ATTENTION: This work is copyright 1998 Ron Andrade for Portal Special Edition. Do not duplicate for other than your own purposes or redistribute without the permission of the author: Ron Andrade (Gadget Factor) |
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| Chapter seven was more of a reference than an actual tutorial. This chapter will be somewhat the same. Inventory, as it is defined by the Unreal engine, is that which the player can “pick-up” and/or use. Weapons and ammunition are inventory. Health items, even though some are used instantly and automatically are inventory. An iron box or Nali statue are not inventory items.

In this chapter, we will concentrate on inventory and a few ideas how to use them. Like chapter seven, this will primarily be a reference chapter, but you will get a few more tips and ideas on how to use this stuff along with some description of the lesser-known inventory items.

Inventory items are found in the classes categpry of your object library.

In fact, it has its own class, broken into two subcategories: Pickup and Weapon.

Weapons are pretty self explanatory, but will still be covered in detail. For now, let´s take a close look at the players pickup options. Before going down the list with descriptions of each item, let´s take a close look at the standard properties box for invetory pickup items:

Sound:

This is the standard sound property used throughout the Unreal universe.
Pickup: There are four standard settings here:

bAutoAvtivate

: When the item is acquired by a player - it is activated/used immediately.
bCanActivate: The player can select the item and activate it manually.
bCanHaveMultiple: The player can acquire multiple units of this item.
ExpireMessage: The message displayed to the player when the item becomes empty.

Examples: An invisibility will automatically turn the player invisible 1 is true.
It can be manually turned off and on if 2 is true.
The player can stock up on invisibility units if 3 is true.
“Invisibility has disappeared” would be shown on the player´s screen when it wears out.

Object - Networking - Movement - Lighting - Light Color:
These settings are not usually configured for inventory items.

Inventory:

ThirdPersonScale

: This is the scale of the object when viewed by a player not holding it.
ThirdPersonMesh<?>: (If the last word is mesh) would allow you to actually change the model for this item. Theoretically. :-)
StatusIcon: Allows you to provide a status icon for the player carrying the item. This is the small icon that appears in the upper-right of the HUD (Heads-Up-Display) when the player has an item and usually changes color when activated.
RespawnTime: The time in seconds before a respawn occurs. The clock begins after the item is picked up and applies to multi-player gajmes such as “DeathMatch.”
RespawnSound: The sound heard when the item respawns. Note: Respawning is simply a term used to describe the “reappearance” of an item during a game.
ProtectionType2 (and 1): Presumed to be the amount and type of protection to thwe player this item provides - such as a kevlar suit.
PlayerViewScale: The scale of the item as viewed by the player before the item is picked up.
PlayerViewOffset: Allows you, the designer, to actually readjust how the item will be displayed to the player while he holds or uses the item. (theoretically)
PlayerViewMesh: Same as ThirdPersonMesh, but this is the view by the player before picking up the item, whereas thirdperson views are what the item looks like on a player, from another players perspective.
PickupViewScale:The scale of the item as viewed by the player as he holds it.
PickupViewMesh: the appearance of the item as the player holds it.
PickupSound: The sound heard when the item is picked up.
PickupMessage: The message displayed on the player´s screen when the item is picked up. This is a plain text message (“You have acquired the Major Ass-kicker Rifle!”)
NextArmor: Assumed to be the next available armor rank - as in protection.
MaxDesirability: This pertains to bots. How bad will they want to get to this thing?
M_Selected (Activated/Deactivated): The message displayed when this function is activated by the player regarding this item.
InventoryGroup: Allows you to setup multiple inventory groups. Primarily used for single player games.
Icon: This is the skin - or texture that will be on the item during gameplay.
DeActivateSound: The sound heard by the player when the item deactivates.
Charge: used on chargable items like invisibility or the battery pack. The default is usually 100. Whether this means 100 points or 100 seconds is unclear. Suffice it to say that a higher number will allow the “charge” to last longer. :-)
bRotatingPickup: Will the object rotate before it is picked up? Frankly, this author feels that rotating items, such as weapons, are silly and dumb-down the game. This property defaults to true - it is recommended you set it to false.
BobDamping: How far will the players view “bob” (move around while traveling)?
bIsAnArmor: If set to true - this item will be considered protection.
bInstantRespawn: Even though the player “picks up” the item - it remains and can usually be picked up again, depending of the “multiple” setting.
bDisplayableInventory: Presumably - allows this item to be displayed in the HUD.
bActivatable: Allows this item to be activated.
AutoSwitchPriority: Causes the player to automatically switch to this item when picked up if it´s priority level is greater (lower number) than the priority level of the item already in use. Usually used for weapons.
ArmorAbsorption: If this item is an armor, how many hits will it take before it is useless and the player takes hits directly?
ActivateSound: The sound heard by the player when this item is activated.
AbsorptionPriority: If this item is an armor, will it have priority over other armor or the player himself? usage is unclear - experiment.

Filter - Events - Display - Collision and Advanced: As previousely described in chapter seven.

Ammo: This setting is available if your item is ammunition. The subproperties allow you to sepcify how many “rounds” this item contains. All ammo items should be self explanatory.

Other item-specific settings will be described with the item itself.

If an item is not listed here, it should be self explanatory.

Amplifier: A.K.A. the “Battery pack” - boosts power weapons and other energy items like the dispersion pistol, ASMD gun, flashlight, etc. Special property: AmpMultiplier - how much OOMPH this thing will cause. Default is 4 times.

Dampener: This item simply silences most sounds made by the player. Practically useless in multiplayer games, but very useful in single player games.

Forcefield: Literally what it says. Its purpose it to be used as an obstical - to block a door entrance, or other accessibility.

Suits: Asbetos will protect the player from lava zones, Toxin from sludge and Kevlar from bullets, etc. as it is considered armor.

VoiceBox: A mechanical ventrilaquist. Throws sounds into another direction in the attempt to distract other players or creatures.

Weapons:

The weapons should be greatly self explanatory. However, in their properties, it is recommended you always turn off the “rotating pickup” setting unless you have a specific reason to use it. It makes your level look amatourish to have all pickup items rotate - unless you are going for the Nintendo look.

Also - do not be afraid to rotate your weapon so it actually looks like it is just laying there - on the floor or against the wall. It is doubtful any of these things would fall out of someones hand and land perfectly straight up and pointing North. Not to mention the rotating. :-)

Weapons have additional properties not found in other items.

There is nothing wrong with having a little fun, but please, please, please, PLEASE do not overuse these modifications! In almost all cases, the default settings for weapon properties will suffice - and even be preferred.

However, if you have some secret room that happens to be a real pain in the hindside to find, reward your player with a kick-ass doohickey - just don´t overdo it. If it will disintegrate everything in site, then give it obly one or two shots. Or treat it as usual with a slight extra oomph.

The following are properties specific to weapons that have not been covered here before:

WeaponAI:

RefireRate (AltRefireRate): How fast will this weapon refire - in seconds. Each weapon has a different default.
bWarnTarget (bAltWarnTarget): If set to true, the target player or bot will hear a warning tone while the weapon is locked on to him. (The same for Alternate Fire mode.)
bSplashDamage: If set to true, this weapons splash (upon projectile impact) will cause damage.
AIRating: Just how good is the Artificial Intelligence for this weapon?

Weapon:

ShakeVert (Time and Mag): How hard will the weapon “kick” - vertically, how fast and at what magnitude?
SelectSound: The sound heard when this weapon is selected.
ReloadCount: How many reloads come with this weapon without picking up more ammo?
PickupAmmoCount: How many rounds are preloaded in this weapon when first picked up?
Misc3Sound (2Sound and 1Sound): Miscellaneous sounds emmitted from this weapon.
MessageNoAmmo: The message displayed on the players screen when the weapon goes empty.
MaxTargetRange: Maximum range for projectiles in units.
FireSound: The sound made by the weapon when firing.
FireOffset: Unknown. Assumed to be the maximum position of the weapon at full kick.
CockingSound: Sound heard by the player when the weapon is cocked.
bInstantHit (bAltInstantHit): When fired, the impact occurs instantaniousely - such as ASMD.
AmmoName: The name of an item class that will provide ammo to this weapon - like ... Nalifruit? :-)
AltFireSound: The sound heard by the player while using the alternate fire mode.

Some weapons will have specific properties, such as those listed here:

hitdamage:

The number of health point damage a direct hit will inflict.

Hit damage is supported by: ASMD and AutoMag.

Special note: Though you will find a “quad-shotgun” in your class library, it is not supported in the game at this time.

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