Actor (UT)/Object

Properties

Name and Class

These are defined in the Object class script, so all objects have these properties not just actors. These can't be edited in UnrealEd.

InitialState

The initial state the actor will be in when the game starts. See below.

Group

This is used by UnrealEd to keep track of which view group an actor belongs to. This probably shouldn't be edited; UnrealEd will change it to reflect the list in the Group? browser.

Initial States

UnrealScript's states allow different types of behaviour. The same function may be present in several states and the appropriate one will be called. The classic example: an actor such as a monster could have states "wandering" and "attacking", and in these states the function SeePlayer() will have a completely different effect. (see state for more on scripting states)

The InitialState property contains a list of states that are made available to mappers. This sets which state the actor will be in when the game begins.

This property is not always relevant: not all actors have states which can be chosen in this list. Of those actors that do, some such as Trigger and SpecialEvent have states but don't switch between them at all during play. This programming strategy essentially allows the one class to offer several ways of behaving – several classes for the price of one.

Quick link for now: InitialState covers this topic (or will) for mappers. State is aimed at coders.