Multiplayer in game level editor

So I have been working on this level editor for a good month and change now. The level editor is entirely designed in blueprints. The goal is to have a portable in game multiplayer level editor that will allow me to build cool maps with my friends in real time for my game Revulsion as well as future projects. Long term the level editor will be seamlessly combined with gameplay so people can actually be fighting monster while the level is being developped. Real time testing in addition to instant input from other designers. The editor seems to be doing very well as I was able to have 6-7 people all in the map at once all working on the same area. One of the things that is really great about this is that it allows me to build a solid foundation for future multiplayer projects while also allowing me to build cool levels for my current game Revulsion which is on sale on steam right now for $4.99.

This video shows the level editor in action

You can download the latest version of the In Game Multiplayer level editor from here. (The level editor is free)

In the above video you will see me and my friends all working together and discussing level design in real time during my stream on DLive.
If you visit this link you can find my DLive channel and see the entire vod playing on repeat for now.

This level editor can be used for any other unreal project. Its really not a super complex system actually. It could easily make levels for UT4 for example. FOr a price I would be willing to hook something like this up to someone elses project. :slight_smile: For now I am starting on the design for a new singleplayer episode for Revulsion called Death’s Spiral.

Revulsion can be found here :

Procedurally generated Maps in a whole new light!

I didn’t watch the entire video, but it looks promising, good luck!

Procedural generation? This is hand crafted design I am pretty sure. The difference is that its cooperative.

Vlog 34: Hierarchical instancing is possible in my level editor.


One of the most prized features of level design may be coming to my level editor very soon. If your level editor does not have Hierarchical instancing then its kinda second rate. :smiley:

Hierarchical instancing is a system where you can create instances and prefabs that can contain additional instances and prefabs. Its one of the most powerful level editing tools ever to exist.

With that said, in the video, I show the new level in a functional state within Revulsion. Then I go over all of the new changes and fixes for the latest version of both the editor and the game.


  • Revulsion Editor
  • Fix save game issues.
    Issue should now be addressed. If its not it will be more obvious as each time a save is made it displays a message.
  • Name tags!
    Should now all be working correctly.
  • Lock option.
    Its now possible to lock any object in the world to prevent accidental manipulation.
  • Z lock reversed.
    Reworded rotation lock from lock to Unlock. “Unlocked” makes more sense for it to rotate with your view point.
  • Counter and multimanger.
    These objects are no longer reversed in the details tab.
  • More cleanup on Trigger details tab.
    Scale options no longer appear for trigger counter and multimanagers.
  • Flight mode.
    When in flying mode you now fly in the direction you are looking.
  • Tab Key now activates mouse / Interact mode.
    Later on the E key will be reserved for looting items and flipping switches.
  • right click to get out of build mode.
    Right clicking will now toggle your builder mode.
  • A proper character mesh added.
    While in combat and edit modes you will see an actual character model.
  • Make it so you can play this map in Revulsion.

A lot more is on the way so if you like this kind of content then please support me!

@Castle

I really appreciate what you’re doing here as I’ve been working on a Multiuser 3D Construction/Customization System for a few months now. I find your approach interesting as multiplayer construction mode, for a single player game. I personally think the multiplayer gameplay needs to get in as soon as possible to build the community of map builders from the player base. Dead servers are killer of multiplayer games.

I also agree with you on UE4 needs its own Garry Mod. GMod was one of the inspirations for GOD of DREAMS which also puts emphasis on First Person Shooter Mechanics and Tabletop RPG Systems. We’re definitely making use Semi-Procedural Generation to speed up Adventure Creation. There is no restriction on theme or art style so I can make use of any Marketplace assets intermixing cubic voxels, low-poly, stylized, photo-realism all in same game worlds.

This is a two pronged dev cycle where I have a game that already exists and I have begun working on the sequel to that game. The Sequel is a fully multiplayer game from the ground up where I am making all aspects of its development a multiplayer experience as well. The new project is only two months in development so far and is already looking to be the absolute best thing for me to have begun working on ever. This method also makes it easier for me to further update the first game, the level editor can quite easily make levels for any unreal project because of how it is structured.

I just spent the night working on new areas for a new Revulsion episode called Death’s Spiral with 4 of my friends online. We constructed 2 detailed locations with first pass lighting and monster placement within a matter of 3 hours. The amount of productivity that collaborative level design brings to the table is ■■■■■■■ fierce. And my friends all seemed to be enjoying the experience the entire time. Its ■■■■■■■ amazing!

This project is WAY under the radar right now. Holy crap its so fun to work in this kind of environment. And the results are super good. Many times during last nights live stream I was surprised to see how quickly things were coming along. This is insanely good.

If you want to see for yourself you can check out last nights live stream VOD at this link.
https://dlive.tv/p/thecastle+ckBhV2FZg

Or catch the next live stream, I usually stream at very late hours though.

Wow. Awesome @Castle, I totally agree 100% with you. Collaborative 3D construction is a powerful way to create and when it comes to complex game environments, it just make sense like IRL. The *Hero Engine *was my first introduction to the collaborative level building, since that time I anticipated Collab Level Design to become the norm. In fact, I expected all software to support collab. I only use collaborative documents, nowadays ie Google Docs. I’m very shocked that collaborative support was not core to UnrealEditor 4.

Collaborative Construction can be very social and entertaining within itself, becoming the ‘game’. They’re many games that see the value of collaborative creativity and have capitalized on like the minecraft, terratech, roblox, spore, others. I enjoyed the Spore Creators by themselves. Spent hours creating various Creatures for no reason. Wished I could use them in games. I’m not much of a modeler, but I do enjoy kitbashing for large to small entities and logic systems. So I thought to myself why not apply the methodology of collaborative kitbashing to everything in the game world.

Corporate people who are in charge of most engine advancement in the industry don’t see much value in changing the design pipeline very much. They cant think out of the box and possibly even view this kind of method as being pointless because its better to pay one person to do one job rather than apply a kind of locust swarm mentality. Once money begins to change hands then you have to think that something like this can be daunting as hell.

Also, most big tech 3d engines these days are built off of old engines. They have almost all become like giant Frankenstein monsters.

This project I am working on now has become genuinely exciting for me though as it starting to feel like I really got something going that nobody else is doing and its ■■■■■■■ good. It also feels good because this is something I have argued for many times in the past and people have said no, or they think the idea is stupid. This ■■■■ is flying right in their faces and I am powered the ■■■■ up to make them look as stupid as possible for questioning this concept! :smiley:

This is ■■■■■■■ awesome and it needs to be the standard!

@Castle

Any plans to implement procedural generation with replication for multiuser support? I think it can be a major advantage in the creation process.

My justification for doing so in GODofDREAMS is to facilitate rapid creation using proc gen as templates. The templates are modular and can be customized in realtime. Its my belief that rapid creation will allow Dream Masters to translate whats in their imagination into the gameworld with minimum latency, adapting and adjusting game play interactively to the players without putting the game on long holds. This is closer to how Tabletop RPGs/LARPs work, compared to traditional computer RPGs.

Yeah actually, My game Revulsion already has procedural level design supported. So the only thing I need to do is allow you to build tiles using the level editor. Its actually very possible to set that up without even having to do very much.

Build Tiles? So the Procedural Generation creates ‘level’ tiles to assemble manually?

No, I connect pre built areas as tiles similar to how Warframe does it. My level editor can be used to create these pre built tiles.

Sounds slick. Ill have to check out how how Warframe does it. I’m all about modular design. Is this approach to support level streaming?

I will release a couple videos in a bit showing everything in its current state. I have fully supported hierarchical instancing in a multiplayer environment now. I plan to also let players build the guns using the same prefab system. So all of the weapons in the game will be built using this. The system I have right now is really good.

These two videos will get you up to speed on everything. I recommend watching them at x2 speed because they translate very well.

This shows the most recent stuff in action and it shows me in a server with about 5-6 people all working together building stuff.

@Castle,

Awesome videos man. Just discovered UE4 Editor had multiuser editing since 4.22 → https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/…ser/index.html

Still not in-game, so we’re good, but glad to see this for low level development with the UE4 Editor Suite.