Basic Movers - Rotating Movers

Created August 2004

Made simple, for total idiots v1.0

What is a mover?
A mover is just what it sounds like, an actor, that moves. Some examples are the rotating fans on Island, or the doors on any map.

In this tutorial you will learn how to:

* Add a mover to your level
* Select a static mesh for the mover
* How to set the hidden settings to get the mover working correctly
* Set the settings to make the mover rotate

Important Note: this tutorial assumes you know and understand:

* What a builder brush is
* How to use the static mesh browser, and select static meshes

About Movers - Movers in Raven Shield don't work as they are supposed to, and fixes and workarounds are still being worked on. This movers tutorial will show you the basic fixes and workarounds with movers. Simple movers, which don't use keyframes to move, that rs operatives can shoot but can't touch are simple and can be made to work correctly with no bugs. However more complex movers, that rs operatives walk on or touch, such as lifts and moving platforms still have bugs.

Step 1: Adding a mover to your level

With a map ready to add movers, build the builder brush, and move it near where you want to add your mover. Then to add the mover into the world select the Add Mover button. (See image below)

Step 2: Select a static mesh for the mover

Select a static mesh from the static mesh browser. Double click on the newly inserted mover, this will bring up its properties. Under Display select StaticMesh, then select Use (See image below).

The mover now resembles the static mesh wanted. At this time, you can move the mover to be exactly where you want it to be.

Step 3: How to set the hidden settings to get the mover working correctly

The console is the text box below the perspective viewport, that says command to the left of it. (See image below)

Type editactor class=mover in the console. This opens up all of the mover's properties, in your level, at once, with the hidden tab none. (See image below)

Select None, and change the following settings:

* bOnlyDirtyReplication to True
* bWorldGeometry to True
* m_bUseRagdoll to true
* m_wNbTickSkipped to 0
* NetUpdateFrequency to 1.000000
* RemoteRole to Role_SimulatedProxy

I can't quite explain why these settings help the mover work as of now but I'm sure I will find out why later on. For this simple mover, not all of these settings are needed, but you may need them for more complex movers later.

Helpful Tip: You should only change these settings once. Once this mover is made, duplicate it so it has these properties, then change it's settings so the mover works the way you want it to. Attempting to add these settings to another mover becomes difficult since it selects all movers in the level and sometimes results in the editor crashing.

Editor bug: I noticed this when I started to duplicate movers a lot. When duplicating objects, I often had the problem of the editor not allowing me to save it. To fix this so you can duplicate the object you want to duplicate, and still be able to save, you will have to delete the last duplicated object. After this, save the map, load another map, then load your map again. You should then be able to duplicate the object again without any problems. It seems like a good idea to get into the habit of saving, when you duplicate things, when using movers.

Step 4: Set the settings to make the mover rotate

To get a mover to rotate the way you want it to, you have to play with its RotationRate settings, under Movement, in the movers properties. The ceiling fan, in Island, has a RotationRate Yaw of 5500. You also need to change bFixedRotationDir to True. (See image below)

RotationRate Settings Setting Changes Rotation Around Pitch Y Axis Roll X Axis Yaw Z Axis

Well that's it, you have now created a rotating mover.

By ApparitionX A.K.A DmX_DreamTheater