Noob question about saving in UDK

[tonysoprano0316]

I am currently in the process of blocking out an environment in UDK for my second year of university.

I've put in some basic assets and got everything to scale, added some light and walked round the level in-game and everything looks good.

However, after saving the level, as well as the asset pack, I close down the programme, open it back up and all I have in front of me is my surface floor, my light map and shadows where the assets were.

This is extremely frustrating as I was unable to get any feedback from my tutor during that session as I spent all of my time repositioning all of my assets.

The next session I requested he show me the correct method of saving, he did, then reopened up the scene to be confronted with just shadows.

He informed me to drop the head of department an email asking for advice which I did, and still have not received a response, that was last week.

I haven't been into university for the past week because of car trouble and am still in the dark regarding how to properly save.

Please could someone give me a basic breakdown of the correct practice with regards to saving a scene?

I basically want to be able to go into uni, open up my scene with the assets inside and everything in the right place.

If any of you could do this I would be extremely grateful, I've looked online and have found nothing of use, but lots of people asking the same question.

Thank you in advance and apologies for being such a noob!

[ffejnosliw]

Are the map and package located in the Content folder of the UDKGame directory? They need to be there in order for the editor to know they exist. Otherwise, you need to manually open the package in the Content browser first and then open the map.

[Boshko Savich]

Hmmm, wondering, my .psd , .tif, .wav, .png, etc, files also need to be in the Content folder of the UDKGame directory?

[ffejnosliw]

No, source art can be anywhere. Packages are loaded as needed when you open a map and the editor only knows to look in the Content folder for those unless they are already loaded.

[tonysoprano0316]

Yes, my asset packages is loaded up as well.

My tutor noticed that there was an asterix besides each individual asset in the folder which meant they hadn't been saved, so he saved them, the asterix disappeared and he closed down the file, only to reopen and discover the assets had again disappeared leaving only shadows.

A list appeared saying something about external sources and "therefore cannot be loaded".

He then prompted me to email the specialist in UDK who has yet to get back to me.

I have to say that they are not catering for the absolute beginners to UDK very well in the second year, they tell us that "they expect us to seek out tutorials ourselves with which to solve problems", sorry but I'm paying three and a half grand a year to do what I could be doing myself?

We have access to great computers and software but what is the point in having them if we lack the basic fundamentals?

[ffejnosliw]

Really you want to keep the packages in the Content folder. If it doesn't work with them there, then there may be another issue.

[Baructt]

I completely sympathize with you. I've been to two different universities myself only to leave after a couple of semesters. I've been sorely disappointed with them, especially since many of my high school classes were better quality. Right now I'm learning UDK and Blender on my own at home and enjoying every minute. I wish I could help you with your problem, but I can't imagine what could be happening. I just wanted to comment on college for a bit. The temptation to leave is quite strong. I think most of them are just in business to make money.

[SirCalalot]

Does an error window open up when you first load the level?
If the assets can't be found then the engine usually tells you.

What about building geometry? Or right-clicking on an asset in the Asset Browser and selecting Reimport?

I have also had a similar problem in the past where I have installed the new UDK, copied my files to the new directory and accidentally loaded the level from the old directory.
This causes problems as UDK will be reading from the new Asset Package and applying it to the old map - causing some program confusion.

[tonysoprano0316]

I completely sympathize with you. I've been to two different universities myself only to leave after a couple of semesters. I've been sorely disappointed with them, especially since many of my high school classes were better quality. Right now I'm learning UDK and Blender on my own at home and enjoying every minute. I wish I could help you with your problem, but I can't imagine what could be happening. I just wanted to comment on college for a bit. The temptation to leave is quite strong. I think most of them are just in business to make money.

I have often thought that if I bought myself a high spec computer and learned UDK as well as the many 3D programmes I would be in a similar (if not better) position than I am now, especially considering the wealth of high quality tutorials available online not to mention forums like this.

It's extremely frustrating to be told "you are expected to seek this information out for yourselves" when I'm paying thousands in tuition fees and loans.

We have had several guest speakers from industry in lectures who tell us that our degree mark is irrelevant if the portfolio is up to scratch, yetour university seems obsessed with us simply passing the modules as opposed to actually learning.

The few people who are enjoying the course are the ones who have previous experience in UDK, Maya and Max, the rest are finding the whole thing overwhelming, I realise the games industry want the cream of the crop but I can't help but think some real good quality artists are missing out on opportunities to progress thanks to a lack of support from the university.

[tonysoprano0316]

Does an error window open up when you first load the level?
If the assets can't be found then the engine usually tells you.

What about building geometry? Or right-clicking on an asset in the Asset Browser and selecting Reimport?

I have also had a similar problem in the past where I have installed the new UDK, copied my files to the new directory and accidentally loaded the level from the old directory.
This causes problems as UDK will be reading from the new Asset Package and applying it to the old map - causing some program confusion.

Yes an error window comes up when I open the scene, usually with lots of yellow and black exclamation points presumably informing me of the absence of each individual asset.

I will try rebuilding geometry as well as reimporting the assets.

Thank you everyone who has replied with suggestions it's much appreciated.