Learning Unreal 3 from Scratch - new tutorial pages

[Waylon]

Hey everyone. I'm teaching a class on the Unreal Editor, and I'm writing a set of tutorials alongside the class. (Which is really cool, because all of the students' questions and issues are fresh in my mind when I'm writing the tutorial.) I'll be updating this list of tutorials every week after I teach the class.

The basics
Basic Navigation - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...Navigation.htm
Navigating the Generic Browser - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...ricBrowser.htm
Creating your First Level using CSG (part 1) - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal/UE3-03A-CSG.htm
Creating your First Level using CSG (part 2) - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal/UE3-03B-CSG.htm
Adding Gameplay Elements to your Level - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...ngGameplay.htm
Running, Testing, and Distributing your Map - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...ingYourMap.htm

Creating custom assets
Working with Packages (Creating and Importing Assets) - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...thPackages.htm
Importing Custom Meshes - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...tingMeshes.htm
Importing Custom Textures - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...ngTextures.htm

Advanced Topics
Lighting - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...9-Lighting.htm
Lightmaps - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...-LightMaps.htm
Material Basics - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...rialBasics.htm
Material Basics 2 - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...ialBasics2.htm
SkyDomes and Non-Playable Space http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal/UE3-SkyDomes.htm
Height Fog and Atmosphere http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal/UE3-HeightFog.htm
Common Errors and Bugs http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...mmonErrors.htm

Appendix
Useful Console Commands - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...leCommands.htm
Finaling Checklist - http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...gChecklist.htm

And the main topic listing is here.
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal/

Also, I just released a training DVD for the Unreal Development Kit. I realize there are lots of other free resources online, but if you like my teaching style, you may find this really useful. You can find more details here:
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/sto...evelopment-Kit

[Figboy]

i'm new to Unreal Ed, so this is very helpful. thanks for sharing!

[Waylon]

Added a new tutorial - creating a basic level using BSP. (Parts 1 and 2)

http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal/UE3-03A-CSG.htm
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal/UE3-03B-CSG.htm

Covers
- Basic map setup
- Using the builder brush
- Additive vs subtractive brushes + sort order
- Geometry Editing Tools
- Adding a player start and lighting
- Lit vs Unlit mode
- Applying materials to CSG
- Surface properties (texture tiling, offset, rotation)
- Playing and adding bots

Also, I cleaned up the others a little and added some links to the main page.

[m3fs]

Waylan, are there going to be tutorials on Kismet/Matinee/FaceFX?

[Figboy]

Added a new tutorial - creating a basic level using BSP

http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...FirstLevel.htm

Also cleaned up the others a little and added some links to the main page.

sweet! reading it now! thanks a lot for this!

[JohnsShadow]

cool sombody to help me learn to do all the things in my sig
bookmarked

[Elohim]

Nice - thanks for taking the time to do this. I'm currently going through the video tutorials that came with the collector's edition. This is a nice supplement.

[Waylon]

Waylan, are there going to be tutorials on Kismet/Matinee/FaceFX?

Kismet and Matinee yes. Obviously those are huge systems, so I'll just be giving an introduction. But I'm not teaching those until later in the class, so you'll have to wait a month or so.

FaceFX probably not. (At least not any time soon.)

[Figboy]

thanks to your tutorials, i've managed to create my first map of sorts (nothing spectacular, just playing around with the tools).

i can't wait until i really get the hang of them, and start work on my first real map. which i'll talk about when i have something to show for it!

thanks again!

[Waylon]

I added a new tutorial, on adding gameplay elements to your level.

http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...ngGameplay.htm

It covers
- Getting a basic map set up for different gameplay types
- Everything to do with pathing (pathnodes, path connection colors, troubleshooting path networks)
- Adding and configuring pickups (weapons, weapon lockers, health, armor, powerups, and using the Actor Classes browser)
- Adding some other objects (jump pads, teleporters, defense points, translocator destinations, vehicles)
- Creating a CTF map
- How to fix the "pickup light" error messages

[Scorch88]

I would really like to follow your tutorials but I can't see any of the pictures. They just have little red x's on them.

Does anybody know how I can fix this?

[Waylon]

Woops! The tutorials weren't working in Internet Explorer. Fixing them right now. Check back, and if you're still having trouble please let me know!

[Waylon]

Added two new pages.

One, on everything you need to do to test and publish your map.
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...ingYourMap.htm

It covers
- Proper folder setup and naming conventions
- Saving, crashing, and backups
- Building (geometry, lighting, paths, and building all)
- Some basic console commands
- Publishing your map (so that it shows up in the game list)
- Distributing your map (Beta and Finaling)

The other is a list of useful console commands for testing your map.
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...leCommands.htm

[DaZ]

Thankyou very much for these tutorials, I come from a Quake level design background and UE3 is very different than what Im used to, these tutorials have shown me most things I will need to know!

[Vertigo101]

theres some VeohTV ones you can check out as well.

http://www.veoh.com/channels/HouseofUnreal&#

Hey Waylon after waiting 10 mins on the site it finally let me see your pictures. it said page done for 10 mins then bam half the pictures are showing while the other half still say its a picture and no errors detected..

also can you make some video audio tutorials for us noobies =) Ah that be so wunderfull!

[ApolloX54]

Umm.. I have a question... how the heck do you apply textures in unrealed?

In UT2k4 you clicked a surface and clicked a texture? What happened?

And how do you export textures so I can shift hues?


Edit: I found how to apply them.. materials? I guess? But what is this material editor... I'm definitely going to need a tut on this one... boxes and arrows.. oh my...

and I thought all the experience from UT2k4 would pay off...

[Vertigo101]

http://www.veoh.com/channels/HouseofUnreal&#
has a nice guide to that.

Watch UnrealEngine3.0lesson13

it talks about the skybox but then does all the textures for the level besides just the sky =D its 56:55 long =o enjoy

[frogspasm]

Sweet!

Nice job Waylon!
Can't wait to see the more advanced tut's.

If anyone gets a chance, be sure to check out his class at Gnomon.
Waylon is an UE3 C.H.U.D.

~Mike D.

[lubitel]

LOVELY

thanx a LOT for sharing this way....

[Vertigo101]

I just finished all the basics. I wish I was in waylons class! =P

Very good so far waylon keep up the easy to figure out tutorials!

I'm having an issue with rooms. it seams I can run in the room the hall and the other room just fine intell i rebuild it. then it makes the rooms and hall no longer hollow =o

What am I doing wrong ?

It seams I have been deleting the subtractive yellow boxes =o

ok after keeping the boxes and rebult it still does it..
I can run in the room fine with out rebuilding but then after rebuilding the geo it cuases the box to no longer let me in it. and if you ghost into it you cant even see the outside walls.

[Vertigo101]

it seams this is editor is sort of like Doom 3 ed. I created a Gient room 10000 by 10000
and hehe.. it runs at 898 fps lol.

I'm currently messing around with bot pathing and omg! this one bot seams to like to grab the jump boots ive placed and jump onto the roof of a building and run across a beam then grab the amp from the other building and go hunting..

its nice that you dont have to say Ok i want you to jump here allways when you get the boots.. instead he does it when he wants to =) the apples are helpfull

oh and btw i'm not having any wierd build errors then falling off the world this way .

[Waylon]

Glad people are digging the tutorials!

Hey Waylon after waiting 10 mins on the site it finally let me see your pictures. it said page done for 10 mins then bam half the pictures are showing while the other half still say its a picture and no errors detected..

Err, yeah, I'm writing the tutorials in Word and then exporting HTML... it's doing some funky formatting stuff. I'll see if I can find a way to clean it up and make it load like normal.

Umm.. I have a question... how the heck do you apply textures in unrealed?

Oh man, I totally had a whole section on that written, but I must have overwritten it with an older version 'cause in the 2nd CSG tutorial it's just the outline. I'll update it again tomorrow.

The short answer is, select the surfaces in the world, then click on a material or material instance in the generic browser, and the material will be applied. (You can't apply a texture directly.)

I'm having an issue with rooms. it seams I can run in the room the hall and the other room just fine intell i rebuild it. then it makes the rooms and hall no longer hollow =o

Sorry, it's tough to tell what's going on, but judging by your other post I guess you solved it? Anyway, posting a new thread with some screenshots would be a sure fire way to get some help.

[Vertigo101]

Yeah I cant seam to just Create a box then create another box with a hallway correctly and try to build the map that way. cuases the rooms on the inside to go Poof there not really there =o but ther outsides are lol..

Currently working on DM-Kaelthas. and ZoMG following your simple instructions ive been able to progress fairly rapidly as long as I make a room 10,000 x,10,000 first and build in there..

I'd like to know how to create Rain water & sky. also Where is the wood textures ? is there any? i mean all my buildings have this stone texture in a wilderness enviroment setting. I'd like to have wood textures for my buildings.

also it seams all my weapons ammo & health packs vanished from the editor =o all I get is this little arrow line and nothing els if I place something in there. ive tried view all actors and still cant see them inless I play the map. I even have reloaded the editor

Heres some pictures (WIP) of DM-Kaelthas



I have no idea why my pictures wont show.. you can view them here. www.Myspace.com/vertigo101 click pictures then my UT pics or something :P

[Vertigo101]

if this happens to you where you cant see your weapon item pick ups and trees to name a few.

click the down arrow in the 3dview and select Default show flags.

some one told me that in another post

[Waylon]

New topic up - importing custom meshes.
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...thPackages.htm

Also, I filled in the missing information on applying materials to CSG surfaces in this tutorial:
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal/UE3-03B-CSG.htm

[Vertigo101]

Sweet Nice job

[Waylon]

Cleaned up the tutorials a little bit.

Now there's one specifically on working with packages and creating/importing assets.
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...thPackages.htm

It covers
- The basic workings of packages
- Creating new packages
- Where to save packages
- Importing assets
- Creating new assets
- Working with your map as a package (storing assets inside your map)

The tutorial on importing meshes is a little bit clearer now
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...tingMeshes.htm
- Exporting from Max and Maya
- Exporter plugin installation
- Proper exporter settings
- How to import the mesh
- Setting the object's scale and pivot location
- Adding a material (texture) to your mesh
- Creating collision geo (in editor or authoring in max/maya, dealing with convex geo, etc.)
- Other details (polygon count, multiple materials, 2-sided faces, hard/soft edges, smoothing groups, UV sets, and vertex colors.)

And I added a tutorial on importing textures and hooking them up.
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...ngTextures.htm

It covers
- How to paint a texture
- Technical requirements (texture size, file format, alpha channels)
- Importing textures - proper settings for diffuse vs normal maps
- Creating a simple material and applying it to a mesh (overriding the material on a mesh)

[Waylon]

Added a new topic - Lighting
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...9-Lighting.htm

It covers
- Point lights, Spot lights, Directional lights, and Sky lights
- Light properties for all four types
- The Search for Actors tool
- Postprocess volumes (basics)
- Lighting channels
- Basic lighting concepts (The sun, ambient light, area lights, highlights, bounce lights, spotlights, and fill lights)

[Waylon]

Added a new topic - Lightmaps
http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal...-LightMaps.htm

It covers
- Basics of what lightmaps are and where they're saved
- Setting lightmap properties on BSP (CSG) and getting good shadows
- Long bake times
- The different between lightmaps and vertex lighting on static meshes
- Adding lightmaps to existing UT static meshes
- Creating lightmaps for custom static mesh (auto-generated in Unreal, hand-generated in Max and Maya)
- Tips for getting good results out of lightmap UVs.

[Elohim]

Thanks! Where do you find the time to do all this

[sWs»Cheapshot]

Waylon, your an asset to the community.

Thanks for your time an effort. I have enjoyed your easy to follow tuts very much.

One thing i have noticed in my search for answers in UE3 is the lack of sound tutorials.

I have been trying to get some definative answers to problems I have been experiencing with applying sound to my levels.

After some time I was able to get about 90% of the answers I needed but I am literally held up by one small detail.

In applying sound to say... CTF Maps. Setting up a "UT Map Music" file through the Generic Browser was simple enough... adding stingers made sense and was easy enough... and perhaps a quick tutorial on this would be a good idea. What I am running into though is after I create the Map Music File... and then goto World properties from the View Menu... I cannot add the Map Music to the mapinfo from there.

I have UTCTF map as supported type but no luck assigning a sound package to it.

Do you have any idea why the MapInfo does not allow me to add the sound file?

I opened strident and saw that under its world properties there were expandable catagories where one could add files to it, but my mapinfo does not have those catagories.

[ColdfireRik]

Nice man keep up the good work!!

[mainframe]

Good stuff Waylon

[Waylon]

Cheapshot - I haven't actually done much audio work yet, so unfortunately I don't know. I'll be looking into audio a little bit in a couple weeks, though that probably doesn't help you.

[sWs»Cheapshot]

Ah... ok... I will have to keep digging, but looking forward to your next tut

[sWs»Cheapshot]

@waylon:On a side note... you might consider posting this over at Beyond Unreal Forums. IceCreamYou has a collection of tutorials he has put together that yours would fit in nicely.

[andrantos]

Waylon, thank you so much for those tutorials. I did some very primitive level building with UT2k3 and UT2k4, but I have found your tutorials very easy to follow and very straightforward. Its gotten me up and running a lot quicker than I expected.

[Waylon]

@waylon:On a side note... you might consider posting this over at Beyond Unreal Forums. IceCreamYou has a collection of tutorials he has put together that yours would fit in nicely.

Posted. Thanks for the referral!

[Vertigo101]

Hey Waylon will you cover Round surfaces and editing in subtractive universe instead of adtractive or what ever it is?

I made my first map folowing your steps in adractive but recently tried subtractive and it seams way easyer.

[sWs»Cheapshot]

Hey Waylon will you cover Round surfaces and editing in subtractive universe instead of adtractive or what ever it is?

I made my first map folowing your steps in adractive but recently tried subtractive and it seams way easyer.

Until you cook it

The difference is minor I think. Additive is a little harder to get precise in some ways... but subtractive is limited for things like wall designs for someone just starting... if you know additive... it might be best to go with it.