Book Image

Unreal Development Kit Beginner's Guide

By : Richard Moore
Book Image

Unreal Development Kit Beginner's Guide

By: Richard Moore

Overview of this book

Unreal Development Kit (UDK) is the free version of the award-winning Unreal Engine 3. It is used to create a wide variety of games ranging from amateur to professional standard next generation AAA titles. This book will show you exactly how to create an enjoyable and immersive game environment using the UDK. You will learn how to implement, level design, lighting, environmental effects, movement, terrain, map creation, item placement, kismet, materials and complex event sequences. You will work through the level design process from navigating round the editor to learning how to develop a fully playable environment. You will quickly master all of the engine’s key tools that are accessible through Unreal Engine 3. You will then start putting together your first level using step-by-step instructions. Next we will implement real world features such as dynamic lighting and shadows, particle effects, physics, terrain, item placement and advanced AI/bot pathing. Finally you will learn how to use UDK’s cutting edge high level scripting. By the end of this book you will be equipped with the skills to create an entertaining and imaginative game world.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Unreal Development Kit 3
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Pop Quiz Answers
Index

Time for action – placing lights and a player start


In this section, we'll be placing actors, so we'll be mostly working in the 3D view. Close the Geometry tools window, click on the Camera Mode button, and save your work. First we'll place a light. It is easy—right-click on the ground, then click on Add Actor | Add Light (Point).

The light should appear where you clicked. Go to Lit mode, and you'll see your room appear with lighting now, though it looks a little strange, since the light is right on the floor.

Move the light up from the floor so it's in the middle of the room. You can also increase or decrease the light's radius using the Scale tool. Give it a try.

The last thing we need to do before we run is to Bake Lighting . Right now the light is calculated dynamically, which is expensive and unnecessary. If we bake it, it calculates texture maps for any light and shadows in the scene, which is much cheaper. Click on the Build Lighting tool that is right next to Build Geometry. The default...