Using Unreal Kismet and UnrealScript

[JohnRookie]

Can anyone give me a quick summary as to the differences between Unreal Kismet and UnrealScript? As I understand, Kismet is event-driven scripting. To what extent should UnrealScript be used to trigger events instead of Kismet?

[xGallox]

Kismet is focused to make easy the life of the level designer. All you can do with kismet can be done with unrealscript, but you can do much more with unrealscript.

Normally kismet is used in "only in this level" mechanics (ok, this is my opinion, but i recommend it). For example, if i have a couple of rocks that fall down when my character enters in a corridor, this behaviour is easy and reasonable to do with kismet, using a trigger volume and maybe matinee for the rocks animation. In other hand, if i have an item that when player touch it is picked up (or can be picked up with an action key), and this items is various places and in diferent levels, it's not a good idea to do it with kismet, is more reasonable to do a Class that represents this items, for example extending actor, and making it placeable. Then i can write what this item do in unreal script, and place this item anywhere i need.

The third way is when you have a this: "a behaviur that is unique in each level or instance, but whit a similar or equal core mechanics". If you understand my bad english, in this case you notice that this may have a part of unrealscript and kismet, this can be done with custom unreal kismet seqüences, this is a custom node (written by you in unrealscript) inside your kismet script. For example if i have a quest giver in my RPG game, each quest giver is unique, but a quest giver is a common think that repeats in every town/battleground/dungeon, so, i can write a QuestGiver Kismet Node with the parameters i need to make it unique.

The last example i explain it's not really good, but i never used custom kismet seqüences, is a powerful tool but in my project the major part of behaviours are written in unrealscript, and kismet are only used in "here the criature dies" or "here starts a boss intro cutscene".

i hope this helps you, any one can give more case of uses to profit of custom kismet sequences?