By Jered
Date Created: 5/23/2002
This tutorial will cover how to make the basic light switch. Deus Ex is a game that strives for realism in its game world, physics, and graphics. One of the most common things that is overlooked when mapping is light switches. Being able to turn lights on and off can lead to a world of possibility for mappers. They can be used in Team DeathMatch games to set ambushes, or in a Single Player level to add dramatic effect. And, surprisingly, they are extremely easy to make.
For a light switch, we need two things. A switch and a light. First of all, add a ‘Lightswitch’ to your level. ( Actor -> Decorations -> DuesExDecorations -> Lightswitch) Now add a ‘TriggerLight’ (Actor -> Light -> TriggerLight). Now, we have to edit some properties to make them work. Open up the properties of the ‘Lightswitch’. Change the field ‘Event’ (Properties -> Events -> Event) to ‘Triglight’. Now for the Light itself.
The ‘TriggerLight’ is a bit more complicated. First off, open up its properties and change the ‘Tag’ (Properties -> Events -> Tag) to ‘Triglight’. Once you do this, a red line should connect the light switch and the light. This red line shows that they are connected. If it does not appear, check the spelling of the ‘Lightswitch’ s ‘Event’ and the ‘TriggerLight’ s ‘Tag’. Now we need to tell the light that it can be toggled on and off. Change ‘InitialState’ (Properties -> Object -> InitialState) to ‘TriggerToggle’. For one last bit of detail, fully expand the ‘TriggerLight’ (Properties -> TriggerLight) properties. There are 4 categories here:
bDelayFullOn
bInitiallyOn
ChangeTime
RemainOnTime
Here is what they do:
bDelayFullOn - This tells it to make a gentle transition between on and off. Set this to ‘True’ for a Theater Light affect.
bInitiallyOn - Set this to ‘True’ if you want the light to be on when the map begins. Set this to ‘false’ if you want it to be off.
ChangeTime - Tells how long you want the transition to take.
RemainOnTime - States how long the light will be on, or off, before changing back again.
Once these properties are set, your ready to jump into the game and enjoy hours of light switching fun!
"Give us the Tools, and we will build worlds" ~ Jered
| 
