Workflow: how to increase productivity by speeding iterations?

[Daishonin]

I'm new at this, perhaps I'm missing out on something. Is there a faster way to test my UnrealScript mutators than what I'm doing now?

My current workflow:

1. Tweak my code.
2. Make my code: "C:\Program Files\Unreal Tournament 3\Binaries\UT3.exe" make
3. Start Unreal Tournament 3.
4. Go to Instant Action, load my mutator, start a game, and see if it did what I wanted it to.
5. Quit Unreal Tournament 3.

Repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

The iteration times are horrendous, even just iterating on the first two steps to get rid of compile errors ('make' is so slow!) Is there a faster way to do things? Is it possible to test mutators in the Unreal Editor instead of having to load and quit the game? Anything like that? Any tips would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[ambershee]

Use the Front End in your binaries folder. You can append various command switches without the need to create a shortcut to let you jump right into the game for testing :)

[Xyx]

For UT2004 I have my editor set up so that I press one key to compile and another to jump right into a map with my mutator loaded. I'm sure that with what ambershee mentions you could do something similar for UT3.

[sinx]

This brings up a related point. I currently am testing by launching from the command line and loading up a really small map that I constructed simply for the purpose of loading up fast. Now, I've been finding that when I launch from the command line, my profile isn't loaded and I end up with all defaults for my input settings.

I tried placing "-login=myname -password=mypassword" on the command line but this didn't do anything.

I haven't had time to look into this further. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[Pfhoenix]

It seems to me that since the patch, this hasn't been very reliable (sometimes I get my profile, sometimes I don't).

One thing - if you're subclassing PlayerController, or effectively NOT subclassing UTPlayerController, you will not get profile management.

Also, try using ut3.com instead of ut3.exe for making.

[SmokingRope]

I've had the same problem with loading profiles and do believe it is a bug.

some details (http://utforums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=591341)

[sinx]

When I get the chance, I'm going to look at what they do to login and then I may have to manually invoke it.

I'm not doing anything special in UScript that will change the player controller etc. It appears to happen whenever you load a map directly from the command line.

Damn annoying, whatever the case. Hopefully it's just something I've forgotten to do on the command line.

[Daishonin]

Okay, I'll try Unreal Frontend. But I'm not making maps right now, I just want to hop into an Instant Action game (e.g. DeathMatch) to try out my mutator. How do I tell it which mutator to test? Can I pass it as a flag? Can I skip all the front end "Instant Action" / "Settings" / "Mutators" screens and just dive right in? That would make things much faster and is what I'm after!

What is the difference between ut3.exe and ut3.com (why do you suggest using ut3.com make)?

Would creating my own exe that skips all the front end screens be a possible solution? (I guess that's called a "Total Conversion"?)

[Daishonin]

Just read SmokingRope's linked post and saw the "Mutator=" line... That answers that question! Still curious about the rest.

Now I've got a shortcut like this:

UT3.exe WAR-Torlan?Mutator=MyMut.myMut -nomoviestartup -windowed -log=mutatorTesting.log -resx=640 -resy=480 -useunpublished

How is using Unreal Frontend faster (how would you do this in there?)

[Daishonin]

Nevermind, figured it out:

In Unreal Frontend on the SP/Local tab:
- "Load Map" field: enter map name & mutators to load, e.g. "WAR-Torlan?Mutator=MyMut.MyMut"
- construct your other flags by checking checkboxes or typing in the "Extra Options" field.

The full command path is displayed at the bottom ("URL"). Hit "Launch" to start.

[sinx]

Or you could just check the log file - it shows the url...

But is anyone else having the issues with not logging in and loading your player profile?