Cool cool.
So yea, if you wish model everything in Max or Maya, export as an ASE file (Max can do it by default, Maya needs ActorX). Some caveats though:
1) Use skeleton-based animations. You *can* export hand-animated vertex animations using the axvertex command... but that sucks: Performs worse, eats up more RAM, cannot be LOD'd, cannot be scripted nearly as fully as skeletal, etc.
2) Import your meshes as fully-welded sections of fairly small size (not necessarily complexity... just size)
Reason is 2-fold:
i -- If you have a funky mess of multiple meshes all imported at the same time as a single object... you're bound to get some errors. Not just for UnrealEngine3... I mean altogether. The cleaner the mesh the easier it is to export... period...
ii -- If a mesh takes up a LARGE area... it is more likely to be hit by multiple dynamic lights. Even if you cannot SEE the light, if it touches a mesh you can see -- it'll reduce performance. UnrealEngine3 automatically does portaling because it's a deferred renderer. If your camera cannot see the object? It doesn't exist. Take advantage of that -- do not make your meshes rediculously big such that things that are well outside your vision needs to be rendered.
Solution: Chop up your mesh, export it in fully-welded chunks, realign them in UnrealED (which shouldn't be hard as -- at least for meshes exported from Maya -- just set the same scale and move their position {using F4 when selecting the mesh} to 0,0,0 and they should all align perfectly)
3) You still need to use the builder brush for stuff like -- volumetric effects/triggers. That being said: They're usually simple boxes... no crazy-ass complex BSP... just boxes.
4) Collision defaults to off for newly-imported meshes. Easy way around it is setting collision to per-triangle. Not the most efficient, but you can tweak and tune for performance later. I'll tell you how to do that when it's time. Or just read this...
I'd recommend picking up Unreal Tournament 3 Collector's Edition. It's like 30$ or less now... and comes with hours and hours and hours of tutorials. Cheapest "textbook" ever
Originally Posted by Pooky
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