Tutorial
Screenshot in
the GUI
Introduction
So, you have created a map and now it is time to get it ready for
release. One of the last things to do is import a screenshot, enter
the level information for the map and set the music track. Take out
your pads and pencils, here is the step-by-step guide.
Preparing
the screenshot
When taking screenshots, the following game settings will allow you
to get shots that are not cluttered by the HUD and weapon hand:
-
spectator
(Options -> Player Setup and check the 'play as spectator' option)
-
HUD
turned off (Options -> Preferences, select the HUB tab and uncheck
the 'Show HUD' option)
-
weapon
hidden (Options -> Preferences, select the Game tab and select
hidden from the 'Weapon Hand' menu).
Move
around the map to find an interesting feature or perspective that
people will readily associate with your map. Press F9 to take the
screenshot.
Use your favourite graphics package to open the screenshot. You will
find the screenshot in your System directory in the UT folder. It
will be a bitmap image and named/numbered numerically like this "Shotxxxx.bmp",
where xxxx is the number of the screenshot, for example 'Shot0000.bmp'.
In order to import the image into UEd, you will need to do the following:
-
Crop
the image so that it's proportions are square and then re-size the
image to 256 by 256 pixels.
-
Change
the number of colours to 256.
-
Save
the image in PCX format in your UT Textures Folder. eg: 'screenshot.pcx'
-
You
are now free to delete the original BMP image from the UT System
folder.
Importing
the screenshot
Launch UEd, open your map and then access the Texture Browser.
[ highlighted with a red square in the graphic below ]
From the File menu in the texture browser, select the 'Import …'
option. By default the UnrealEd import option will open up your UT
Textures Folder. If you have followed the steps correctly in this
tutorial you will see the screenshot.pcx that you resized and saved
earlier. If not you will need to find and open the pcx-formatted image
you created.
The import texture dialog box will appear.
Clear the contents of all fields and then type MyLevel
into the 'Package' field and screenshot
into the 'Name' field.
Leave the Group field blank. De-select the 'Generate MipMaps' option.
Click OK.
The texture browser will now change to show your screenshot in a package
called MyLevel.
Save
the map but DO NOT save this texture set.
Setting
the screenshot
Select 'Level Properties' from the 'View' menu (or press F6).
Expand the 'LevelInfo' category.
Left-click
on your screenshot in the texture browser.
[A note of warning: make sure you don't have a surface selected in
the 3D view when you do this, as this process will place your screenshot
as the texture on that surface. :( ]
Left-click
on the 'Screenshot' row and then click on the 'Use' button that appears.
The words "Texture'MyLevel.Screenshot'" will appear in the
space.
Entering
the Level Information
While the
Level Properties window is open, take the opportunity to enter the
following level information.
-
Author
-
Ideal
Player Count
-
Title
Music
Since we have the Level Properties window open, let's select the music
for the map as well.
Access the Music Browser - and select 'Open...' from its 'File' menu.
[ highlighted with a red square in the graphic below ]
Select any of the tracks and press the play button to listen to it.
When
you have a track that you like, left-click on it once and then expand
the Audio category of the Level Properties window.
Left-click
on the 'Audio' row and click on the 'Use' button.
Finishing Up
In order for the screenshot to appear when you play the map in UT,
you will need to rebuild and then save the map. And there we have
it, your map is ready for release.
Chris
‘Plutonic’ Blundell
[30-01-01]
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