UnrealEd
UnrealEd 3.0 viewing the Unreal Tournament 2004 map "Face 3".
Developer:	Epic Games Digital Extremes
Latest release:	3.0 / October 2002
OS:	Microsoft Windows
Genre:	level editor
Website:	http://udn.epicgames.com/

UnrealEd (UEd for short) is the level editor used to create levels for Unreal. It can also be used for other games in the Unreal series, and games based on the Unreal engine, such as Deus Ex, although it has changed along with the engine for later games. Non-Unreal games use their own version of basically the same program. One of the first companies to do this with first person shooters,^[1] all Unreal games on the PC had the level editor included for free, and some third party Unreal engine games did the same with an edited and specialized version. This extended the longevity of the games. Amateur level designers could now create their own levels for the game, providing a near endless amount of additional content for the game. In addition, the built-in scripting language called UnrealScript allowed for editors to customize game content. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 249 KB)UnrealEd 3. ... Unreal Tournament 2004, also known as UT2004 or UT2K4, is a futuristic first-person shooter computer game designed primarily for online multiplayer gaming. ... Software development is the translation of a user need or marketing goal into a software product. ... Epic Games, also known as Epic and formerly as Epic MegaGames, is a computer game development company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. ... Digital Extremes is a Canadian computer and video video game developer founded in 1993 by James Schmalz, specifically noted for its part in the highly successful Unreal series of games. ... A software release is the distribution, whether public or private, of an initial or new and upgraded version of a computer software product. ... // An operating system (OS) is the software that manages the sharing of the resources of a computer. ... Windows redirects here. ... Computer software can be organized into categories based on common function, type, or field of use. ... Sandbox Editor for Crysis UnrealEd is the level editor for Epics Unreal series of first-person shooters. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Sandbox Editor for Crysis UnrealEd is the level editor for Epics Unreal series of first-person shooters. ... In computer and video games, a level (sometimes called a stage, course, episode, round, world, map, wave, board, phase, or landscape) is a separate area in a games virtual world, in modern games typically representing a specific location such as a building or a city. ... Unreal is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Epic Games and published by GT Interactive (now owned by Atari) on May 22, 1998. ... The Unreal series is a computer game franchise that began with the original Unreal, a single-player first-person shooter computer game which was published on May 30th 1998 by Epic Megagames, now known as Epic Games. ... The Unreal Engine is a widely-used game engine developed by Epic Games. ... This article is about the video game. ... A first-person shooter (FPS) is a computer or video game where the players on-screen view of the game world simulates that of the character, and there is some element of shooting involved. ... A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals. ... Sandbox Editor for Crysis UnrealEd is the level editor for Epics Unreal series of first-person shooters. ... A level designer is a person who creates levels, challenges or missions for computer and/or video games using a specific set of programs. ... Scripting languages (commonly called scripting programming languages or script languages) are computer programming languages that are typically interpreted and can be typed directly from a keyboard. ... UnrealScript is the scripting language of the Unreal engine and is used for authoring game code and gameplay events. ...

UnrealEd has a customizable user interface, but the most common is the quad viewports with the top view in the top left, then, moving clockwise, the front view, the side view, and the perspective view. It has a row of buttons along the top pertaining to various options such as save, open, and rebuild, and a series of buttons to the left of the viewports which access editing functions. The user interface is the part of a system exposed to users. ...

Versions

The logo of UnrealEd V3.0

With the various Unreal games, UnrealEd itself has seen many different versions. Unreal shipped with UnrealEd 1.0, which displayed most of the editing tools on a single large left bar adjacent to the four viewports. This version was extremely buggy, particularly while rebuilding maps. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Unreal is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Epic Games and published by GT Interactive (now owned by Atari) on May 22, 1998. ... A software bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from behaving as intended (e. ...

Unreal Tournament also shipped with UnrealEd 1.0, and UnrealEd 2.0 being added in a later game patch. The editor underwent a major visual change from the previously colourful buttons to a more subdued green scheme. New tools and features were added (such as search capabilities and a new 2D Shape Editor), and it also underwent a significant stability upgrade, and though the editor still had its share of strange crashes, it wasn't nearly as particular as UEd 1.0. Unreal Tournament, abbreviated UT, (sometimes referred to as UT99, UT Classic, UT1, or UT:GOTY to differentiate from Unreal Tournament 2003, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Unreal Tournament 3) is a popular first-person shooter video game. ... Look up stability in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Upgrade on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Upgrading is the process of replacing an older thing with a newer thing. ... A crash in computing is a condition where a program (either an application or part of the operating system) stops performing its expected function and also stops responding to other parts of the system. ...

Bundled with Unreal Tournament 2003 was UnrealEd 3, with further increased stability. It maintained the green colours, and looks virtually identical to UEd 2.0. The editor added a static mesh browser to support static meshes (known as "hardware brushes" during development), and combined the various browsers into a single browser with tabs to switch between textures, meshes, actors, etc.. This is the current version of UnrealEd. Unreal Tournament 2003 or UT2003 is a first-person shooter video game designed mainly for multiplayer gaming although the game had a built in single-player mode that mimics multiplayer gaming by featuring AI-bots. ... Spherical texture mapping Texture mapping is a method, pioneered by Edwin Catmull, of adding detail, surface texture, or colour to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. ...

Future versions of UnrealEd will be fully backwards compatible with content developed under previous versions.

Basic premise

UnrealEd operates on the concept of brushes. Brushes can be primitive shapes (such as cubes, spheres & cones), pre-defined shapes (such as staircases), or custom shapes (such as prisms and other polyhedrons). Using CSG operations, complex rooms and objects can be created by adding, subtracting and intersecting brushes to and from one another. Additive brushes can be solids, semisolids or nonsolids. This article is about the geometric shape. ... The light cycles from the movie Tron were constructed using Constructive Solid Geometry Constructive solid geometry (CSG) is a technique used in solid modeling. ...

UnrealEd treats the world as a giant mass. In order to create space, brushes are subtracted from the mass, thereby hollowing out space to walk in. Conversely, the addition of mass creates solid space within the hollowed space. A level is built with a mixture of subtracted and added brushes. The solid, semisolid, or nonsolid denotation of an added brush imbues distinct qualities to the brush: levels may then be created that have complex features and properties. Brushes may also intersect or deintersect, along with being added or subtracted from the 3D virtual space. 3D computer graphics are different from 2D computer graphics in that a three-dimensional representation of geometric data is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. ...

In addition, brushes may be movable or special brushes: such a denotation gives game designers, level designers, and level editors the ability to create moving objects within a game. These special types of brushes may be used to create waterfalls, elevators, flying carpets, doors, drawbridges, and many other types of dynamic objects. Zones can be denoted within the various brushes -- after the brush has "sculpted" an area of space within the virtual 3D environment (or level) -- effectively creating wet zones, sky zones, dry zones, or fog zones. In this way, lakes or pools can be created, interiors of buildings or exterior terrain and landscapes. Day or night may be created, through the use of "skyboxes" and other tools in the editor. Weather may be assigned to various levels or zones, allowing such features as snow, rain, or clear weather. 3D computer graphics are different from 2D computer graphics in that a three-dimensional representation of geometric data is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. ...

The basic process of CSG operations within UnrealEd is markedly different from other computer game editors that treat the world as a giant space, such as Quake and Quake II game level editors. In those and similar game editors, brushes are initially added to the vacant space within the game's 3D environment in order to create virtual terrain and architecture within the level currently being edited. Both subtractive-based computer game editors (such as UnrealEd) or additive-based computer game editors (such as Qoole) may each produce stunning 3D computer graphics for the gameplayer. Yet, each type of editor functions in nearly diametrically-opposed manners. Each type of level editor has its own advantages and disadvantages. The subtractive-based computer game editor, such as UnrealEd, was developed after the additive-based computer game editor, such as Qoole -- or earlier manifestations of such level editors. The light cycles from the movie Tron were constructed using Constructive Solid Geometry Constructive solid geometry (CSG) is a technique used in solid modeling. ... Zombies attacking the player at the starting of Episode 1, Mission 3: The Necropolis. ... Quake II, released on December 6, 1997, is a first person shooter computer game developed by id Software and distributed by Activision. ... 3D computer graphics are different from 2D computer graphics in that a three-dimensional representation of geometric data is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. ... 3D computer graphics are different from 2D computer graphics in that a three-dimensional representation of geometric data is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. ...

In UnrealEd, brushes are used to compile a level into a BSP Tree for rendering and collision detection. Unfortunately, as levels become more complicated they are prone to BSP errors, resulting in visual and collision anomalies. There are several types of BSP errors: BSP holes and hall of mirrors are two common forms. BSP errors can be very difficult to correct. This is partially why the use of Static Meshes was introduced in the Unreal 2 Engine. Binary space partitioning (BSP) is a method for recursively subdividing a space into convex sets by hyperplanes. ...

Static Meshes are pre-created geometry, created in software such as Maya or 3D Studio Max, that can be imported and positioned within levels. Although a level's foundation and basic layout is still built using brushes, Static Meshes can be used to create complex, intricate architecture that brushes are too coarse to emulate. Because Static Meshes are loaded into memory only once, even if used multiple times throughout a level, they are a more efficient way of using computer resources. Along with the fact that they can be considered as prefabs, Unreal Tournament 3 will feature static meshes almost exclusively. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... 3D Studio Max (name changed to 3DS Max, also sometimes called 3dsm, or just Max) is a 3D modeler developed by Autodesk Media & Entertainment (formerly known as Discreet and Kinetix). ... Unreal Tournament 3 or UT3 is a first-person shooter video game, part of the Unreal series, and the sequel to 2004s Unreal Tournament 2004. ...

There is a common missconception of static meshes. People often think that making small pieces and reusing them in many meshes or subdividing meshes in small reusable polygons will lead to less memomry usage. In fact that will lead to much more polygons being drawn and thus, much more rendering overdrawn.

Building designers adopt UnrealEd

In an effort to provide realtime walkthroughs of their proposed buildings, with gravity and impact detection, building designers have begun to build models inside UnrealEd to test out their ideas. By allowing the public to pretest a building, a better result can evolve prior to construction. One problem persists however, which is the conversion of element sizes from design programs such as Autocad and 3DSmax into UnrealEd.

External links

• Unreal Developer Network, Epic's own website on editing the Unreal engine
• UnrealWiki, containing hundreds of articles on UnrealEd
• Hourences' tutorials

Notes