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Unreal 2 editor

Unreal2 seems to vanish more and more too. Time to put it up here :)
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Skaarj Dorian88
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Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

Hi All

I have the Anthology version Unreal 2 and wanted to play around with the Unreal Editor in Unreal 2. I am stuck on a few things in the editor especially with creating terrain. It is a bit different to other Unreal game editors. Are there any tutorials for this editor version? I can't seem to find any videos. :)
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Hellkeeper »

The terrain editor works exactly like in UnrealEd 3.0 from UT2003/2004.
The only exception is that the heightmap cannot be created "on the fly" in the editor. You have to make one outside.
What this means is that you have to created a greyscale texture, import it, set it as your heightmap in your TerrainInfo and then, in the TerrainEditingTool, convert it to 16-bits.
I had a tutorial on my website for this, but it's currently down, so I'll run you though the basic steps. I assume you are used to creating terrains with UT2003/4.

Create your empty cube, add the usual zoneinfo with bTerrainZone = true.
Add your TerrainInfo.
At this point, everything you can do to your TerrainInfo will crash the editor. This includes moving it. One the TerrainInfo appears in your 3d viewport, do not use the viewports anymore until I say you can.
Open the Texture Browser and import an heightmap. This should be a greyscale texture with usual and additional limitations: size has to be a power of 2, the texture has to be square.
Once the texture is imported, open your TerrainInfo's properties by clicking the Open Actor Properties button (do not double-click the actor in the viewports).
Under TerrainInfo, in the TerrainMap field, add your newly imported texture. Rebuild the map, you can now use your viewports.
The TerrainEditingTool will then work just like in UT2003 and 2004, with two important exceptions:
1) It might crash randomly for no apparent reason. Save often.
2) You will not be able to alter the terrain's geometry (ie: the heightmap) with the sculpting tools such as Flatten, Painting, Smooth, etc. In order to have these tools work, you have to open the TerrainEditingTool, right-click on the Heightmap and select "Convert to 16-bit". This is supposed to turn your heightmap into a G16 texture which is 16-bit greyscale. However, this does not seem to always work. I suspect it can only change textures which are in specific formats. BMP seems not to work, so if the conversion fails to make any change, try with an imported .pcx heightmap.

Alternatively, and this would be my recommandation, you can skip this whole thing by creating an heightmap of the desired size in UT2003/4 through the usual process, leave it blank, export it to your desktop and import it into Unreal2. It will work fine and provided you don't crash the editor by mishandling the TerrainInfo, it will work flawlessly without the hassle of creating it with a separate tool and searching for formats which are OK with being turned into G16.

If you don't understand something, if you've never used UnrealEd 3.0 for UT2003/4 or if you need more details about anything, just ask, I'll be more than happy to pour pages and pages of explanations upon your head, I love this editor. :)
Last edited by Hellkeeper on Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

The terrain editor works exactly like in UnrealEd 3.0 from UT2003/2004.
The only exception is that the heightmap cannot be created "on the fly" in the editor. You have to make one outside.
What this means is that you have to created a greyscale texture, import it, set it as your heightmap in your TerrainInfo and then, in the TerrainEditingTool, convert it to 16-bits.
I had a tutorial on my website for this, but it's currently down, so I'll run you though the basic steps. I assume you are used to creating terrains with UT2003/4.
Actually I have not used the 2003/2004 editors yet. I have only used the Unreal 1 editor, UT3 editor and a bit in the editor for UT4 alpha. I will follow your instructions anyway. At the moment I am still working on the heightmap. :)
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

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Alright then. I don't know how similar the TerrainEditingTool in UE3/UE4 are to this one, so here are the general principles:
You crate a large empty cube to contain the entire terrain, add a zoneinfo and change bTerrainZone to true in its parametes.
Then, open the TerrainEditingTool, create a new heightmap from scratch (there's a specific button for that), with a size in powers of two. By default, each quad (set of 2 triangles) in the terrain is 64 units wide, so you usually input a size which is the size of your cube/64, but the size of the quads can be altered afterwards, so it's a matter of how many polygons you want more than a matter of size.
Then you use the tool to add layers, decolayers and shape your terrain.
In Unreal2 you cannot create the heightmap from scratch so you have to import it. Once it's imported, you can use all the usual tools to shape the terrain, add layers and decolayers (add lights to your map first as a bug makes the terrain always display in Dynamic Light mode).

Here's a basic tutorial on how to make a map for UT2003/4. Unreal 2 works the same once you have a heightmap in. My suggestion it to make the heightmap in UT2003/4 and then import it and work on it in U2.
Last edited by Hellkeeper on Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

Umn, what should I save/export the heightmap file as before I import it?  :-/[reason]grammar[/reason]
Last edited by massale1 on Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Hellkeeper »

Any format that supports 8-bits greyscale. BMP works, but it might have trouble converting to G16 in the editor. If your image editor supports it, try pcx. Basically, any format UnrealEd accepts is fine, as long as you can set it as 8-bits greyscale.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

OK. I saved it as pcx extension and imported it into the texture browser. Just so you know I put it in the 343T package and Asset group. Is that OK? Also i didn't do anything with the other import options just left it as is.

I noticed the texture pop up in the browser but the name changed to TEXTURE ALPHACLOUD [dxt3]. Is that normal?[reason]Add another sentence[/reason]
Last edited by massale1 on Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

I have a problem. When I try to search for my texture in the TerrainMap section in the TerrainInfoProperties the editor crashes. :-/
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

I have a problem. When I try to search for my texture in the TerrainMap section in the TerrainInfoProperties the editor crashes.  :-/
Never mind I fixed this problem. I just had to select the texture outside in the browser first and click use. :)
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

Umm... Am I suppose to be able to see the heightmap once I select it in the TerrainMap field in the TerrainInfoProperties and build the map? Cause nothing is appearing. :-/
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Hellkeeper »

First, when importing the texture, do not put it into any existing package as this modifies the original packages from the game.
Either create a new package by using a new package name, or (this is recommended), input "MyLevel" as the package. This stores the texture inside the map file instead of an external package, which is preferable for level-specific things like heightmaps. Afterwards, not save the MyLevel package: it is saved when you save the map.

As for seing the terrain, it cannot be seen as long as you haven't added at least one layer to the terrain (a layer is nothing more than a texture) as there is nothing to display on the geometry. Set your 3d viewport to Wireframe mode. If everything has been done correctly so far, you should see the huge meshing of your terrain.
Once rebuilt, adding a layer will make your terrain pop up.
Last edited by Hellkeeper on Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

Damn! I already saved it into an existing package and it wont let me delete it from that package either. Says it is still in use even though I removed it from the TerrainInfoProperties.

Imported it again in Package 'MyLevel'. Also how do you use the texture once it is saved in the 'MyLevel' Package? Been trying to figure it out for a while, esp within the TerrainInfoProperties. :-/[reason]Add another paragraph[/reason]
Last edited by massale1 on Fri Nov 10, 2017 1:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by makemeunreal »

Open "MyLevel" in the texture browser.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

I think I am having serious problems with the generic browser. I tried just to import into a new package and save it using this guide:

https://wiki.beyondunreal.com/Legacy:Le ... er_Package

And it still wont work. Both methods don't seem to work. It is like the generic browser isn't registering that I want to import a texture into a new package or in the map itself. It is driving me insane. :-/
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

Never mind I fixed this problem as well. I checked the editor log file and it said the texture wasn't a power of two and I thought it was. So I resized the image again and used one of the dimensions I got from the Beyond Wiki  Terrain guide.

The log file also said there was a corrupt texture. Dont know what to do about that.  :)[reason]Spelling Mistake[/reason]
Last edited by massale1 on Sat Nov 11, 2017 7:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

Do you have to put your terrain inside a square cube room? Cause I am having problems with the heightmap. It is not showing in wireframe mode and I cant edit it. I converted the heightmap to 16bit too.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Hellkeeper »

The shape or size of the room doesn't matter. All that matter is that in the room where your TerrainInfo is, you also added a Zoneinfo with bTerrainZone=true. Otherwise, the terrain won't be displayed.
Then you have to rebuild your map. The terrain will still not show up until you add a first layer to be used as a texture on the terrain.

If you did everything correctly and the terrain doesn't show up, there is still a possibility: since your heightmap's colour defines the default altitude, the terrain might be floating very high above or under the TerrainInfo's height level. This is caused by having an heightmap which is too dark or too bright, moving all vertices up or down by default. In the top viewport, press the T key, which toggles the rendering of terrains. If nothing shows up, then something hasn't been set up properly and your terrain does not exist. Check the Zoneinfo and your default layer.

To add a default layer, open the TerrainEditingTool, select your heightmap, open the Layers tab, open your texture browser, choose a default ground texture and right-click on the first empty layer slot and create a new layer. There, you'll have to input the usual package (MyLevel), group and name of the layer (put whatever you want), a size in AlphaHeight and AlphaWidth (you must put the same size as your heightmap) and an alphafill.
For the first layer of your terrain, set the alphafill to A=0, B=255, R=255, G=255. This is white. This insures it will be displayed everywhere by default.
For all the next layers, put A=255 and the three other values to 0.
Last edited by Hellkeeper on Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

Something is happening in the terrain editor now. I have those yellow lines popping up in my perspective view inside the cube when I move the mouse around. Sometimes I get a red dot on the cursor in certain areas within the cube. Guess it was a little slow to react.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

Ok. I added a default layer now and I can see it now. Also I think I have that heightmap problem you mentioned. :)

The terrain seems to be going through the floor of my cube room quite a way down. I positioned the TerrainInfoActor quite a fair way up in the cube. I think I will create another heightmap in UT2004 editor just in case for export.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

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Something is happening in the terrain editor now. I have those yellow lines popping up in my perspective view inside the cube when I move the mouse around. Sometimes I get a red dot on the cursor in certain areas within the cube. Guess it was a little slow to react.
That was the TerrainEditingTool's brush.

The problem with the terrain being far underneath the TerrainInfo is common. It's usually position 32768 units too low. Simply select the VertexEdit tool, move a couple of vertices up to the level of the TerrainInfo, then use the flatten tool to level the entire heightmap.
To do this, select the VertexEdit tool, CTRL+Click anywhere on your terrain. All vertices under the brush will take various shades of white and grey depending on their distance to the center of the brush (the red vertex). CTRL+drag the mouse with both buttons pressed to move the vertices vertically. Move them until they're more or less level with the TerrainInfo or slightly underneath.
Then take the Flatten tool, CTRL+Click on a vertex which is at the correct altitude and move your mouse. All vertices your brush passes will be instantly leveled to the height of the vertex you originally clicked. Flatten your entire terrain and it will be fine. You can use a gigantic brush for this, as only the height of the single vertex you click first will be taken into account.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

Ok. I get it now. Vertex Editing is for moving the position of the terrain and flattern shrinks the terrain size. I actually like smooth better for shrinking the terrain and I will use flatten to shrink any smoothed terrain to make the top flat if I want to afterwards.

I managed to get the terrain to fit inside the box now. Now I can just sculpt it how I like.

:)
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Hellkeeper »

Glad it finally works as you want. :)
Remember that the terrain is always displayed in Dynamic Light mode, so you have to put either lights or a sunlight, unless you simply add some zonelight in the zoneinfo, otherwise it will be pitch black.
I don't know what you mean by "shrink" though, you can't change the terrain's size.

As for the tools, Vertex Editing is useful to move vertices manually, but you can also sculpt the terrain with the painting. Select the painting tool and select your heightmap in the TerrainEditingTool, then paint with CTRL+Click to paint mountains or CTRL+Right click to paint chasms. In all cases, you will indeed need to use the smooth tool to make everything better once it's been roughly sculpted.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

I didn't know that about the painting tool. I though it just painted as it implied. I did not know it sculpted as well. There are some other tools I am not sure what they do either such as the Noise tool and Visibility tool and Edge Turn tool.

I am using wireframe mode in perspective view at the moment cause everything is to dark in dynamic lighting mode.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

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Several tools work differentely depending on if you use them with a heightmap or a layer selected.

As for the tools you mentioned: Noise moves all vertices underneath the brush slightly up or down, giving the terrain a jagged appearances. With a sunlight casting shadows, it gives some texture to otherwise flat surfaces. If you use them with a layer, it will apply random patches of the selected textures over the desired surfaces.

Visibility allows you to turn off and on some parts of the terrain: CTRL+Right click makes everything it touches invisible, allowing you to optimize your terrain by deactivating parts which can never be seen (such as parts behind a mountain you can't walk around or the part under a huge building). CTRL+Click turns any invisible triangle back on.

Edge Turn is a technical tool. As you can see in wireframe mode, the terrain is composed of many sets of 2 triangles arranged as a squares. These are called "quads" and they appear as squares with a diagonal line going through them. The diagonal line is the hypotenuse of the two triangles composing the quad. By default, all quads are similar as the diagonal line runs north-west to south-east.
Sometimes, when sculpting steep slopes or cliffs, the edges of the triangles will begin to show and this will manifest as a series of square "teeth" on your terrain that are very hard to hide.

Image

The Edge Turn tool solves this problem by turning the quads to which it is applied, so that the diagonal runs north-east to south-west.

Image

It's a specific tool for a specific issue and shouldn't be useful to you as a beginner.
Last edited by Hellkeeper on Wed Nov 15, 2017 9:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Unreal 2 editor

Post by Skaarj Dorian88 »

I wasn't going to use the edge turn tool anyway, just wanted to know what it was. I have added a sunlight Actor now too. Also when it comes to making caves and tunnels and I need to cut a space in the terrain, how should I do it? Not sure whether to subtract or add or neither since the terrain is already inside a subtracted cube room.
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