Exec Commands

Before we get started, thanks to c0mp1le, Ob1-Kenobi & Mr.Mitchell for their invaluable advice during the creation of this tutorial.

#exec commands are used to import resources (e.g. models, textures, sounds, etc.) into a .u file, the resource can be in the relevant Unreal format (e.g. utx, uax) or in one of a number of other formats that UCC and UnrealEd support.#exec commands can either be placed in the body of a UnrealScript class or typed directly into the UnrealEd console.

Miscellaneous Resources

#exec OBJ LOAD

This #exec command will import a pre-existing Unreal resource, commonly a .utx file.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
FILE	specifies the path of the resource to import
PACKAGE	specifies the name of the package to import resource into

Example:

#exec OBJ LOAD FILE=..\Textures\JWSKy.utx PACKAGE=SE

#exec TEXTURE IMPORT

Imports a texture from a .pcx file.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
NAME	specifies the name of the texture in Unreal
FILE	specifies the path of the texture to import
GROUP	which group in the current package to place the texture		Yes
MIPS	whether or not mip-maps should be generated for this texture, should be OFF for textures that'll be used by UWindows (e.g. new HUD icons)	ON/OFF	Yes
FLAGS	2 = masked texture		Yes

Example:

#exec TEXTURE IMPORT NAME=Light FILE=Textures\Light.PCX GROUP="Icons" MIPS=OFF FLAGS=2

#exec FONT IMPORT

Import a font texture for use as a font in Unreal.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
FILE	specifies the path of the font texture to import
NAME	specifies the name of the font in Unreal

Example:

#exec FONT IMPORT FILE=Textures\MedFont.pcx NAME=MedFont

#exec NEW TRUETYPEFONTFACTORY

Import a true type font for use as a font in Unreal. For a thorough explanation of the nuances of importing true type fonts read this.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
PACKAGE	specifies the name of the UTX package to import the font into (but only if importing from within UnrealEd)		Yes
NAME	specifies the name of the font in Unreal
FONTNAME	specifies the Windows name of the font to be imported, e.g. "Arial"
HEIGHT	height of the font in pixels, which is passed to the Windows' CreateFont() API call
ANTIALIAS	whether or not to anti-alias the font when importing it (1 = anti-aliased)	0/1
CHARACTERSPERPAGE	specifies the number of characters per 256x256 pixel font texture. The default is 64		Yes
XPAD	adds horizontal space between characters		Yes
YPAD	adds vertical space between characters		Yes

Example:

#exec NEW TRUETYPEFONTFACTORY NAME=Tahoma30 FONTNAME="Tahoma" Height=30 ANTIALIAS=1 CHARACTERSPERPAGE=32

#exec AUDIO IMPORT

Import a sound from a .wav file.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
FILE	specifies the path of the sound to import
NAME	specifies the name of the sound in Unreal
GROUP	which group in the current package to place the sound		Yes

Example:

#exec AUDIO IMPORT FILE="Sounds\ChainSaw\ChainIdle.WAV" NAME="ChainIdle" GROUP="ChainSaw"

Vertex Animation

Importing models into Unreal requires an understanding of the LOD system, read up on it here.

#exec MESH LODPARAMS

Configure various LOD options for a mesh (vertex or skeletal).

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	specifies the mesh to configure LODing for
STRENGTH	per-mesh linear LOD scaler, default = 1.0, higher values result in more aggressive LOD-culling
MINVERTS	the minimum number of vertices you want your mesh to always retain at the farthest distances		Yes
MORPH	the proportion of vertices that are allowed to contribute to the smooth morphing, 0.0 for no morphing	0 - 1	Yes
ZDISP	specifies in UUs the distance at which the LOD culling kicks in		Yes

Example:

#exec MESH LODPARAMS MESH=LodMesh STRENGTH=1.0 MINVERTS=14 MORPH=0.25 ZDISP=90.0

#exec MESH IMPORT

Imports a vertex mesh (_d.3d).

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	specifies the name of the mesh in Unreal
ANIVFILE	specifies the path of the animation file
DATAFILE	specifies the path of the vertex mesh
X, Y, Z	set the origin of the mesh		Yes
MLOD	whether or not this mesh should be LODed	0/1	Yes
LODSTYLE	bit field with switches to change the style of building the pre-collapse sequence	1, 2, 4, 8, 16	Yes
LODFRAME	specify which animation frame rather than the default 0th frame to be sampled for generating the collapse sequence		Yes
LODNOTEX	causes texture coordinates to be ignored when importing		Yes
LODOLD	maintain the original order of animation vertices as they are imported		Yes

Example:

#exec MESH IMPORT MESH=Duke ANIVFILE=MODELS\Duke_a.3d DATAFILE=MODELS\Duke_d.3d X=0 Y=0 Z=0 LODSTYLE=1

#exec MESH ORIGIN

Sets the origin of a mesh.

 

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	specifies the mesh to set the origin of
X, Y, Z	set the origin of the mesh		Yes
YAW, ROLL, PITCH	set the rotation of the mesh		Yes

Example:

#exec MESH ORIGIN MESH=Duke X=0 Y=0 Z=0

#exec MESH SEQUENCE

Define an animation sequence.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	specifies the mesh to create an animation sequence for
SEQ	specifies the name of the animation sequence
STARTFRAME	specifies the frame at which the animation sequence starts
NUMFRAMES	specifies the number of frames in the animation
RATE	frames per second (though the duration of the anim is set in PlayAnim() calls)		Yes
GROUP	which group to place the anim in		Yes

Example:

#exec MESH SEQUENCE MESH=Duke SEQ=All STARTFRAME=0 NUMFRAMES=265

#exec MESH NOTIFY

Create a notification callback.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	the mesh to link the notification to
SEQ	specifies the name of the animation sequence
TIME	call the notify function after this fraction of the animation has played (e.g. 0.1 = 1/10th)	0 - 1
FUNCTION	specifies the name of the function to call

Example:

#exec MESH NOTIFY MESH=Duke SEQ=All TIME=0.1 FUNCTION=LandThump

#exec MESHMAP NEW

Define a meshmap to apply textures to a mesh.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESHMAP	specifies the name of the meshmap
MESH	specifies the mesh which the meshmap applies to

Example:

#exec MESHMAP NEW MESHMAP=Duke MESH=Duke

#exce MESHMAP SCALE

Change the scale of a meshmap.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESHMAP	specifies the meshmap to scale
X, Y, Z	how much to scale the meshmap on each axes

Example:

#exec MESHMAP SCALE MESHMAP=Duke X=0.1 Y=0.1 Z=0.2

#exce MESHMAP SETTEXTURE

Assign a texture to part of a meshmap.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESHMAP	specifies the meshmap to assign textures to
NUM	where to place this texture in the MultiSkins array
TEXTURE	specifies the name of the texture to apply, this texture should already have been imported

Example:

#exec MESHMAP SETTEXTURE MESHMAP=Duke NUM=0 TEXTURE=Duke0

Skeletal Animation

Essential reading for the skeletal animation system can be found here.

#exec MESH MODELIMPORT

Imports a skeletal mesh (.psk).

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	specifies the name of the mesh in Unreal
MODELFILE	specifies the path of the model to import
X, Y, Z	set the origin of the mesh		Yes
MLOD	whether or not this mesh should be LODed	0/1	Yes
LODSTYLE	bit field with switches to change the style of building the pre-collapse sequence	1, 2, 4, 8, 16	Yes
LODFRAME	specify which animation frame rather than the default 0th frame to be sampled for generating the collapse sequence		Yes
LODNOTEX	causes texture coordinates to be ignored when importing		Yes
LODOLD	maintain the original order of animation vertices as they are imported		Yes

Example:

#exec MESH MODELIMPORT MESH=Tosc MODELFILE=MODELS\Tosc.psK LODSTYLE=8 X=0 Y=0 Z=0

#exec ANIM IMPORT

Import an animation file (.psa).

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
ANIM	specifies the name of the UAnimation object
ANIMFILE	specifies the path of the animation file to import
IMPORTSEQS	1 signifies that the animation sequence info embedded into the binary .PSA file by the Max exporter is to be used
MAXKEYS	sets an adjustable squeeze on the number of keys in the animation as a whole		Yes
COMPRESS	does the same as MAXKEYS, does the same but with a simple factor ranging from 0 to 1	0 - 1	Yes

Example:

#exec ANIM IMPORT ANIM=SkAnimTest ANIMFILE=models\10.psa IMPORTSEQS=1 COMPRESS=0.9 MAXKEYS=9999999

#exec ANIM SEQUENCE

Import an animation sequence.

Yes

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
ANIM	specifies the name of the animation
SEQ	specifies the name of the animation sequence
STARTFRAME	specifies the frame at which the animation starts
NUMFRAMES	specifies the number of frames in the animation
RATE	frames per second (though the duration of the anim is set in PlayAnim() calls)
GROUP	which group to place the anim in		Yes

Example:

#exec ANIM SEQUENCE ANIM=TozcAnim1 SEQ=All STARTFRAME=0 NUMFRAMES=25 RATE=0.2 GROUP=Default

#exec ANIM DIGEST

Once you've imported animations, a DIGEST command needs to be issued, at which point all sequences are compressed into the internal key track format.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
ANIM	specifies the UAnimation object to "digest" the animations into
VERBOSE	specify 'VERBOSE' to see more information in UCC.log after the rebuild		Yes

Example:

#exec ANIM DIGEST ANIM=SkAnimTest VERBOSE

#exec ANIM NOTIFY

Create a notifcation callback, must be placed after the ANIM DIGEST.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
ANIM	specifies the animation to link the notification to
SEQ	specifies the name of the animation sequence
TIME	call the notify function after this fraction of the animation has played (e.g. 0.1 = 1/10th)	0 - 1
FUNCTION	specifies the name of the function to call

Example:

#exec ANIM NOTIFY ANIM=TozcAnim1 SEQ=All TIME=0.1 FUNCTION=LandThump

#exec MESH DEFAULTANIM

Link a UAnimation object to a skeletal mesh at compile time.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	specifies the skeletal mesh to link the animations to
ANIM	specifies the UAnimation object to link

Example:

#exec MESH DEFAULTANIM MESH=MeshSk ANIM=SkAnimTest

#exec MESH BOUNDINGBOX

Override the engine's default bounding box with one that better fits the model.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	specifies the mesh to define the bounding box for
XMIN, YMIN, ZMIN	define the lower bounds of the box
XMAX, YMAX, ZMAX	define the upper bounds of the box

Example:

#exec MESH BOUNDINGBOX MESH=MeshSk XMIN=-64.0 YMIN=-64.0 ZMIN=-64.0 XMAX=64.0 YMAX=64.0 ZMAX=64.0

#exec MESH WEAPONATTACH

Define which bone is the weapon carrier.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	specifies the mesh we're defining the weapon bone for
BONE	the name of the bone to assign as weapon carrier

Example:

#exec MESH WEAPONATTACH MESH=MeshSk BONE="Right hand"

#exec MESH WEAPONPOSITION

Define the location of the attachment point, relative to the weapon carrier bone.

Parameter	Description	Possible values	Optional?
MESH	specifies the mesh we're dealing with
YAW, PITCH, ROLL	specifies the rotation of the weapon attachment point
X, Y, Z	specifies the location of the weapon attachment point

Example:

#exec MESH WEAPONPOSITION MESH=MeshSk YAW=50 PITCH=0 ROLL=10 X=0.0 Y=0.0 Z=0.0