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UnrealEd Tutorial 1 - A Basic Room by Cableless
 
Before we get started there are some things you should know. UnrealEd is a resource hog in the extreme. If you are serious about editing Unreal maps then you need as much RAM as you can afford. If you want to edit maps that are the size of the stock Unreal maps, then 128MB is almost livable. Hard disk space is also at a premium. Make sure the amount of free space on C: is at least twice the amount of available RAM. This will give the windows swap file some breathing room. Above all you will need patience. UnrealEd is still in beta. It will crash at the worst times. Save your work repeatedly!

Creating maps in UnrealEd is much different than in WorldCraft and QERadiant. In UnrealEd you use brushes to carve out hollows in Unreal worldspace for a player to exist in. In WorldCraft and QERadiant you must build structures using brushes to enclose the Quake playerspace. This can lead to the possibility of hard to find leaks between the playerspace and worldspace. The UnrealEd method is much easier on the map maker.

Rather than just giving you a list of command definitions, this series of tutorials is designed to teach by example. Each will be a little more advanced than the last.

 
 

 

Installing Support Files
 
  1. Download both the Visual Basic 5.0 Runtime and the RichText Control Fix.
  2. Unzip vbrun50.zip into a temp directory and run setup.exe.
  3. Unzip RichTextFix.zip into C:/WINDOWS/SYSTEM.
  4. Download the map for this Tutorial and install it in your C:\UNREAL\MAPS directory.
 
 

 

Creating a Room with Parametric Solids
 

  1. Launch UnrealEd and go have a snack.
  2. Click Build Cube on the toolbar. Shift-left Click on the cube to move your room where you want it.
  3. Click Scale on the toolbar. CTRL-Left Click on the cube to scale the room to the approximate size that you want.
  4. Click Stretch on the toolbar. CTRL-Left Click or CTRL-Right Click on the cube to stretch your room to it's exact dimensions.
  5. Click SnapScale Brush on the toolbar. CTRL-Left Click or CTRL-Right Click on the cube to stretch your room so that it snaps to the nearest gridpoints. Zoom in on each vertex by CTRL-Left Clicking and CTRL-Right Clicking while moving the mouse. Verify that each vertex is exactly on a grid point. This will make adding detail to your room easier.
  6. Click Subtract Brush from World on the Toolbar.
  7. Save your level!
 
 

 

Texturing
 

  1. In the Browse window click on the Load button. Select a texture collection filename.
  2. Click on your room in the Perspective window. One face will be shaded.
  3. Now click on a texture in the Browse window.
  4. Click Texture Pan on the Toolbar. CTRL-Left Click or CTRL-Right Click on the face to move the texture where you want it.
  5. Click Texture Rotate on the Toolbar. CTRL-Left Click or CTRL-Right Click on the face to rotate the texture where you want it.
  6. Notice that you can Right Click on a face in the Perspective window and bring up a context menu. Surface Properties and Apply xxx are powerful tools here.
  7. Save your level!
 
 

 

Lighting
 

  1. Right click on your room in one of the side views and select Add Light.
  2. Click Move Camera. Find your new light in the Perspective view. It is symbolized by a torch. You can position your light in the Perspective view by CTRL-Left Clicking and/or CTRL-Right Clicking on the light and then dragging the mouse. Position it near the top of your room.
  3. Save your level!
 
 

 

  Adding a Player Start
 

  1. Find the box that currently reads Textures in the Browse window. Select Classes.
  2. In the Browse window, click on the "-" next to Navigation Point to expand the list. Select PlayerStart.
  3. Right Click in one of the side views and select Add PlayerStart here. You should see a small joystick appear in the Perspective window.
  4. CTRL - Right Click on the PlayerStart and then using the red arrow as a reference, rotate the PlayerStart in the direction you want it.
  5. Save your level!
 
 

 

Building the Level
 
  1. Under the Options menu at the top of the screen select Rebuild. You should now see your Perspective window darken to reflect the placement and intensity of your light. Change the Mode on the Perspective window to Texture to see the difference.
  2. Save your level!
  3. Select Play Level under the File menu at the top of the screen.

Next tutorial we will add another room and a hallway.

 
 

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