PREFABS IN UT3

HI GUYS, THERE IS NO WAY TO DUPLICATE OBJECTS AND MAINTAIN THEIR LINKS TO KISMET ... UNLESS ... YOU CREATE A PREFAB FIRST.

THIS ADVICE IS FROM ARCADIA VINCENNES (http://www.avld.org/pages/link/mappers.htm)

"To create a prefab, set up the system - in your case the interpactor and the associated kismet for one instance. Then right click on the interpactor, and select 'create prefab'. The editor will ask you where you want to save the prefab. If you're already working with your own packages, just stick it in there, otherwise, I'd recommend saving it in the map itself, so the package name would be the map's name, and for a group name I'd recommend 'prefabs' and then name the actual prefab whatever you want. Once that's done, you'll see your named prefab in the generic browser. Select it, right-click in the world, and select 'place prefab_xxx here' and poof. there it is. Now you can place that system anywhere you like, as much as you like."

"And yes - you can duplicate prefabs all over the place. The part where it can become annoying is that prefabs also save the orientation of the original version. So every time you duplicate a prefab, the new prefab will 'snap' back to its original orientation. Still, re-orienting prefabs after duplication is a small price to pay for not having to hook up everything in Kismet each time - especially for complex systems. Another thing to be careful with prefabs is that if you dupe a whole bunch, and then make individual changes, they will be reset if you ever update the original prefab. Just something to keep in the back of the head."

"I've always had an interest in Architecture myself and one of the aspects of level design I enjoy most is creating the architecture for the gameplay spaces. I think you and your students have a good thing going over there and I hope the program meets with great success."

THANKS AV, VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!

STATIC MESH LIGHTING BREAKTHROUGH

HI GUYS, IT SEEMS HAVING A SECOND SET OF UV's FOR A LIGHTMAP CHANNEL IS CRITICAL. GIVEN THIS IS THE WAY EPIC SETS UP THEIR STATIC MESH'S THIS PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A SURPRISE. HOW TO DO THAT? IT'S ACTUALLY NOT THAT HARD ... ONCE YOU KNOW.

THIS LINK AT HOURENCES LAYS OUT THE PRINCIPLES: http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsue3lightmap.htm

AND THIS ONE AT WAYLON ART TELLS YOU HOW TO USE THE UV EDITOR IN 3DSMAX: http://waylon-art.com/uvw_tutorial/uvwtut_01.html

THE BREAKTHROUGH FOR ME WAS AT THE END OF SECTION 3 WHERE HE TELLS YOU HOW TO SEPARATE OUT THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE MESH ... I.E. IN THE UV EDITOR YOU ARE FACED WITH A MESS OF OVERLAPPING POLYGONS AND IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO SELECT THEM TO REARRANGE THEM LIKE HOURENCE SAYS YOU HAVE TO; BUT WAYLON POINTS OUT THAT YOU CAN SELECT THE POLYS IN THE PERSPECTIVE VIEW AND THEY ARE SELECTED AT THE SAME TIME IN THE UV EDITOR, MAKING FIGURING OUT WHAT REPRESENTS WHAT VERY EASY.

DOING SQUARE THINGS IS EASIEST, AS YOU WOULD IMAGINE, BUT WITH SOFT SELECTION CURVY THINGS WOULD FOLLOW THE SAME METHOD.

I'M HAPPY TO DO A GROUP TUTE ON THIS NEXT WEEK SOME TIME, MAYBE TUESDAY EVENING? (A FEW OF YOU ARE COMING IN THEN ANYWAY...) SAY 6PM?

LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW IF YOU WANT TO JOIN US.

CHEERS

PLACING A RIGID BODY IN A LEVEL

HI GUYS, IN THE "HOW DO I ... ?" SERIES FOR UT3 ON THE 3DBUZZ WEBSITE THERE IS A "HOW DO I" CALLED "PLACING A RIGID BODY IN A LEVEL.

ALONG WITH THE MAIN TASK IT TALKS ABOUT DYNAMIC SHADOWS AND A PARTICULAR SETTINGS WITHIN THE DYNAMIC (RIGID BODY) OBJECT ITSELF. THE SHADOWS SEEM TO UPDATE IN REAL TIME, WHICH REMINDED ME OF A PROBLEM SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE BEEN HAVING.

CHEERS

PRO-BOOLEAN SOLUTION

HI GUYS, I WAS WORKING ON A MESH IN 3DSMAX THAT STARTED OUT LIFE AS AN *STL FILE. WHEN I USED PRO-BOOLEAN A LARGE PART OF THE MESH DISAPPEARED, WHICH WAS SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN CLASS.

THE REASON ONLY A PART OF THE MESH DISAPPEARED WAS THAT IT WAS A SEPARATE 'ELEMENT' AND IT WASN'T CLOSED (IT WAS A CHARACTER MODEL AND HAD SOME OPENINGS AROUND THE MOUTH). IT ALSO HAD A FIT WHEN SOME VERTEXES WEREN'T WELDED.

AFTER I SORTED THOSE ISSUES THE PRO-BOOLEAN WORKED LIKE A CHARM.

TO FIND OUT IF THIS MIGHT BE YOUR PROBLEM USE THE "STL CHECK" MODIFIER ON YOUR MESH; THERE IS A "CHECK" BOX AT THE BOTTOM OF ITS PARAMETERS AND IT'LL SHOW THE ERRORS IN RED LINES IN THE WIREFRAME.

IF ANY SHOW UP YOU CAN LEAVE THE STL CHECK AT THE TOP OF THE STACK AND THEN GO IN AND FIX UP THE PROBLEM (USUALLY BY WELDING VERTEXES OR CREATING NEW POLYS, OR REMOVING ERRANT ONES) AND THEN WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE STL CHECK AT THE TOP OF THE STACK IT WILL RE-RUN THE TEST. SO IT'S REASONABLY QUICK.

CHEERS, HOPE THIS HELPS

ARCHITECTURE AND THE CULTURE OF CONTINGENCY

HI GUYS, BY THE LOOK OF THE PHOTOS ON THE WORKING GALLERY BLOG ...

http://www.workinggalleryexhibition-2008.blogspot.com/

YOU HAD A PRODUCTIVE AND EXCITING EVENING. STREAKING IS AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN BUT ESSENTIAL ACT OF UNIVERSITY CULTURE...

SPEAKING OF CULTURE, IN ...

ARCHITECTURE AND THE CULTURE OF CONTINGENCY: ACCOMMODATING THE GENERATIVE SELF

... ROY ASCOTT, HAD SOME INTERESTING, AND I THINK RELEVANT, THINGS TO SAY UNDER A SECTION CALLED "BIOPHOTONS AND MIXED REALITY TECHNOLOGY"

"THIS PARADIGMATIC CHANGE IN ARCHITECTURE IS NOT REGISTERED AT THE LEVEL OF FORM BUT AT THE LEVEL OF BEHAVIOUR. TO GIVE JUST ONE SIMPLE EXAMPLE, OUR EXAGGERATED INTEREST IN WHAT A BUILDING LOOKS LIKE, ITS MERE APPEARANCE, WILL GIVE WAY BY CONTRAST TO THE CONCERN WITH HOW A BUILDING SEES US AND ITS WORLD, THE QUALITY OF ITS GAZE. INSTEAD OF THE EMOTIONS THAT PLACES AND OBJECTS EXERT ON US, WE MIGHT CONSIDER HOW WE COULD EFFECT THEM, HOW PRODUCTS AND STRUCTURES MIGHT RESPOND EMOTIONALLY TO THEIR SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT. QUESTIONS OF THE FORM AND STRUCTURE OF BUILDINGS WILL BE OVERSHADOWED BY AMBITIONS FOR THEIR DYNAMISM AND INTELLIGENCE, THEIR ABILITY TO INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH US, TO COMMUNICATE, LEARN AND EVOLVE. ENGINEERING WILL EMBRACE ONTOLOGY."

WE COULD PROBABLY LINK EACH OF YOUR SCHEMES QUITE DIRECTLY TO THE VARIOUS PROPOSITIONS MADE IN THE ABOVE.

CHEERS

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION

IT DOES APPEAR THAT WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER...

MATTHIAS PLIESSNIG

http://www.matthias-studio.com/little/little_page.htm

GREAT LITTLE CONCEPT MODELS THAT ARE MADE WITH OBJECTS FROM AROUND THE HOME AND OFFICE USING MINIMAL TOOLS. THEY SHOW A PRETTY INTERESTING ATTITUDE TOWARD STRUCTURE AND MATERIALITY; KIND OF LIKE SANTIAGO CALATRAVA MEETS TOM FRIEDMAN.