 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group 3D Game Editor John Swann mapeditor@telstra.com |
Epic Games has made available as freeware the editor UnrealED used to create Unreal, a first person action title and Unreal Tournament, a team or multiplayer game. All the effects you see in the commercial titles such as lighting, earthquakes, lava pits and so on can be created in your own levels with UnrealED.
You will need a full version of either game title and a copy of "Unreal 226 Final" (this is the editor) from http://www.unreal.com. There is no documentation supplied with the editor so log onto Tony Garcia's Web site a.k.a. Wolf at http://www.unreal.gamedesign.net.
He has a list of tutorials starting with an introduction for the beginner right through to intermediate use. They are easy to follow and include working examples to help you familiarise yourself with the various tools. No experience in 3D modeling is required to use UnrealED as the interface is easy to master.
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You construct your map using the standard primitives like cube, sphere, cylinder and cone to build the rooms and objects. Once the dimensions are set (these can be altered any time) you add the wall texture. Unreal has a huge library of textures to choose from, ranging from terrain, stone and metal to spaceship and science fiction designs. For added realism there are animated textures for lava, acid and water that bubble and swirl. Lighting bolts and various energy shields have their own set of animated textures. UnrealED allows you to import or export existing textures and modify them in a paint programme like Fractal Painter of Paint Shop Pro. You can even build your own animated textures.
What gives a level atmosphere is the lighting effects. Highlight the wall where you want to place the light in the 3D perspective view then click Add Light from the menu. You can choose the type of lighting effect, including flicker, pulse, strobe, spotlight and so on. This also applies to adding sound and music. Select the sound effects file from the menu, click the play button to check how it sounds then click and add it to the level. It's that easy!
The various effects like lights are called actors and they appear in the map as icons so they are easily identified. All actors have certain properties that you can adjust such as increasing or reducing the amount of light or changing the light colour.
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The last part in building your level is adding the creatures. They can be placed in random or made to patrol a certain area. Creatures can even trigger certain events like open hidden doors or start an earthquake resulting in a huge explosion and mass destruction.
The Graphics SIG holds its monthly meeting on the 3rd Monday at 7.30 pm, 27 Dorcas Street South Melbourne. We are happy to answer any questions you may have concerning UnrealED. Non-members are welcome to attend. If you are unable to obtain a copy of the editor and/or tutorials see John at the meeting. Visit the Graphics SIG Web site at http://www.geocities.com/graphics_sig.
Reprinted from the July 2001 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
