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UDK Thread: Unreal Development Kit

huh?


Yea, that is the way I see it. Hoping to work a lot on maybe a scene or two over the summer plus get a drawing tablet. hoping to improve a lot over the summer and get an idea of where to improve.

I ment modelling in sketchup, and using your models in Unreal engine. Is it as easy as unity?
 
erm, stealth insult? Probably not, I'm just feelin vulnerable atm ._.

I'm not using sketch up.

I'm using 3ds max. You can get a free 3 year license by going to their site (autodesk) and signing up as a student (which I am). tbh I didn't even know you could import/export models from sketch up as files that work in unity/UDK. Its probably pretty easy if you can. Can you even mess with pivot points and stuff in sketch up? I haven't used it since I was in high school.
 
erm, stealth insult? Probably not, I'm just feelin vulnerable atm ._.

I'm not using sketch up.

I'm using 3ds max. You can get a free 3 year license by going to their site (autodesk) and signing up as a student (which I am). tbh I didn't even know you could import/export models from sketch up as files that work in unity/UDK. Its probably pretty easy if you can. Can you even mess with pivot points and stuff in sketch up? I haven't used it since I was in high school.

widzew_lodz_arena_4_by_p_olak-d36t2nz.jpg


Done that in sketchup a few years, I could export it into multiple files, Im trying with to import it in SDK using obj format.
 
If the software can export as obj, fbx, etc then I believe it can be brought into UDK and most SDK's.

I can tell you right now though that piece itself may be really hard to work with since its will export as one huge static mesh, right? I'm sort of curious now to test sketch up out myself now and see how easy it is to export.
 
erm, stealth insult? Probably not, I'm just feelin vulnerable atm ._.

I'm not using sketch up.

I'm using 3ds max. You can get a free 3 year license by going to their site (autodesk) and signing up as a student (which I am). tbh I didn't even know you could import/export models from sketch up as files that work in unity/UDK. Its probably pretty easy if you can. Can you even mess with pivot points and stuff in sketch up? I haven't used it since I was in high school.

One of the big advantages of being a student a lot of free stuff.
Shame i never really ventured deeper into 3D max.
Maybe this summer but there are so many thing i want to do or read :p

Doesn't Autodesk have a free modeling and texturing package.
I forgot its name. I had to work with blender 4 month ago for a XNA assigment. And wow did that UI changed a lot compared to 3 years ago.
 
If the software can export as obj, fbx, etc then I believe it can be brought into UDK and most SDK's.

I can tell you right now though that piece itself may be really hard to work with since its will export as one huge static mesh, right? I'm sort of curious now to test sketch up out myself now and see how easy it is to export.

You would have to get your hands on the pro version though inorder to save files as other formats except skp.
 
Anybody know any good sites that have really good tutorials for UDK, max, maya, zbrush, unity, etc...

Paid or free, idc.

Right now a few ones I know of are

3dmotive.com (paid with some free videos)
http://www.digitaltutors.com (paid with some free videos, large selection)
www.lynda.com (paid, large selection)
http://eat3d.com/ (paid with some free videos, individual tutorial purchases)
www.3dbuzz.com/ (Mostly free, programming heavy resources, some premium paid content)

Youtube (assorted content)
mozidesigner's channel
Unofficial UDK Tutorial Series

Wanting to make a huge list of resource sites. for myself and anybody that is looking for training.

Summer is coming and I'm thinking of subscribing to a site.
 
Anybody know any good sites that have really good tutorials for UDK, max, maya, zbrush, unity, etc...

Paid or free, idc.

Right now a few ones I know of are

3dmotive.com (paid with some free videos)
http://www.digitaltutors.com (paid with some free videos, large selection)
www.lynda.com (paid, large selection)
http://eat3d.com/ (paid with some free videos, individual tutorial purchases)
www.3dbuzz.com/ (Mostly free, programming heavy resources, some premium paid content)

Wanting to make a huge list of resource sites. for myself and anybody that is looking for training.

Summer is coming and I'm thinking of subscribing to a site.

3d buzz is great. It is where i am slowly learning the UDK.

Also there is a new tutorial series Epic has decided to spotlight for the community http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA2DE3D64B848BC63

There is also http://www.youtube.com/user/mozidesigner?ob=0&feature=results_main
 
I need to make a polycount account. I may have one. I don't really go on there often but there is a ton of really talented people on there and it is pretty much free criticism for your work if you're looking to improve. Guess I'll look there now.
 
UzFAY.jpg


Did the whole light map thing for these.

Scene probably wont come out looking very good but I'm learning a lot about UDK.
 
How useful is the speedtree modeler if you only have the free version that sems to come along with UDK? The trees can't be exported unless you have the full version, or am I misunderstanding the program?
 
How useful is the speedtree modeler if you only have the free version that sems to come along with UDK? The trees can't be exported unless you have the full version, or am I misunderstanding the program?
I am almost positive that the included version can be used to model and export trees into the UDK and that I did it myself. There are some features in newer SpeedTree versions that cannot be used (like multiple detail textures?), but those are just plain not supported by the UDK, and I don't recall any major restrictions otherwise. You might also try searching the forum or UDK help site if that doesn't help.
 
I am almost positive that the included version can be used to model and export trees into the UDK and that I did it myself. There are some features in newer SpeedTree versions that cannot be used (like multiple detail textures?), but those are just plain not supported by the UDK, and I don't recall any major restrictions otherwise. You might also try searching the forum or UDK help site if that doesn't help.
The export functions require the full version but saving a tree (couldn't get it to actually show in the speedtree editor but still) and compiling that file via the compiler program seems to work. UDK gave an error after a successful import but that's probably there was no physical tree to make a mesh of. Is that sort of the right way to do it? The graphics designers on my team had never heard of the program before and were a bit worried about the crazy tri counts.
 
The export functions require the full version but saving a tree (couldn't get it to actually show in the speedtree editor but still) and compiling that file via the compiler program seems to work. UDK gave an error after a successful import but that's probably there was no physical tree to make a mesh of. Is that sort of the right way to do it? The graphics designers on my team had never heard of the program before and were a bit worried about the crazy tri counts.
I don't know what kind of export you were doing, but it should absolutely be possible to pull the tree into UDK with a plain UDK installation. I can try to google a tutorial for you if you want. You may not need to do an export, but you SHOULD be able to actually see a tree in the SpeedTree editor itself, adjust the settings, see the tree change as you do it, etc.

And yes, you might end up with crazy texture resolution sizes or poly counts if you aren't careful. There may be options to tune it. I think SpeedTree is used a good bit professionally, but in UDK it may not really be efficient to have lots of them. I really don't know in that regard.

*edit* Try these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ35Z8eYufM (somewhat recent, try this first)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG79EosNiBQ (may have some outdated instructions since UDK has been updated a lot)
 
I don't know what kind of export you were doing, but it should absolutely be possible to pull the tree into UDK with a plain UDK installation. I can try to google a tutorial for you if you want. You may not need to do an export, but you SHOULD be able to actually see a tree in the SpeedTree editor itself, adjust the settings, see the tree change as you do it, etc.

And yes, you might end up with crazy texture resolution sizes or poly counts if you aren't careful. There may be options to tune it. I think SpeedTree is used a good bit professionally, but in UDK it may not really be efficient to have lots of them. I really don't know in that regard.

*edit* Try these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ35Z8eYufM (somewhat recent, try this first)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG79EosNiBQ (may have some outdated instructions since UDK has been updated a lot)
Thanks, I'll check it out tomorrow :D
 
I'm having some trouble with the controls when playing the game in the editor. Space is no longer the jump button and Esc doesn't quit the game to the editor again. I'm using default settings as far as I know and first person controls have been working before in the same map. Seems like the same map file have the same problems on other computers and starting a new map doesn't solve it either. If I choose to play in the viewport, I can't back out of it either. What happened? :S
 
I'm having some trouble with the controls when playing the game in the editor. Space is no longer the jump button and Esc doesn't quit the game to the editor again. I'm using default settings as far as I know and first person controls have been working before in the same map. Seems like the same map file have the same problems on other computers and starting a new map doesn't solve it either. If I choose to play in the viewport, I can't back out of it either. What happened? :S
Did you mess with key binds, scripting, and/or INI files by any chance? That's odd.
 
Did you mess with key binds, scripting, and/or INI files by any chance? That's odd.
Nope, nothing like that, just a basic house layout with a few lights. Unless I've changed anything by accident but I doubt it. The only thing I've done is used two different versions of UDK with the same file (it seems to work just fine on a freshly installed version of UDK on a laptop). The only thing I've done since Friday is copying my bsp floor to use as a roof and added a playerstart as far as I know.
 
Nope, nothing like that, just a basic house layout with a few lights. Unless I've changed anything by accident but I doubt it. The only thing I've done is used two different versions of UDK with the same file (it seems to work just fine on a freshly installed version of UDK on a laptop). The only thing I've done since Friday is copying my bsp floor to use as a roof and added a playerstart as far as I know.
Bleah, I'm not sure what to suggest. You could try looking at your playerstart properties as well as your overall game options, and make sure the game type is set to UTGame rather than the generic game...even though both of them, with a default playerstart, should let you jump.
 
Anybody know how to change the default FOV when running your map? I'm using the latest build of the UDK and I'm getting really, really tired of having to change it every time I want to test things out.
 
Bleah, I'm not sure what to suggest. You could try looking at your playerstart properties as well as your overall game options, and make sure the game type is set to UTGame rather than the generic game...even though both of them, with a default playerstart, should let you jump.
I can jump with Ctrl now, just not with Space. And I can't exit the game unless I alt+tab and manually kill the game/editor. Not sure what happens at home yet.

Edit: I suppose it must be that I've compiled/built my level at home with a newer version of UDK and then trying to edit it in an older version after? However, even new maps are affected by this O_o

Edit 2: Sigh, I don't even know xD A PC across from me with the same version number of UDK works just fine. This is weird...

Edit 3: Well, I found the same version of UDK that school has, so I've installed that at home just to be safe.
 
So I made this today. First thing I worked on in zbrush. Been reading up and watching tutorials on how to make tilable textures for UDK. Sorta of generic newbie work but I really like how it came out. This is much better than the last thing I made thanks to zbrush. At least I'm starting to improve and learn more about other programs.
7Nuzp.jpg
 
Are you using any sort of lightmap/bumpmap/detailmap/whatever it's called for that? If you got a little more depth in it, it could look even awesomer! Don't do tessellation though, it might kill your performance.
 
I have a hightmap for the material but idk how to implement it. should make parts of it pop up more. don't feel like looking up how to do that atm ;p
 
I have a hightmap for the material but idk how to implement it. should make parts of it pop up more. don't feel like looking up how to do that atm ;p
I think it's something very simple like importing that as a texture and attaching it to the normal map channel, but I'm not good at that.

Also I noticed some cool works in progress etc. from the UDK forums that I'd like to post, if people still like seeing those things. I am kind of busy at the moment though so it may take a couple of days before I get around to linking them and/or rehosting the images.
 
Here is a collection of links to projects that I think are interesting, pretty, or whatever. I'll try to rehost/take some screenshots and provide more information later in the week.

Enhanced first-person view with motion or whatever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiSKdiW8-RA

Projects:

http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/893664-Construction-Site-Map

http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/895350-Nostalgia

http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/902967-WIP-Teaser-Screenshots-quot-Isolation-quot

http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/886604-Environment-WIP-Old-Library
 
For the people having issues with the FOV, not being able to jump, etc.. when playing their scenes inside UDK:

Go to World Properties. In there, search for the Game Type and there, on 'Default Game Type' choose UTGame. For some reason Epic Games changed the default game mode to this sort of mech-looking (feeling?) thing with a really small FOV.
 
For the people having issues with the FOV, not being able to jump, etc.. when playing their scenes inside UDK:

Go to World Properties. In there, search for the Game Type and there, on 'Default Game Type' choose UTGame. For some reason Epic Games changed the default game mode to this sort of mech-looking (feeling?) thing with a really small FOV.
I think the default game mode was changed to not be related to the leftover Unreal Tournament stuff (which is generally a good thing for people rolling their own game from scratch), and possibly be more suited for architectural visualization, but yes it's confusing to people who DO want the Unreal Tournament default of yore. :P
 
Fairly certain that's where I changed my settings to fix my problems and absolutely nothing happened :S
Didn't you say a different map worked fine? You could try uploading your map for someone else to try. The problems you described were -very- peculiar.
 
Didn't you say a different map worked fine? You could try uploading your map for someone else to try. The problems you described were -very- peculiar.

Nah it had the same issues on some pcs with the same udk version and is currently fine on a different pc. At home with the latest version, it works fine. But I've moved on to completely new level files and use another pc now so it's fine so far. Had some problems with creating water but with an already made udk shader it works nicely.

Edit: The most annoying thing at the moment is having broken udk installs on random pcs and no real chance of getting errors fixed. For example, one of our designated computers have a dll file missing. A short google search and a download would fix everything but students don't have access to admin rights and tech support is almost non-existent.
 
I need help finding a tutorial on how to add a height map to a material. MiK you know what I need to do in kismet? I've googled and can't find anything :S
 
I believe anything in that flowchart style is called kismet. materials use it too.

AF55P.png


I have all three set up but in order to use a height map more has to be done. Heightmap is just this black and white image that should lift off some of the mesh.

I'll ask the UDk forum.
 
I believe anything in that flowchart style is called kismet. materials use it too.

AF55P.png


I have all three set up but in order to use a height map more has to be done. Heightmap is just this black and white image that should lift off some of the mesh.

I'll ask the UDk forum.
There's a bump offset node that I think was in one of the links I posted. Make sure to post your finished material once you've figured it out, since I'd love to see it. :)
 
I have some questions about lighting. We're going to be using a persistent level and randomize levels with streaming around said level. So I'm wondering if world settings for light should be changed in the individual levels or will the world settings in the persistent level affect all the visible maps? And what about sunlight? Is it enough to have one "sun" or should each map have its own? With independent maps, I know there should never be more than sky light.

Basically, should I treat each map individually as usual or as one huge map (with one lightmass importance volume etc or multiple? :)
 
I have some questions about lighting. We're going to be using a persistent level and randomize levels with streaming around said level. So I'm wondering if world settings for light should be changed in the individual levels or will the world settings in the persistent level affect all the visible maps? And what about sunlight? Is it enough to have one "sun" or should each map have its own? With independent maps, I know there should never be more than sky light.

Basically, should I treat each map individually as usual or as one huge map (with one lightmass importance volume etc or multiple? :)

if you are making one large map and streaming parts of it then you should light volumes for different lightning.
but if they are separate levels you can easily tune lightning to your needs in world proper.

So are you making a single huge map then streaming it or have different maps linked together ?
 
if you are making one large map and streaming parts of it then you should light volumes for different lightning.
but if they are separate levels you can easily tune lightning to your needs in world proper.

So are you making a single huge map then streaming it or have different maps linked together ?
We are trying to randomly link levels. At the moment we have one 4096x4096 persistent level in the middle of a 3x3 grid, with 8 separate level files spawning around it. Unfortunately we're having some trouble with randomizing the position of the actual levels around the center piece. At the moment we can spawn one of two different maps in a specific spot, but we aren't able to designate coordinate spawns for the levels so any level can appear anywhere in the grid.

Here's a trailer of our current status in general :) About 3.5 weeks worth of work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebsov0SM7_c
 
Is there any particular reason why my textures aren't showing up on my imported static meshes?

My workflow is basically:

1) Model any type of mesh in 3ds Max (say, a box for example)
2) Export as .ase
3) Import both the mesh and texture into UDK content browser

I can place the mesh in the game world and have custom collision but there's no texture, can't seem to find any decent texture tutorials either.

Any help is appreciated.
 
I'm curious.

If I were to try and remake this in UE3, about the size of facing worlds for reference, how big would it be in GBs?
 
Is there any particular reason why my textures aren't showing up on my imported static meshes?

My workflow is basically:

1) Model any type of mesh in 3ds Max (say, a box for example)
2) Export as .ase
3) Import both the mesh and texture into UDK content browser

I can place the mesh in the game world and have custom collision but there's no texture, can't seem to find any decent texture tutorials either.

Any help is appreciated.
have you tried importing texture separately and then converting it into material.then apply it to your mesh
 
Is there any particular reason why my textures aren't showing up on my imported static meshes?

My workflow is basically:

1) Model any type of mesh in 3ds Max (say, a box for example)
2) Export as .ase
3) Import both the mesh and texture into UDK content browser

I can place the mesh in the game world and have custom collision but there's no texture, can't seem to find any decent texture tutorials either.

Any help is appreciated.
Uhm? Have you done the UV unwrapping? Also, you have to set up the material and applied it to the box itself? You have to do it in order to see the actual material. I might do a small basic tutorial on how to do the whole process one of these days...

I'm curious.

If I were to try and remake this in UE3, about the size of facing worlds for reference, how big would it be in GBs?
It's hard to tell how big it would be. It all depends on if you wanna get custom textures for each part or if you plan to reuse and tile them (I'd suggest that). It also depends on how detailed you want the meshes to be, etc...

But it shouldn't get anywhere close to 1GB, anyway.
 
Uhm? Have you done the UV unwrapping? Also, you have to set up the material and applied it to the box itself? You have to do it in order to see the actual material.

Yeah, I unwrapped it and reapplied the texture but the material itself doesn't apply when I'm working in the UDK (under LOD info) so I'm obviously doing something wrong here. Oh and sometimes the static mesh won't show up in my 3d viewport unless I press G, but it's usually visible in the 2d viewports. Weird.
 
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