unrealdojo2.JPG (16879 bytes)

 

Unreal To UnrealEd

When Quake was released a couple of years back, it represented a big step for computer gaming. I'm not talking about the graphics engine, or the online play. I am talking about the exandability. You could create your own maps, and you could make modifications to the game using QuakeC. Quake II further enhanced the engine with the useage of DLL's in place of QuakeC. Well, Epic has taken this a step further with UnrealEd.

This tutorial will teach you the basics of UnrealEd. But before we get into how it works, I would like to take a brief moment to express why I am so high on this product. Quake has had many third party editors which were very good products in their own right. The problem with Quake was the useage of BSP trees which required hours(even days hehe) to compile a good sized map. QuakeC and DLL coding makes for great expandibility. The only problem is that these are totally seperate functions from the map editor(this isn't actually a problem. It is a standard way of doing things, and there is nothing wrong with this approach). UnrealEd is very easy to use. You can be up and creating simple maps in a couple of hours. The skins, sounds, music, and scripting language(UnrealScript) are all built in to UnrealEd. This allows you to create custom code for your maps, as well as sounds and music which should accompany your map. While UnrealScript is not as fast as Quake 2's DLL approach, it is a reasonable approach, and the integration into the editor allows it to hold it's own.

Now that we have gotten past my personal opinions. Let's get into the actual editor. Before you get editing you need to familiarize yourself with how UnrealEd works. It is quite different from creating Quake/Quake II maps. Quake maps required you to build your world piece by piece, like a model. You would piece together each individual part of the map. The problem with this approach was the cracks and bleeding that could sometimes occur, which kept map designers on the edge at all times. Unreal takes an outside->in approach. The world is a large mass, and you carve into it. Imagine a woodcutter who is given a large block of wood. He must carve out pieces to create an accurate sculpture. This is how you approach Unreal map creation.

Before we get into the controls, you need to learn Unreal's terminology. First off, there is only one true brush in Unreal. Quake required many brushes to create a map. But since we are carving into the world, there is only one brush which connects all the pieces together.

The term actor is UnrealEd is used to refer to brushes, walls, ceilings, floors, monsters, lights, items, etc. Many have confused actors as being similar to entities. While in some cases this is true, in many others it is not.

There are many advanced features of the editor, and these will all be covered in due time. For now I wish to cover the icons and what they do. To change the options for your selection click the right mouse button and then select properties.


move.jpg (845 bytes) Move Camera - This is the default selection. This allows you to move the various views with the mouse.


movequick.jpg (895 bytes) Zoom Camera - selcting this option is similar to selecting Move Camera, only much quicker. I do not recommend this option, as it tends to scroll to quickly.


addbrush.jpg (864 bytes) Add Brush To World - This adds the object to the world. With Unreals outside->in approach this is a tricky control. You normally want to Subtract from the world.


rotatebrush.jpg (886 bytes) Rotate Brush - Rotate the currently selected brush.


shearbrush.jpg (846 bytes) Sheer Brush - This allows you to sheer and edit your brushes. This can be very useful in manipulated your brushes.


subtractbrush.jpg (852 bytes) Subtract Brush From World - This subtracts the brush from the world. WIth Unreal's carving approach to maps, this is the basis for creating most rooms.


scalebrush.jpg (858 bytes) Scale Brush - This allows you to scale your brush to a desired size.


stretchbrush.jpg (839 bytes) Stretch Brush - This allows you to stretch and manipulate your brush.


intersectbrush.jpg (838 bytes) Brush Intersection - ??


snapscale.jpg (874 bytes) SnapScale Brush - This is similar to the Scale Brush command, only it snaps to grid points.


selectallpolys.jpg (923 bytes) Select All Polys - Selects all polygons in the world.


brushdeintersection.jpg (844 bytes) Brush De-Intersection - ??


selectallactors.jpg (924 bytes) Select All Actors - Selects all actors.


selectactorsinsidebrush.jpg (1083 bytes) Select Actors Inside Brush - Selects all actors inside of a brush.


addspecialbrush.jpg (867 bytes) Add Special Brush - This is used to create special brushes with effects such as transparency and zone portals.


selectnone.jpg (912 bytes) Select None - Deselects all brushes.


invertactorselectionstate.jpg (1008 bytes) Invert Actor Selection State - ??


addmoveablebrush.jpg (951 bytes) Add Moveable Brush - Adds a moveable brush. This can be used for special effects.


replaceselectedbrushes.jpg (943 bytes) Replace Selected Brushes - Replaces selected brushes.


replaceselectednonbrushactors.jpg (1062 bytes) Replace Selected Non-Brush Actors - Use this to replace monsters, items, etc.


buildcube.jpg (891 bytes) Build A Cube - Builds a cube brush.


undo.jpg (932 bytes) Undo - Undo last action. Undo and redo both keep track of the last couple actions. So you can go back or forward more than once.


redo.jpg (940 bytes) Redo - Redoes an action after you have used the undo command. Like undo, it keeps track of the last couple actions for reversal.


buildsphere.jpg (867 bytes) Build A Sphere - Use this command to build a sphere brush.


pantextures.jpg (919 bytes) Pan Textures - This allows you to pan(scroll) textures on a brush.


rotatetextures.jpg (898 bytes) Rotate Textures - This allows you to rotate a texture for placement on a brush.


buildcylinder.jpg (860 bytes) Build A Cylinder - This allows you to create a cylinder brush.


drawingregionselectedactors.jpg (966 bytes) Drawing Region: Selected Actors- ??


drawingregionoff.jpg (911 bytes) Drawing Region: Off - ??


buildcone.jpg (859 bytes) Build A Cone - This allows you to create a cone shaped brush.


hideselectedactors.jpg (955 bytes) Hide Selected Actors - Hides the currently selected actors from the current viewpoint.


drawingregionbrushz.jpg (1005 bytes) Drawing Region Brush Z - ??


buildstair.jpg (890 bytes) Build Stairs - Build a staircase brush.


togvertexsnap.jpg (927 bytes) Toggle Vertex Snap - This toggles the snap into place function. When selected it allows you to snap to grid locations. Unselecting enables more precise selection.


buildspiralstair.jpg (883 bytes) Build Spiral Staircase - Creates a spiral staircase brush.


help.jpg (941 bytes) Get Help - This is currently disabled(no documentation available).


cameraspeed.jpg (816 bytes) Camera Speed - Toggles between slow, medium, and fast camera speed.


buildcurvedstair.jpg (947 bytes) Build Curved Staircase - Creates a curved staircase brush.


togglegridmode.jpg (887 bytes) Toggle Grid Mode - Toggles view grid mode on/off.


togglerotationgrid.jpg (855 bytes) Toggle Rotation Grid - Toggles the rotation grid on/off.


buildsheet.jpg (852 bytes) Build A Sheet - Creates a sheet brush. Sheets are useful for water and other special effects.


This has been a brief and overview of the buttons and workings of UnrealEd. We will be adding to this document from time to time. If you have any suggestions or comments send them to jcsmith@gameznet.com.