After 6 years more or less making maps in more than 10 different game engines and use BSP tools to create prototypes, make complete or semi complete maps (minus details), this is my complete list of ideas and thinks for update the UE4 BSP tools and workflow:
((Workflow)):
Overall: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28070491/UE/Forums/PostRequest/BSP_GSC/General.flv
Create & Move: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28070491/UE/Forums/PostRequest/BSP_GSC/Create%26Move.flv
Texture Edit & Vertex: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28070491/UE/Forums/PostRequest/BSP_GSC/Textures%26Vertex.flv (You can select all brush or individual faces)
Brush mods: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28070491/UE/Forums/PostRequest/BSP_GSC/Path%26HollowTypes.flv (…and paths, clip tools, triangulate, optimize…)
*Move brush faces, change the size and move faces without select the faces of the brush.
General:
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Move from “Place” tab the BSP & Volumes tabs to “Geometry Editing”.
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In “Geometry Editing” create sub tabs like in the “Landscape” tab. (At enter in the “Geometry Editing” tab the viewport editor controls change to other to work better with BSP)
2.1. General: To select the geometry/shape to place & select the type: (Blocking Volume, GSC Add, GSC Subs, Audio…). Example: Cone + Blocking Volume. (You can change later the type of volume)
2.1.1. If for example you like create a Cylinder or Cone you can select the number of faces from 3 to x.
2.2. Edit mode: Here you can translate vertex, move faces, select individual faces and move or rotate or scale (Advanced Edit).
2.4. UV & Lightmap mode: Here you can edit the lightmaps of the BSP and the UV of the faces. (Rotate, Translate) -
Change the Volumes wireframe to Volumes with faces to have transparent textures (You can turn on/off this from project settings or editor or selected actor/BSP)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28070491/UE/Forums/PostRequest/BSP_GSC/GeneralBSPIdea.png
Modes:
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In the edit BSP tab change to General BSP edit and add sub tabs like in the terrain editor to switch to (GENERAL|EDIT|MATERIAL)
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General Mode:
- Move, rotate, scale.
- Move/Scale faces.
- Extrude.
- Create shapes
- Free shape mode.
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Edit Mode:
- You can edit the vertex.
- Move vertex.
- Move faces.
- Rotate faces.
- Scale faces.
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Material Mode:
- You can assign the brush material.
- Assign the faces material.
- You can select the faces to assign color.
- Paint of vertex materials.
- Setup the uv direction, rotation, scale, stretch, shift, tile in individual, or all faces of brush of materials.
- Setup the uv direction, rotation, scale, stretch, shift, tile in individual, or all faces of brush of lightmap.
- Edit lightmap. (Full or individual faces)
- Edit materials. (Full or individual faces)
Main objetive:
- Faster edition.
- Realtime edit.
- Faster controls.
- Basic structure of maps, levels, houses, models… and triggers, volumes, zones and collisions.
- To prototype maps or ideas. (And for use of the programmers).
- BSP edit SPEED BEFORE of features & tools.
Overall:
- Select the default brush (triangle, cube, cone…)
- Editable keys to edit BSP.
- Box, Triangle, Plane, Cone, Curve, Torus, Cylinder, Pyramid, Sphere, path of curve and terrain (path are like a terrain but small enabling vertex edit and brush like in the terrain editor)
- Collisions and brushes need faces no like now (you can see the collision what is in and what is out or back, because only see the wireframe)
- Clip tool realtime with view
- Improve the layout viewports.
- Apply material to all faces of selected BSP brush or individual.
- Hollow tool.
- Change the number of faces of a shape. (3 to x)
- Vertex, Faces, UV (Material & Lightmap)(By faces and brush) edit.
- Change the default Blueprints name to Blueprint Logic and add Blueprint as prefab (the prefabs are explained here: Engine & Editor improvements needed - Feedback for Unreal Engine team - Unreal Engine Forums)
- All already features in the editor. (Some features are repeated here or have been changed from the original ones).
Fast controls example:
- With selected brush SpaceBar duplicate brush.
- With selected brush BlackSpace remove brush.
- Shift + Click select brush.
- Drag with mouse to create brush.
- With selected brush if drag in brush move the brush.
- With selected brush if drag out brush scale the faces in that dir.
- With selected brush press r to rotate, and esc to end.
- With selected brush press w to scale, and esc to end.
- With selected brush press e to extrude, and esc to end.
- With selected brush if press v, change to vertex edit mode.
- With selected brush if press g, change to general edit mode.
- With selected brush if press f, change to face edit mode.
- With selected brush if press c, change to material edit mode.
- Press I invert the selection.
- In viewport if press shift + tab change the view to next view cycle (A. Top, B. Side, C. Next Front), same keys to change view.