serious newbie... UDK and UnrealEd

[rogueIkon]

Hi All,

I have used UnrealEd very sparingly since Unreal3 came out 2007! I have never got down to anything serious, even just a simple map using all the available assets.

I just descovered UDK! Woaza! And am inspired to really get into this, thanks to Epic - Thanks also to Buzz3d for the video tutorials available on UDK-documentation.

Anyway, just a quick question: The .pdk files in the UDK../../environment folder are different 'in content' than the ones that come with Unreal the game... and which I use in UnrealEd! BUT they have the same names!!! So I cannot open the UnrealEd3 versions in UDK.

How do I go about using the .pdk from UnrealEd into UDK? I use the open option in the UDK content browser, but it always repors a texture missing from Detail_Tex.pdk? As a result, meshes are not textured?

Any help on how to successfully access UnrealEd (UT3) content in UDK is my question: would be apprieciated.

thanks loads (ok, this was not really a quick question)

RogueIkon
-------------------------
I would laugh at invading aliens!

[RhinoMatte]

Why do you want to access UT3 content in the UDK if you're not allowed to use it anyway?

[rogueIkon]

hmmm

How does someone get to be a 'senior member' with answers/replies like that!!!

Do you not know what 'serious newbie' means?

Could you please point me to where that is stated? And why it cannot be used. and if this means for non-commercial use also? How would it harm anyone's profits if I make a level with UnrealEd3 (using that content) and the same level in UDK?

?

rogueIkon

[Piranhi]

You can't use assets from UT3, GoW or any other game using Unreal3 in UDK. The whole point of UDK is that it's a developers tool kit, hence the name "Unreal Development Kit". I know it sucks if you're not a 3D artist, but it really is meant for an entire development of a project.

If you want to use all the assets in UT3, then unfortunately you're going to have to use UT3. There is enough assets included in UDK, as fas as I'm concerned, to get a feel for the new features and create a level, albeit in one theme.

[ShawnBaxe]

Could you please point me to where that is stated? And why it cannot be used. and if this means for non-commercial use also? How would it harm anyone's profits if I make a level with UnrealEd3 (using that content) and the same level in UDK?

?

rogueIkon

Well...the problem is the following: let's say you create a level using UT3 assets and make it available for free...that means, that people won't need to have UT3 installed in order to play that level. That's why it is not allowed to use UT3 or [place any other game title here] assets. But this has one advantage - ever for a newbie. You MUST create your very own assets and so you are kinda forced to learn how to do that. And that does help you developing essential skills to create a unique game
The problem is, that most assets have one or more references to other assets (Model->Material, Material->Texture). Compatibility issues add up to this (UT3 is UE 3, while UDK is UE 3.5), so using UT3 assets in UDK won't work "out of the box". Epic doesn't allow the use of UT3 assets in UDK anyway. The UT3 assets which come with the UDK are only example content.

[Aldaron07]

How does someone get to be a 'senior member' with answers/replies like that!!!

Do you not know what 'serious newbie' means?

Could you please point me to where that is stated? And why it cannot be used. and if this means for non-commercial use also? How would it harm anyone's profits if I make a level with UnrealEd3 (using that content) and the same level in UDK?

?

rogueIkon

User titles are directly related to post count, not quality of posts. Please forgive any rudeness. This is just a very common question and some people are getting tired of answering it every other day.

There are ways to import UT3 assets into the UDK, but Epic does not allow it for both commercial and non-commercial products. Discussing how to import those items probably wouldn't be allowed on this message board.

Their reasoning for not allowing it is the same as everyone else who has made a game and included a licensed agreement: defense of the IP. If they allowed the use of UT3 items then someone could easily recreate UT3 maps. Realistically, no one would buy a new copy of UT3 if they could download someone's free recreation of UT3 made with the UDK. By not allowing users to port the assets they created for UT3, they make it that much harder to recreate the game.

Their direct quote on the matter from the FAQ documentation is:

Q: Can I release a noncommercial game that uses the “Unreal Tournament 3” assets included with UDK?

A: Yes. You can use UT3 assets included with UDK for a noncommercial game, but not UT3 assets not included with UDK.

Legally speaking, you agreed to the UT3 EULA when you installed UT3. That agreement does not allow you to port UT3 assets over to anything outside of the software installed along with that agreement.

[rogueIkon]

smashing

thanks loads - some very good replies there that has cleared things up for me!

Just been reading through the posts FAQ's and other things and only now starting to realise the power of the UDK - that I can make stand alone games!!!

I just saw also that Blender 2.49 allows the expoting of .fbx files, so I will start to create my own meshes and stuff in there - and see how I get on.

I never even managed to complete a level in UnrealEd - as I never did get into that (time factor more that anything) - so not promising anything now, but will certainly have fun in the attempt!

thanks loads
rogueIkon

[RhinoMatte]

Sorry if I was rude indeed. I didn't mean to be.

[rogueIkon]

no probs

RhinoMatte : Absolutely no hard feelings at all!

I downloaded the UDK March Beta version - it seems to crash a lot - and bad crashes ie resets my computer - are there any earlier UDK non-beta versions?

thanks
RogueIkon

[Piranhi]

They're all beta, and they're all pretty stable tbh.

[Blade[UG]]

UDK editor is far more stable than prior editions of the UnrealEd, however, it still tends to crash a lot when you do things that it doesn't expect.. and being new, you don't know what things it doesn't expect .. so.. you'll learn to crash it less over time, it just takes some time. Yeah, i know, it's not much of an excuse, but ..