Mastering Unreal Technology: The Art of Level Design

Let your imagination run wild in the world of Unreal Technology. Mastering Unreal Technology: The Art of Level Design knows no boundaries as it shows you how to build custom mods, maps and levels with the Unreal engine. Its tutorial format will give you immediate results through the tips and demos provided from the industry's top level designers. Learn to create your own characters, weapons and gaming environments, as well as how to go beyond the Unreal environment and export custom elements from 3D modeling applications. A CD that contains the Unreal Engine, graphics, examples and code is also included, giving you everything you need to create custom levels in Unreal or build your own games and virtual environments. Mastering Unreal Technology will help put you on the cutting-edge of gaming technology.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. I. THE UNREAL UNIVERSE. 1. Unreal Technology: The Big Picture.     Unreal and Its History     The Unreal Engine       Introduction to the Unreal Engine       The Components       Overview of Component Interaction     Engineering New Worlds with the Unreal Engine       Game Assets       The Tools     Summary 2. The Process of Game Development.     Building Your Foundation: Before Production       Developing Your Idea       The Player's Perspective       Gathering the Team       Refining Your Ideas with the Team       Creating a Production Schedule     Beginning Construction: During Production       Maintaining the Schedule       Dealing with Delays       Bringing It Together     Testing and Acquiring Feedback       Internal Testing: Alpha       External Testing: Beta     Remodeling and Closing: Ending Production       What to Do with Beta Test Info       When to Stop Beta Testing       Finalizing and Releasing     Summary 3. Creating Your First Level with UnrealEd.     What Is UnrealEd?       The Subtractive Method of Level Creation       Rebuilding     The Anatomy of an Unreal Level       World Geometry       Actors       Some Assembly Required     A Quick Tour Around the User Interface       The Main Menu Bar       The Toolbar       The Toolbox       The Viewports       The Console Bar       The Browsers       Property Windows     Working in 3D Space       2D Versus 3D       Positive and Negative Directions     Creating Your First Room       Subtracting Out Space: How Tall?       Brushes in Depth       Navigation in UnrealEd       Moving Actors     Creating Your First Map       Subtracting the First Room       Adding Textures       Texture Fitting       Making the Level Functional     Expanding the Level: Creating Objects and Adding Lights       The Window and Hangar     Adding Detail: Static Meshes       The Static Mesh Browser       Placing Static Meshes       Decorating with Static Meshes     Summary 4. Advanced Brush Techniques.     BSP Theory       Polygons       BSP Trees     Brushes from Other Brushes       The Intersect Tool       The De-Intersect Tool     Brush Manipulation       Vertex Editing       Face Dragging       Brush Clipping (2D and 3D)     Freehand Polygon Drawing     The 2D Shape Editor       User Interface Overview       Shape Editing       Using the 2D Shape Editor to Create a Simple Level     Brush Solidity       Solid Brushes       Semi-Solid Brushes       Non-Solid Brushes     Saving Brushes (u3d Files)     Importing/Exporting Brushes     Summary 5. Terrain.     What Is Terrain?     The Components of Terrain       Terrain Zoning with the ZoneInfo Actor       Using the TerrainInfo Actor       Controlling Terrain with the Height Map     Layers       DecoLayers     Altering Terrain with the Terrain Editing Dialog     Lighting Terrains with Sunlight     The Skybox       What Are Skyboxes?       How Does a Skybox Work?     A Closer Look at Terrain Editing       Terrain Editing User Interface       Height Map Editing Tools       The Select Tool       Applying the Terrain Editing Tools     TerrainInfo Properties     Texture Layer Editing Tools       Painting       Smoothing       Noise       Tex Pan       Tex Rotate       Tex Scale     Editing Terrain Texture     DecoLayers     Summary 6. Working with Volumes.     Concept of Volumes     Basic Volume       Volume Properties       DecoList       BlockingVolume     PhysicsVolume       WaterVolume       LavaVolume       XfallingVolume       LadderVolume     Summary 7. Lighting in Unreal.     Light Concepts       Light Maps       Light Placement     Light Classification       Static Lights       Dynamic Lights     Light Properties       Light Color       Light Radius       Light Type and Light Effects       Directional Lights     Lighting Workflow       Light Creation       Viewing Lights       Working with Light Effects       Rebuilding Lights       Light Map Size     Lighting Surfaces       World Geometry       Static Meshes, Meshes, and Movers       Terrain       Particles     Advanced Lighting Effects       Scaling Lights       Using SpecialLit       Ambient Lighting       Emitting Light from Other Actors       Coronas       Using a TriggerLight     Projectors       Using Projectors     Common Lighting Pitfalls     Summary 8. Creating Materials in Unreal.     Textures       Creating a Texture       Importing a Texture       The Texture Properties Window       Texture Properties     Shaders       Diffuse and Specularity Maps       Opacity Maps       Self-Illumination Maps       Other Properties     Modifiers       The Color Modifier       The TexOscillator Modifier       The TexPanner Modifier       The TexRotator Modifier       The TexScaler Modifier       The Combiner Modifier     Creating Reflective Surfaces with Cubemaps and TexEnvMaps     Final Blend Material     Using a ScriptedTexture     Summary 9. Interactive Elements.     Movers       Creating the First Door     Introduction to Triggers       Creating a MessageTrigger     Elevators       A Simple Elevator: UseTrigger       Complex Elevator Overview     Jump Pads     Teleporters     Summary II. ADVANCED DESIGN TECHNIQUES. 10. Creating Particle Effects.     Particle Theory       Emitter Types     SpriteEmitter     SparkEmitter     MeshEmitter     BeamEmitter     TrailEmitter     Summary 11. The Karma Physics Engine.     Karma Theory       General Karma Properties       Karma Collision Primitives     Constraints       KBSJoint       KconeLimit       Khinge     Ragdolls     The Karma Authoring Tool (KAT)       The KAT Interface       Workspaces       Viewports     Summary 12. Advanced Bot/AI Navigation.     Basics of Bot Navigation       Design Considerations     Tools for Debugging       Diagnosing Problems with the Map Check Dialog Box       Console Commands     Pathing       Jump Pads and Teleporters       Jump Spots       Doors       Lifts       Ladders     Advanced Pathing       AssaultPaths       Defense Points and Sniping Points       Vehicle Navigation     Summary 13. Matinee: Creating Custom Cinematics.     Introduction to the World of Machinima     Overview of the Matinee System     The Matinee Interface       The Scenes Tab       The Actions Tab       The Sub Actions Tab       The Tools Tab     Creating a Simple Matinee Sequence     Working with the Scene Manager     Triggering the Matinee Sequence     Controlling the Camera Path     Creating Camera Pauses and Camera Cuts     A Closer Look at Sub Actions       Setting Camera Orientation       Introducing Fades     Using Matinee to Control Actors     Adding Text to Your Cutscenes     Adding a More Cinematic Feel     Automatically Launching the Movie     Changing Levels with Matinee     Summary 14. Creating Scripted Sequences.     Using an Actions List       Using Latent and Non-latent Actions       Controlling xPawns     Logical Conditions     Summary 15. Level Optimization (Zoning) and Distribution.     Introduction to Level Optimization     Zoning     Antiportals     Distance Fog     Terrain Optimization     Profiling and Debugging       Viewport Display Modes       Console Commands     Summary 16. Gametypes.     Setting Level Properties     Deathmatch-Style Gametypes       Adding Weapons       Deathmatch Design Considerations     Capture the Flag (CTF)       CTF Design Considerations     Double Domination       Design Considerations for Double Domination     Bombing Run       Design Considerations for Bombing Run     Onslaught       Design Considerations for Onslaught     Assault     Summary III. EXTERNAL DESIGN. 17. Overview of Maya.     Y-Up Versus Z-Up     Maya Theory       Nodes and Connections       Construction History     Overview of the User Interface       The Viewports       The Main Menu Bar and Menu Sets       The Status Line       The Shelf       The Channel Box and Layer Editor       The Attribute Editor       The Time and Range Sliders       The Toolbox and Layout Selection       The Hotbox     The Hypershade     The Hypergraph     Object Manipulation       Object Mode       Component Mode     Summary 18. Polygonal Modeling Tools.     Modeling Terminology     Modeling Methods       Box Modeling       Polygon Creation     Understanding the Tool Options and Display Settings in Maya     Polygon Modeling in Maya       Creating Polygons       Adding to Existing Polygons       Combining Objects       Using Booleans       Mirroring       Smoothing Versus Averaging Vertices       Triangulation       Cleaning Up Your Polygons     Editing Polygons       Subdividing Polygons       Splitting Polygons       Extrusions       Chamfering Vertices and Beveling Edges       Cutting Faces       Wedging Faces       Merging Vertices       Flipping Triangle Edges       Adjusting Surfaces and Hard Edges     Summary 19. The Art of Texturing in Maya.     UVs and the UV Coordinate System     The UV Texture Editor       The Menu Bar       The Toolbar       The Viewport     Mapping Uvs       Mapping Methods     Creating UV Layouts     Creating Textures from UV Layouts     UV Layouts for Characters     Considerations for UV Layouts     Summary 20. Static Meshes.     The Importance of Static Meshes     Preparing to Model       Adjusting the Grid       Creating a Project     Modeling the Catwalks       Creating the Base Catwalk       Constructing the Straight Catwalk       Making a Ramp       Making a Turn       Building a T-Intersection       Building a Four-Way Intersection     Collision Models     Exporting Models to UnrealEd       Texturing Your Static Meshes in UnrealEd     Summary 21. Character Modeling.     Preparation       Concept Art       Image Planes     The Modeling Process       Modeling and Animation     The Character       Modeling the Torso       Modeling the Legs       Modeling the Arms       Modeling the Feet       Modeling the Hand       Modeling the Head     Summary 22. Importing Characters into UnrealEd.     What Are Skeletons?     Introduction to Maya Joints       Parenting       Joints and Parenting       Joints and Rotation       Using the Joint Tool       Joints and Local Rotation Axes       Manipulating Joints     Binding a Character to a Skeleton: Skinning       Introduction to Smooth Bind       Adjusting Joint Influence     Importing a Character Without Custom Animation       Importing a Skeleton       Skinning a Character       Adjusting the Skin Weights       Exporting the Character       Getting the Character Ready for Gameplay       Creating the Character's Portrait       The UPL File and Testing the Character In-game     Summary 23. Character Animation.     Introduction to Animation     Popular Animation Methods in Maya       Keyframes       Reactive Animation     Animation Choices-FK Versus IK     IK Solvers       Single Chain IK Solvers       Rotate Plane IK Solvers       IK Spline Solvers     Constraints     Selection Handles     Character Rigs: What They Are and Why We Need Them       Creating the Character Rig       Skinning the Character     Animating the Character       Pose-to-Pose Animation       Creating Custom Animation Cycles     Exporting Custom Animations into UnrealEd     Summary APPENDIX A. The UnrealEd Manual.     The Main Menu Bar     The Toolbar       File Options       Undo and Redo       Search for Actor       Browsers       Editors       Properties       Building       Play Level       Help     The Toolbox       Camera and Utilities Area       Brush Clipping Area       Brush Primitives Area       CSG Operations Area       Selections and Movement Area       Mirroring and Miscellaneous Area     The Viewports       Viewport Controls       Viewport Control Bar       Viewport Control Bar Context Menu     The Console Bar       The Text Field       The Log Window       Lock Selections       Vertex Snap       Drag Grid       Rotation Grid       Maximize Viewport       DrawScale3D     Browsers       The Actor Class Browser       The Group Browser       The Music Browser       The Sound Browser       The Textures Browser       The Mesh Browser       The Prefab Browser       The Static Mesh Browser       The Animation Browser     Editor Windows       Search for Actors       The 2D Shape Editor       The UnrealScript Editor     Property Windows       Actor Properties       Surface Properties INDEX.

About the Author :
Jason "Buzz" Busby is the president/CEO of 3D Buzz, Inc., a company dedicated to teaching the world the arts and skills behind today's hottest 3D industries, including gaming, film, and visualization. Through his website, http://www.3DBuzz.com, Buzz distributes his signature Video Training Modules (VTMs), which contain hours of training content that is professional, informative, and entertaining. Buzz is also the Director of Animation at The Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tennessee, where he offers his students a unique insight into the world of Alias Maya and Discreet 3ds max. Zak Parrish is currently an animation instructor at The Renaissance Center, where he teaches both Alias Maya and Discreet 3ds max. For the past two years, he has worked with Jason Busby and 3D Buzz, Inc. to help provide top-quality education to students across the world. His work can be seen on many of the 3D Buzz VTMs as well as in the UT2004 Special Edition training video series. In what little spare time he manages, he is also seeking his bachelor of fine arts degree at Austin Peay State University. Joel Van Eenwyk grew up in China, where his parents both work as teachers. He attendedpublic school in China for four years and was then homeschooled by his mother. Joel developed an interest in computer programming and was soon writing programs to help with his homework. At 17, Joel traveled to the United States to further his education at a community college in Kansas. During that time, he attended an intensive four-week training program on Alias Maya, instructed by Jason Busby. After completing a one-year internship with 3D Buzz, Joel is currently seeking his computer science degree at the University of Kansas.