Epic Games & MapCore's Unreal Tournament Level Design Contest Discussion

    Is there a plan to have any kind of organized public playtesting? It would be awesome if we could set up some times and test the gameplay of phase 1 submissions. Given that somebody can provide a server

    Wonder if I'll be able to do anything, 11h work yesterday, was too tired to draft anything. Now dunno if I'll have enough time to cobble up something ?

    Quote from blackdog

    5 hours ago, blackdog said: Wonder if I'll be able to do anything, 11h work yesterday, was too tired to draft anything. Now dunno if I'll have enough time to cobble up something ?

    Do it! Seriously though - if for no other reason than to get started on a level you actually want to finish out (even if you don't make it for the competition).

    I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this but I really don't know where to post it.


    I changed the name of my map archive and it suddenly dissappeared, when loading UE4 editor it says: "Failed to load map! ../../../UnrealTournament/Content/DM_Contest.umap appears to be an asset file." and then a black map appears. I've searched for some information about this on google but didn't find a solution...

    Any help there? It was almost ready for phase 1. I did the package file too but didn't make it work on UT4. Also I think I didn't have autosave on, don't know why.


    EDIT: I used a recover data program and found a file that has a size of 20MB (The broken one is 1KB) but still UE4 can't open it

    Quote from 2d-chris

    On 4/26/2016 at 5:47 PM, 2d-chris said: I've made a complete ctf shell in a little over a week ;) you can do it. I did 3 hours a day, everyday. The real hard work will be the meshing, now that takes time.

    If I had internet at home I would have tried :)

    Quote from Sigma

    7 hours ago, Sigma said: Do it! Seriously though - if for no other reason than to get started on a level you actually want to finish out (even if you don't make it for the competition).

    Yes, it is a motivator... keep in mind with Unreal tech I'm starting from zero, have a full time job totally outside computers (read: when I'm done for the day I'm pretty knacked most days) and I already have a project I'm pretty committed for an HL2 map.


    .oot selifpukcab sevas TU

    Quote from 2d-chris

    On 21/04/2016 at 3:42 AM, 2d-chris said: @blackdog here you go, I'm going to be working on this for a while so probably won't get the entire thing done before the phase 1 ends, so here is the first 3 hours. Final video I will probably give some commentary and music goodness, at this rate it will be about 4-6 hours of video at this speed.

    Presenting, the birth of ctf-mattdamon

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzw7AWhCJjc

    Hey thanks for the tips and a commentary version would be welcomed.

    When I first watched it the other day, I was thinking that this is the way I always saw mapping on Unreal tech is... the subtractive approach works the way I remember reading in the tutorials when I was mapping for HL... just at the time it is my understanding that every room had to be subtracted first: I remember some friends working on UT used to say "UT is better because you can't get leaks".

    Now both approaches are valid, guess smart choice to make it easier for people that are used to other tech. Anyway, something that I don't remember being addressed even in the basic tutorials Epic has posted on YT... the grid doesn't seem to matter as much: when resizing brushes the size is not displayed, and any video I've seen sizes seem to be eyeballed, contrary what many are used in Source that "basic room height is, basic set of steps is" etc. Is it something that is addressed when beautifying?

    In specific to your video I noticed that at the very beginning when you are creating the very first spawn perch, you subtract a brush, then instead of resizing it you just clone that brush. Dunno if I missed that you then resize and eliminate duplicates but I was thinking that doing so is annoying at later stages if you want to alter sizes. I ask also because in "the corridor project" tutorial videos I bought, the tutor creates a wall of a certain size and then duplicates it saying "I know the prop that will replace the wall is going to be of this size".

    Last silly question: funny name for the map, is that final or working name? :D

    I'm in a bit of a state at the moment but I know I'll get an answer here :)

    I got hospitalised today and I won't have access to my latest content until after the submission date, I do have a copy of the original metro map I worked on, I know we can evolve our shells in phase 2 but would it be possible to submit my old content for now and then push through with the new shell in phase 2?

    The new shell isn't a drastic change, it just works off subtractive methods instead of being solely additive, which has allowed for better refinement of paths I wanted to create.

    If I can't then no problem, I'll use the old shell and get it up to speed in phase 2.

    Quote from blackdog

    6 hours ago, blackdog said: Hey thanks for the tips and a commentary version would be welcomed.

    When I first watched it the other day, I was thinking that this is the way I always saw mapping on Unreal tech is... the subtractive approach works the way I remember reading in the tutorials when I was mapping for HL... just at the time it is my understanding that every room had to be subtracted first: I remember some friends working on UT used to say "UT is better because you can't get leaks".

    Now both approaches are valid, guess smart choice to make it easier for people that are used to other tech. Anyway, something that I don't remember being addressed even in the basic tutorials Epic has posted on YT... the grid doesn't seem to matter as much: when resizing brushes the size is not displayed, and any video I've seen sizes seem to be eyeballed, contrary what many are used in Source that "basic room height is, basic set of steps is" etc. Is it something that is addressed when beautifying?

    In specific to your video I noticed that at the very beginning when you are creating the very first spawn perch, you subtract a brush, then instead of resizing it you just clone that brush. Dunno if I missed that you then resize and eliminate duplicates but I was thinking that doing so is annoying at later stages if you want to alter sizes. I ask also because in "the corridor project" tutorial videos I bought, the tutor creates a wall of a certain size and then duplicates it saying "I know the prop that will replace the wall is going to be of this size".

    Last silly question: funny name for the map, is that final or working name? :D

    Stick to a 1m grid, it's very easy to measure by simply adding a new bsp box (default is 2m) and work from there. There is no need to copy an assets multiple times and then convert into a single one, only advantage of that is the automatic bsp update feature can get a bit laggy if you have too many separate parts, if it's a huge area made with duplicates of a subtractive brush, it pays to convert them into a single one, just so the map stays a bit cleaner to work with down the line. We have metrics map for gameplay scales, sometimes you gotta move down to 50cm grid, because jump up onto something is 1.5, just keep remembering to move back to 1m after you've worked on that part.

    It can be advantageous to use groups/prefabs or the same bsp brush over and over, it will definitely make meshing easier. UT levels are not 100% custom but are built modular with kit jamming.(some exceptions are made)

    Name is a joke, it's now called CTF-LostTomb but that will no doubt change if the map ever gets finished. It's just a name ;P

    Quote from TocaFita

    8 hours ago, TocaFita said: Just submitted the map for phase 1 :) i just didn't find any article about making the "minimap" when you choose the spawn point.

    That is being taken care of automatically by using the nav mesh. It makes sense to check this though because sometimes you have navigation data in places where it isn't needed and that is then redundant information on the mini-map.

    Quote from FRAG

    20 hours ago, FRAG said: I'm in a bit of a state at the moment but I know I'll get an answer here :)

    I got hospitalised today and I won't have access to my latest content until after the submission date, I do have a copy of the original metro map I worked on, I know we can evolve our shells in phase 2 but would it be possible to submit my old content for now and then push through with the new shell in phase 2?

    The new shell isn't a drastic change, it just works off subtractive methods instead of being solely additive, which has allowed for better refinement of paths I wanted to create.

    If I can't then no problem, I'll use the old shell and get it up to speed in phase 2.

    If you need to have something uploaded, it's fine seeing your predicament. However, I would prefer if you use the old shell in phase 2.

    Quote from Sprony

    5 minutes ago, Sprony said: If you need to have something uploaded, it's fine seeing your predicament. However, I would prefer if you use the old shell in phase 2.

    Yeah that's fine, will use the old shell in phase 2, thanks for replying @Sprony

    Well I am off for the weekend so hopefully my map works, its pretty dark in sections which isn't intended.I'm hoping for useful feedback for stage 2 :)

    Quote from FX

    On 28/4/2016 at 9:30 AM, FX said:

    Thanks for your help! Didn't seem to work so I ended up making the entire level from scratch again.


    Now I have issues packaging the map, when it ends the process it creates a 3KB file that (of course) doesn't work in UT4... Any tips? Am I missing something important in the World Settings of my map?


    [Blocked Image: https://i.gyazo.com/1c566bfe42a0ec23e07d1e7d8196d372.png]


    Sorry for newbie questions, It's my 1st time making a map for UT4

    EDIT: Ok It seems fixed now, I had some warnings on compiling navigation :D


    What editor are you using? The regular unreal editor or the unreal tournament editor?

    Make sure you save the work as DM-PowerPlant-V01 This way it will work with DM and you also have version number as you progress. Also make sure to name the title of your map in the world settings as Poerplant-01 and so on.. This way it will all match and cause less confusion for players and server admins.


    Secondly, do you have enough free hard drive space?

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!

Register Yourself Login