Hazel Whorley
2D Art / Level Design

me@hazelwhorley.com

tutorials

Scrolling Scoreboard [UED 3]

This tutorial explains how to make a scrolling scoreboard in UnrealEd.

scrolling scoreboard



Scripted Texture

First you need to set up a scripted texture that will display the message.

  1. In the texture browser click File > New
  2. Enter the following - Package: myLevel, Group: Scoreboard, Name: scrollingMsgTex, MaterialClass: ScriptedTexture
  3. Press New and the ScriptedTexture properties window should appear
  4. Set UClamp and VClamp as the size you want the texture (must be a power of 2), i.e. 1024 and 64
  5. Close the Properties window

ScriptedTexture Properties



TexPanner

To make the message scroll, you need a TexPanner

  1. In the texture browser click File > New
  2. Enter the following - Package: myLevel, Group: Scoreboard, Name: scrollingMsgTexPanner, MaterialClass: TexPanner
  3. Press New
  4. Select the scipted texture you made from the texture browser
  5. In TexPanner Properties, select Material and press Use
  6. You can change the scrolling speed by setting the PanRate. It's 0.1 by default
Apply this texture to a surface in the map, and check its unlit property.

TexPanner Properties



MessageTextureClient

MessageTextureClient Properties

The MessageTextureClient actor lets you set the display text and other properties of the scrolling scoreboard.

1: Add a MessageTextureClient somewhere near the scoreboard (Actor > Info > MessageTextureClient)

2: Right-click the MessageTextureClient and click properties, then expand the MessageTextureClient tab

3: Set these properties:
bCaps: Sets whether or not the entire message is displayed in capitals (True or False)
Font: The display font. You can't select a font by pressing "..." or "use". Open the package UT2003Fonts.utx in the texture browser and you can see all the fonts. Type a font into the font property - it must be formatted like this: Font'UT2003Fonts.*FontName*', for example Font'UT2003Fonts.FontLarge'.

Here is a list of all the fonts available. It's a good idea to pick a large font for a scoreboard.

Font'UT2003Fonts.DefaultFont'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile8'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile9'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile11'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile12'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile14'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile17'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile21'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile24'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile29'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontEurostile37'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontLarge'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontLarge1024x768'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontLarge800x600'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontMedium'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontMedium1024x768'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontMedium800x600'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontMono'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontMono800x600'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit8'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit9'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit11' 		Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit12'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit14'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit17'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit21'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit24'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit29'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontNeuzeit37'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontSmall'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontSmallText'
Font'UT2003Fonts.FontSmallText800x600'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontLarge'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontLarge1024x768'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontLarge800x600'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontMedium'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontMedium1024x768'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontMedium800x600'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontMono'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontMono800x600'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontSmall'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontSmallText'
Font'UT2003Fonts.jFontSmallText800x600'

FontColor: Sets the colour of the text displayed on the screen. Make sure you change it from black and increase the alpha (A), otherwise the text won't show up on the black background.

MessageTexture: Select the ScriptedTexture you made earlier from the texture browser and click Use.

ScrollingMessage: The text displayed on the screen. Type anything you like here. Add %lp to display the leading player's name, and %lf to display their frags - for example %lp leads the match with %lf frags.



Testing

Note: The scrolling message only works in-game, you will get a "detached client" message when previewing it in UnrealEd.

Play the game and watch your name scroll across the screen! If the message doesn't show up, check that you've set the FontColor alpha value high enough and have added the SciptedTexture to the MessageTextureClient properties. Also check you've applied the TexPanner to a surface and not the ScriptedTexture.