UE4 : What is BSP and When Should You Use It? 

You can covert the bsp objects to mesh objects from the properties.

@@Linkz64 Cool, like i said never really got into the UE. I tried starting it a few times, but I was like.. This is too alien, time to go back to familiar places haha.

It won't be in the next video but I will cover that. And yeah, BSP tools in UE4 are nowhere near the usability of Hammer editor but we gotta work with what we got.

Beautifully said!

there are both additive and subtractive brushes, both should be used in level. Though some ppl like to use only additive.

Yes. Geometry Editing mode is easier and more intuitive for me to change the size of the brush and it also helps me to ensure all the brushes stay on the grid. I had a lot of problems maintaining brushes on the grid with Scale Tool, since it scales each brush from the pivot point.

@@WorldofLevelDesign Thanks! I appreciate the quick response, keep up the great vids. I really have been enjoying and learning from your series of videos.

I would NOT do the entire level as one static mesh. You will get better performance and visual quality if you have several modular meshes that you put together to construct your environment. Also the resolution of your textures and number of materials as well as the type of materials you end up using, this will cause all sorts of problems trying to make that work. As well as trying to change or modify things later will be extremely hard if it is one single mesh. Export parts, export repeated architecture elements (columns, floors, ceiling, stairs, pillars, trims, walls, decorations etc). Then construct the level back together as several final detailed meshes that are being reused throughout your level.

​@@WorldofLevelDesign I just dont have the time to use modeling software to make parts for a level and im going to have to buy 70% of the models I need for my game anyway. So bsp is the only thing I have time to use, i will export parts of the level and sections into static meshes then :) to improve performance. thanks for your reply. Ive been doing the coding and logic for about a year and a half so struggling with level design a bit. Do you do independent jobs? Do you make and sell models etc?

No. UE4 does not turn BSP brushes into Static Meshes automatically. You could convert BSP brushes into Static Meshes by selecting BSP Brush and in Details Panel there will be an option to "Create Static Mesh" from that BSP brush. Blender offers a way to create Static Meshes (3d models) that are then imported into UE4 to be used as final in-game geometry. I recommend to use Blender or other 3d software to create Static Meshes with rather than converting BSP brushes into Static Meshes inside UE4 (which isn't very efficient).

usually better select many brushes and convert into 1 static mesh, there wont be any inside walls and it gets 1 lightmap UV.

@@izvarzone Making all brushes in one static mesh is a mistake I did long ago. I had split a level into 2-3 static meshes that needed 4096 sized lightmaps, and these made building static lighting to take forever to finish. If you don't use static light, then they will not be that bad. Still, these large static meshes will need collision, and it will be chore to make.

Binary Space Partitioning

@@void_official404 thank you :)

Yes. Simple geometry to blockout or create your initial environment with for testing scale, proportions, implementing gameplay and overall environment layout (cubes, planes, cylinders etc.) I don't have vertex painting tutorials yet.

Yeah, it isn't a perfect system. Reason it's black is probably due to lightmap issues on the converted Meshes. Try to rebuild lighting and perhaps increasing the lightmap resolution on the converted Mesh, that might work. It's likely that the converted Mesh is just too big and can't handle the lighting of it.

@@WorldofLevelDesign Thank you

@@WorldofLevelDesign Your structure is great though. I have now implemented the prototype phase first. I have blender, if I convert the brushes to static meshes is there a way by using blender that I can add a lightmap?

@@jamiefurey564 you should be able to create a second UV channel in Blender that UE4 will use as a lightmap. See this blenderartists.org/t/second-uv-channel/542817 After you re-import the mesh, you'll also need to update UV Coordinate Index to 1 inside the Static Mesh Editor for that Static Mesh for it to take effect.

Fair enough. Good comment. I like hearing about different workflows others use. Thanks for sharing.

You dont need to make every room of hundreds of pieces, you can make entire room as 1 mesh (converted from BSP) and then add smaller modular details. Not _every_ mesh have to be modular. It actually better for performance that way, because there's less wasted lightmap information, and less objects for CPU. Also with these add/subtract brushes you can make more interesting rooms than ctrl-c ctr-v'ing froor and wall meshes, or if you want change something you move few vertices instead of dozens of meshes. (as long as lightmap looks good, converted BSP into mesh can be that big)

Keep in mind that different workflows work for different people.

if it would have same role like in the past, it would be useful tool to use it instead mesh at some good occassions.. or even build complex levels if someone would rather do it inside Unreal rightaway on the go, if game genre would allow it. Doing work twice is annoying, and as you say, you need to think ahead, thinking of modularity and mesh reuse. It's just good only for very basic proportions/positions idea for import into 3D soft. It's always better to have UVed modular pieces of all build items you would need (depending on the game) to build basic level without props, and then block the level with game ready objects instead, so your work has always progress. Blocking out entire level is just waste of time and redundant step, but also I get it's only tool to share ideas in bigger gamedev teams, not much for small garage devs or one-person indie project, if it's not supposed to be game ready object. If BSP tools would be entire voxel based modelling system, that makes nice optimized UVed gameready mesh after merging, then now we are talking.. You would have entire interior level with materials built in one afternoon, even many many props.

I use it, because I like subtract and additive csg, and not think of topology or lightmap unwrapping.