
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
(._.) said:
It is just a default static mesh made with CSG add and the cube brush. It started working fine again but the problem came back just now. Restarting seems to fix it. I think it is a bug since the program runs really weird for me.
Click to expand...
It could be a bug. If you're using CSG add and the cube brush that's BSP though, not a static mesh (unless you used the right click -> convert to mesh option or something like that). In general make sure you at least build everything besides lighting before even doing the popup game test window.
 
?

(._.)

Banned
oh ok. Hmm, well I guess I'll work on other things in this scene in the mean time till it allows me to drag n drop materials again :-(
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
(._.) said:
oh ok. Hmm, well I guess I'll work on other things in this scene in the mean time till it allows me to drag n drop materials again :-(
Click to expand...
I'm still not EXACTLY following what your bug is, sorry. If you've completely rebuilt the scene and you are trying to use the alt-click material copying thing to put a material on a BSP (CSG add) surface, then yes I think I've seen that stop working myself. What you might try is manually changing the surface material to the default again. I forget if there's a clear or if you actually have to go through the resource browser and select the default material.

Then, you can try applying/dragging the material you want again. If that doesn't fix it and it's a bug where drag and drop has stopped working you should still be able to get around it by selecting the surface and clicking a material in the resource browser.
 
M

Mik2121

Member
Wow! That Police 2 game looks neat. I will have to check it out soon.

Though I think the environments could get some work, right now that hotel looks way too clean for my taste.
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
Mik2121 said:
Wow! That Police 2 game looks neat. I will have to check it out soon.

Though I think the environments could get some work, right now that hotel looks way too clean for my taste.
Click to expand...
I'm sure there are problems, but from the things they've posted on the UDK forums, they learned a lot from their first attempt, and I think they are planning a third part/version that's even better.

What impresses me is the (native-language) voice acting, rigging/body animation, and (I think?) facial animation. That sort of thing isn't typically done much in free projects, I feel like. I also liked the clean lighting. I assume this team is trying to end up making non-free games.
 
F

Fezan

Member
ok so i m getting more and more into udk :)..
can some one guide me to place where i can download maps for udk made by others.also how to import .ut3 maps in udk ???
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
Fezan said:
ok so i m getting more and more into udk :)..
can some one guide me to place where i can download maps for udk made by others.also how to import .ut3 maps in udk ???
Click to expand...
I hope you're having fun. :)

Unfortunately I don't have much useful information for you. The UDK itself comes with some sample maps, and those are probably the best ones to look at. You may also find some maps or projects you can examine on the official UDK forums under the works in progress forum or the released projects forum.

I do not think you can directly import UT3 maps because the engine versions are different. If you want to make UT3 maps, then getting UT3 on Steam and using the UT3 editor directly is probably the best option. Otherwise, you can use the selected UT3 resources that come with the UDK. I suspect some exporting of resources may be possible, but it will probably be a pain and not something where you can convert a map automatically. Such a thing would presumably be nice to have, but eh.
 
F

Fezan

Member
Blizzard said:
I hope you're having fun. :)

Unfortunately I don't have much useful information for you. The UDK itself comes with some sample maps, and those are probably the best ones to look at. You may also find some maps or projects you can examine on the official UDK forums under the works in progress forum or the released projects forum.

I do not think you can directly import UT3 maps because the engine versions are different. If you want to make UT3 maps, then getting UT3 on Steam and using the UT3 editor directly is probably the best option. Otherwise, you can use the selected UT3 resources that come with the UDK. I suspect some exporting of resources may be possible, but it will probably be a pain and not something where you can convert a map automatically. Such a thing would presumably be nice to have, but eh.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply.
 
O

Orayn

Member
Okay, so I guess I have a project idea and I'm ready to start working on some basic mechanics. Essentially, what I want to do is emulate the camera/aiming system of World of Tanks. As far as I can tell, this consists of four basic components:
  • Decoupling the player's facing from the camera. If I recall, there's a single variable that can do this, and I need to find it.
  • Making the player's pitch and yaw move toward the camera at different speeds, I.E. the gun articulates vertically faster than the turret turns. (The camera would still be freely controlled by the mouse.)
  • Constraining the range of pitches that are allowed for the player's facing. For example, limiting the player to aiming 30 degrees below to horizontal to 60 degrees above. (Again, this wouldn't affect the camera.)
  • Making the crosshair HUD element correspond to the direction in which the player is currently facing, rather than staying centered, meaning should "chase" where the camera is currently facing at the seeds described in the second bullet point.
I'll keep searching various forums and tutorials, but if anyone could point me in the right direction for which classes I will have to extend/modify to achieve any of these, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
Orayn said:
Okay, so I guess I have a project idea and I'm ready to start working on some basic mechanics. Essentially, what I want to do is emulate the camera/aiming system of World of Tanks. As far as I can tell, this consists of four basic components:
  • Decoupling the player's facing from the camera. If I recall, there's a single variable that can do this, and I need to find it.
  • Making the player's pitch and yaw move toward the camera at different speeds, I.E. the gun articulates vertically faster than the turret turns. (The camera would still be freely controlled by the mouse.)
  • Constraining the range of pitches that are allowed for the player's facing. For example, limiting the player to aiming 30 degrees below to horizontal to 60 degrees above. (Again, this wouldn't affect the camera.)
  • Making the crosshair HUD element correspond to the direction in which the player is currently facing, rather than staying centered, meaning should "chase" where the camera is currently facing at the seeds described in the second bullet point.
I'll keep searching various forums and tutorials, but if anyone could point me in the right direction for which classes I will have to extend/modify to achieve any of these, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I don't know offhand and don't have code in front of me, but are you extending directly from (for example) Pawn, or trying to borrow some of the UT classes? Or, is that what you are trying to decide? I seem to recall there is an intermediate class that one of the tutorials talks about that provides more functionality than Pawn but less than UTPawn. It's been a while since I looked at it.
 
O

Orayn

Member
Blizzard said:
I don't know offhand and don't have code in front of me, but are you extending directly from (for example) Pawn, or trying to borrow some of the UT classes? Or, is that what you are trying to decide? I seem to recall there is an intermediate class that one of the tutorials talks about that provides more functionality than Pawn but less than UTPawn. It's been a while since I looked at it.
Click to expand...
Well, I suppose I should be going for UTPawn to leave room for some other changes. This is really my first modding work of any sort, but I'll poke around in documentation and see what I can come up with.
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
Orayn said:
Well, I suppose I should be going for UTPawn to leave room for some other changes. This is really my first modding work of any sort, but I'll poke around in documentation and see what I can come up with.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you want to make some sort of tank game which is probably beyond simple "modding" and more along the lines of making your own game. Are you comfortable with programming in general? If so you should be able to get there with Unrealscript, but it's still probably not trivial. Also, I think UTPawn is designed around walking characters and I don't remember if any sample vehicle code is in the UDK.

You might try making a simpler game first, or making a custom pawn while following along with an example/tutorial. It's all up to how much effort you want to put into it, I guess. :) I just didn't want you to burn out trying to make something really complicated off the bat, since that's what I tend to do.
 
O

Orayn

Member
Blizzard said:
It sounds like you want to make some sort of tank game which is probably beyond simple "modding" and more along the lines of making your own game. Are you comfortable with programming in general? If so you should be able to get there with Unrealscript, but it's still probably not trivial. Also, I think UTPawn is designed around walking characters and I don't remember if any sample vehicle code is in the UDK.

You might try making a simpler game first, or making a custom pawn while following along with an example/tutorial. It's all up to how much effort you want to put into it, I guess. :) I just didn't want you to burn out trying to make something really complicated off the bat, since that's what I tend to do.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. It's more of a mech game that controls like a tank game, but yeah, I'm probably getting in over my head by trying to make something complicated like this as my very first project. My line of thinking was to mock up individual mechanics like camera, movement, aiming, weapon, etc. individually to see if anything I want to do is unfeasible, but starting even smaller is a better idea.

As for programming, I don't have a ton of formal experience apart from a not-so-relevant MATLAB class and dozens of fruitless hours spent in RPG Maker in my pre-teen years.
 
B

Borman

Member
Orayn said:
Thanks for the advice. It's more of a mech game that controls like a tank game, but yeah, I'm probably getting in over my head by trying to make something complicated like this as my very first project. My line of thinking was to mock up individual mechanics like camera, movement, aiming, weapon, etc. individually to see if anything I want to do is unfeasible, but starting even smaller is a better idea.

As for programming, I don't have a ton of formal experience apart from a not-so-relevant MATLAB class and dozens of fruitless hours spent in RPG Maker in my pre-teen years.
Click to expand...

Nothing is impossible, but start simple. Make a platform move back and forth. Modify some textures. Make some simple terrain. Everyone has to start somewhere really.
 
O

Orayn

Member
Borman said:
Nothing is impossible, but start simple. Make a platform move back and forth. Modify some textures. Make some simple terrain. Everyone has to start somewhere really.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a plan. Best not to let my excessive ambition get ahead of my meager abilities. :p
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
In addition to the big reference, my suggestion would be to change just one thing when you try to make a custom Pawn subclass (or however you go about it). If you can make a simple map with the default setup, but say, override the maximum falling velocity for the pawn (I forget if that's one of the things it's easy to override) in a subclass, then you should be on your way to understanding how to extend a class and modify its functionality.

A key thing to remember if you do UnrealScript is to start your own classes and package (see the PDF example(s) for details), and NOT to change the actual default Pawn.uc for instance.

I made a simple jetpack and a couple of weapon-ish effects with UnrealScript that moved my character around. One thing about it is that UnrealScript changes require closing the editor, compiling it, and opening again. I think it would be awesome if there were some way to tell the editor to just reload a certain package, but I doubt that will ever happen and some people on the UDK forums even seemed to argue against it, saying it wasn't needed. :/
 
M

Mik2121

Member
UDK Nov update is out, with some new Terrain tools and smaller things:

  • Vastly improved rendering integration with multithreaded renderer
  • Added Action Script 3 support. Action Script 2 is still supported.
  • Includes CLIK 3.0 (Lightweight Interface Kit)
  • Major improvements to the AMP profiler
  • Updated UDN documentation


Edit: OP updated. The BETA file size has increased from 1.3Gb to 1.5Gb. At this pace, next year we will probably reach the 2Gb :O
 
W

_woLf

Member
Anyone know where I can get a hold of some free materials and 3D models to use in UDK? More importantly the materials, as I can do the modeling myself, I just am not a fan of texturing in UDK...
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
_woLf said:
Anyone know where I can get a hold of some free materials and 3D models to use in UDK? More importantly the materials, as I can do the modeling myself, I just am not a fan of texturing in UDK...
Click to expand...
What sort of materials are you looking for? I guess you don't want to make the textures yourself using cgtextures or something like that. I think there have been some threads on the UDK forums where people post premade stuff, but those will be of limited scope.

(._.) said:
When is UDK ever gonna leave beta?
Click to expand...
I don't know that it will ever really leave beta as long as they keep updating each month. I hope they keep improving it, since there is always room for that. I especially wish there were runtime performance improvements and better dynamic lighting/shadowing/anti-aliasing, but that's life.
 
L

Lime

Member
Anyone know how to use the LookAt event in Kismet? It's giving me quite a lot of trouble. I tie it to a trigger, targets the player, and focus on the static mesh I want the player to look at, but I still get the error message: "SimplePawn_1 has no handler for SeqAct_CameraLookAt_1".
 
W

_woLf

Member
Blizzard said:
What sort of materials are you looking for? I guess you don't want to make the textures yourself using cgtextures or something like that. I think there have been some threads on the UDK forums where people post premade stuff, but those will be of limited scope.


I don't know that it will ever really leave beta as long as they keep updating each month. I hope they keep improving it, since there is always room for that. I especially wish there were runtime performance improvements and better dynamic lighting/shadowing/anti-aliasing, but that's life.
Click to expand...

I dunno, stuff like carpet and walls you'd expect to see in an office building. I could get the carpet and wall textures from cgtextures but I was hoping there was some site that had all the various maps already done for them, because I'm lazy.
 
?

(._.)

Banned
_woLf said:
Anyone know where I can get a hold of some free materials and 3D models to use in UDK? More importantly the materials, as I can do the modeling myself, I just am not a fan of texturing in UDK...
Click to expand...

hard to find stuff like this but I usually go to deviant art and sxu.hu then import into photoshop to make them tillable or map them to a UVW

if you can do the modeling can't you just add materials to them in that program? I've never imported my own models into UDK. I know MiK is quite experienced doing this though so he will probably have a better answer.
 
W

_woLf

Member
(._.) said:
hard to find stuff like this but I usually go to deviant art and sxu.hu then import into photoshop to make them tillable or map them to a UVW

if you can do the modeling can't you just add materials to them in that program? I've never imported my own models into UDK. I know MiK is quite experienced doing this though so he will probably have a better answer.
Click to expand...

Well, the thing is the meshes I want to use the materials on I made in UDK as they're just low poly simplistic hallways/rooms, so I didn't bother modeling them in maya.

I'll probably just end up making my own, but I can never seem to make the specular and bump look right while maintaining correct scale for the size I'm thinking of, I just was hoping there'd be some kind of database with some better already packaged materials that I could just drag into my map, lol.

I do have another issue with my map that I can't figure out, though. Maybe someone can help?

So I have some vents in my level that go above a room and are made so the player can drop into the room. But the problem is, when I go to the edge of the vent floor above the hole into the room, I can't move into the hole and get blocked by an invisible wall.

I tried tons of things but it just seems like it's not letting me drop into the room while crouching. I opened up above the vent and jumped in fine, but I can't drop in from crouching. I'm thinking I'll just end up making a little area that has the player standing before dropping in (if that even works) but I'm confused why I'm having the issue to begin with. There isn't any intentional walls blocking it and the measurements should be fine, I mean if it's the right height to allow a player to crouch in it, why couldn't they be able to drop out of it via a hole in the floor? I made the hole massive to see if it was too small and the invisible wall would still be there at the edge of the vent.

Sorry for shitty grammar, I'm really tired >_>
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
Lime said:
Anyone know how to use the LookAt event in Kismet? It's giving me quite a lot of trouble. I tie it to a trigger, targets the player, and focus on the static mesh I want the player to look at, but I still get the error message: "SimplePawn_1 has no handler for SeqAct_CameraLookAt_1".
Click to expand...
I thought I've done this sort of thing before. I can't tell without seeing your map or Kismet, but offhand, are you using the UT pawn game mode, or the newer barebones game?

Try going to world properties and change the game type so you get the default robot pawn, then see if your LookAt works. If it does, then you may need to make your own game type and pawn subclass and implement it yourself.
 
?

(._.)

Banned
_woLf said:
Well, the thing is the meshes I want to use the materials on I made in UDK as they're just low poly simplistic hallways/rooms, so I didn't bother modeling them in maya.

I'll probably just end up making my own, but I can never seem to make the specular and bump look right while maintaining correct scale for the size I'm thinking of, I just was hoping there'd be some kind of database with some better already packaged materials that I could just drag into my map, lol.
Click to expand...
oohhh, ok. I thought you had a model you wanted to bring in.

well apart from the default assets (materials, meshes, etc...) provided with UDK which you can find under the content browser you will have to make your own own for the project. There are a decent amount provided with UDK but mostly stuff used to make unreal 3. there are tutorials on deviant art related to making tillable patterns in photoshop which could help you make u=your own materials from stock photos. .
 
F

Fezan

Member
So got a little hang of UDK now...still need to learn about kismet..now on to making maps...
so what steps everybody takes to make map ?

1.make train
2.import meshes
3 lightning
4?
5?

and i don't know modeling...is there a place to get free models?
also where is AA options...i dont know how to edit .ini files
 
L

Lime

Member
Blizzard said:
I thought I've done this sort of thing before. I can't tell without seeing your map or Kismet, but offhand, are you using the UT pawn game mode, or the newer barebones game?

Try going to world properties and change the game type so you get the default robot pawn, then see if your LookAt works. If it does, then you may need to make your own game type and pawn subclass and implement it yourself.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Blizzard. We are using the newer barebones game (I think). I tried changing the gametype to SimpleGame or some of the others, but the issue persists. Would a screenshot of the kismet sequence help you understanding it?
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
Lime said:
Thanks, Blizzard. We are using the newer barebones game (I think). I tried changing the gametype to SimpleGame or some of the others, but the issue persists. Would a screenshot of the kismet sequence help you understanding it?
Click to expand...
A screenshot would help. Did you make sure to change the game type to UTGame, and verify that you are able to control the default robot before using LookAt?

Fezat, I am not sure about finding models, so I guess the first thing to do is make a level using the default assets. There are several demo maps with the UDK, and some of those may have useful models. :)
 
M

Mik2121

Member
Have any of you guys ever played around with the terrain editor of UDK? I have never used it, so I will try it now, see how it works :p

I'll be following a couple tutorials and post the results later today!

Also I'm finally installing this month's UDK and damn.. it's taking forever to install.
 
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