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