Warfare tutorial: Node link setups

[Xyx]

Warfare node link setups are easy to construct and more flexible than the old Onslaught setups. Where you could only link nodes together in Onslaught, Warfare offers you the option to enable or disable specific actors or groups along with a setup. This allows you to, for instance, create no-orb setups or switch between Axon and Necris vehicle sets.

All node setup goodness is hidden in the World Properties.

1. Go to menu View -> World Properties.
2. Expand WorldInfo -> MyMapInfo -> UTOnslaughtMapInfo -> LinkSetups.
3. Click the Add New Item button (the little green plus sign) next to LinkSetups to add a new link setup to the list.

Each link setup contains the following:

SetupName
The name of your link setup.

1. Enter the name of this setup. Use Default for the default setup.

Note:
Additional link setups show up in the game as MapName [LinkSetupName] underneath the default setup. So if your map is named Sup3rT0rl4n and includes an extra link setup called L3v14th4nzFTW, your map list will contain Sup3rT0rl4n and Sup3rT0rl4n [L3v14th4nzFTW].

Warning:
Do not use spaces in the name, or the setup will not show up in the game. This may also apply to other non-alphanumeric characters. Check the name if the setup is not showing up in the game.

NodeLinks
This is where you link up the nodes to form a path between the cores.

1. Press the Add New Item button (the little green plus sign) next to NodeLinks to add a new link to the list.
2. In the map, select the core or node you would like to link from.
3. In the World Properties, click the Use Current Selection In Browser button (the little green arrow) next to FromNode to enter the selected core or node here.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the ToNode.
5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for the other links.

Note:
Most players seem to prefer setups with two prime nodes per core. This helps prevent deadlock and reduces the importance of the orb.

StandaloneNodes (optional)
These nodes are enabled but not linked to the cores or any other nodes, and can be captured by either team. These nodes are optional but can grant extra vehicles or forward spawn points to the team that captures them.

1. Press the Add New Item button (the little green plus sign) next to StandaloneNodes to add an empty line to the list.
2. In the map, select the node that should stand alone.
3. In the World Properties, click the Use Current Selection In Browser button (the little green arrow) next to the empty line to enter the selected node here.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for other standalone nodes.

NodeStartingOwners (optional)
These nodes start the match pre-built. Use pre-built nodes if you wish spread the action at the start of the match or if you wish to reduce the importance of the initial node rush. Pre-building some or all prime nodes moves the match into midgame almost right from the start.

1. Press the Add New Item button (the little green plus sign) next to NodeStartingOwners to add a new pre-built node to the list.
2. In the map, select the node you would like to pre-build.
3. In the World Properties, click the Use Current Selection In Browser button (the little green arrow) next to Node to enter the selected node here.
4. In the map, select the core of the team that the node should be pre-built for.
5. In the World Properties, click the Use Current Selection In Browser button (the little green arrow) next to StartingOwnerCore to enter the selected core here.
6. Repeat steps 1 to 5 for the other pre-built nodes.

Note:
When the match starts, some players will spawn at the pre-built nodes instead of at their cores.

NodeMinPlayers (optional)
These nodes are hidden at lower playercounts. Only use this option if your map contains a large number of nodes.

1. Press the Add New Item button (the little green plus sign) next to NodeMinPlayers to add a minimum playercount requirement to the list.
2. In the map, select the node that should be hidden at lower playercounts.
3. In the World Properties, click the Use Current Selection In Browser button (the little green arrow) next to Node to enter the selected node here.
4. Enter the node's minimum playercount in MinPlayers.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for other nodes that should be hidden at lower playercounts.

Note:
As a very rough indication, an 8 player map should contain 1-4 nodes, a 16 player map 3-9 nodes and a 32 player map 9-11 nodes.

Warning:
Take care that your link setup keeps working if nodes start dropping out at lower playercounts. Pre-built nodes will be built before they are hidden, and the vehicles they spawned will remain. Standalone nodes are prime candidates for minimum playercount requirements.

ActivatedActors, DeactivatedActors, ActivatedGroups and DeactivatedGroups (optional)
The actors in these lists are activated or deactivated in this link setup. This provides considerable control over gameplay assets like vehicles, weapons, spawn points and powerups.

There are various ways to go about this, but I find it easiest to deactivate everything that depends on the link setup, divide it into groups and assign the groups to their respective link setups.

To create a group:

1. Select all the actors you wish to group together. Control + left-click an actor to add it to your selection.
2. Open the Actor Properties (View -> Actor Properties or simply press F4).
3. Under Object, enter the group's name in Group.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for other groups.

Note:
An actor can only be in one group at a time.

To deactivate a group:

1. Press the Add New Item button (the little green plus sign) next to DeactivatedGroups to add an empty line to the list.
2. On the empty line, enter the name of the group you wish to activate in this link setup.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for any other groups you wish to activate in this link setup.

The following can be deactivated (and has been personally verified):

• Vehicle factories.
• Orb spawners. You will need to disable all of them, because the orb will still respawn at disabled spawners after it is used to capture a node.
• Weapon, health, armor and powerup pickup bases.
• Jumppads. Bots should correctly adjust to this since the jumppad itself is a navigation point, but I have not verified this.
• StaticMeshes. You will get map check warnings for this but it works. It may mess up lighting and bot pathing, so be careful.

The following cannot be deactivated:

• Weapon Lockers. You will still see the green flash when you get inside the range in which the locker displays its weapons, which looks very strange.
• Static lights. Lighting is baked into the map and disabling the light actor will not remove the lighting it created. If you need to deactivate lights, try dynamic lights instead.

The possibilities are endless. Here are some examples (ranging from useful to freaky):

• Use different vehicle sets to create Axon versus Axon, Axon versus Necris and Necris versus Necris battles in different link setups.
• Disable the orb spawners in some link setups, like a built-in NoOrb mutator.
• Disable the Redeemer (which is just like other weapon pickups) in some link setups.
• Open up certain routes by deactivating staticmeshes or activating jumppads.
• Use lots of Goliaths for a big tank battle in one link setup, and lots of Raptors and Furies in another link setup to create a big dogfight.
• Remove all vehicles and add extra orb spawners to recreate something of a Bombing Run feeling.
• Add lots of Invisibility pickups in one setup to create a freaky stealth match.

Exporting link setups
When you are done creating link setups, you will need to export them to have them show up in the game. The link setups are saved to your local data folder, which is C:\Documents and Settings\ProfileName\My Documents\My Games\Unreal Tournament 3 by default on Windows XP. The link setups are saved to the Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\Config\WAR-MapName.ini file.

1. In the World Properties, under UTOnslaughtMapInfo, click bSaveSetupToIni.
2. A prompt will appear. Enter the exact name of the link setup you wish to export and click OK (or press Enter). The link setup will be exported and bSaveSetupToIni will revert to unchecked.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for any other link setups you wish to export.

Note:
Do not forget to include this config file in your distribution package.

[Xyx]

Advanced tricks

Quicker NodeLink entry
As a quicker but more advanced alternative to step 5, simply press the Duplicate This Item button (the three little boxes to the left of the little red X) a bunch of times to create a good supply of links and then edit their texts to point to the desired nodes. You'll need to know the nodes' object names for that.

Testing non-default link setups
When you launch the game in the editor, you get the default link setup (the one called Default, which is not necessarily the top one in the list). You can test the other link setups in this manner with one small adjustment.

1. In the World Properties, under UTOnslaughtMapInfo, enter the name of the setup you wish to test in EditorPreviewSetup.
2. Launch the game.

Battlefield Conquest gameplay
Create a link setup with only standalone nodes, similar to the Battlefield series' Conquest gametype. Simply link the cores together and add all nodes to the StandaloneNodes list. This creates very free-flowing gameplay in which the action can spread out across the map. It also emphasizes core defense since a single sneaky Manta could destroy an unguarded core. This type of link setup works well on maps with good shelter for the cores.

(more tricks coming?)

[marilol]

umm, i have just patched to 1.1 and in my editor linksetups , its completely gone. All mine say is map info = onlslaughtmapinfo1

what happened

[Xyx]

I'm still running 1.0... but if the patch caused that we'd have some serious trouble. Can anyone else with 1.1 confirm?

[SmokeRingHalo]

I have 1.1 and linksetups is still where it should be.
One thing I am having trouble with though is switching between Axon and Necris vehicles upon node capture. I'm assuming I'll have to rig up some trigger work to accomplish this. Other than that, everything that is documented here is correct.

[Xyx]

Originally Posted by SmokeRingHalo

I have 1.1 and linksetups is still where it should be.

Thank you, that is most reassuring. For me, at least. I wonder why this isn't working for marilol.

marilol, perhaps you could try deleting the MyMapInfo object and creating a new one. Press the Create A New Object button (little blue triangle) next to MyMapInfo to do this. You will need to jot down any non-default values you entered.

Originally Posted by SmokeRingHalo

One thing I am having trouble with though is switching between Axon and Necris vehicles upon node capture.

Try this... I haven't properly done it myself but I did mess around with it a bit...

1. In the Necris team's core, under UTOnslaughtPowerCore, check bNecrisCore.
2. For each node, place the vehicles for each team.
3. For each vehicle factory, open the properties, expand UTVehicleFactory and set the team that should get the vehicle in TeamSpawningControl.

Note: This will create black puddles and black wispy tentacles around the nodes captured by this team. This usually looks pretty cool but may look very odd if the nodes are near a ledge, since the "puddle" effect has quite a big radius.


If this works, let me know and I'll add it to the "advanced topics" above.

[marilol]

Originally Posted by Xyx

Thank you, that is most reassuring. For me, at least. I wonder why this isn't working for marilol.

marilol, perhaps you could try deleting the MyMapInfo object and creating a new one. Press the Create A New Object button (little blue triangle) next to MyMapInfo to do this. You will need to jot down any non-default values you entered.


Try this... I haven't properly done it myself but I did mess around with it a bit...

1. In the Necris team's core, under UTOnslaughtPowerCore, check bNecrisCore.
2. For each node, place the vehicles for each team.
3. For each vehicle factory, open the properties, expand UTVehicleFactory and set the team that should get the vehicle in TeamSpawningControl.

Note: This will create black puddles and black wispy tentacles around the nodes captured by this team. This usually looks pretty cool but may look very odd if the nodes are near a ledge, since the "puddle" effect has quite a big radius.


If this works, let me know and I'll add it to the "advanced topics" above.

Okay, i'll try that. All the nodes i placed were whispy tentacle ones so maybe thats why.

When i play none of them show up, how ever many times i build it. Thats because of there being no setup.

Also, the map i am editing is necropolis. I am giving it a sort of Primeval node setup. Maybe its because the map is cooked.

Thing is though, i have already made a warfare sanctuary map.

[Xyx]

Place the nodes, add the link setup (make sure it's called Default), build AI paths, launch the PIE game... nodes should show up.

Cooked shouldn't be a problem if you save it under a different name (which you must have, otherwise it wouldn't be WAR-YourMapName).

[marilol]

But when i click on the blue arrow and select onslaught info bla bla bla. It comes up like normal except it only has the onslaught bla = mymap info onslaught bla thing.

Edit

Sorry about grammar, wasn't thinking straight.

[Xyx]

You should get the LinkSetups bit. Did you save the thing as WAR-YourMapName? Maybe if you clear the MapInfo before creating a new one...