90+ UE3 Kismet Tutorials

[ArcadiaVincennes]

Hi there,

I just wanted to let people know that I've completed, for the most part, my UE3 Kismet tutorials. You can find them at:

AVLD.org under 'Tutorials'

There are a little over 90 tutorials broken down into 4 main categories including an introduction to Kismet.

Also, I'd like to expand on them by creating a 'Commonly Used' section where the most common combinations of Actions/Events/Variables are documented. I've got a small list of my own - but I'd like to add to it. And that's where you come in. If you know any commonly used Kismet stuff, or stuff you think would be commonly used but don't know how to put together yet, or just requests, please let me know either by postng back in this thread, or by emailing me at vincenness999 (at) yahoo.com. If you choose email, please put something in the subject line that pertains to kismet otherwise my spam filter may eat the email.

Also, if you find anything that's incorrect, please let me know. I'd rather they be corrected than disseminate false information.

Thanks and I hope I've helped people!

-ArcadiaVincennes

[Gugi]

Mh, sounds interesting. Can't wait to start digging though the scripts, editor, etc. on the 20.11. (Germany, Special edition).

So basically with kismet you can create scripts, but instead of writing text you use moddeling (i.e. you create classes, variables in the GUI graphically)?

[Eliot]

Mh, sounds interesting. Can't wait to start digging though the scripts, editor, etc. on the 20.11. (Germany, Special edition).

So basically with kismet you can create scripts, but instead of writing text you use moddeling (i.e. you create classes, variables in the GUI graphically)?

exactly

[BigJim]

Forgive me if this sounds like a silly question, but if Kismet is so much like coding, why not just code what you need?

[Denny]

Because learning Kismet is faster than learning Uscript for a level designer. Kismet also opens up the possibilities of including scripted sequences into the actual map, and with no need for compiling the "script". Most important is that the programmers have less unnecessary work on their shoulders.

[BigJim]

Right.

As far as I understand, Kismet is kinda like the coding equivalent of the AIScripts (AIScripts, ScriptedTriggers) that we have under UE2, where you add actions & then these actions can do some "thing", which itself is coded via Uscript, although of course more powerful & complex.

F'ristance, it's easier to use a ScriptedTrigger perform some actions, then loop back to the beginning, than code some actor to broadcast your events, do your actions via code then run a timer, then do it all over again. That's cool.
However, all those "things" that the ScriptedActions do are themselves written with much the same code that you would use if you took the long way round & just coded it from scratch, right?

(I know that often I've needed some custom actor to do things and I've looked in the appropriate ScriptedAction's code to see how they did it, then applied this to my own actor)
With scripted actions I can certainly see the benefit of the system of simplifying it so much, but by nature it is still very, very limited - there's so much that you just can't do.


What I mean is, if you're going to the trouble of creating new classes, and defining subs and variables within them which will be given values, do stuff, then emptied and used again, etc.. well, to me that sounds like coding by any other name.

If Kismet is complex enough so that it can replace coding for the majority of mappers, and so complex as to be a decent replacement, then would it no be a better idea to focus more attention of coding in general, so that mappers didn't have to learn a new system that might or might not ever be useful outside of this one engine?

I admit it took me ages to figure out UScript to the extent where I could do anything useful with it (and I'm still a right-noob), so I genuinely am very interested in understanding the whys & wherefores of the system.

[headfog]

Forgive me if this sounds like a silly question, but if Kismet is so much like coding, why not just code what you need?

What they are trying to get at is that Kismet is higher level than "just coding".

[ArcadiaVincennes]

As far as I understand, Kismet is kinda like the coding equivalent of the AIScripts (AIScripts, ScriptedTriggers) that we have under UE2, where you add actions & then these actions can do some "thing", which itself is coded via Uscript, although of course more powerful & complex.

This is correct/incorrect. Kismet is a GUI for basic level scripting for AI behavior, Scripts, and a little more.

If Kismet is complex enough so that it can replace coding for the majority of mappers, and so complex as to be a decent replacement, then would it no be a better idea to focus more attention of coding in general, so that mappers didn't have to learn a new system that might or might not ever be useful outside of this one engine?

Kismet is NOT a replacement for coding. It is an enhancement to scripting. Think of it like this - there's the code in the backround that the programmers work with. Call this 'Engine Code'. Then there's code/script that LD's work with - call this 'Level Script'.

Now, creating actors, and subclasses of actors, and more - that's all 'Engine Code' and basic level Kismet does not replace this. The 'Level Script', involving triggers, events, actions, etc... used to be done via scripting with text embedded in the level. Now, this has been transformed into a GUI-based system where LD's don't have to know code or script, in order to script an event in the level.

I admit it took me ages to figure out UScript to the extent where I could do anything useful with it (and I'm still a right-noob), so I genuinely am very interested in understanding the whys & wherefores of the system.

Kismet enables you to work with scripts intuitively with a GUI, and the learning curve isn't near as steep as learning UScript. It's also easier to debug.
Again - Kismet doesn't replace coding. Instead, it gives the Level Designer a GUI-based tool to script and control events happening in the level.

I hope that clarifies things...

-AV

[Gizmosan]

Great job AV! The LD room is very much missed as is those quick 1 liners

[Adam]

Thanks for this man, it should really come in handy.

[Patarak]

How did you get Kismet anyway? UT3 isn't out in even germany for two hours yet!

[Eliot]

How did you get Kismet anyway? UT3 isn't out in even germany for two hours yet!

Roboblitz and Gears of war have editor and roboblitz is older than a year already.

[Sjosz]

How did you get Kismet anyway? UT3 isn't out in even germany for two hours yet!

Don't forget that ArcadiaVincennes;
a) does not live in Germany.
b) has worked with UE3 professionally for quite a while.

[-=¤willhaven¤=-]

If Kismet is complex enough so that it can replace coding for the majority of mappers, and so complex as to be a decent replacement, then would it no be a better idea to focus more attention of coding in general, so that mappers didn't have to learn a new system that might or might not ever be useful outside of this one engine?

For the same reasons BSP and actor/mesh/light placement are done in the editor and not in, say, Max. Because it's direct and all (or most of) of your tools are in one place.

You can also quickly change and test the script in as long as it takes to save a copy of your map.

[Sentientv2]

Thanks for sharing these great resources. I'm sure they'll come in handy in the next half year for me.

[gämmö]

Woah, fantastic work you have done with those tutorials, much respect.

Keep up the brilliant work. I will be reading this a lot as I'm very interested in this kismet thingy-ma-jig....


=]

[Sentientv2]

A big plus, like the Material Editor in UE3 over coding shaders in the Source engine, is that your changes can be seen instantly without have to jump through as many hoops (coding in a text editor, running your make file, running the game).

[inquestos]

Thx, really great for the community!

Any chance your gonna post it in PDF-format (white background/black font)? Because reading 90 tutorials in html format isn't that easy...

[ArcadiaVincennes]

Thx, really great for the community!

Any chance your gonna post it in PDF-format (white background/black font)? Because reading 90 tutorials in html format isn't that easy...

I honestly didn't think of that at all. I am a little confused as to why you would want one big doc with all that in it, especially since the tuts I created are more like a reference for all the kismet objects, rather than a tutorial where latter items build upon previous items. I mean, it's not really for sitting down and reading from start to finish - it's more for 'I need this function, how do I set up this particular thing?'

The other problem is that I don't have adobe writer - just reader.

Perhaps if there's enough interest I could put it into MS Word format?

-AV

P.S. Thanks to all the above for the Thank Yous!

[3leggedFreak]

Forgive me if this sounds like a silly question, but if Kismet is so much like coding, why not just code what you need?

Why code when you don't have to? ^^ For mappers etc that haven't coded this is much easier to grasp. Great stuf Arcadia!

[Patarak]

I saw a screenshot of kismet, It looked kind of like its not coding at all, more like dragging icons that mean stuff like "slide sideways" and connect it to "upon contact with x".

And that is awsome. I know a robot lego programming program that worked in a similar way.

[Xyx]

It's great to see such in-depth tutorials pop up so soon after the game's release. First Hourences' Cascade tut, now these Kismet tuts. Thanks!

Now all I need is a tut to get me started with UScript...

[Entil'Zha]

Thank you. Bookmarked.

[porcup!ne]

I honestly didn't think of that at all. I am a little confused as to why you would want one big doc with all that in it, especially since the tuts I created are more like a reference for all the kismet objects, rather than a tutorial where latter items build upon previous items. I mean, it's not really for sitting down and reading from start to finish - it's more for 'I need this function, how do I set up this particular thing?'

The other problem is that I don't have adobe writer - just reader.

Perhaps if there's enough interest I could put it into MS Word format?

-AV

P.S. Thanks to all the above for the Thank Yous!

thanks for the tuts, and also thanks for formatting it like this. I'm almost as
excited about the editor, kismet and uscript as i am about the full release of this kickass game.

[BIX]

wow! great tutorials Arcadia... these should really come in handy!

[Mr_Rose]

The other problem is that I don't have adobe writer - just reader.

Perhaps if there's enough interest I could put it into MS Word format?

You really don't need adobe writer to publish PDFs.
There are a ton of free utilities that will output nicely formatted PDFs, plus both OpenOffice and Google Documents let you export PDF files.

Point of fact, you don't even need adobe reader either; it's too slow and bloated these days...try something like Foxit reader instead. Loads, searches and scrolls faster and that's pretty much all you need on the reader end.

[[s§s]Bison_Boy]

WOW, I just glanced at the tutorials and thank you from the bottom of my heart, xoxoxoxo, . I was hoping for this and the tutorials are quite readable and easy to use. May I suggest that you post this over in level editing Forum also?

[NeoGzus]

Can anybody code a goal for a ball to score? I've been trying all day,no luck. TOO many wires maybe?

[Nawrot]

Can anybody code a goal for a ball to score? I've been trying all day,no luck. TOO many wires maybe?

I think I have similar problem. I cannot make trigger volume register antyhing else but pawn. This may be your problem to.