UDK: How to Add Player Starts, PathNodes, Weapons, Items, Vehicles and JumpPads

Category: UDK

February 08, 2012

The following tutorial is the first tutorial out of a 3-part series. I will cover gameplay entities, setting up Deathmatch, TeamDeathmatch and Capture the Flag gametypes using UDK.

In this first part we'll start with the necessary gameplay elements which will lead into setting up gametypes.

The following tutorial covers how to add:

Player Starts
PathNodes
Weapons
Items
Vehicles
JumpPads

If you are looking for gametype specific tutorials, you can find them below:

HOW TO GET THE WEAPON BACK

In more recent versions of UDK, when you test in editor you will not find a hud or the weapon displayed. To get the weapon and hud back is very simple.

Go to View -> World Properties:

Find Game Type tab. By default it will be set to None. In the drop down menu set it to anything that has UT prefix. Now if you jump into the game you will see the weapon and hud.

You can also set Game Type For PIE. PIE stands for Play Inside Editor. You can test various gametypes inside the editor without having to set up game specific properties. This allows for quick testing in the editor.

ADDING PLAYER STARTS

There are two different player starts you should be aware of. Regular and UT Team.

If you Right click in perspective viewport Add Actor -> Add PlayerStart, this will add a regular player start that can be used for Deathmatch and TeamDeathmatch map types.

For vCTF/CTF maps you have to use UTTeamPlayerStart.

You can find UTTeamPlayerStart under Actor Classes under Common. We'll set these up for each team in the vCTF tutorial. But knowing which one you need to use will save you time right now.

Once you select it in the Actor Classes, you can right click in perspective viewport and add it into your map.

ADDING PATHNODES

PathNodes are bot waypoints. You need these all over your map to tell the bots where to go and how to navigate your map.

Once you have placed player starts, weapons, pathnodes, make sure you Build Paths.

ADDING VEHICLES

To add vehicles, open Actor Classes tab and navigate down to Vehicles. Open that up and choose the vehicle you want to place. Select it first.

Right click in perspective viewport and add the vehicle.

Test it inside the editor.

ADDING ITEMS

You can add variety of items such as ammo, armor or health. Open Actor Classes and under Pickups you will find what you need. Select what you want.

Right click and add the item.

ADDING WEAPONS

Adding weapons can be done the same way as items. You have a choice of two actors inside weapons category.

UTWeaponLocker_Content: multiple weapons will be added to player's inventory.

UTWeaponPickupFactory: single weapon will be added to player's inventory.

Once you place UTWeaponPickupFactory, double click on the actor and open its properties. In the UTWeapon Pickup Factory section, use the drop down menu to select which weapon you want to spawn.

Once you place UTWeaponPickupLocker_Content, double click on the actor and open its properties. In the UTWeapon Locker section, click on the plus icon to add an entry to add the weapon. There are currently three weapons in default UDK. You can add up to three, which will spawn when player uses UTWeaponPickupLocker_Content.

ADDING JUMPPADS

JumpPads are really cool in UT maps. They allow players to be catapulted in higher areas within the map. Adding dynamic gameplay element.

To add a JumpPad, first you will need to place a PathNode where the player will land. The arrival location.

Next open up Actor Classes and under navigation select UTJumpPad.

Right click and add it into your map.

Double click on the UTJumpPad to open its properties. Jump Target needs to be set to the PathNode. This will complete the link and let the JumpNode know where to catapult the player to.