2003MINI on 5/4/2005 at 13:31
The best way for me to learn new concepts is to deconstruct what someone else has done. That being the case, I figured I'd start pulling the Training Mission and Inn levels apart. I'm making it a new thread in the hopes that others will post similar questions/answers. These are all noob-level questions.
1) When looking at the training mission, I can follow the path through the level in the editor to investigate all the objects. One thing that confuses me is the exit. I see the exit icon on the other side of the wall at the end, but I don't know how it is triggered. I thought there might be a volume in the last room that triggered it, but I don't see it. How is the exit activated?
2) Is there any way to preview the light options in the editor? For example, when I turn on flesh rendering, I see some light sources, but not all. There are still quite a few light source icons. Any way to see what the final product looks like without running the map?
3) I see many surfaces covered in textures that look like stretched out faces. What does this mean? Likewise, I often see doorways covered with a cement texture, even though it's supposed to be an open door. What gives?
I'll post other questions as I come up with them. Any help is greatly appreciated.
-2003Mini
rewclough on 5/4/2005 at 14:13
3) The stretched face texture also appear on some surfaces of static meshes e.g. the top and sides of arches. The texture seems to be used for surfaces that cannot be seen, whilst playing that is. I don't know if the engine is instructed to ignore this texture as an optimisation.
The cement texture in doorways is most likey a sheet created as a portal. Since you can't see portals in-game the texture was just probably the last one used by the level creater and didn't matter what it was.
bukary on 5/4/2005 at 14:15
Quote Posted by 2003MINI
1) When looking at the training mission, I can follow the path through the level in the editor to investigate all the objects. One thing that confuses me is the exit. I see the exit icon on the other side of the wall at the end, but I don't know how it is triggered. I thought there might be a volume in the last room that triggered it, but I don't see it. How is the exit activated?
I suppose it is combination of objectives settings, TriggerScripts and Exit/EnterMission actors...
Quote:
2) Is there any way to preview the light options in the editor? For example, when I turn on flesh rendering, I see some light sources, but not all. There are still quite a few light source icons. Any way to see what the final product looks like without running the map?
I don't know what you mean by "not all"...
Quote:
3) I see many surfaces covered in textures that look like stretched out faces. What does this mean? Likewise, I often see doorways covered with a cement texture, even though it's supposed to be an open door. What gives?
It seems that these textures are used by designers to indicate sky surfaces or invisible volumes / portals.
2003MINI on 5/4/2005 at 15:24
Thanks for the info.
Quote:
I don't know what you mean by "not all"...
In particular, when running throught he training mission, about half-way through there is a hallway in the basement that has moonlight streaming through it. The lightsource actually shows beams of light rather than an even corona. When walking through the editor, I see floor lamps and some other lightsources that appear as they do in the game, namely in the "on" state. But the moonlight lightsource just shows up as a lightsource icon. Is there a way to preview what it looks like without running the level?
Ziemanskye on 5/4/2005 at 15:38
Have you set the editor windows into "Play" mode?
To turn it on click the little joystick in the top left of the viewport title bar (beside the name). If you have that on in a perspective view, then the portals should disappear, and particle effects and beams and things should show up.
bukary on 5/4/2005 at 15:41
Quote Posted by 2003MINI
In particular, when running throught he training mission, about half-way through there is a hallway in the basement that has moonlight streaming through it. The lightsource actually shows beams of light rather than an even corona. When walking through the editor, I see floor lamps and some other lightsources that appear as they do in the game, namely in the "on" state. But the moonlight lightsource just shows up as a lightsource icon. Is there a way to preview what it looks like without running the level?
In order to see particle effects you have to click on 'Realtime Preview' icon (joystick) in the viewport.
2003MINI on 6/4/2005 at 00:06
Great, I'll try it out.
