Unreal v227 Manual/New mod authoring tools
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| Unreal v227 Manual |
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| Main page • New maps and items • New menu options • Video renderers • Audio renderers • Server admin tools • New mod authoring tools • Frequently Asked Questions |
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Here we're going to take a look at the new features introduced by the v227 patch regarding mod authoring and editing.
UnrealEd 2.0
Introduction and history
UnrealEd 2.0 is the second version of UnrealEd. Unreal being the first game to use the Unreal Engine (in it's very first iteration) the included editor, UnrealEd (1.0), by the original developers' own admission, was an unsupported beta software developed in Visual Basic. The lack of certain tools prevented level-designers to achieve complex maps.
UnrealEd 2.0, originally introduced for UT99, is a rebuilt editor written in C++ later ported back to Unreal by Smirftsch in order to provide better tools for the community. Subsequent releases of patch 227, with extra involvement from the OldUnreal community, heavily improved the tools, stability and ease of use enough to deem it an almost different version: UnrealEd 2.1, similar in its looks, but significantly improved, with many bugs corrected, new functions and overall better stability.
UnrealEd 2.0 was introduced in Unreal by Patch 227f and replaced by UnrealEd 2.1 in 227h. All information on UnrealEd 2.0 works with 2.1, except for most known bugs and problems which have been fixed. UnrealEd 2 refers collectively to UnrealEd 2.0 and 2.1.
Interface
The interface was completely redesigned from UnrealEd 1.0 and is a lot more polished. First, the Browser isn't a sidebar anymore, but a set of dockable windows. When a browser is docked, it can be accessed from other docked windows without opening a new browser, keeping everything at hand. Only the main buttons have been kept on the left side, and the width of this sidebar reduced to two icons. This leaves plenty of extra space for the viewports themselves. These viewports are configurable, lockable and can be set to cover the entire screen if needed. The interface is very easy to configure and very comfortable, and was reused with almost no changes in UnrealEd 3.0 (the version that shipped with Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004) and 4.0 (the version that shipped with Unreal Tournament 3) on later engines.
Features
Among other things, UnrealEd 2 features a Vertex Editing tool which greatly increases the possibilities for designers by allowing them to move not only one vertex at a time but as many as they want.
The 2D shape editor is no longer a buggy beta implementation and can be used to create almost any shape without problems.
One notable feature is the possibility to use OpenGL and several versions of Direct3D rendering in the 3D viewport, which means you won't get surprised by how a map looks in the game compared to what the software rendering shows, as was sometimes the case in UnrealEd 1.0. Although the D3D implementations are not fully supported and might not be fully working, especially if you're using and ATI graphic card, they can be used without a lot of troubles. From 227g onwards, the OpenGL support is fully stable and supported.
Plug-Ins
Though there is no "plug-in" as you might know, UnrealEd 2.0 and 2.1 can both be enhanced and expanded by adding new buttons, new functions, new tools. On the provided screenshot at the top of the page, you may notice purple builder brushes. These are custom builder brushes, the Tarquin tools. A lot of tools have been created over time for UT99's UnrealEd 2.0 and are completely compatible with Unreal 227's UnrealEd 2.1: Quick camera alignment, new stairs builders, round shape creator, easy Skybox, etc...
FAQ
Are we locked to Software Rendering on the Editor? Is there a possibility to use a more advanced renderer?
Yep. The Texture Browser in UED2 uses the renderer defined in Unreal.ini, option WindowedRenderDevice in [Engine.Engine]. In order to switch it to OpenGL for better previews, set in Unreal.ini:
[Engine.Engine]
WindowedRenderDevice=OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice
If I don't like UnrealEd 2.x, can I switch back to 1.0 UnrealEd? For that matter, can I have both editors at the same time?
No, UnrealEd 2.1 automatically replaces UnrealEd 1.0. Though it has been used for more than 10 years now for Unreal, UnrealEd 1.0 is really lagging behind in features, crashes a lot more, and as a rule, is a lot less efficient than UnrealEd 2.0 and 2.1. Despite this, some people may not want to change their habits, preferring to keep UnrealEd 1.0. In this case, you will have to keep a second installation of Unreal in it's 226 version (or before).
Further reading (Wiki only section)
Help & Tutorials
A lot of articles and tutorials have been written for UnrealEd 2.0 by the very large UT99 community, but over the years, much of this content has been lost.
- This wiki has some tutorials about the new features introduced by the 227 patch !
- Some tutorials by Hourences can be found at the bottom of his page.
- Drac Has a complete set of tutorials for everything concerning Ued 2.0.
- Lode might be useful, especially his famous light tutorials.
Unfortunately, as they moved to newer versions of the Unreal Engine, a lot of writers just dropped their UEd 2.0 tutorials. In case you need more help, explanations or advice on how to do a particular thing or how to use a tool, ask on the OldUnreal forums.