UDK Kismet and Matinee

Kismet - Visual Programming System

    Parts of Kismet can be scripted
    You can make your own nodes
    For really complicated things, better to just code it
    All animations (cutscenes) are kismet triggered
    Rendering demo reel requires Kismet

    When using triggers, turn Max Trigger count to zero

Matinee - This is the animation system in UDK
    It is for simple animations, camera moves, lights on/off,
        camera cuts, etc.
It sucks as a UI, so don't try to make complicated animations in Kismet
Not useful for character animation
For character animation, import from Maya,
and trigger in Kismet

    All animation is in seconds (you can show frames)
    but frames aren't the real time line. The real time
    is seconds.

    You can choose your own frame rate, and lock keys to that time.
    30 is a common choice. Most games run at 60, some at 30.

    I will suggest 24fps for anything you want to output
    to a demo reel. Use the same for the assignments.

    Most games use 30, since they aren't output to film.

    For your demo reel, use 24 if you want to render.

Interactivity:

Hotkey: push alt-w to toggle static meshes visible.

Dragging a static mesh into your scene will snap it to the upward facing surface you put it on.

Making an elevator:
- To make a static mesh a 'mover', right click > Convert > Convert Static Mesh Actor to Mover.
- Hit the 'K' in the icon bar, it will open Kismet.
- Right-click on the grey part in Kismet > New Event Using [object] > Mover
- You should see a new node network. The yellow diamond shape is an 'Event'.
- A player is a 'Pawn'.
Matinee:
- In Kismet, double-click on Matinee. Turn on 'Toggle Snap' (the little magnet on the icon bar).
- Change your frame rate to whatever you need to. In this case, 24 fps.
- Click 'Snap Time to Frames'.
- The numbers at the bottom are the time slider.
- The white bar is the range slider.
- Middle mouse scroll to see less or more time.
- Red flags are beginning and end of animation.
- 'Enter' sets a key.
- To make an elevator, just key the intial position at frame 1 and the last position at frame 48 (or whatever frame will be the end).
It's pretty straight forward, and what's nice about Matinee is that it has the seconds as well as frames.
- In the Movement's options, you can check 'Show Rotation on Curve Ed' to be able to see rotational attributes in the graph editor.
- Right click on a keyframe to set value.
- Hold CTRL to move the points.
- CTRL + ALT to drag select.

Then right-click on your mover > Set Collision Type > Block All. This will ensure you can actually interact.

Turn off global illumination so build is quick.

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A trigger is an object that can be a button or a motion detector, etc.
Right Click > Add Actor > Add Trigger
In Kismet, right-click > New Event Using Trigger > Touch
Connect 'Touch' on your trigger node to 'Play' on the Matinee node. Then click the trigger event and then open sequence event in the options.
Make the Max Trigger Count a value of zero. This gives it no maximum, meaning you can trigger it over and over again as many times as you want.
You can always right click on the outputs on your nodes in Matinee to see options.