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You're reading from  Build Stunning Real-time VFX with Unreal Engine 5

Product typeBook
Published inMay 2023
PublisherPackt
ISBN-139781801072410
Edition1st Edition
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Author (1)
Hrishikesh Andurlekar
Hrishikesh Andurlekar
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Hrishikesh Andurlekar

Hrishikesh Andurlekar is the founder of Tplusplus Interactive, an Unreal Authorized instructor, owner of a Unreal Authorized training center and a Mentor at Mastered UK. He has been a CG Supervisor at Prana Studios and Pixion. He has been working as a contractor/consultant in Unreal Engine for 6 years with leading companies including Reliance Jio Studios, Monk Studios, Prime Focus and True Telecom delivering Games, Simulations, Virtual Production Solutions and AR/VR experiences. He has trained companies around the world through Epic Games. More than 3200 hours of 1-2-1 training conducted for major companies like Technicolor, Yashraj studios, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Aptech among others.
Read more about Hrishikesh Andurlekar

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Preface

Unreal Engine’s Niagara is a powerful visual effects system developed by Epic Games for their Unreal Engine. It allows developers and artists to create stunning and complex particle effects and simulations in real time for use as high-quality visuals in games, films, and other interactive experiences. The learning curve is, however, very steep, and it is very difficult for beginners to get started with Niagara. This book addresses this issue and gives a gentle but detailed introduction to Niagara.

Who this book is for

This book is aimed at beginners who want to learn about Unreal Engine’s Niagara, a powerful visual effects tool used for creating complex particle simulations in real time. Whether you are a game developer, a visual effects artist, or a hobbyist, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the Niagara system, its features, and its functionality. With clear explanations, practical examples, and step-by-step guidance, this book will empower you to create stunning particle simulations and visual effects in Unreal Engine.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Getting Started with Unreal Engine Particle System Frameworks, gives a little history of particle systems in Unreal Engine.

Chapter 2, Understanding Particle System Concepts, helps you learn about foundational particle system concepts.

Chapter 3, Exploring Niagara Concepts and Architecture, teaches Niagara-specific concepts and provides an overview of its architecture, relevant terminology, and workflow.

Chapter 4, Building Our First Niagara System, gives an introduction to the UI and helps you create your first system.

Chapter 5, Diving into Emitter-System Overrides, takes a look at module and parameter overrides and workflow tips.

Chapter 6, Exploring Dynamic Inputs, helps you learn how to use dynamic inputs to extend parameter inputs and complex behaviors.

Chapter 7, Creating Custom Niagara Modules, explores extending the power of Niagara with custom-built modules.

Chapter 8, Local Modules and Versioning, demonstrates quick and dirty module development techniques and how to keep track of versions.

Chapter 9, Events and Event Handlers, examines the interaction between emitters using events and event handlers.

Chapter 10, Debugging Workflow in Niagara, delves into working with the Debugger panel, debug drawing, and debug console commands.

Chapter 11, Controlling Niagara Particles Using Blueprints, teaches you how to make an easy-to-use asset embedding a Niagara system in a blueprint and control the Niagara system through public variables.

To get the most out of this book

Before diving into Unreal Engine’s Niagara, it’s recommended that you have a basic understanding of the Unreal Engine editor. Additionally, familiarity with visual scripting languages such as Blueprint or similar programming languages will be helpful but is not required.

It’s also beneficial to have a general understanding of computer graphics and the concepts behind particle systems, such as emitters, particle lifetimes, and particle attributes. Familiarity with vector math and basic physics concepts can also be useful when working with particle simulations. Some of these basics are covered in the initial chapters.

Software/hardware covered in the book

Operating system requirements

Unreal Engine 5.1 – Niagara

Windows, macOS, or Linux

The recommended OS is Windows 11.

All the exercises in the book are available in a project posted on the GitHub link given in the next section. If your Niagara systems are not working as intended, please download the project file to find examples of working Niagara systems and figure out what you may have overlooked. If you are using a more recent version of Unreal than 5.1.1, please double-check for any errors that may crop up in the project during the project upgrade.

Download the example code files

You can download an Unreal project file for this book from GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Build-Stunning-Real-time-VFX-with-Unreal-Engine-5. If there’s an update to the project, it will be updated in the GitHub repository.

We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/. Check them out!

Download the color images

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots and diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://packt.link/jM6sa.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For instance, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in bold. Here is an example: “These include the Beam type, GPU sprites type, Mesh type, and Ribbon Data type.”

Tips or important notes

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Get in touch

Feedback from our readers is always welcome.

General feedback: If you have questions about any aspect of this book, email us at customercare@packtpub.com and mention the book title in the subject of your message.

Errata: Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you have found a mistake in this book, we would be grateful if you would report this to us. Please visit www.packtpub.com/support/errata and fill in the form.

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Author (1)

author image
Hrishikesh Andurlekar

Hrishikesh Andurlekar is the founder of Tplusplus Interactive, an Unreal Authorized instructor, owner of a Unreal Authorized training center and a Mentor at Mastered UK. He has been a CG Supervisor at Prana Studios and Pixion. He has been working as a contractor/consultant in Unreal Engine for 6 years with leading companies including Reliance Jio Studios, Monk Studios, Prime Focus and True Telecom delivering Games, Simulations, Virtual Production Solutions and AR/VR experiences. He has trained companies around the world through Epic Games. More than 3200 hours of 1-2-1 training conducted for major companies like Technicolor, Yashraj studios, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Aptech among others.
Read more about Hrishikesh Andurlekar