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Unreal Developer Kit - MASTER THREAD

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  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    Ok i think I just figured it out. It's extremely confusing though: all of a sudden an extra color grading system together with a tonemapper started working on top of the current color adjustment (high mid shadows), and this system is controlled in a package somewhere, or can be overriden in world properties, etc...
    This has got to be the most confusing thing I've encountered so far in Unreal :p Maybe something to take into account at Epic, Jordan. Or maybe try to make it clearer on the UDN docs; I read that but it didn't help much, it still took me 2-3 hours to figure this thing out.
  • JordanW
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    JordanW polycounter lvl 19
    we have a HDR tonemapper that can be enabled or disabled from the chain in the package

    The LUT is applied to the scene after the HDR tonemapper

    anything set in the highs mids and lows is baked into the LUT at realtime, this has to be done to support old content. We could have disregarded the highs mids and lows but previous level's settings would be lost as well as FX that manipulate post process through highs mids and lows.
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    yeah i understand backwards compatibility is always an issue for you guys.
    You know, now that I think about it, the part that makes the least sense for me, is how you need to go into existing content (UDKgame packages) and change that. I prefer to keep my own stuff completely separate from existing content, and the way post chains are used and implemented makes this impossible. Having to go into .INI files to start using my own chains, isn't very artist-friendly, which is what makes Unreal so great.
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    Hey another quick question;

    How do I control the amount of wind sway my Speedtrees have? Setting "Wind Strength" to 0.0 does nothing. Do I need to do this in Speedtree modeler ?
    it could be due to the fact I need to scale al my trees up by at least factor 5, but that's how they come out of the modeler by default...
  • JordanW
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    JordanW polycounter lvl 19
    i believe you have to edit it in the speedtree modeler.
  • MaD
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    MaD polycounter lvl 7
    JordanW on 05-20-2010 04:01 AM
    Also try twosided lighting checkbox on the actor in the level.

    Can you get into properties of a static mesh if it is a decolayer, since there's no 2 sided lighting checkbox in the deco properties.
  • JordanW
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    JordanW polycounter lvl 19
    erg i'm not sure, i hate to say I've never used deco layers.
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    Jordan, I think I've found a pretty serious bug.
    I'm trying to create a material that lerps between normals based on vertex colors. Problem is, Vertex colors seem to break as soon as I use a Vector Transform Node on my reflection vector.

    You can recreate it like this:
    -Use some static mesh and paint vertex colors on it.
    -Create a material with basic spec and diffuse color.
    -create a lerp between 2 different normalmaps, based on any vertex color channel and plug it in.
    -Create a cubemap node, use a reflection vector as UV, plug this in to diffuse (optionally mask it by fresnel).
    -Now use a Transform node in betweem the cubemap and the reflection vector.

    In my case this last step results in vertex channels always returning 1, UNLESS I use a Vertex color channel directly in the diffuse slot. Which renders the material useless.
  • r13
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    r13 founder
    I'm not so sure you found a bug as much as you found something it just won't do.
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    Unless it's some quirky shader model restriction, they don't really seem related. Having a single nodedestroy vertex color functionality doesn't sound right.
  • JordanW
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    JordanW polycounter lvl 19
    vertex colors dont work with a transform node unless you have per-pixel camera vector enabled. This is in the material options.

    there's a really long technical explanation for this but I'll just say there aren't enough interpolators to have vertex color and transform node so calculating the camera vector in the pixel shader frees up an interpolator.
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    Ah, great! That's just one of those options you never seem to need, good to hear it's such an easy fix.
    And yes I understand that sort of restrictions, once you try to enable a lot of functionality in shaders, it's not hard to encounter some of the shader model limits.
  • haiddasalami
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    haiddasalami polycounter lvl 14
    Just out of curiosity, how would one go around making the Xray effect that Batman has or when games have thermal vision. Would you handle it on the rendering side through UnrealScript?
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    SO the research I have done hasn't made it apparent. But can I do a circular array based off a static meshes rotation? then save as a prefab?

    I have a hemispheric object... Oh hell pictures are worth a thousand words.

    arraymesh.jpg


    The idea being.
    -Having a less poly intensive static mesh since some can be replicated.
    -Having a UV layout for AO burning in game with a much larger size per object versus an incredibly small layout for the AO uv lightmapping.

    If can do array then save as a prefab, then level designers job much easier.
  • ohnein
    Yes you can layout it like that and save it as a prefab. Probably the best solution anyway.
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    Where are the rotation replication array adjustments then for static meshes? (Array as in 3d Max "spin/replication" like array based on axis)

    Have no idea of what term to search for, so thus far haven't found anything specific to what I am after in the editor.
  • JordanW
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    JordanW polycounter lvl 19
    there's no tools like max's array tools
  • MaD
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    MaD polycounter lvl 7
    Don't think there's an array option in udk.

    Stumbled yet on another problem. When taking a tiledshot, post process effects seem to be put on each separate tile.

    tiledshot.jpg

    Edit: nvm, just doesn't work (as said in another tread).
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    JordanW wrote: »
    there's no tools like max's array tools

    So ohnein was wrong? Or is there another method other than eyeing?
  • ohnein
    I misunderstood what you ment by array. I didn't realize you meant array tools in max.

    You're just trying to layout of those meshes so they make a complete mesh, right? You could put the pivot in the center and rotate it.
  • iansmithartist
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    iansmithartist polycounter lvl 13
    I figured best ask this question here rather than start a whole new thread.

    What's the best way to improve lighting on static mesh?

    The static mesh has a second UV layout for the light map, with no over lapping and iv set "lightmap Cood Index" to 1.

    This was my first attempt:
    24lo19h.jpg

    Looked ugly, so I increased the space between UV shells and the lightmap resolution from the 32 to 64:
    6i7cp1.jpg

    Ok so a little better, so I increased it to 128. Result was better still but there are still areas like the door handles and the strip in-between that two doors that don't seem to be lit correctly:
    1217mkk.jpg

    So its better, but far from perfect, is the only way to increase the quality of lighting on static meshes to up the light map resolution? Are there more efficient changes that can made, perhaps to the model or uv layout that can better improve the lightmap quality?

    Im wondering if once I get some colour on the diffuse map (at the moment its just xNormal's AO bake) the issues won't be so noticeable?

    [EDIT]
    The UV layout of the light map was created from the original UVs, then laid out using the "pack uvs" tool in 3Ds Max's UVW Editor.
    Here is the uv layout of the light map:
    i5cf2u.jpg
  • Axios
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    Axios polycounter lvl 10
    Low-res lightmaps certainly do look nicer once there's a diffuse texture on the model, but it wouldn't hurt for you to post your lightmap UV layout.
  • iansmithartist
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    iansmithartist polycounter lvl 13
    Sure thing Axios, I have updated my original post with the light map UV layout.
  • Axios
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    Axios polycounter lvl 10
    Well it doesn't look too bad to me, but you may as well squeeze all the efficiency that you can out of your lightmap UVs. Scale up the small bits and the problem areas to fill out that empty space, and perhaps edit the packing manually if it helps efficiency. Then maybe try the lightmap at a higher res to be sure that it's working correctly and down res until you can find a happy medium. Oh, and be sure that you check this on a production quality lighting build. There may be something else going on here that I'm not thinking of, but you don't look too far off to me.
  • iansmithartist
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    iansmithartist polycounter lvl 13
    Thanks for the suggestions Axios

    I edited the UV layout some more and scaled up some of the smaller uv shells and it improves somewhat:
    Viewport%2002062010%2095148%20PM.jpg

    But on production quality:
    Viewport%2002062010%2095449%20PM.jpg

    Yikes! Now there are bunch of funky looking hard edges and the lighting looks even more blotchy.

    [Edit]
    Ok so i reimported the model and the hard edges have gone, not sure what happened. Production Quality:
    Viewport%2002062010%20100727%20PM.jpg
  • sasuki
    Hey guys is there a Tutorial on how to use UV layout for the light map?


    Thanks.
  • Szark
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    Szark polycounter lvl 12
    MaD: Press TAB and try taking the tiledshot through there. I've had a similar problem to yours where I found using tiledshot in the full console to be the cause.
  • Snight
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    Snight polycounter lvl 16
    sasuki wrote: »
    Hey guys is there a Tutorial on how to use UV layout for the light map?

    Hi Sasuki. Check out our free video on how to make a second UV set for lightmaps on 3dmotive.com!
    http://www.3dmotive.com/product.php?pid=1002

    Hope that helps!

    -Mike
  • sasuki
    Snight wrote: »
    Hi Sasuki. Check out our free video on how to make a second UV set for lightmaps on 3dmotive.com!
    http://www.3dmotive.com/product.php?pid=1002

    Hope that helps!

    -Mike

    Thanks a lot Mike for the Link. :D

    I also found this Tutorial it contains MAX and MAYA lightmap UV channel.

    here:

    http://waylon-art.com/LearningUnreal/UE3-10-LightMaps.htm
  • Sean VanGorder
    Hey guys, is there any way to exclude a mesh from the effects of a postprocess volume? I don't want my skydome to be affected by the DOF I have in my postprocess volume. I'm sure its an easy fix.
  • Thor Sowards
    Sean_EG wrote: »
    Hey guys, is there any way to exclude a mesh from the effects of a postprocess volume? I don't want my skydome to be affected by the DOF I have in my postprocess volume. I'm sure its an easy fix.

    Have you tried changing the DOF_Max Far Blur Amount? A really low amount or even 0 will make everything after your DOF_Focal Distance come more into focus. It won't exclude your skydome like you want but its the only work around I can think of.
  • rob_beddall
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    rob_beddall polycounter lvl 18
    hey, does anybody know what the Rim shader is in the world info? I can only assume that it's a post process to put rim lighting on your characters.. but I can't get it to work :(. anybody know how to get this working? if that is infact what it is?

    cheers
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    Rob, even if you find out how to use it, I fail top see the point. You can definitely build a nicer shader yourself with the material editor...

    I have a question:

    I have a decolayer with static meshes. After baking the lighting, those static meshes stay dynamic. Looks pretty bad when using lightmass, since the shadows are pure black due to no skylight. How do i fix this? I can't even access the static mesh settings for a decolayer (unlike speedtrees in decolayers).
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    Here is a tip to bring out the best in what you've made by giving you access to all the resolution without changing to the wrong LODBias group. You will need to edit two ini files:

    UTGame\Config\DefaultEngine.ini and UTGame\Config\DefaultEngineUDK.ini. A lot of assets fall into the WORLD so look for this line:

    TEXTUREGROUP_World=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=1024,LODBias=1,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)

    You want to change the MaxLODSize...

    TEXTUREGROUP_World=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=1,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)

    From there you can change the max res of your textures for whatever LODBias group you want. I would suggest to do this only for demos. Back up your INI files.
  • boyluya
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    boyluya polycounter lvl 10
    Lamont: Is that the right directory? I just checked and both don't have that line.
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    I'll install the latest UDK and check.
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    UTGame has changed to UDKGame.

    You want to change only this file:

    UDKGame\Config\DefaultEngineUDK.ini
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    There's a MaxQuality setting in the INI's as well, which should enable some more bells & whistles.
  • kaze369
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    kaze369 polycounter lvl 8
    Xoliul wrote: »
    There's a MaxQuality setting in the INI's as well, which should enable some more bells & whistles.
    I can't seem to find the max quality mode in the INI's; is it named something different?
  • Will Faucher
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    Will Faucher polycounter lvl 12
    Hey,
    I'm pretty new to unreal, so this is a rather simple question.
    I just imported a boxed out scene I made in max. None of the meshes are unwrapped or lighmap UVed. I am assuming it is normal that nothing is showing up right, right?
    27534639.jpg
  • MaD
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    MaD polycounter lvl 7
    kaze369

    UDKGame -> Config -> UDKEngine.ini -> bUseMaxQualityMode=True
  • teaandcigarettes
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    teaandcigarettes polycounter lvl 12
    Prophecies: If you want to quickly preview you blockout in UDK, use automatic uwnrap tools. Go to your content browser, click on your static mesh, click on Mesh on the toolbar and then on Generate Unique UV's. It works pretty well for simple assets and sometimes I even use it on finished assets.
  • Will Faucher
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    Will Faucher polycounter lvl 12
    Ah excellent! Thank you T&C!

    *Edit* For some reason the Generate Automatic UVs just isn't working. I hit apply, and when I check the "Show UV overlay" button, the newly unwrapped UV map shows up. But nothing changes on the model.

    *Edit 2* I got it fixed. I simply didn't use the UV Channel 0. I had it set to 1. Setting it to channel 0 fixed it.
  • Oniram
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    Oniram polycounter lvl 15
    having an issue with lighting. ive got some skeletal meshes, and they are casting shadows, without a light even hitting them. Also if there is a light on them, they will cast a shadow until the entire shadow ends, even if the light radius stops. here is a brief example of what im talking about. if anyone knows anything about this, id appreciate the help.

    Shadows.jpg
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    Why do you need skeletal meshes for doors? I think you can just do those with movers/interpactors.
  • Oniram
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    Oniram polycounter lvl 15
    truthfully just for the sake of experience. ive never done anything with skeletal meshes before, and i wanted to give it a try. i had a hard time doing the animation and bringing it in and actually getting it to work, but in the end i made it work. i figured i should have had some background with anims in udk, and because my instructor doesnt know his ass from his elbow about udk (he still tries to teach ut2004), ive got to figure out everything on my own. but regardless of the fact that i am using a skeletalmesh, i dont know why those shadows are there.
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    Hey Jordan, I have a question;
    is it possible to have baked lighting on staticmesh Decolayers ? Seems like they always stay dynamically lit. Is this different with foliagelayers ?
  • Oniram
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    Oniram polycounter lvl 15
    ok on a new note.. with the may build of UDK, shadows seem to be a bit picky. normally i can create nice looking shadows with static lights and static meshes, but now with May, i cant create hard shadows with static lighting anymore. regardless, my main issue.. i build my lighting over and over again, yet still when i go into game, it says lighting needs to be rebuilt. has this happened to anyone before?
  • Rurouni Strife
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    Rurouni Strife polycounter lvl 10
    Maybe this is normal, but it's the first time I've seen it. In the May UDK, when I create a material I get a texture that is a duplicate of my material name. For example, Wood_Mat material is duplicated to Wood_Mat_Flattened. It's also half the resolution of my source texture for that material. Is this normal or is my UDK going berserk?
  • Oniram
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    Oniram polycounter lvl 15
    its normal. i havent read the notes for may entirely but im pretty sure that is something that is built in. It may have to do something with their expanding lighting system.. i read somewhere that swarm is able to calculate a low res texture as a very high res one using whatever coding process or something like that.. valve uses it in TF2. but then again its just what i think i read.
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