House of Fools

Perhaps it's needed a place having content and links to whatever builders done by community more or less useful during any sort of mapping process (creating or editing).
I'll drop as first toy which I've done and updated more times...
MapGarbage - April 2023 Several previous versions are below. All builder capabilities are described in document coming with archive and samples are shown in Pathing topics.

TexCalculus In a long name Pillar's Texture Align Calculator. Builder won't do anything in map, it's only a tool for calculating U alignment of a texture for faces from a pillar in order to look linked and not broken in pieces. At UT99.org is described a tutorial for this task where user need to calculate data and to measure a face length which to me it looks time consuming. Builder does the calculation under an eye blink without measures. I build pillar - I already have CyclinderRadius and number of Faces (Sides) used. So I'm copy-pasting this input data, Texture size used and tiles (number of how many textures looks linked around pillar 1 or 2 or whatever) and the rest is automated. Archive has a Low FPS and Low res FLV movie showing as sample initial post from here
https://ut99.org/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=13920#p119620
- texture and pillar's texture scaling.

XC_PathsWorker_April_2023 - audience: people understanding those lines drawn between navigation points by Editor.
In a long name Paths Worker tool based on XC_Engine compiled and recommended v24 and above. Requires XC_Engine because UT has no support open at UScript for User regarding to a Paths Handling task.
Latest version is dated April 2023: Several previous versions are below... What it does:
- creating a Path/ReachSpec;
- modifying a Path/ReachSpec;
- Paths Re-Locator after editing a Path for referencing it properly in nodes arrays;
- defining paths in map depending on current Nodes having extra-options and denial of null combos;
- complete report of paths;
- paths enlargement (Coop, MH, etc) for Big Monsters too;
- deleting a Path is not implemented - Path can be excepted from being added - because XC_Engine IS NOT DELETING a path it leaves reachspec nullified in map;
- defragmenting Paths - re-attaching paths into Navigation Chain based on their structure, junks are not in account - some corruptions can be fixed here;
- re-indexing and re-attaching paths - null paths are left as last in ReachSpecs Array;
- version from September 2022 is coming with an option for deleting NULL useless paths in some dodgy formula but operational;
- perhaps more doable based on user creativity - this is a start and mainly a sort of BETA and I'll do potential corrections according to any ugly situation.
Whatever unexpected nasty bug can be reported in this thread.

PathsChecker_October_2022 - audience: mappers creating maps for all types of players (off-line and on-line) making maps with Bot Support. Reuploaded because of something bugged.
Quick description:
- probing logic routes for A.I. Pawns starting from each PlayerStart actor and heading to all sort of goals (Inventories, FlagBases, etc.);
- reporting successful routes and goals without routing options;
- experimental stuff for whoever needs that;
- version from September is coming with a "CleanUp" delegated to remove all data left behind routing process. Map goes clean after doing these checks;
- version from October has added an optional sub-option for testing all points if are logically navigable from all other points - perhaps not always really navigable in game, and not in special maps with one-way paths done more or less on purpose.

Not for UT Editor and not very recommended for adjusting UT maps - lol
PathsLinker
Removed for two reasons:
#1 - certain fixes done for UT maps here might go flawed causing some pain for UT player - debris properties, textures mips altered, etc;
#2 - I cannot say that Builder works properly in version 227j since I cannot install it here for testing(/updating if needed).
Future adds and updates for this stage are canceled for the moment.
Thank you !

Thank you Nelsona, when i make maps again, i will use them to improve my skills

More things in Editor are doable in seconds. This is what a builder is doing... engaged by user-mapper.
The rest is about understanding UE1 known as Unreal Engine 1 and how does it work. They were trying harder a different Reality... but based on the Real Reality... forgetting some details, of course...

Real Reality okay..... Meanwhile i will be making maps with more cartoonish styles, however knowing how to handle pathing can make the big difference

Their "Real Reality" was an attempt to clone real life movement and then all navigation data is placed accordingly in a UT map.
By example, a PathNode placed in air is like a soap bubble. A man walking I believe cannot touch that bubble which is almost on a building. This way works pathing, nothing from things which mappers have as imagination won't work. Rules are clear: Pawn should reach there and breath before taking next point else no path is created. No one can stay in air breathing and then... no data is assigned to that point as roam target. But from this point by falling and walking perhaps we can reach somewhere and then Paths from a Box to the ground are available as jumpy ones. These are basic rules and not visibility myths. It's about pawn's capability to navigate from A to B and nothing else. Editor does this test x times in a second using Scout. Then... Editor environment is not like game Environment resulting some lacks of data. They also preserved special stuff where Pawn can use something for getting help - combos teleporters warps etc. community things.

What they forgot to explain is how to manage bridges - Movers in stage. There gaming has other rules than reality - but... we know what to do at bridges after 20 years...
Tools posted in first post are helpful to pass over Editor's automation and engaging human feelings and wishes in stage, we can dictate what we want.

Now the problem comes to fixing rammed geometry - that's the big challenge...

I'm currently working at MapGarbage for October 2020.
All changes are going to be mentioned and written in release document and it will be out after testing it multiple times.
Notes:
- adjusting alignment codes - positive and negative space coordinates are not having the same deal for being moved at nearest grid point;
- adding exchanging places feature;
- adding a re-link feature Inventory - InventorySpot - a need after exchanging places in case of items relocated;
- adding a bad rotated PlayerStart detector, face at walls might do damage for splash damage weaponry arenas and it looks dumb anyway.

Bump. Crazy people are making me to perform another check at Level Validate cloned thing.
I'm not going to explain too much what is about, some them are reacting into a dumb direction ignoring all good tutorials, doing a mess and ruining their own design.
Such maps added in servers are doing only headaches, you'll triple check settings and it's hard to figure what does the damage...

Continuing.
Level Validate (UScript cloned) - fake command not fixed even last UT469 which still allow to mess up some properties of LevelInfo - Actor number zero from map - will recover without any option default Map State as long as ruining net games based on brain butterflies is not welcomed by any admin.
Level Validation will recover badly rammed variables trying to do somehow a recovery at a basic Level of UScript, not at C++ Level.

I'm going to think what else can be helpful in mapping and map checking operated quickly at Scripts speed and useful. Perhaps at middle of month Version October will be public. I'm not going to remove reachSpecs counter doing a "warning" in UT469 because DescribeSpec is written like in last century, I'm not going to remove any feature for which I worked a lot to implement. Here function should allocate null values, then if request it's inside array boundaries creating valid response else doing nothing letting null values to be thrown out, there is no need to mess outside array and not accessing anything... I was expecting something more wise in 2020 but... we do not have such thing... not yet.

For users having problems (or not) with Editor coming with latest UT patch version 469, MapGarbage will have a feature which 469 has in Editor.
It is about assignment of LiftTag and Tag for Navigation combos LE-LC-LE corresponding to a Lift. In 469 this feature has something "AutoGenerate" or a custom user string for this quad Mover-LE-LC-LE. Personally I don't see any logic for making a custom human-readable string, we only need the right connections which are about to be build here. Yes, this feature is used for preparing Lifts BEFORE building/Re-Building final paths. Lifts are recognized based on these strings linked in their combos.

Why this feature ? Because if we want to be creative with names used, we are wasting some time thinking at them and then adding them in each of these minimum four actors by editing their properties. Time, time, time... Nope... we are only selecting these 3 (out of a lift) actors, or 4 actors if lift is participating, and we trigger builder to create strings for us, builder is creative no worries, it will find something suitable and unique - if map doesn't have duplicated craps. As you might be guessed, other jumpy combos out of lifts are engaged in this task as well - Lift is not mandatory after all, unless we have one. Mappers were creating all sort of strings, writing them into properties, now we only need to think at design and other needs without wasting time. I think a Custom string is irrelevant, all we need is a correct combo and not guessing... builder will spit something out if combo is incomplete so it is helpful in debugging these COMBO-Paths or accidentally there are more than one mover selected. The feature is concerning a Lift and desired Points and not multiple lifts and combos at once.

Repeating: This builder is not a tutorial, you need to know what you do, it won't do the map for you. After applying this setup, paths must be build / re-build and then we do have connections ( or XC connections ) properly added for these Navigation Combos.
It doesn't matter if said Combos were not completed or previously already having tags defined, they are automatically adjusted and a connecting recommendation report is being logged.
Here is a sample report without Mover : I will attach some extra-data during tagging process.

Next Stage:
Are we ready for some contest / content using ONLY stock for preventing some headaches with custom "files" ? Maybe...
We won't open or look for stock textures anywhere and spending here ages. We can simply do an execution of a TEXT file as follows: Let's say these might be loaded without to specify Textures folder because it's taken from system's paths, at least for me they work. All need it's inspecting textures and clicking twice on "Toggle Dock Status" for refreshing Textures Browser. Stock textures are ready for use...
And then... MapGarbage can load these for you - IF you want them - it will not need any Text file and no stories written in console, it loads stock Textures on demand, more easy than inspecting through a mountain of custom (some of them real craps) textures. It takes time to read them but... Editor it's working with MapGarbage for you. This feature is planed to go embedded in version from October.