Movable Lights
This tutorial is how to make a movable light.
Note: It hasn't been tested yet whether maps using this technique will work in online games too. It may be that the movable lights won't move for clients in online game. (If anybody finds out for sure, please update this paragraph.)
Prerequisites
Know how to...
- ...make a level. (Read the first section of the Mapping Resources page to get a rough idea on how to create a level.)
- ...use the UnrealEd Console.
Setting up
First, subtract a space, say a cubic 1024 room, and make a same-sized room far far away, but not too far. Next, place a PlayerStart and a Light in the first room, and rebuild.
[Add a Mover]? in the second room and then make the keys in a small to medium distance from key 0. Tweak the mover to your liking and then set the following properties:
- Object → InitialState = ConstantLoop
Now match these tags:
- the Mover's Events → Tag
- the Light's Movement → AttachTag
Tweaking hidden properties
The crux of making the light actually move is setting its bStatic property to False. (By default it is set to True, which means that the lights are fixed at their initial position and cannot be moved.) Unfortunately, the bStatic property is normally hidden in the actor properties window, so we have to find another way:
- Look up the Light's object name. It is stored in the (non-editable) Object → Name property. Normally, a Light's object name is along the lines of "Light443" (that's "Light" plus a number).
- In the UnrealEd console, enter "editobj Light443" (substitute "Light443" with the object name of your Light actor). This will pop up another window very similar to the normal actor properties window.
- That new properties window has extra sections, that are normally hidden from view in UnrealEd. Set None → bStatic to False.
Final Touches
You are now in the final stages of making the light move. You may do any effect with the mover, light, an added trigger, etc. This tutorial can also be used for weapons, volumes, etc.
In the next section, you will find examples of how to utilize this information.
Example Utilizations
- Energy rings moving through a tube.
- Rockets that launch.
Test Maps
You can download a [test map] that uses this technique.
