Creating a Map
UnrealED2 Tutorials by EZkeel

Email :EZkeel

Contents

1) Planning
2) Brushes and Textures
3) Zones
4) Additions
5) Other points

Introduction
This tutorial assumes that users are familiar with the very basic functions of the Unreal Editor such as adding and subtracting brushes, rotating and positioning actors and brushes, rebuilding, bringing up object properties etc. This is not the definitive way to make a level for Unreal, its just the way I do it. If you like my maps and want to know how I go about creating them, then this tutorial is a brief summary to show you.

Most of this doesn't go in to great detail so if you need to know more specifically how to do one of these things, then there may be a tutorial available for that particular activity (I've put the links in this document).

1) Planning
Have an idea in you head what you want. Try and visualise it first and have a rough idea of how you will achieve it. I usually have some crazy idea of what I want to do and then find that it’s not as easy as I though it might be! Always check that you can actually do something before you attempt it. I learned most of what I know through studying the maps that came with Unreal. Build the basic room areas with all the connecting corridors. Don't add any movers just yet. Try and make your rooms varied in shape. Straight cube rooms will become boring after a short while. Overlapping cubes can give a good effect. Overlapping and then rotating them can also look interesting. You can use the cylinder or cones too. Just try and keep them a varied shape

You should also use the 2D shape editor - see the tutorial.

Changing the grid size is often necessary. Just right click in any of the grid perspectives and choose "change grid size". Its set to 16 by default but changing it to a smaller number helps you line things up better. I usually keep the basic rooms at a multiple of 16 in its size. Such as 256 x 512 x 512. This makes it a lot easier when you line up your textures, but its not absolutely necessary. If you are making a large map, it may be easier to build lots of separate UNR files and then add them all together at the end to make the final map. Its often the rebuilding that takes time, and the smaller the map you are making, the less time it takes to rebuild. Do this by using file "export level" and file "import level"

2) Brushes and Textures
Make sure you align your textures. You can do this in the "surface properties" by clicking on a surface and pressing F5. Click on the tab called "pan" and from there you can fine tune your texture by clicking on the 4 small squares to move it. The tab called "scale" will also help you to get your textures the right size too.

Also, by right clicking on more than one surface and right clicking, you have a variety of menu options available that can line them up for you. When you do add brushes, actors or anything in your world, its a useful trick to "group" things. For example, you may have a level with 5 rooms. Click on one of the rooms and also everything else in the room (keeping the CTRL key down when you're clicking will keep all your selections as you click on each one).

Now press F4 and this will bring up the "properties" menu. At the top of the menu it should say something like "27 selected". If you now click on the property called "object" you will see a field called "Group". Type anything in here you like and everything you have selected will be assigned to that name. Now, every time you right click on something from that group and choose "select all" it will pick everything belong to that group. That's really useful for things like dimming the lights down in a whole area. Remember CTRL-W, I use it more than most other functions. This is a really useful command. It copies whatever you've highlighted (except for its event tag I think). So, if you've created a room, and you want another one that looks very similar nearby, just select it all (remember you can group things), and press CTRL-W. Then move the highlighted copy wherever you like and rebuild. Its neat, quick and saves a lot of work!

Create a separate box say 2048 x 2048 off to the side of your map somewhere. Here you will create individual items such as decorations and movers. You can then intersect them and add them to your world.

The tutorial on MOVERS will help you with this.

Rebuild and save (very) often. This is a must.
If you don't you won't be able to keep up with how you're progressing and the 3d screen can't either. The larger the map, the longer it will take, but don't be put off, it'll save you a lot of work later. The only drawback with rebuilding is that you can't "undo" back past the rebuild.

Believe me.....
When you reach a point where you're happy with what you've made so far, back it up as a different file name. This is useful if you change something and cant get it back as it was. In outside areas use the floor lofters. This is essential for creating good cliffscapes and bumpy ground. The alternative is lots of scew shaped polygons which will often freak your editor and slow it down an awful lot.

Don't be put off by it being called "experimental" it works fine and your computer won't explode. (Well, you might get the odd crash here and there.) Use the 2D shape editor to help you with archways and fiddly decorations. Again, don't be afraid of it saying "experimental", it works just fine.

See the tutorial on 2D Shape editor. Note: Close this application down before saving your level otherwise it crashes and sends you out to drown in more coffee!

3) Zoned areas
Add zones such as water and lava.
Zones are fiddly things, but again, they are essential to make a good level and can make the level run more efficiently.

See the tutorial on ZONES.

Create a skybox so that outside areas can look realistic.
Even if there isn’t an outside area, it always adds atmosphere to have some windows or sky lights that reveal the outside world.

See the skybox tutorial.

4) What to add
Add lights to your world, but remember that lights shouldn't usually come from nowhere, there is usually a lamp or something that will generate light (Some of the lamps included in the decorations class give off their own light) Be careful with lights. If you add too many lights (especially dynamic lights) it will drastically slow down the action.

See the separate tutorial for LIGHTING.

Add a player start. If you want to test your level, that's essential. Go to classes on your right hand tool bar and choose "Navigation points". Under that section you will find an actor called "player start", just add this where you please in your map. These are directional, so you can click on it and point it where you like. (select it in the map, so the arrow appears, then press down ALT and left click your mouse. Moving the mouse will then turn your actor)

Add pawns and pathnodes.
See the tutorial on CREATURES over at Unreal Technology.

Add your triggers, dispatchers, counter, round robins to script events.
See the TRIGGERS tutorial.

Add inventory items. This can be translators (should be placed at the beginning of the level near the player start), ammo, health and other useful ditties. You'll find these under the "classes" section on the right hand tool bar under "inventory". Items should be carefully balanced with the amount of monsters, how you work this out can have a big impact on game play.

Add Ambient sounds
See the tutorial on SOUNDS.

Add music
See the tutorial on MUSIC.

Add translator events to aid the story if you're making a single player map.
Suspense and build up add spice to your level.
See the tutorial on TRIGGERS again.

Add a teleporter to take you to another level.
Players like to know when they've finished!
See the tutorial on TELEPORTERS (this will also include warpzones/portals)

5) Other points to remember
Check out the 3D view window and you will notice a small icon that looks like a joystick in its menu bar. When pressed, it enables you to not only see the environment as it stands, but see the moving textures and hear the ambient sounds.

Test your level in its different progressive states. This is also important. You don't want to get so far in your building and then find that something just doesn't work properly that effects a million other things!

Add your level properties. Here you can tell Unreal what your level is called, which game type to use, who made it, what music to use and various other details. Just right click in one of the windows and choose "level properties". Under the section called "Level info" you can tell it your name and the title of your level.

Under the property called "Audio" you can give the level its own music.
See the MUSIC tutorial.

Under "default game type" you can tell Unreal what kind of level this will be. Do this by selecting "info" from the classes menu. Then click on "Game info", then on "Unreal Game info" and then choose your game type. (VRikersGame is where you start with 12 health, staring at the ceiling)

Hope these help you in your level building :)

EZkeel
(Simon West-Bulford)