Trystan/11 29 02

Anatomy of UT2K3

CRAP! There's a ton of files to UT2K3. Even with examining everything you quickly get lost. Let's see..

Object >> Actor >> Pawn >> YourPawnClass

Pawns are things that are controlled.

Object >> Actor >> Controller >> AIController >> YourAIController
Object >> Actor >> Controller >> PlayerController >> YourPlayerController

A controller determines what a pawn does. A controller can either be an AI controller, or a player controller. As Mychaeel states people who play Unreal engine games expect bots to be there, so ensure you check out

Object >> Actor >> Controller >> AIController >> ScriptedController >> Bot >> YourBot

Question: do you extend PlayerController or UnrealPlayer? UnrealPlayer sits below PlayerController and has xPlayer available to it. Hm..

Oooh! DamageTypes!

Object >> Actor >> DamageType >> YourDamageType

There's a nifty one. DamageExplosive. DamageBullet. Hm..

Decoration seems innocent. But it's not. Inside it we find

Object >> Actor >> Decoration >> DestroyableTrigger?
Object >> Actor >> Decoration >> GameObject >> CTFFlag
Object >> Actor >> Decoration >> GameObject >> xBombFlag

So obviously decoration items are more generic, but placeable inside maps. Well, maybe not obviously.. I could be wrong..

Another important one to note.

Object >> Actor >> HUD >> HUDBase? >> YourHUD

You can subclass another HUD if you want of the functionality the others offer. I'm looking to start ours from scratch..

Object >> Actor >> HUDOverlay?

"Used to display alternate information over the HUD." Hm. Sounds interesting. I'll have to find usage of it somewhere.

A very important one!

Object >> Actor >> Info >> GameInfo >> YourGameInfo

I'm sure this has usefulness somehow.

Object >> Actor >> Info >> LocalMessage (UT)

Confusing stuff ahead! BE WARY! I kind of understand replication. I have a lot of work ahead of me in this arena.

Object >> Actor >> Info >> ReplicationInfo >> GameReplicationInfo
Object >> Actor >> Info >> ReplicationInfo >> PlayerReplicationInfo >> YourPlayerReplicationInfo
Object >> Actor >> Info >> ReplicationInfo >> SquadAI >> YourSquadAI
Object >> Actor >> Info >> ReplicationInfo >> TeamInfo >> YourTeamInfo

Gotta set this up. What fun is a game with no points?

Object >> Actor >> Info >> ScoreBoard >> YourScoreboard

TeamAI vs SquadAI? Difference? Hm.

Object >> Actor >> Info >> TeamAI >> YourTeamAI

Mapping crap! Ptooey!

Object >> Actor >> Info >> ZoneInfo
Object >> Actor >> Info >> TerrainInfo

AHHHH! /me runs screaming..

Comments

Chazums: SquadAI deals with offense / defense / roaming within the TeamAI

Trystan: I was roaming through UClasses just checking stuff out trying to get a handle on everything and you know what? There's a lot of stuff there.

Mychaeel: Indeed... I'm just digging my way through the details of UT2003's bot support architecture. In the process of investigating and understanding it myself, I try to document it...

Trystan: Yea, I use the developer pages as my impromptu documentation. It may aid someone else, it may not, but hey, I'm documenting my journey as a developer. As for bot support.. erh.. I'll get to that after I figure out custom pawns more thoroughly.