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Mastering Unreal With Instruction Videos

Posted by simoniker on from the next-course-on-mastering-prey dept.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a HomeLan Fed interview with Jason Busby of 3D Buzz, talking about the Mastering Unreal project, an Epic-backed service which releases free, downloadable videos teaching users how to create levels, vehicles, AI, and whole mods for Unreal Tournament 2K3. According to Busby, "Currently, we have 64 videos available for download.. the videos themselves range anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours, depending on what is being covered and the amount of information that we must get across to the student." This project is running in conjunction with the Make Something Unreal mod competition we covered a few days ago, and seems like a very positive step to help people get creative and make cool new game mods/assets.

40 comments

  1. Linux. by moncyb · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Cool. Does it run on Linux? ;-)

    1. Re:Linux. by entrager · · Score: 1

      If you are refering to UT2003? Yes :)

    2. Re:Linux. by moncyb · · Score: 1

      What about the editor? Are the videos watchable with Linux or are they some ultra secret DRM format? The site requires registration, so I didn't bother. Though I need to upgrade my home computer before I can play it anyway...ancient 500MHz piece of junk. UT2003 is a good excuse for a new computer! :+)

    3. Re:Linux. by shadowbearer · · Score: 1

      No, the editor doesn't work on Linux. This is because it's an "upgraded" version of the UT editor, which was written in VB. I've already complained to them about this, and they told me that if they could find someone willing to code the editor for linux (for cheap, heh) that it would be done.

      The videos - from the website:

      "Video Codec: DivX 5.0.2
      Audio Codec: MP3"

      Yes, watchable.

      BTW, I don't get near the framerates for UT2003 in linux that I do in windows. Sigh. But I reboot to windows for serious gaming or game design anyway. Yeah, it sucks. But until linux is as popular (and mature, in terms of GL drivers and Xwindows) as windows/directX is, we simply won't see more.

      So email them and tell them what you think. I do, constantly....

      About the machine: My 1200mhz Tbird played UT2003 crappy with a Geforce2 card. Make sure you have at least a Geforce4 if you want serious framerates.

      SB

      --
      It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
    4. Re:Linux. by shadowbearer · · Score: 1

      Oh, and:

      "These files MUST be opened with WinRAR 3.0 or higher"

      and

      "I do not mind you making copies of these VTMs to give to your friends and people you are in contact with, as this helps to spread the word about 3D Buzz. However, you are NOT authorized to post these VTMs anywhere on the Web."

      and there is a download queue......

      SB

      --
      It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
  2. 3DBuzz is great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    He just recently put out a video series on modelling an entire low polygon character in Maya for use in UT2K3.

    Good stuff.

  3. Awww crap... by spumoni_fettuccini · · Score: 3, Funny

    You mean all this time I should have taped myself playing video games and sold them as instructional? 'course I would have had to edit out the swear words I suppose. #@%$* campers!!! %$#@$$ where did he come from?!?

    --
    -- Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.
    1. Re:Awww crap... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      RTFA, they aren't being sold and they aren't about PLAYING the game but modding them.

    2. Re:Awww crap... by spumoni_fettuccini · · Score: 1

      My bad. When they said the creation of characters I thought they meant player character not NPC types. Didn't read in depth enough.

      --
      -- Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.
  4. Looking for basic UT instructions by Krellan · · Score: 1

    These videos look promising. Are there any similar instructions for the basic UT, not UT2003?

    I go to a LAN party with a group of friends pretty much every weekend, and play UT, because not all the computers are strong enough to run UT2003. I'd like to try to make a mod/mutator. I'm not sure where to start, when learning about the UT API.

    Anyone have suggestions on a good site I can go to for basic UT modding information? Many UT sites I have seen assume a lot of prior knowledge, or have now became UT2003-only.

    Thanks!

    --

    Dr. Demento On The 'Net!

    1. Re:Looking for basic UT instructions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The parent site www.3dbuzz.com has some video's on classic UT. Just sign up(its free) then goto the downloads section.

    2. Re:Looking for basic UT instructions by ehushagen · · Score: 5, Informative
      There are a lot of places to go for some great information - here are a couple:

      The Unreal Wiki
      The Editing Forums at Beyondunreal
      Chimeric

      Like I said, those are just a few of the places to go - you'll undoubtedly find more :)

  5. Tax write-off? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Can these be written off on your taxes as an educational expense?

    1. Re:Tax write-off? by br0ck · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm sure you can get a huge deduction for FREE training.

  6. THANKS! by busbyj · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thanks, everyone, for the great comments! And a BIG thanks to Slashdot for posting this and helping to spread the word! We also have tons of other videos over such programs as Maya, 3ds max, MOTIONBUILDER, Houdini, Photoshop, and many more! Remember, the one belief that we rigorously stand behind is that all of this professional-quality education is FREE! BuZZ www.3dbuzz.com www.MasteringUnreal.com

    1. Re:THANKS! by shadowbearer · · Score: 1

      Slashdotted, eh? :-) Or did you just notice /. existed? Or...no...

      If this is really you, man, do the rest of the world a favor and use something other than winrar to compress the vids, ok? Better yet, don't compress them.....divx is so compressed you're not saving enough to make it worth it.

      SB

      --
      It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
    2. Re:THANKS! by busbyj · · Score: 1

      Slashdotted? hhhmmmm... not on this end. The site has been running fine all day. Actually, traffic has not been much higher then normal. The only slashdotting we've experienced over the last week was the spot on national television and even then we only lost one server for just a couple of hours.

      Regarding winrar - I have no idea what you are talking about. Perhaps you should do some tests on your end. The training videos I create are not full motion video - this allows winrar to go in and make things a bit tighter. Here is a typical example: I can take a 50MB file and compress it down to 35MB. Now, have this file downloaded 10,000 times in a month - do the math... In case you need some help, that's 150GB and that is only ONE file. Currently I have close to 200 available for download. Bandwidth is not cheap, but I am sure you know that. I've got to save money any way I can.

      buzz

    3. Re:THANKS! by shadowbearer · · Score: 1

      Re the slashdotted comment, I was wondering if you'd noticed a sudden increase in your bandwidth usage :-) but I've noticed you are not slashdotted, which is a good thing. Those vids are great. Most of it I'm already familiar with, but I've learned some new stuff. Thanks :-)

      I commented on winrar mainly because it's not free. It does compress better than standard zip, but a lot of users will only be able to use the demo (as I am) because they are not willing to pay another chunk for another piece of software that they'd use only rarely. It's IMHO, anyway.
      BUT - there are free zip clients...sigh.

      Now that I've downloaded some vids, I do see your point - even with divx compression you're saving some. I retract that part of the comment.

      Anyway, thanks for a great site. I wish I had seen this this winter when I was doing level work - it being summer now I'm swamped. I'm going to save these, tho, and when winter comes and work slows down, I'll be back into level work more.

      Thanks!!!

      SB
      PS Bandwidth is cheap for me, but I'm lucky where I live :-)

      --
      It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
    4. Re:THANKS! by DarkViper338 · · Score: 1

      Do the rest of the world a favor, eh?

      Of all of the narrow minded replies the world has ever known, this one must set some kind of record. First of all, you obviously don't know what WinRAR even IS, or you'd know that it DOES INDEED make a significant compression change, even with DivX. Perhaps not as much as other video formats, but the difference can be staggering when you're talking bandwidth. Get the facts, man. Busbyj already explained the math behind this one succinctly, so I won't repeat him.

      Second, let's remember that you're talking to someone who is providing the world with HUNDREDS of hours of content, which would be worth THOUSANDS of dollars on the market today, and he's GIVING it away for FREE. Unfortunately, they don't have any VTMs over Mathematics or Economics, or else I'd just send you the link. That, WOULD be doing the world a favor, I think.

      A good friend of mine said it best: You could give some people a chest of treasure and they'd complain if it didn't have a handle.

      Saying "Thank you" would have sufficed.

    5. Re:THANKS! by busbyj · · Score: 1

      Ahhh - yea, I hate that winRAR is not free - that would be the best :) I'm just trying to save every penny I can. As far as bandwidth, it's really not been that much more than usual. Even with being on slashdot, bluesnews, shacknews, and planetunreal today... traffic has only been slightly elevated. Now, TechTV put a hurting on us ;) But we did survive. By the time next winter comes around, I should have about 300 hours of training available... and as always, it will be free :) I hope it can provide some assistance to what you do... I will be putting out vids on Doom III and Half-Life 2 as well. Thanks!! BuZZ

    6. Re:THANKS! by shadowbearer · · Score: 1

      You make good points, which I was already aware of. I was not inviting flamebait, nor trying to troll.

      However, winrar is NOT FREE. To those of us who can't afford to buy every little piece of software on the market, it's a significant cost.

      Lots of great levels for UT2003 have been created by people who could not afford to spend $30 here, $20 there on software to (for example) just to unzip a file. That was my point. Jebus, I have over $5000 in software on this machine....and the hardware cost me about 900 bucks.

      Think a little before you post. Please.

      Also, http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=67930&cid=6229 819

      and please remember that not all of us have had the time to read his site and follow it as much as you obviously have.

      Sigh.

      SB

      --
      It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
    7. Re:THANKS! by shadowbearer · · Score: 1

      I don't blame you for saving pennies - that was why I don't like winrar.
      Keep it free or easily obtainable, when one can.

      As I mentioned in another post a few minutes ago, I have over 5 grand invested in software on a 900 dollar machine. It's ridiculous, and I try to avoid punting those costs on to other people. I'm glad you didn't take it like another reply to my parent post did. I admire you for that. Especially as busy as you must be at the moment. :)

      TechTV can really put a hurting on people :-) I watched them "slashdot" other servers before. Heh.

      Keep it up man - I like you already, and I don't even know you. You're providing a great service to the community.

      If you ever need help...well, I have little time to contribute, life is so so full...but I'll do what I can.

      Cheers

      SB

      --
      It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
    8. Re:THANKS! by busbyj · · Score: 1

      Awesome!! Thank you very much for the offer.

      I am sooo close to having the 3ds max 5 online course ready to go live (free of course!)... I'll be able to take a small breather the moment this is done!

      In regards to software - I hear ya! I've invested a pretty penny over my days... even spent $7,500 on Maya Complete before the price change just to do VTMs for people... so happy to see prices dropping :)

      Well... I guess I better get my butt back to work ;)

      Thanks again!

      BuZZ

    9. Re:THANKS! by poulbailey · · Score: 1

      > However, winrar is NOT FREE.

      Then download unrar and quit bitching.

  7. Confession by Universal+Nerd · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I only buy games from community-friendly companies.

    Since buying software is my way of showing my pathetic and near-worthless support for companies I only dish out money to software houses that, IMHO, deserve a cent - Bioware and Maxis are my favorite game companies (Epic and Id are cool too, but mostly because of UT and Quake). I'll dish out money happily to buy the originals.

    Saying that, I'm gonna go buy a copy of UT 2k3 just because they're cool, they deserve my hard-earned cash.

    BTW, I know it's just "business" for them and that they're not trying to be cool for free, but confess, that's a pretty nice gesture from Epic, supporting the Mod community by increasing their proficiency.

    --
    Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul Ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul
  8. Interesting to watch the changing dynamics... by Pvt_Waldo · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's interesting to see the changing styles of game companies as they begin to view their community as a resource for continuing the viability of their games. Can you imagine a company creating a computer language and then making themselves the only source of applications written in this language? Possible, but pretty foolish in this day and age.

    Valve Software started it early on with Half-Life, creating and releasing editing tools, an SDK, and more importantly a real community for the development of mods and conversions to their game Half-Life. Valve's been by far the most successfull company at leveraging this to their advantage. I dare say they would not be the same company at all if it were not for the popularity of Half-Life mods such as Counter Strike, Team Fortress Classic and Day of Defeat.

    It's great to see other companies getting on the ball to continue this trend.

  9. good guy by bigbigbison · · Score: 3, Interesting

    this guy was on techtv a little while ago. He does tons of these videotaped tutorials all for free. If you don't have braodband he will burn a copy for you and mailit to you for free. An amazing ammount of work that he is doing all for free.

    --
    http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
  10. good by Flunitrazepam · · Score: 2, Interesting

    After hearing how great the engine is for making mods, I really expected some kick-ass work to be out there by this point... I hope this jump-starts the process. Maybe if someone recoded CS using this engine we could finally get the vast gaming majority to convince their mom's to upgrade their computers beyond pentium 400's

    --
    1) Your analysis is based on bad assumptions so your result is way off. 2) You're a sick bastard for fucking a horse.
  11. The Future by Schezar · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Some day, people will pay "Counterstrike 3" instructors the rates they pay golf instructors today, only adding kills instead of shaving strokes.

    We'll see video games on television alongside real sports.

    We'll see kids passing up college for professional gaming contracts with the big teams.

    Now, not any time soon, mind you ;^) But think about how much has changed in the gaming industry in the past 20 years. Imagine how much it will change in the next 80. Our grandkids will look at what we play today the way we look at the games cavemen played with the bones of their dinners ^_^

    (I love games.slashdot.org. No one's here yet, so I can ramble on and on and not get modded down ;^)

    --
    GeekNights!
    Late Night Radio for Geeks!
  12. I dont get it by nunofgs · · Score: 1

    there's some courses that they have where you can sign up... but there's no mention to price... is it free?

    1. Re:I dont get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Yes. All are free. 100% free. Except for the Maya Technical Director course.

  13. Yes, this lunch really IS free. by poulbailey · · Score: 1

    I can only concur. 3dbuzz.com is an amazing site and what Jason Busby does is pretty unique. I've been a member for over a year and got five CDs shipped all the way to Denmark. For free.

    If you're interested in 3D, his site (and the huge community built around it) is a good place to start.

  14. If nothing more.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the videos are fun to listen to. Some of his instruction video's are a testiment to how silly people can get when it is 6 AM in the morning and all the students have been with him doing these videos all night! :D

  15. WooOOOooo! WOoo! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WoooOOOOOOooOOOoo!

  16. UT2k3 not an improvement - why waste the time by SolePatch · · Score: 1

    Too bad this isn't for UT. I played UT2k3 for an hour and was fed up with the poor feel. It felt more like playing on the Xbox. So far, I haven't seen any PC game that beats the feel of UT.