LATEST POSTS

UDK: Lightmap Resolution for Static Meshes and BSP

Lightmap resolution for static meshes and bsp defines the quality and how sharp or blurry your cast shadows are across objects. Optimizing for lightmap resolution will help you keep the texture memory down and make your shadows look good on your meshes. There are two different lightmap resolutions you may need to deal with. One is with static meshes (custom models), two is bsp lightmap resolution.

The following tutorial we will cover the following:

• How to define lightmap resolution on your static meshes and bsp
• Lightmap resolution comparison
• How to define lightmap resolution across all static meshes globally
• How to define lightmap resolution per static mesh
• BSP lightmap resolution

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June 04, 2012
Category: UDK

UDK: How to Prototype Quick Time Events in Kismet

Following article was written and contributed by Pete Bottomley.
Pete is a co-founder of White Paper Games.

This tutorial was created to show you how to prototype a quick time event setup. This would ideally only be used as a place holder whilst you test out ideas and a more script heavy approach would probably be better for games being professional developed. However, this system is done entirely inside of Kismet and works well for our purposes to test out ideas.

In this Quick Time Event video you'll learn:

• How to setup a quick time event
• Use the projectile factory to shoot
• Creating custom Archetypes
• Using Multiple Matinees in one
• Using Key/Button Pressed event
• Using Draw Text and Draw Image events

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May 31, 2012
Category: UDK

UDK: How to Fix Lightmap Light/Shadow Bleeding and Seams

Very common errors you may encounter during lightmap process are light/shadow bleeds and seams. Knowing what causes them and how to fix these issues will make your models light and shadow better.

The following tutorial we will cover the following:

• What causes light/shadow bleeds and seams and how to fix them
• How to fix modular asset seams
• How to fix bleeds with proper UV padding
• Ambient Occlusion

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May 28, 2012
Category: UDK

UDK: Lightmap UV Layout Techniques and How to Create a Second UV Channel in Maya

In the first part of the tutorial we covered all the basics and important principles for UDK lightmaps. Now let's go deeper into practical examples and techniques.

The following tutorial we will cover the following:

• How to create a second lightmap UV channel in Maya
• Lightmap layout techniques - padding, resolution
• How to match UV layout grid resolution to UDK lightmap resolution

Continue Reading/Watching...

May 24, 2012
Category: UDK

UDK: 18 Important Principles for Creating and Using Lightmaps (Lightmap Basics and Introduction)

Lightmaps are very important part of game environment production in UDK. The quality of baked lighting and shadows in your map depend on it. Lightmaps determine how your models are lit, how they receive and cast shadows.

In the following 5-part series, I will go into depth about UDK Lightmaps. You will learn everything you ever wanted to know about lightmaps and how to make your Static Meshes light and shadow correctly.

Lightmaps is something I've had a lot of problems with. So, I set out to know as much as I could about them. The following series are my studies.

There are many important principles to keep in mind when you are creating lightmap UVs and lighting your custom game models. To give you a better example of what lightmaps actually do, here are a couple of screenshots.

In the first part of the series I will cover 18 important and tested principles of creating and using lightmaps for UDK. Consider this first tutorial as an introduction to Lightmaps. These principles are the key for making your static custom models light/shadow correctly.

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May 21, 2012
Category: UDK

UDK: Using Console Commands as Gameplay Elements

Following article was written and contributed by Pete Bottomley.
Pete is a co-founder of White Paper Games.

In this Console Commands tutorial we will look at how to use the functionality of console commands in our levels as gameplay elements. We will also look into a few new actions that haven't previously been used.

In this Console Commands video you'll learn:

• How to use console commands
• How to spawn and possess bots
• How to hide the player HUD
• How to use Material Instances
• How to use remote events
• How to use Dynamic Trigger and Physics volumes

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May 18, 2012
Category: UDK

UDK: Cinematics Introduction - 2 Part Series

Following article was written and contributed by Pete Bottomley.
Pete is a co-founder of White Paper Games.

UDK: Cinematics Introduction - 2 Part Series

In this Cinematics tutorial we will show you how to set up your scene ready for a cinematic along with go into all the Kismet actions and events you may need. We will also take a more in-depth look at Matinee how and how use it to power our cinematic.

In this Cinematics video you'll learn:

• How to use more features of Matinee
• How to use new tracks such as Event, Slowmo and Fade
• How to handle more than one camera in a scene
• How to teleport the player
• How to use Animsets and CameraAnims
• How to use Cinematic toggles

Continue Reading/Watching Part 1/2...

Continue Reading/Watching Part 2/2...

April 27, 2012
Category: UDK

UDK: Bools - Puzzle Design and Interaction

Following article was written and contributed by Pete Bottomley.
Pete is a co-founder of White Paper Games.

This tutorial was created to give you a basic understanding of how to use Bools in interesting ways. We've created a setup for a puzzle where we can rotate large wheels into place to get a specific order. This type of setup could be used where you might have images that you have to align in a sequence to fire off an event.
In this Bools video you'll learn:

• How to use Bools in interesting ways
• Use Logs to test your progress
• Compare bool states
• Add backup sequences
• Create a continuous Matinee

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April 11, 2012
Category: UDK

Game World of Dear Esther

Game Worlds series is focused on providing you with ideas, inspiration and game screenshot references.

Over a weekend I wanted to play something. I wanted to have an experience, to explore and admire the world without having to worry about enemies, long playing times or leveling up.

I chose Dear Esther to provide that for me.

Dear Esther started off as a mod for Half-Life 2. Then it became a stand-alone downloadable game on Steam. I remember seeing the screenshots of caves chapter and was in awe what Source Engine could pull off.

Dear Esther isn't so much of a game. There are no enemies, no way to die and no objectives. Your character can't even jump. There is only one button mouse to be used, and it zooms in.

Below are screenshots that were taken along my journey in the game.

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March 31, 2012
Category: Game Worlds

UDK: Spawning Bots Final Touches - Part 3/3

Following article was written and contributed by Pete Bottomley.
Pete is a co-founder of White Paper Games.

In the final part to the AI setup we will do a bit of house-keeping to keep things organised and give the player some more direction about what to do in this situation.

In this AI video you'll learn:

• How to attach actions to events
• Display Bots name
• Change difficulty of Bot
• Use logs to display additional information

Continue Reading/Watching...

March 26, 2012
Category: UDK

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