Hello, and thanks for downloading the pack.
I recommend you use this with UT patch 432 or higher. If you successfully use the pack with a lower version please let me know.
Acknowledgements, version history, legal stuff & disclaimer: see the end of this file.
If you find the pack useful, or have any comments or suggestions, or make a really cool map using these builders, feel free to let me know.
Extended documentation, lastest updates, new versions, and maps made with this pack at: http://www.crosswinds.net/~tarquinut.
Installing the pack will add four new buttons to the UnrealEd toolbox, immediately below the native brush builders. These will function in exactly the same way as the native builders: left-click to build, right-click to open the parameters window.
umod version: Double-click the file to install it. Apart from adding a line to unrealtournament.ini, nothing existing on your system is overwritten.
zip version: unzip the contents of the file, and place the files thus:
— where [UT] is your UnrealTournament folder.
You also need to add the following line to unrealtournament.ini, at the end of the [Editor.EditorEngine] section, after the other 'EditPackages' lines:
EditPackages=TarquinBrushBuildersThe online documentation is more comprehensive than that in the pack, as it features screenshots. These aren't in the download, because I personally dislike getting lots of fiddly little gif files cluttering my /help folder and having no idea which documentation they belong to.
Tarquin's Spiral Stair builder: intended as a replacement for the native Spiral Stairs, which, as many people have noticed, makes brushes that can't be subtracted. This builder has all the options of the native builder, and performs the functions of the Curved Stair builder too.
Torus builder: Builds a torus, complete or partial, along with the usual with user-defined options for the number of sides.
Tarquin's Cylinder builder: same as the native builder, but can build partial cylinders.
Panorama builder: builds an open cylinder of sheets, to make mountain backdrops in the skybox, or waterfalls.
New Icons, which are, yes, purple. I needed a way to make the new spiral icon different, and I like the colour. New alignment options for the Torus and the Cylinder builder: 'Plain' and 'Side' work the same as the AlignToSide 'False' and 'True' respectively; 'Caps' is a special case of 'Side' for partial brushes which cuts the first section to the x-axis.
Stuff that didn't make it into this release because I've done enough scripting for now:
Polar Sphere builder: builds a sphere with longitude and latitude lines. The script for this builder is complete, but I'd like to add support for extra options before releasing it.
Tarquin's Linear Stair builder:
this is what got me started scripting brush builders — I wanted to modify the native builder to add the option to make the top step longer.
Item naming: this was one of the original plans for the torus, but I'm completely stumped as to how to do it.
Flexible metrics: I've had several extreme ideas for the builder pack: this is the easiest to implement but probably the weirdest. What it basically means is that instead of metrics with a defined purpose, like width or radius, the builder has a number of non-defined metrics, and then an option list parameter where you choose what the numbers should mean. For example, with the Cylinder or Panorama, the options would be 'Radius', 'Width&Breadth' and 'PanelWidth'. More on this on the website!
This builder is intended to replace the default Spiral Stair builder as well as the curved stair builder. I felt this was necessary because brushes made with the default Spiral Stair builder can't be subtracted.
In writing this new script, I've also found that the sloped floor / ceiling options in the native builder can throw up a lot of errors in the log. I don't know enough about the way UEd handles these to know whether this is bad for a level's BSP, but this new builder addresses this problem anyway. It also allows some new combinations, for example a flat base with a sloped top.
I had hoped to find a way to make the installation of this pack disable the default spiral and curved builders, but I do not think this is possible. If anyone knows of a way, please let me know!
This builder comes with a large number of options. (I count 18 distinct shapes, before even considering the number of steps.) Not all options are compatible: some will generate a "Bad Parameter" dialog box, with explanations.
The textures on the walls are turned by 90 degrees. I plan to do... sod all about this, because this builder has been murder to write.
Contact me if you find any bugs.
Very silly idea which makes the spiral conical. See the development page on the website.
This builder makes a torus, or sections of a torus, and was suggested by purice at the PlanetUnreal Forums.
I've found that setting sides higher than 16*16 causes some of the polys not to display. This may be due to the sheer number of polys and BSP cuts.
Personally, I worry that because the vertices have irrational co-ordinates, what drops off when the floating point variable is rounded sooner or later becomes significant enough to cause a glitch — but I don't know enough about how these are handled internally.
Contact me if you find any bugs.
I'd like to implement Item Naming options, so selecting polys by matching item gives either sections of tubing, or horizontal bands all the way round.
This makes a cylinder just like the native builder, but adds support for partial revolutions. People who remember the advertising campaign on UK telly in the 80s may, like me think the button looks like a piece of Edam cheese.
None.
Contact me if you find any bugs.
Flexible metrics (see above) and a few other outlandish ideas. See the website.
This builder makes a panorama: a set of sheets arranged to make an open cylinder. This is intended for building backdrops in the skybox: most of the Epic maps use a mountain backdrop with 4 sides and 2 sheets per side.
The panorama could also be used for building waterfalls like the ones in DM-UT-Tourney][ by Olav Gjerde, as seen on the 0wnage.
None.
Contact me if you find any bugs.
None planned.
I'm a quasi-fanatical Netscape user, but I have to admit they've fouled up their support of CSS right up to 4.75. View this in IE to get a clearer layout.
First and foremost, to The Girl Who Hasn't Yet Decided On A UT Nick — for advice, support, spotting ways in which to script more efficiently once the script was already written, and more. She rocks.
The beta testers at PlanetUnreal forums who bent, twisted and stapled the builders to make sure nothing nasty was lurking: purice (who suggested the torus), Fuzzpilz (who made the very first map with the new spiral), ChrisToth.hu, Ixus, Zaphrod,
baldfist, synergy, :((JAYMZ)):, Gabriel.
And finally, all the people who made UT the excellent game that it is. Without UEd brushbuilder plug-in architecture this pack would not be possible.
Version 1.0 (02/02/2001): general release. Known issues: none.
Version 1.0beta (18/01/2001): private beta (flying colours!)
This document and the pack containing it are (c) Tarquin 2001 (tarquindarkling@bigfoot.com)
Authors may NOT re-use or alter this code with out my express permission.
You are NOT allowed to commercially exploit this release, i.e. put it on a CD or any other electronic medium that is sold for money without my explicit permission.
You MAY distribute this release through any electronic network (internet, FIDO, local BBS etc.), provided you include this file and leave the archive intact.
UNREAL TOURNAMENT (c)1999 Epic Megagames, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Distributed by GT Software, Inc. under license. UNREAL TOURNAMENT and
the UNREAL TOURNAMENT logo are registered trademarks of Epic Megagames, Inc.
The Spiral staircase icon is probably (c) Epic too, since I've merely altered the colour values in pshop. The torus is all my own work, and very proud I am of it too. The cylinder and panorama are collaged from the UEd icons.
All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.
This pack is provided 'as is'. I have tested the builders, and believe them to be free from errors. However, as you may know, BSP errors can occur in a level built from only the native brush builders. By installing and using this pack you agree that I will not be liable for any damage to your data resulting from use, direct or indirect, of this pack.