Actor (UT)/Talk

subpages

The principal groups in the Properties window are not "Actor Properties" as in "properties of all actors", they are properties of the class "Actor" which get inherited by all subclasses. This is why they were subpages of "Actor". I realise this is coder mumbo-jumbo and may be confusing to the mapper, and in fact is really of no interest to the mapper, who just wants to look up what the properties mean.

I'll try and think of a way that uses logical page-names, but is also clear to non-coders.

"actor classes" etc

"Actor Classes" was, I think, originally meant to cover the browser window itself (details about saving stuff, importing, etc). I used that name because (I think) that's what its title bar says in UnrealEd, although in saying that I'm wide open for shooting because of "Surface Properties Window".... urg.... Likewise, it's probably that if I made an "Actor Properties" link it was meant to cover usage of that window itself, explain how it works, etc. – Tarquin

If a title has multiple logical subjects, I'm all for turning it into a summary page with links to the various subjects – Aedis

Tarquin: OK, here's what I suggest:

• We put the property subpages back under Actor, as technically they do belong there.
• Change "Actor/Working with Actors" to "Actors Overview" so it shows up in the search list nicely.
• On this "Actors Overview" page, we put a list of all the property groups, and comment them, eg
  • "Display: these properties relate to blah blah" (Makes sense to me! – Aedis)
• Link back to "Actors Overview" from all the properties subpages.
• Net result: we get the Actor tech spec page and the "Actor Overview" page that's more mapper- and n00b-oriented, both effectively working in parallel.

Mychaeel: That sounds reasonable to me.

Indeed I am confused by the above logic, but that doesn't bother me. It sounds like there are different schools of thought at work here. One method is to organize according to topic. Another method is to organize according to Unreal conventions. I personally prefer topical organization, because it serves the material and the learner as opposed to the tool that is being taught. For example, Tarquin's statement above, "as technically they do belong there" sounds focused on emulating the structure of UnrealScript instead of being focused on what is most useful to a novice. Of course, links are only links – the way info is organized on the pages has a much larger impact on the reader. - Aedis

Topical organization is best. The reason we want subpages for the properties is that, to match all the other class technical pages, they should ALL be on the page "Actor". Clearly, that's too much, so we're following a convention that excessively long pages can get chopped into subpages.

The site's organization isn't created by page names, it's created by links. If we have a page "Actor Overview", that's likely to be where novices go if they see it in search results. We can also give it prominence in topic pages. I've just realised I don't know which topic page should get a link to "Actor Overview". Hmmm... I really think we should resurrect Beginner Topics. Anyway, I'm off to make the above changes. I'll spread links to AO liberally. – Tarquin