UnrealScript For Non-Programmers

Please note: Unreal Wiki is not a site that intends to teach programming, nor is its primary audience intended to be that of beginners to programming. This guide exists within Unreal Wiki merely as an attempt to give you some of the knowledge that you will most definitely need in order to do anything with the information that this site provides. With that, please understand that the concept of programming offered here is geared toward OOP and is sometimes specific to UnrealScript as the intention of this guide is to explain more clearly what it is that you are changing when you modify a game.

Overview

Why This Tutorial Exists: I don't see anywhere else on Unreal Wiki for would-be-scriptors to start if they have no programming experience whatsoever. So I'll start an introduction to programming here. "Programming" as it is discussed here will be OOP as that is the type of programming that is done when using UnrealScript.
Do I Have Be Able To Write A Whole Program?!?!: To modify Unreal Engine games you will not write a program. The program is already written. You will however need to understand what that program is and how it is structured in order to add to it. Even if you want to take away from the program you will be adding something to it that takes part of it away.
About Reading This Tutorial: Throughout this guide you will see certain keywords or phrases in italics. This formatting will either mean that the word will be discussed more later, or that the word has already been discussed and I want you to note its usage in that sentence. It may also be to bring your attention to an important phrase. Also, note that the links provided within this tutorial are usually placed for you in case you want to take a quick look and then come back here to finish your reading. If you click on one of them and then click a link from that page you may end up sidetracked or temporarily lost. Remember how you found this tutorial, it is located at UnrealScript Lessons. I suggest when you link away from here, that right click the link and chose "Open In New Window".
Where This Tutorial Will Take You: Jumping right into it, we will need to have an overview of what an OOP program is and what it does followed by an explanation of how it all fits together. Take a look at /OOP for Nonprogrammers, then we can examine the more involved inner workings of what makes things actually happen in a program: the code. Here's little index of all the subpages of this tutorial and it should give you and idea of where this tutorial will take you.

/OOP for Nonprogrammers – Very wordy read, should help.
/Applied OOP – How OOP is applied to a program.
/Parts of OOP – OOP broken down to its working parts.
/Meatier Parts – More specific parts, and more technical.
/Using UnrealWiki – Tips on how to get the most out of this wiki.

What does it mean to 'Modify' a game?

This quote is part of the definition of the word "modify" according to Webster:

...a : to make minor changes in b : to make basic or fundamental changes in often to give a new orientation to or to serve a new end <the wing of a bird is an arm modified for flying...

So, a "wing" is a subclass of the object "arm".

(By permission. From Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary at [www.Merriam-Webster.com] by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated)

That's the jist of it. Go get more acquainted with the concepts you have learned here at:

You have completed the Introduction To Programming Tutorial for beginners at Unreal Wiki. Please, comment in the "Discussion" area at the bottom of this page if you feel that this tutorial needs more development in a particular area or comment on anything that would make this tutorial of greater benefit to its audience. Having used this tutorial from the status of complete beginner with no prior programming experience, YOU are best judge of its intuitiveness and effectiveness.

Happy Modding And Best Wishes For Success!

(This whole tutorial is a work in progress.)

Where You Might Go From Here

Having completed this tutorial, you may find any of the next pages listed in the next section, "Related Topics" promise to be practical furtherance of your studies. Watch for the "Related Topics" section on most of the pages here at the wiki. They usually offer great further reading on the subject of that page.

Discussion

CH3Z: This tutorial needs a lot of imediate help. Please feel free to help it. I'm sure it needs to be broken down to subpages, and anything you can add to it or change that will help nonprogrammers get the idea of what they can do and how to get started with unrealscript is welcome. This sat in my deleloper journal for yikes, was it years??? Some of it is just plain junk, but it wasn't getting fixed just sitting there. I need wikizen intervention to get this in shape. Now that this tutorial is public, if it's not improved (hasn't been by me for a LONG TIME) then it will my responsability to get rid of the whole thing from the wiki as it will only be a confusing eye-sore if left as is.

Foxpaw: We already have a half-dozen "introduction to OOP" pages. I think we need to standardize on one of them instead of creating new ones.

CH3Z: Obviouse enough by the title of this page, there's more intended here then that. If it's not obviouse enough by the content then what does it need? Note that those pages on OOP will make no sense to a nonprogrammer. Anyone who is not a nonprogrammer would have no interest in this page from the title other than to contribute to it, or do... ummm... whatever you just did. Maybe there needs to a subpage to this called "/OOP for Nonprogrammers" with the info on OOP from this page put on it. I'll try that and see where it leaves us.

CH3Z: I'd have to say that was a large step in... errr some direction anyway.

SuperApe: Regarding the Delete Me request, I'd like more input from other wiki users. These pages seem, at the very least, well-intentioned, well-organized, and well-linked. If there are other, better guides and tuts on these subjects already available on the wiki, let's start by linking to them from here. Once we know what we have to work with, we can begin to refactor and restructure it all. I do appreciate the sentinment to clean the wiki, CH3Z. Let's just see if the info you've provided can be used in some way.

This tut is going nowhere. I (the author) will not be contributing to it anymore, and it needs much much more. No one else is contributing to it, so it's a waste of space and an eye-sore.[DeleteME]

MythOpus: Personally, I believe it would be better if it was kept. It may not be finished, but at some point people are bound to add to it.