Unreal Tournament 3 mapping thread

[SCM]

As a few of us said we were going to look at mapping for UT3 i thought i'd separate us from the main performance thread, as too easy to be lost in there. So this will be a home for us mappers to update all the UT3 players on OCUK on what we are working on, got lined up and for any useful utilities or mods for the editor that we find along the way. Any useful mods that are found i will add to this post at the bottom as edits to keep them in one easy to find post.

So my current planned mapping list is as follows once i get through the tutorials

CTF-Ranel remake - request for one of my old UT clans who had this as their home map. This wont be a straight conversion i am aiming to make changes in the map to update, improve it along the way.

CTF-Terra again a request from another clan member to have a look at remaking the map. As above wont be a straight conversion.

After these 2 i will be aiming to work on my own maps as much as i can with whatever requests i get in, had a requst from someone to look at old DM maps from Unreal or original UT so will slot these in when i can in my own mapping.

For those of us who might be looking at remaking the maps from older versions there has been released a beta conversion utility which can be found here - http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=588848 it has instructions on how to run it as well. Only issues from this is it can be a bit touchy and seems to prefer the base game with no patches to work, as i found out myself last few days. This will only safely import the bsp and lighting to the new editor anything else and it tends to crash the editor, so use the safe mode for the process before importing the file into UT3ed.

I will update this thread with my progress, screenshots as the mapping is underway and hopefully other mappers here do the same thing. So we let all the OCUK UT3 players get the earliest views at the maps during the builds and beta testing along the way when the map is ready.

So good luck to all the mappers and i look forward to seeing your work, plans for your current or future builds.

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Mapping links to tutorials and mapping info

http://architectonic.planetunreal.gamespy.com/first_level.html
http://www.unrealplayground.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48153
http://www.veoh.com/series/HouseofUnreal
http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsindex.htm
http://download.beyondunreal.com/browse.php?dir=unwheel/misc/ flash prog that displays all static meshes in the editor with where they are located

 

[SCM]

Aologises mods for the double post but trying to keep first post clear for useful info.

CTF-SCM-Ranel

The work has begun on the conversion of this map from the old 2k4 version for my old clan that made this their home map. First screenshot of the work in progress is below, and i will try where possible to update this post with new screenshots etc.

Current plans for this map is as follows.

1. Go through the map with a fresh eye and decide on the new textures to use to update the map to suit more UT3 standard, this is planned for the next few days. Textures in screenshot are temporary for now and only to give an idea of map layout.

2. Start to import static meshes for lighting so that there is proper lighting on the roofs, walls where i am able to place it. Some basic lights will still be there for ambient effect but i am aiming for lighting to resemble real life where possible.

3. Look at making subtle changes to the layout to improve on some aspects of the map which i think need updated, changes in corridors, addition of static meshes that will change views or block views of enemy teams a bit more readily.

4. Add in static meshes to detail the level to a good UT3 standard and then work on weapons, powerups etc to get the map to a Beta release standard for testing. Then work towards a full release

Screenshot 1

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[iamdjdz]

Over Christmas I'm going to make a map, have the toolkit etc with the limited version - is it much harder than the old versions and do you need to learn in depth unreal script to make a good map, my knowledge is quite basic as haven't had a proper go since the first UT.

 

[Zefan]

I'm definitely going to be getting back in to this at some point. It's nice to see there's a community here for it

 

[SCM]

I will be adding in a few links to the first post which are online UT3ed tutorials people have got hosted online, the basic adding the brushes etc is still pretty much the same. They have changed how textures are used now and its called materials and for the scripting side most of this is done automatically with the engine but will find out for sure later on in the tutorials that came with my collectors edition. But from my old mapping in UT i don't think i touched the scripting side anyways as it wasn't necessary to do.

I myself have adapted quickly to the new version of the editor after a 2-3 year break from UT with mapping there and any video tutorial online or off is easy to follow and learn from. They talk you through the changes and where to find the new things you need so it is very easy to learn the new editor.

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[PinkFloyd]

http://www.hourences.com/book/tutorialsindex.htm

One of the best places for tutorials.
Some excellent tutorials there. Helped me to quickly get back into the swing of things with the new engine.

Over Christmas I'm going to make a map, have the toolkit etc with the limited version - is it much harder than the old versions and do you need to learn in depth unreal script to make a good map, my knowledge is quite basic as haven't had a proper go since the first UT.

Its not harder than pass Unreals at all, if anything I'dsay its a far far easier editor to use than the 2k4 editor. Nearly everything has far more options, but for 90% of users most of these standard values will be good.
Unrealscript i not vital at all for a map, or even a great map. However, used correctly it could be the difference between a good map,and a great map.



I'm currently working on a CTF map in my spare time, aswell as part of the Jailbreak Mod team, currently working on new feature ideas, and hopefully within a few weeks we will have a good enough base code to start working on map privately, and then releasing teaser content!

 

[SCM]

Think the hourences is linked in the 2nd mapping link above but i will add this in first post for a direct link to there as well for speed. Ah jailbreak many a session was played in this mod for UT in the past.

 

[SCM]

Aplogises for bumping this again mods on my own but i have updated the mapping post with new screenshots of the wip so bringing this to the top for everyones attention.

 

[sargatanas]

Someone needs to(if not happening already) remake facing worlds, any of them really but I prefered the background to the one in 2004 . I Can't believe they didnt put it into the game, idiots.

 

[SCM]

The rumour is Epic are doing an official reworking of this map for the first map pack they will be releasing, hence why a lot of people aren't making remakes of this map at present. A few have made updated versions of the old maps like Orbital2 from 2k4 and a few others whos names escape me right now

http://forums.epicgames.com/forumdisplay.php?f=335 this is the Maps and Mods section of Epics forums and in the beta/full release sections people are busily working away on maps for conversion or brand new maps.

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