This skybox thing is making my head explode! Following the Architectonic tutorial, I make the skyball mesh, add in the SkyZoneInfo Actor, checked the Fake Backdrop flag on the desired surface , and it doesn't even work! I even placed the Actor dead center in the the Skyball, and still the surface with the Fake Backdrop flag does not display the skyball at all! Either I mash my computer into pieces or in a fit of madness uninstall and reinstall UT2004 500 times! Yes! I'm that pissed off!

Can someone help me before I have to call some sort of asylum and imprison myself in it? Goddamnit, sometimes I feel the best day for everyone is always my worst...

Here's the skybox tutorial in a nutshell, and easy to understand (that's a first for da OCA).

1. Make a subtracted box out in the middle of nowhere in your map. It cannot be attached to any part of your level, or even accessible unless you cheat and ghost into it.

2. Add your Static Mesh inside that box. It must be FULLY inside.

3. Add in a SkyZoneInfo inside the box. Center this to where you want the center of the skybox to be. This is because the actual SZI is exactly where you will see from in your level. Also, make sure to set the SZI to have ambient lighting, since the thing itself needs light to be able to be even seen.

4. In the actual level itself, whatever surfaces you want to not appear, and show the skybox instead, you need to select at surface. Next, hit F5, and go to the first tab. Click on Fake Backdrop. Now, hit the Rebuild Geometry button. This alone will get the backdrop to appear on those surfaces.

Oh, and about the last part, I feel that way all the time. If I'm doing good, all else is ****. If all is bad for me, all is perfect for all else. Only when I'm neutral feeling that everyone's on an even level with me.

My skyball is completely inside a subtracted box, with the SZI in the center where I want it. I even added ambient brightness to make some sort of light, and still, it just shows a non-light-affected surface. No stars, whatsoever.

Okay, screw it, it worked! The most frustrating "goose chase." I've ever had. Enhance the frustration with a little rock music, and you'll get the same anger and insanity I got in my first post.

I'm guessing you also had to rebuild the Lighting.

Here's another head-scratcher for me. I made a skybox using the skybox textures, and it aligns perfectly. Then after a few rooms or so, the skybox looks like this:
[br][img width=800 height=600]../../files/public/1198614304_30_FT48620_skyboxglitch_.jpg[/img][br]
As you can see, the skybox is still perfectly aligned, by all of a sudden part of the texture goes nuts and stretches itself. as shown in the red rectangle. The textures are 1024x1024, and the skybox is 1024x1024 as well. Am I doing anything wrong?


EDIT: Nevermind, I figured it out.

I didnt examine those pictures or fully read everything but did you make the actor directional?