Assets compiling

[Vikken]

Hi there! I'm a student that just started using UDK during my classes.

I was wondering if there was a way to compile all used Static Meshes on a map in a single package that could be send along with the map itself?

Cheers,
Vikken.

[JessieG]

Hi there! I'm a student that just started using UDK during my classes.

I was wondering if there was a way to compile all used Static Meshes on a map in a single package that could be send along with the map itself?

Cheers,
Vikken.

If you're using static meshes that are already included with UDK, you can right click the mesh in the Content Browser and choose "Create a Copy" which will let you make a copy of that mesh and put it into a new or existing package. The big issue you'll face is that any instances of that mesh that are already in your level will have to be deleted and replaced with the copy that you make. You'll also have to make copies of the textures and materials for every static mesh and replace them on the copy of the Static Mesh you made before adding it to the level.

Also, depending on how many different objects you use in the map, your package may get really big which can be unstable.

[mtardif]

Following up on JessieG, in general you don't want to go over 300mb for each packages. Over time, your packages will become more and more complex and you will need proper naming conventions that you set yourself and that your team and teacher can understand. You can move/rename your assets to a completely different package and the reference link of the moved asset to your scene will be moved along with it and still be attached to the new packge you moved it to (I disagree on Jessie on copying used assets and replacing your scene objects manually because you can just save your new package and keep the original UDK package intact and simply reload UDK to reset it).
After saving the new package, the map will then look in the new package you moved your assets to and will require a re-save to be made to update the new links to the map file.

Edit: Usually, UDK backs up your modified packages on the fly and that can take a lot of time for those with large amounts of textures and complex shaders. . I suggest you create a separate package just for your textures and another one for your meshes and shaders. Same thing for Audio wavs and sound cues (if you work on audio). This is also useful when saving them or making large amounts of iterations on them (such as on Perforce and long distance projects) and saves disk space. I know this is your first project but packages can grow fast!