UT99.org | Unreal Tournament Community

Ok boys 'n girls, time to reveal some information about the package structure, about which many are really curious...

xtCore.u

General Description:
This really is the heart of the package. It contains major functions, base classes, icon textures, utils, tools and so on.
Updates for this pack will be the most difficult ones, because they're deeply rooted in the system of the pack.
It's also one of the packages associated with a DLL-File.


xtFXPack.u

General Description:
The general Effects/Shader Pack. It also holds effects like the Lensflares, Dynamic Coronas, Procedural Coronas, Advanced Sprite Actors, Advanced Projectors and all that stuff.


xtGameplay.u

General Description:
That's the pack where all the Game/AI/Gameplay Magick happens. It contains completely rewritten AI-Classes, allows external AI-Scripting, new advanced Game Types and Game Tools (like Checkpoints or something).


xtTechDemos.u

General Description:
The package concerned with all testing stuff. This one holds tech demo menu classes (yes tech demos will feature their own menu), tech demo objects, machine detection code, tools and stuff.


xtThelemaPhysics.u

General Description:
Ok this is the Pack providing all the advanced physical actors with some physics ownage ! It has new collision code, vehicle code, Hinge/Constraint/Joint/SeeSaw Support (mostly used for vehicles now). The UScript Physics Engine derives directly from the MainUtil containing hundreds of physics and math functions (Quaternion Support, Sim Quarternion Support / Advanced Rotation, Advanced Vector Routines, Interpolation, Revolution Support, Advanced Attachment Support etc.)
As development goes on, it might be native too, like featuring PhysX Support or something, but I'm not really sure about that this time.


xtUnrealCine.u

General Description:
This one contains all files for making ingame movies. Gameinfos, some hud fun, special scripted actors, extended pawns to work as "actors", a scene manager (for special effects), subtitle support and so on.


xtUnrealEnigma.u

General Description:
One of the main packages, next to xtCore and xtThelemaPhysics. It holds nearly ALL stuff concerning the particle engines.
Yes particle engineS. When I was completely rewriting my whole old system I thought of making all stuff more seperate so that everything only does what it has to do. Currently there 6 different Sub-Engines (!) featured by the UnrealEnigma Particle Engine as I call it. There might be a 7th one too, being completely native and for high performance and special effects.

Sub Particle Engine 1 - xtElementSubParticleEngine:
One of the very specialized Sub Engines. It's the root class for all Beam Emitters and Emitters whose Particles are able to interact with each other (on a low level, don't expect per pixel collision with each particle !). Example: Emitters whose Particles are changing their abilities during a changed condition (changed zone, touching something etc).

Sub Particle Engine 2 - xtHermitSubParticleEngine:
Root class for the most specialized Emitters. Subclassed Emitters are completely tailored to their main task, like WeatherEmitters, ProjectileEmitters. They're small and fast, because they only do what they're aimed for. Hermit comes from greek and means "(the) only one" or "eremite".

Sub Particle Engine 3 - xtCrystalViewSubParticleEngine:
A Sub Particle Engine completely Canvas based ! It draws particles using the canvas only, giving some... special abilities It's slightly related to the xtMonotypeParticleEngine.

Sub Particle Engine 4 - xtXSubParticleEngine:
This really is the most important one of all of the sub engines. It features common Base Emitters like SpriteEmitter, MeshEmitter, FogEmitter and Corona/LensflareEmitters, being the probably most used Sub Engine. The X simply stands for the huge amount of possibilities powered by this Sub Engine.


Now for Sub Particle Engines that are as special as an own kind of basic particle engine...

(Sub) Particle Engine 5 - xtHydraRootParticleEngine:
It is it's own root class because it differs much from the other concepts. Instead of one emitter these ones are thought to be build up by multiple different emitters. It strictly uses only templates and predefined data to save performance. However this shouldn't be compared with a Emitter Combiner, it's straight up it's own Emitter made off by multiple different ones. The templates and "real" emitters are Objects and no Actors, the HydraEmitter itself generates complex Particle Effects out of templates. Each HydraEmitter can hold up to 16 different Sub Emitters. The HydraEmitters directly derive from the Main Util.
It is sightly related to the xtMonotypeParticleEngine and the xtCrystalViewSubParticleEngine. You should use this for quick cool effects, instead of messing around with an Emitter Combiner. What it cannot do: Combining Beam Emitters with Sprite Emitters with Weather Emitters and so on (hope the principle is clear).

(Sub) Particle Engine 6 - xtMonotypeParticleEngine:
At first: Monotype doesn't have much to do with the term of "mono". It's from an art technique called the same way, that is used to draw on glass, metal, screens, acryl instead of drawing on paper. Well this engine draws particles as 2D Objects directly on screen being used for menu effects, cursor effects and so on.

Currently I'm thinking of seperating these Sub Engines too... but that would mean just MORE packages mh

Sub Engines 1 - 5 are deriving from xtRootParticleEngine.
Sub Engines 6 derives from the CanvasUtil.

Perpose of so many packages: Since the Unreal Engine features managing recourses by modular scripting and design developers are giving the possibilities to keep their possibly needed updates small. That's my goal too. For example: If I just want to update vehicle code, why then send all the other stuff again, if it would be in one whole file, which would be very stupid


xtVehicles.u

General Description:
Just advanced vehicle code, the vehicles and textures.

Neat. So I guess the work on this project is resumed.
Welcome back mate...

Yes, thank you. I'm working hard on it since I started again last week.

So, by what I understood, most of the features are coded UScript side only (including the vehicles and collisions), while only the critical and the really needed stuff is coded native side.
That's makes most of the pack compatible with other OS than Windows I guess then

Btw, any info in the new mesh system? Or it's something to inform about later?

Anyway, good work so far

Feralidragon wrote:So, by what I understood, most of the features are coded UScript side only (including the vehicles and collisions), while only the critical and the really needed stuff is coded native side.
That's makes most of the pack compatible with other OS than Windows I guess then

Btw, any info in the new mesh system? Or it's something to inform about later?

Anyway, good work so far

yes, well.. I only code native if it's really nessecary, so the most important stuff IS UScript side

the os crossplatform compatibility is one of the major reason for that, I don't want to adversely affect Mac and Linux Users !

no I haven't worked on the mesh system for months, that's one of the things to come into later attention

Ok
I guess that the mesh system is complicated to work with as well (I mean build, fix bugs, etc).
But when it's done, a lot of the todays UEngine 1 mapping limits will be broken.

Feralidragon wrote:Ok
I guess that the mesh system is complicated to work with as well (I mean build, fix bugs, etc).
But when it's done, a lot of the todays UEngine 1 mapping limits will be broken.

yes, indeed, nearly everything of the pack is more or less complicated, sometimes I had to write my own math formulas or to adapt existing formulas into the unreal engine (mostly physics stuff)

I hope, that when this Pack comes out a strong new wind blews through modding community, seeing that UT still has so much potential and now even more possibilities... the new cutscene stuff for itself is awesome... everything is awesome naaar.. self praise stinks

Wooo, this is really good news! I'm just looking forward to this.

I cant wait to start builidng maps using your tech Shadow, keep us posted!!!

Rob_Master Builder wrote: I cant wait to start builidng maps using your tech Shadow, keep us posted!!!

With his SDK a possible 3rd community mappack could pays off. Everything we would build until this would be finished would be only "addons"

Both entities would help eachother by that, the maps in the 3rd comm pack get a tech boost, while the SDK has it's first official appearence..

I'm looking forward to that happening, have some great Ideas for possible maps which may or may not be possible at the moment.

Package Organisation Update:

xtCore.u
Updates:
- Moved many subclasses to related Packages (like Projectors to xtXGraphics.u)

xtFXPack.u / xtXGraphics.u
Updates:
- Renamed to "xtXGraphics.u"
- add new classes
- moved Projectors from the System Package to that one

xtGameplay.u / xtUnrealAvatar.u
Updates:
- added the RPG System
- renamed to "xtUnrealAvatar.u"

xtXTechDemos.u
Nothing new

xtThelemaPhysics.u
Nothing new

xtUnrealCine.u
Nothing new

xtUnrealEnigma.u
Updates:
- currently polishing up all particle systems

xtXVehicles.u
Nothing new



NEW Packages:

xtMapping.u
General Description:
A new pack which consists of all new actors helpful for general mapping, like triggers, movers and such.

xtMenus.u
General Description:
Another new one. Just holds a bunch of new menus and configuration stuff.

xtXCustomPack.u
General Description:
This one contains basic examples based on all new features, like example emitters, ready-to-use particle systems and so on.
This will be downloadable separately !

Yay, an update. Congrats Shadow for your progress.

Not only the Names changed for this Package-Update (oh yes.. yet another Package-Update, I know..), NO, some new packages were added !

The Packages are now:

• sdkCore.u / sdkCore.dll (Core Functionality, Util Classes, Low Level Particle Engine, Basic Vehicle Code)
• sdkEQXRender.dll (New Render)
• sdkLevelDesign.u / sdkLevelDesign.dll (Mapping Actors)
• sdkMenus.u (SDK Option Menu Classes)
• sdkThelemaPhysics.u (Software Physics Engine, has extended CollisionSystem and Physical Interaction System)
• sdkUnrealAvatar.u (Advanced Gameplay and AI Systems)
• sdkUnrealCine.u (built-in Realtime Video Editor, Cinematic Actor Classes)
• sdkUnrealEnigma.u / sdkUnrealEnigma.dll (Software AND Hardware Particle Engine, SpriteEmitters, MeshEmitters, SparkEmitters, TrailEmitters, FogEmitters, BeamEmitters etc.)
• sdkXGraphics.u (Special FX Packages, contains new Coronas, Lensflares, Post Processing System etc.)
• sdkXOpenGLDriver.dll (New OpenGL Render Driver)
• sdkXShaders.u (Software Shader System, featuring Mesh Shaders, Weapon Shaders and so on)
• sdkXTestDemos.u (Menus and Controlling Actors for TechDemos)
• sdkXVehicles.u (Basic Vehicle Classes)

As you can see, C++ work has begun...