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Customize Weapon Appearance

About 15 Mins

Customize your Weapon Appearance

You are going customize the tutorial weapon to your own aesthetic preference.

In the process you will:

  • Change a weapon's color
  • Modify the pattern of the weapon's surface

Getting Started

Launch the UT Editor (you can do this from the Launcher under Unreal Tournament → Create → Launch)

  1. In the UT Editor go to File → Open Level
  2. Select Restricted Assets
  3. Type tutorial to find all tutorial maps
  4. Open the WeaponTutorialMap

Note: Selecting Content sometimes shows no items. Select Restricted Assets instead.

Test the Sample Weapon

You can test your weapon right from the editor. We have provided you with a sample weapon that is based on UT’s famous Shock Rifle. Hit the Play button and see how the Tutorial Rifle works. Once you are in game, left-click for a beam attack, or right-click for a projectile shot.

Video 1: In this video:

  • Press Play to preview the weapon in the editor
  • Fire a few round to get a feel for the weapon
  • Press ESC to exit the preview

Find the Weapon Surface Material

The surface of any item is described by a Material. The surface of the TutorialWeapon01 is described by the M_TutorialWeapon_Base material. Let's open it for editing:

Video 2: Finding the M_TutorialWeapon_Base material:

  • Summon the Content Browser by clicking on Content on the toolbar
  • In the Content Browser, select the Content folder
  • Search for TutorialWeapon. You should see M_TutorialWeapon_Base asset. Note: remember to clear any filters previously set.
  • Double click the asset to open it
  • Adjust the camera for a better angle:
    • Hold Left Mouse Button and drag to rotate
    • Hold Right Mouse Button and drag to zoom
    • Hold Middle Mouse Button and drag to pan

You should now have a pretty good view of the weapon and are ready to modify its appearance.

Modify Colors

You can now experiment with the various appearance options for this weapon. To get you started, we have a few suggestions. To learn more about Materials in UE4...

Video 3 : Change the weapon colors:

  • Uncheck the Carbon Fiber Tint check box
  • Change the Dark Metal Tint to a purple

Modify Pattern

There are many appearance options available. Scrolling down the list reveals more options. Among them is a way to alter the patterns on the weapon's surface.

Video 4 : Change patterns on the weapon's surface:

  • Scroll down to find the Light Metal Pattern and enable it by checking the box to the right of the label
  • Change the value of Pattern Color A to a green
  • Make sure to set the brightness of your color to something other than 0; otherwise it will show up as black

Take the Weapon for a Spin

Customizing the weapon changes its appearance both in the map and in your hands. The view angles are quite different, so let's make sure we like how the weapon looks from multiple angles.

Video 5 : Check the weapon in different scenarios.

  • Press Play to preview the game
  • Look at the pickup station from different angles
  • Try picking up the weapon. Does it look good?
  • Consider making further changes until you like the final look

Saving Your Weapon Skin

  • Save any modified assets by pressing the Save All button in the Content Browser.
  • You may see a prompt asking which items to save. Check any items that you have modified and click Save Selected
  • To use the weapon skin in a game (outside the editor), you have to package your weapon (TutorialWeapon01) for sharing. Package and Share

Going further...

If you would like to go further, experiment with more pattern properties in the weapon material...

  • Adjust the pattern Scale U and V parameters
  • Explore different pattern texture options
  • Take a picture of your weapon skin and show a friend

Next Steps

How about giving your weapon a custom impact effect? Like fire? Customize Weapon Impact Effect

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