![[Home]](/jailbreak-ext/jdn-logo.jpg){kind=logo}
Jailbreak maps for UT2004 can have a custom Loading Screen. This is an image specific to your map that will be displayed while it is loading. You can of course choose to make your loading screen look like whatever you want, but if you want to keep with the style of the "official" maps you'll need to follow the instructions below. Above the complete guide are quick instructions for getting a loading screen in your map.
You're done – next time you load your Jailbreak map, it'll show your custom loading screen.
Before you start, you'll need a fairly recent version of Photoshop. I use PS7 but I believe versions back to 4 or 5 or even earlier may be adequate. I'm going to assume a decent skill level with image editing, if you need more help just ask in [related forum thread]
If you need reference of what the original loading screens look like fire up UEd, open the texture package "JBTexLoading", and export your favorite loading screen, then you can keep it at hand for comparison.
The first thing you'll need to do is take a screenshot of your map, it needs to be at least 1024*768 pixels (more is fine, just scale it down, but keep the 4:3 aspect ratio). Obviously you'll want to choose a nice looking part of your map, people on low-end computers will be sitting watching this for upwards of 30 seconds, so make it look nice.
Now, you need to download some resources. You will need the [UT2004 Logo], [UT2004 Characters], and the [Loading Screen Banner]. Also available is a [ready-made Photoshop file] which simply requires you place your screenshot into one of the layers. If you choose this option instead of rolling your own, you can simply download this ready-made file and the UT2004 Characters one, then ignore the parts where you place in the banner, logo, and add in the lines layer.
You're going to be pulling several images off of colored backgrounds, so I'll outline how to do that now. What you want is the "magic wand" tool, it's up with the selection tools. Find the "tolerance" setting (it's location varies in different versions) and set it to 0. Now click the background (the part you don't want) of the image, then go to Select→Inverse. In the case of the UT2004 logo you may need to hold down shift and click multiple times with the magic wand to select all the background areas. If the marquee (dotted line thingy) you get isn't "hugging" what you want properly, increase the tolerance of the wand progressively until it does.
Make a 1024*1024 image file, and copy your (1024*768 resized if needed) screenshot into it. Place the screenshot at the top so there is a 1024*256 pixel space at the bottom. Take the paint bucket and dump pure black into the bottom space.
Now, it's time to add that attractive banner down the left side of your loading screen. Open up the "Tournament 2004.bmp" file (from "LoadingScreenBanner.zip") and copy the white text out and paste it onto your loading screen. Arrange it so that it is "centered" vertically and near the left of the screen, use your best judgement. Now select the layer that was created when you pasted the banner in and slide the "opacity" slider down to 25-50%, or whatever looks right to you. Again, you can use the previously made loading screens for reference with positioning/opacity.
Ok, now you'll need the UT2004 logo. If you have the version I attached here, it is already resized for you, so just pull it off the background and paste it in. Place the logo near the top of the loading screen, either on the left or the right depending on where you want to place your character.
Finally, you'll need your character, look around a bit and find the one you like best. For the versions compiled for this tutorial the work of pulling the characters off of their backgrounds, resizing them, adding the appropriate feather effect, and placing them on a transparent background has already been done for you (from the original Epic fansite kit characters), so just do a Select→Select All (ctrl+a) and copy it out onto your loading screen.
The next layer is the "lines" layer. Start a new file, of 1x2 pixels. Colour the bottom pixel with about a 30% grey and the top pixel white. Save that as a pattern (Go to Edit→Define Pattern... in PS7). Then, in the layers window, click "create new layer" and move the layer so that it is above the level screenshot and banner in the layers list, and below the UT2004 logo and character(s). Click "Fill" from the left menu, click "Pattern" from the drop-down menu at the top, and find that 1x2 pixel pattern. Click anywhere in the image, and the entire image should be covered completely in horizontal alternating white and grey lines. Set this layer blending option to Overlay, and reduce the Fill slider to 25%. You should see the background and banner with a nice feint line effect through it.
Ok, that should be about it. Save as you do this at every stage in case you make a mistake. At the end flatten the image and save it in a file format UEd can accept (if you have the DDS plugin go straight to DXT1, with mipmaps). Import the file into the MyLevel package of your map and make the name LoadingScreen (group doesn't matter but the name MUST be LoadingScreen). Make sure you didn't miss the step where you make it a 1024*1024 image with black space at the bottom or UEd won't accept the import. When importing check the "Generate Mipmaps" checkbox unless you already created them with the DDS plugin. If you don't do this quality will degrade at lower resolutions. In the texture browser do properties on your imported texture and set Texture→LODSet to "LODSET_Interface". This will ensure that UT2004 doesn't uglify your loading screen on lower detail settings. Apply your texture to a surface or actor in your map or UEd will discard it when saving (as it believes it to be unused).
That should do it, when you load your map Jailbreak should use the loading screen you created, instead of randomly choosing one from the defaults.