They create all visible objects in the game from menu buttons to the trees in the game level. Some artists specialize in 3D modeling, while others are focused on animation. Artists make the game look beautiful and realistic. Artists have to learn how to import their created images/models, which are normally created first using other software such as 3DMax, Maya, and MODO into UE4. They would most likely need to make use of Blueprint to create certain custom behaviors for the game.

Many cinematic experts are also trained artists. They have a special eye and creative skills to create short movie scenes/cut scenes. The Matinee tool in UE4 will be what they would be using most of the time.

Sound designers have an acute sense of hearing and they are mostly musically trained. They work in the sound labs to create custom sounds/music for the game. They are in charge of importing sound files into UE4 to be played at suitable instances in the game. When using UE4, they would be spending most of their time using the Sound Cue Editor.

Designers determine what happens in the game, what goes on in the game, and what the game will be about. In the planning stage, most of the time will be spent in discussion, presentations, and documentation. In the production stage, they will oversee the game prototyping process to ensure that the game level is created as designed. Very often designers spend their time in the Unreal Editor to customize and fine-tune the level.

They are the group that looks into the technology and software the team needs to create the game. In pre-production, they are responsible for deciding which software programs are required and are capable of creating the game. They also have to ensure that the different software used are compatible with one another. Programmers also write codes to make the objects created by the artist come alive according to the idea that the designers came up with. They program the rules and functionality of the game. Some programmers are also involved in creating tools and research for the games. They are not directly involved in creating the game but instead are supporting the production pipeline. Games with extreme graphics usually have a team of researchers optimizing the graphics and creating more realistic graphics for the game. They spend most of their time in codes, probably coding in Visual Studio using C++. They are also able to modify and extend the features of UE4 to support the needs of the game that they are developing.

They create all visible objects in the game from menu buttons to the trees in the game level. Some artists specialize in 3D modeling, while others are focused on animation. Artists make the game look beautiful and realistic. Artists have to learn how to import their created images/models, which are normally created first using other software such as 3DMax, Maya, and MODO into UE4. They would most likely need to make use of Blueprint to create certain custom behaviors for the game.

Many cinematic experts are also trained artists. They have a special eye and creative skills to create short movie scenes/cut scenes. The Matinee tool in UE4 will be what they would be using most of the time.

Sound designers have an acute sense of hearing and they are mostly musically trained. They work in the sound labs to create custom sounds/music for the game. They are in charge of importing sound files into UE4 to be played at suitable instances in the game. When using UE4, they would be spending most of their time using the Sound Cue Editor.

Designers determine what happens in the game, what goes on in the game, and what the game will be about. In the planning stage, most of the time will be spent in discussion, presentations, and documentation. In the production stage, they will oversee the game prototyping process to ensure that the game level is created as designed. Very often designers spend their time in the Unreal Editor to customize and fine-tune the level.

They are the group that looks into the technology and software the team needs to create the game. In pre-production, they are responsible for deciding which software programs are required and are capable of creating the game. They also have to ensure that the different software used are compatible with one another. Programmers also write codes to make the objects created by the artist come alive according to the idea that the designers came up with. They program the rules and functionality of the game. Some programmers are also involved in creating tools and research for the games. They are not directly involved in creating the game but instead are supporting the production pipeline. Games with extreme graphics usually have a team of researchers optimizing the graphics and creating more realistic graphics for the game. They spend most of their time in codes, probably coding in Visual Studio using C++. They are also able to modify and extend the features of UE4 to support the needs of the game that they are developing.

Many cinematic experts are also trained artists. They have a special eye and creative skills to create short movie scenes/cut scenes. The Matinee tool in UE4 will be what they would be using most of the time.

Sound designers have an acute sense of hearing and they are mostly musically trained. They work in the sound labs to create custom sounds/music for the game. They are in charge of importing sound files into UE4 to be played at suitable instances in the game. When using UE4, they would be spending most of their time using the Sound Cue Editor.

Designers determine what happens in the game, what goes on in the game, and what the game will be about. In the planning stage, most of the time will be spent in discussion, presentations, and documentation. In the production stage, they will oversee the game prototyping process to ensure that the game level is created as designed. Very often designers spend their time in the Unreal Editor to customize and fine-tune the level.

They are the group that looks into the technology and software the team needs to create the game. In pre-production, they are responsible for deciding which software programs are required and are capable of creating the game. They also have to ensure that the different software used are compatible with one another. Programmers also write codes to make the objects created by the artist come alive according to the idea that the designers came up with. They program the rules and functionality of the game. Some programmers are also involved in creating tools and research for the games. They are not directly involved in creating the game but instead are supporting the production pipeline. Games with extreme graphics usually have a team of researchers optimizing the graphics and creating more realistic graphics for the game. They spend most of their time in codes, probably coding in Visual Studio using C++. They are also able to modify and extend the features of UE4 to support the needs of the game that they are developing.

Sound designers have an acute sense of hearing and they are mostly musically trained. They work in the sound labs to create custom sounds/music for the game. They are in charge of importing sound files into UE4 to be played at suitable instances in the game. When using UE4, they would be spending most of their time using the Sound Cue Editor.

Designers determine what happens in the game, what goes on in the game, and what the game will be about. In the planning stage, most of the time will be spent in discussion, presentations, and documentation. In the production stage, they will oversee the game prototyping process to ensure that the game level is created as designed. Very often designers spend their time in the Unreal Editor to customize and fine-tune the level.

They are the group that looks into the technology and software the team needs to create the game. In pre-production, they are responsible for deciding which software programs are required and are capable of creating the game. They also have to ensure that the different software used are compatible with one another. Programmers also write codes to make the objects created by the artist come alive according to the idea that the designers came up with. They program the rules and functionality of the game. Some programmers are also involved in creating tools and research for the games. They are not directly involved in creating the game but instead are supporting the production pipeline. Games with extreme graphics usually have a team of researchers optimizing the graphics and creating more realistic graphics for the game. They spend most of their time in codes, probably coding in Visual Studio using C++. They are also able to modify and extend the features of UE4 to support the needs of the game that they are developing.

Designers determine what happens in the game, what goes on in the game, and what the game will be about. In the planning stage, most of the time will be spent in discussion, presentations, and documentation. In the production stage, they will oversee the game prototyping process to ensure that the game level is created as designed. Very often designers spend their time in the Unreal Editor to customize and fine-tune the level.

They are the group that looks into the technology and software the team needs to create the game. In pre-production, they are responsible for deciding which software programs are required and are capable of creating the game. They also have to ensure that the different software used are compatible with one another. Programmers also write codes to make the objects created by the artist come alive according to the idea that the designers came up with. They program the rules and functionality of the game. Some programmers are also involved in creating tools and research for the games. They are not directly involved in creating the game but instead are supporting the production pipeline. Games with extreme graphics usually have a team of researchers optimizing the graphics and creating more realistic graphics for the game. They spend most of their time in codes, probably coding in Visual Studio using C++. They are also able to modify and extend the features of UE4 to support the needs of the game that they are developing.

They are the group that looks into the technology and software the team needs to create the game. In pre-production, they are responsible for deciding which software programs are required and are capable of creating the game. They also have to ensure that the different software used are compatible with one another. Programmers also write codes to make the objects created by the artist come alive according to the idea that the designers came up with. They program the rules and functionality of the game. Some programmers are also involved in creating tools and research for the games. They are not directly involved in creating the game but instead are supporting the production pipeline. Games with extreme graphics usually have a team of researchers optimizing the graphics and creating more realistic graphics for the game. They spend most of their time in codes, probably coding in Visual Studio using C++. They are also able to modify and extend the features of UE4 to support the needs of the game that they are developing.

The sound engine is responsible for having music and sounds in the game. Its integration into Unreal allows you to play various sound files to set the mood and add realism to the game. There are many uses for sounds in the game. Ambient sounds are constantly in the background. Sound effects can be repeated when needed or one-off and are triggered by specific events in the game.

In a forest setting, you can have a combination of bird sounds, wind, trees, and leaves rustling as the ambient sound. These individual sounds can be combined as a forest ambient sound and be constantly playing softly in the background when the game character is in the forest. Recurring sounds such as footprint sound files can be connected to the animation of the walking movement. One-time sound effects, such as the explosion of a particular building in the city, can be linked to an event trigger in the game. In Unreal, the triggering of the sounds is implemented through cues known as Sound Cue.

In the real world, objects are governed by the laws of physics. Objects collide and are set in motion according to Newton's laws of motion. Attraction between objects also obeys the law of gravity and Einstein's theory of general relativity. In the game world, for objects to react similarly to real life, it has to have the same system built through programming. Unreal physics engine makes use of the PhysX engine, developed by NVIDIA, to perform calculations for lifelike physical interactions, such as collisions and fluid dynamics. The presence of this advanced physics engine in place allows us to concentrate on making the game instead of spending time making objects interact with the game world correctly.

For an image to show up on screen, it has to be rendered onto your display monitor (such as your PC/TV or mobile devices) The graphics engine is responsible for the output on your display by taking in information about the entire scene such as color, texture, geometry, the shadow of an individual object and lighting, and the viewpoint of a scene, and consider the cross-interaction of the factors that affect the overall color, light, shadow, and occlusion of the objects.

The graphics engine then undergoes massive calculations in the background using all these information before it is able to output the final pixel information to the screen. The power of a graphics engine affects how realistic your scene will look. Unreal graphics engine has the capabilities to output photorealistic qualities for your game. Its ability to optimize the scene and to process huge amount calculations for real-time lighting allows users to create realistic objects in the game.

This engine can be used to create games for all platforms (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile devices). It supports DirectX 11/12, OpenGL, and JavaScript/WebGL rendering.

Unreal Engine consists of an input system that converts key and button presses by the player into actions performed by the in-game character. This input system can be configured through the Gameplay framework. The Gameplay framework contains the functionality to track game progress and control the rules of the game. Heads-up displays (HUDs)/user interfaces (UIs) are part of the Gameplay framework to provide feedback to the player during the course of the game. Gameplay classes such as GameMode, GameState, and PlayerState set the rules and control the state of the game. The in-game characters are controlled either by players (using the PlayerController class) or AI (using AIController class). In-game characters, whether controlled by the player or AI, are part of a base class known as the Pawn class. The Character class is a subset of the Pawn class, which is specifically made for vertically-oriented player representation, for example, a human.

With the Unreal Gameplay framework and controllers in place, it allows for full customization of the player's behavior and flexibility, as shown in the following figure:

Light is a powerful tool in game creation. It can be used in many ways, such as to create the mood of a scene or focus a player's attention on objects in the game. Unreal Engine 4 provides a set of basic lights that could be easily placed in your game level. They are Directional Light, Point Light, Spot Light, and Sky Light.

Directional Light emits beams of parallel lights, Point Light emits light like a light bulb (from a single point radially outward in all directions), Spot Light emits light in a conical shape outwards, and Sky Light mimics light from the sky downwards on the objects in the level:

The effective design of light also creates realistic shadows for your game. By choosing the types of light in the level, you can affect both the mood and time it takes to render the scene, which in turns affect the frames per second of your game. In the game world, you can have two types of shadows: static and dynamic. Static shadows can be prebaked into the scene and, which makes them quick to render. Dynamic shadows are changed during runtime and are more expensive to render. We will learn more about lights and shadows in Chapter 4, Material and Light.

Post-process effects are effects that are added at the end to improve the quality of the scene. Unreal Engine 4 provides a very good selection of post-process effects, which you can add to your level to accentuate the overall scene.

It offers full scene high dynamic range rendering (HDRR). This allows objects that are bright to be very bright and dark to be very dark, but we are still able to see details in them. (This is NVDIA's motivation for HDR rendering.)

UE4 post-process effects include Anti-Aliasing using Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA), Bloom, Color Grading, Depth of Field, Eye Adaptation, Lens Flare, Post Process Materials, Scene Fringe, Screen Space Reflection, and Vignette. Although a game is often designed with the post-process effects in mind, users are normally given the option to turn them off, if desired. This is because they often consume reasonable amount of additional resources in return for better visuals.

If you are totally new to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI), it can be thought of as intelligence created by humans to mimic real life. Humans created AI to give objects a brain, the ability to think, and make decisions on their own.

Fundamentally, AI is made up of complex rule sets that help objects make decisions and perform their designed function/behavior. In games, NPCs are given some form of AI so that players can interact with them. For example, give NPCs the ability to find a sweet spot to attack. If being attacked, they will run, hide, and find a better position to fight back.

Unreal Engine 4 provides a good basic AI and lays the foundation for you to customize and improve the AI of the NPCs in your game. More details on how AI is designed in Unreal Engine will be discussed in Chapter 5, Animation and AI.

Unreal Engine 4 offers the ability to create game for many platforms. If you create a game using Unreal Engine 4, it is portable into different platforms, such as Web, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. Also, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will soon be added as well. It also has an online subsystem to provide games the ability to integrate functionalities that are available on Xbox Live, Facebook, Steam, and so on.

The sound engine is responsible for having music and sounds in the game. Its integration into Unreal allows you to play various sound files to set the mood and add realism to the game. There are many uses for sounds in the game. Ambient sounds are constantly in the background. Sound effects can be repeated when needed or one-off and are triggered by specific events in the game.

In a forest setting, you can have a combination of bird sounds, wind, trees, and leaves rustling as the ambient sound. These individual sounds can be combined as a forest ambient sound and be constantly playing softly in the background when the game character is in the forest. Recurring sounds such as footprint sound files can be connected to the animation of the walking movement. One-time sound effects, such as the explosion of a particular building in the city, can be linked to an event trigger in the game. In Unreal, the triggering of the sounds is implemented through cues known as Sound Cue.

In the real world, objects are governed by the laws of physics. Objects collide and are set in motion according to Newton's laws of motion. Attraction between objects also obeys the law of gravity and Einstein's theory of general relativity. In the game world, for objects to react similarly to real life, it has to have the same system built through programming. Unreal physics engine makes use of the PhysX engine, developed by NVIDIA, to perform calculations for lifelike physical interactions, such as collisions and fluid dynamics. The presence of this advanced physics engine in place allows us to concentrate on making the game instead of spending time making objects interact with the game world correctly.

For an image to show up on screen, it has to be rendered onto your display monitor (such as your PC/TV or mobile devices) The graphics engine is responsible for the output on your display by taking in information about the entire scene such as color, texture, geometry, the shadow of an individual object and lighting, and the viewpoint of a scene, and consider the cross-interaction of the factors that affect the overall color, light, shadow, and occlusion of the objects.

The graphics engine then undergoes massive calculations in the background using all these information before it is able to output the final pixel information to the screen. The power of a graphics engine affects how realistic your scene will look. Unreal graphics engine has the capabilities to output photorealistic qualities for your game. Its ability to optimize the scene and to process huge amount calculations for real-time lighting allows users to create realistic objects in the game.

This engine can be used to create games for all platforms (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile devices). It supports DirectX 11/12, OpenGL, and JavaScript/WebGL rendering.

Unreal Engine consists of an input system that converts key and button presses by the player into actions performed by the in-game character. This input system can be configured through the Gameplay framework. The Gameplay framework contains the functionality to track game progress and control the rules of the game. Heads-up displays (HUDs)/user interfaces (UIs) are part of the Gameplay framework to provide feedback to the player during the course of the game. Gameplay classes such as GameMode, GameState, and PlayerState set the rules and control the state of the game. The in-game characters are controlled either by players (using the PlayerController class) or AI (using AIController class). In-game characters, whether controlled by the player or AI, are part of a base class known as the Pawn class. The Character class is a subset of the Pawn class, which is specifically made for vertically-oriented player representation, for example, a human.

With the Unreal Gameplay framework and controllers in place, it allows for full customization of the player's behavior and flexibility, as shown in the following figure:

Light is a powerful tool in game creation. It can be used in many ways, such as to create the mood of a scene or focus a player's attention on objects in the game. Unreal Engine 4 provides a set of basic lights that could be easily placed in your game level. They are Directional Light, Point Light, Spot Light, and Sky Light.

Directional Light emits beams of parallel lights, Point Light emits light like a light bulb (from a single point radially outward in all directions), Spot Light emits light in a conical shape outwards, and Sky Light mimics light from the sky downwards on the objects in the level:

The effective design of light also creates realistic shadows for your game. By choosing the types of light in the level, you can affect both the mood and time it takes to render the scene, which in turns affect the frames per second of your game. In the game world, you can have two types of shadows: static and dynamic. Static shadows can be prebaked into the scene and, which makes them quick to render. Dynamic shadows are changed during runtime and are more expensive to render. We will learn more about lights and shadows in Chapter 4, Material and Light.

Post-process effects are effects that are added at the end to improve the quality of the scene. Unreal Engine 4 provides a very good selection of post-process effects, which you can add to your level to accentuate the overall scene.

It offers full scene high dynamic range rendering (HDRR). This allows objects that are bright to be very bright and dark to be very dark, but we are still able to see details in them. (This is NVDIA's motivation for HDR rendering.)

UE4 post-process effects include Anti-Aliasing using Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA), Bloom, Color Grading, Depth of Field, Eye Adaptation, Lens Flare, Post Process Materials, Scene Fringe, Screen Space Reflection, and Vignette. Although a game is often designed with the post-process effects in mind, users are normally given the option to turn them off, if desired. This is because they often consume reasonable amount of additional resources in return for better visuals.

If you are totally new to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI), it can be thought of as intelligence created by humans to mimic real life. Humans created AI to give objects a brain, the ability to think, and make decisions on their own.

Fundamentally, AI is made up of complex rule sets that help objects make decisions and perform their designed function/behavior. In games, NPCs are given some form of AI so that players can interact with them. For example, give NPCs the ability to find a sweet spot to attack. If being attacked, they will run, hide, and find a better position to fight back.

Unreal Engine 4 provides a good basic AI and lays the foundation for you to customize and improve the AI of the NPCs in your game. More details on how AI is designed in Unreal Engine will be discussed in Chapter 5, Animation and AI.

Unreal Engine 4 offers the ability to create game for many platforms. If you create a game using Unreal Engine 4, it is portable into different platforms, such as Web, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. Also, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will soon be added as well. It also has an online subsystem to provide games the ability to integrate functionalities that are available on Xbox Live, Facebook, Steam, and so on.

In the real world, objects are governed by the laws of physics. Objects collide and are set in motion according to Newton's laws of motion. Attraction between objects also obeys the law of gravity and Einstein's theory of general relativity. In the game world, for objects to react similarly to real life, it has to have the same system built through programming. Unreal physics engine makes use of the PhysX engine, developed by NVIDIA, to perform calculations for lifelike physical interactions, such as collisions and fluid dynamics. The presence of this advanced physics engine in place allows us to concentrate on making the game instead of spending time making objects interact with the game world correctly.

For an image to show up on screen, it has to be rendered onto your display monitor (such as your PC/TV or mobile devices) The graphics engine is responsible for the output on your display by taking in information about the entire scene such as color, texture, geometry, the shadow of an individual object and lighting, and the viewpoint of a scene, and consider the cross-interaction of the factors that affect the overall color, light, shadow, and occlusion of the objects.

The graphics engine then undergoes massive calculations in the background using all these information before it is able to output the final pixel information to the screen. The power of a graphics engine affects how realistic your scene will look. Unreal graphics engine has the capabilities to output photorealistic qualities for your game. Its ability to optimize the scene and to process huge amount calculations for real-time lighting allows users to create realistic objects in the game.

This engine can be used to create games for all platforms (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile devices). It supports DirectX 11/12, OpenGL, and JavaScript/WebGL rendering.

Unreal Engine consists of an input system that converts key and button presses by the player into actions performed by the in-game character. This input system can be configured through the Gameplay framework. The Gameplay framework contains the functionality to track game progress and control the rules of the game. Heads-up displays (HUDs)/user interfaces (UIs) are part of the Gameplay framework to provide feedback to the player during the course of the game. Gameplay classes such as GameMode, GameState, and PlayerState set the rules and control the state of the game. The in-game characters are controlled either by players (using the PlayerController class) or AI (using AIController class). In-game characters, whether controlled by the player or AI, are part of a base class known as the Pawn class. The Character class is a subset of the Pawn class, which is specifically made for vertically-oriented player representation, for example, a human.

With the Unreal Gameplay framework and controllers in place, it allows for full customization of the player's behavior and flexibility, as shown in the following figure:

Light is a powerful tool in game creation. It can be used in many ways, such as to create the mood of a scene or focus a player's attention on objects in the game. Unreal Engine 4 provides a set of basic lights that could be easily placed in your game level. They are Directional Light, Point Light, Spot Light, and Sky Light.

Directional Light emits beams of parallel lights, Point Light emits light like a light bulb (from a single point radially outward in all directions), Spot Light emits light in a conical shape outwards, and Sky Light mimics light from the sky downwards on the objects in the level:

The effective design of light also creates realistic shadows for your game. By choosing the types of light in the level, you can affect both the mood and time it takes to render the scene, which in turns affect the frames per second of your game. In the game world, you can have two types of shadows: static and dynamic. Static shadows can be prebaked into the scene and, which makes them quick to render. Dynamic shadows are changed during runtime and are more expensive to render. We will learn more about lights and shadows in Chapter 4, Material and Light.

Post-process effects are effects that are added at the end to improve the quality of the scene. Unreal Engine 4 provides a very good selection of post-process effects, which you can add to your level to accentuate the overall scene.

It offers full scene high dynamic range rendering (HDRR). This allows objects that are bright to be very bright and dark to be very dark, but we are still able to see details in them. (This is NVDIA's motivation for HDR rendering.)

UE4 post-process effects include Anti-Aliasing using Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA), Bloom, Color Grading, Depth of Field, Eye Adaptation, Lens Flare, Post Process Materials, Scene Fringe, Screen Space Reflection, and Vignette. Although a game is often designed with the post-process effects in mind, users are normally given the option to turn them off, if desired. This is because they often consume reasonable amount of additional resources in return for better visuals.

If you are totally new to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI), it can be thought of as intelligence created by humans to mimic real life. Humans created AI to give objects a brain, the ability to think, and make decisions on their own.

Fundamentally, AI is made up of complex rule sets that help objects make decisions and perform their designed function/behavior. In games, NPCs are given some form of AI so that players can interact with them. For example, give NPCs the ability to find a sweet spot to attack. If being attacked, they will run, hide, and find a better position to fight back.

Unreal Engine 4 provides a good basic AI and lays the foundation for you to customize and improve the AI of the NPCs in your game. More details on how AI is designed in Unreal Engine will be discussed in Chapter 5, Animation and AI.

Unreal Engine 4 offers the ability to create game for many platforms. If you create a game using Unreal Engine 4, it is portable into different platforms, such as Web, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. Also, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will soon be added as well. It also has an online subsystem to provide games the ability to integrate functionalities that are available on Xbox Live, Facebook, Steam, and so on.

For an image to show up on screen, it has to be rendered onto your display monitor (such as your PC/TV or mobile devices) The graphics engine is responsible for the output on your display by taking in information about the entire scene such as color, texture, geometry, the shadow of an individual object and lighting, and the viewpoint of a scene, and consider the cross-interaction of the factors that affect the overall color, light, shadow, and occlusion of the objects.

The graphics engine then undergoes massive calculations in the background using all these information before it is able to output the final pixel information to the screen. The power of a graphics engine affects how realistic your scene will look. Unreal graphics engine has the capabilities to output photorealistic qualities for your game. Its ability to optimize the scene and to process huge amount calculations for real-time lighting allows users to create realistic objects in the game.

This engine can be used to create games for all platforms (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile devices). It supports DirectX 11/12, OpenGL, and JavaScript/WebGL rendering.

Unreal Engine consists of an input system that converts key and button presses by the player into actions performed by the in-game character. This input system can be configured through the Gameplay framework. The Gameplay framework contains the functionality to track game progress and control the rules of the game. Heads-up displays (HUDs)/user interfaces (UIs) are part of the Gameplay framework to provide feedback to the player during the course of the game. Gameplay classes such as GameMode, GameState, and PlayerState set the rules and control the state of the game. The in-game characters are controlled either by players (using the PlayerController class) or AI (using AIController class). In-game characters, whether controlled by the player or AI, are part of a base class known as the Pawn class. The Character class is a subset of the Pawn class, which is specifically made for vertically-oriented player representation, for example, a human.

With the Unreal Gameplay framework and controllers in place, it allows for full customization of the player's behavior and flexibility, as shown in the following figure:

Light is a powerful tool in game creation. It can be used in many ways, such as to create the mood of a scene or focus a player's attention on objects in the game. Unreal Engine 4 provides a set of basic lights that could be easily placed in your game level. They are Directional Light, Point Light, Spot Light, and Sky Light.

Directional Light emits beams of parallel lights, Point Light emits light like a light bulb (from a single point radially outward in all directions), Spot Light emits light in a conical shape outwards, and Sky Light mimics light from the sky downwards on the objects in the level:

The effective design of light also creates realistic shadows for your game. By choosing the types of light in the level, you can affect both the mood and time it takes to render the scene, which in turns affect the frames per second of your game. In the game world, you can have two types of shadows: static and dynamic. Static shadows can be prebaked into the scene and, which makes them quick to render. Dynamic shadows are changed during runtime and are more expensive to render. We will learn more about lights and shadows in Chapter 4, Material and Light.

Post-process effects are effects that are added at the end to improve the quality of the scene. Unreal Engine 4 provides a very good selection of post-process effects, which you can add to your level to accentuate the overall scene.

It offers full scene high dynamic range rendering (HDRR). This allows objects that are bright to be very bright and dark to be very dark, but we are still able to see details in them. (This is NVDIA's motivation for HDR rendering.)

UE4 post-process effects include Anti-Aliasing using Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA), Bloom, Color Grading, Depth of Field, Eye Adaptation, Lens Flare, Post Process Materials, Scene Fringe, Screen Space Reflection, and Vignette. Although a game is often designed with the post-process effects in mind, users are normally given the option to turn them off, if desired. This is because they often consume reasonable amount of additional resources in return for better visuals.

If you are totally new to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI), it can be thought of as intelligence created by humans to mimic real life. Humans created AI to give objects a brain, the ability to think, and make decisions on their own.

Fundamentally, AI is made up of complex rule sets that help objects make decisions and perform their designed function/behavior. In games, NPCs are given some form of AI so that players can interact with them. For example, give NPCs the ability to find a sweet spot to attack. If being attacked, they will run, hide, and find a better position to fight back.

Unreal Engine 4 provides a good basic AI and lays the foundation for you to customize and improve the AI of the NPCs in your game. More details on how AI is designed in Unreal Engine will be discussed in Chapter 5, Animation and AI.

Unreal Engine 4 offers the ability to create game for many platforms. If you create a game using Unreal Engine 4, it is portable into different platforms, such as Web, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. Also, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will soon be added as well. It also has an online subsystem to provide games the ability to integrate functionalities that are available on Xbox Live, Facebook, Steam, and so on.

Unreal Engine consists of an input system that converts key and button presses by the player into actions performed by the in-game character. This input system can be configured through the Gameplay framework. The Gameplay framework contains the functionality to track game progress and control the rules of the game. Heads-up displays (HUDs)/user interfaces (UIs) are part of the Gameplay framework to provide feedback to the player during the course of the game. Gameplay classes such as GameMode, GameState, and PlayerState set the rules and control the state of the game. The in-game characters are controlled either by players (using the PlayerController class) or AI (using AIController class). In-game characters, whether controlled by the player or AI, are part of a base class known as the Pawn class. The Character class is a subset of the Pawn class, which is specifically made for vertically-oriented player representation, for example, a human.

With the Unreal Gameplay framework and controllers in place, it allows for full customization of the player's behavior and flexibility, as shown in the following figure:

Light is a powerful tool in game creation. It can be used in many ways, such as to create the mood of a scene or focus a player's attention on objects in the game. Unreal Engine 4 provides a set of basic lights that could be easily placed in your game level. They are Directional Light, Point Light, Spot Light, and Sky Light.

Directional Light emits beams of parallel lights, Point Light emits light like a light bulb (from a single point radially outward in all directions), Spot Light emits light in a conical shape outwards, and Sky Light mimics light from the sky downwards on the objects in the level:

The effective design of light also creates realistic shadows for your game. By choosing the types of light in the level, you can affect both the mood and time it takes to render the scene, which in turns affect the frames per second of your game. In the game world, you can have two types of shadows: static and dynamic. Static shadows can be prebaked into the scene and, which makes them quick to render. Dynamic shadows are changed during runtime and are more expensive to render. We will learn more about lights and shadows in Chapter 4, Material and Light.

Post-process effects are effects that are added at the end to improve the quality of the scene. Unreal Engine 4 provides a very good selection of post-process effects, which you can add to your level to accentuate the overall scene.

It offers full scene high dynamic range rendering (HDRR). This allows objects that are bright to be very bright and dark to be very dark, but we are still able to see details in them. (This is NVDIA's motivation for HDR rendering.)

UE4 post-process effects include Anti-Aliasing using Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA), Bloom, Color Grading, Depth of Field, Eye Adaptation, Lens Flare, Post Process Materials, Scene Fringe, Screen Space Reflection, and Vignette. Although a game is often designed with the post-process effects in mind, users are normally given the option to turn them off, if desired. This is because they often consume reasonable amount of additional resources in return for better visuals.

If you are totally new to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI), it can be thought of as intelligence created by humans to mimic real life. Humans created AI to give objects a brain, the ability to think, and make decisions on their own.

Fundamentally, AI is made up of complex rule sets that help objects make decisions and perform their designed function/behavior. In games, NPCs are given some form of AI so that players can interact with them. For example, give NPCs the ability to find a sweet spot to attack. If being attacked, they will run, hide, and find a better position to fight back.

Unreal Engine 4 provides a good basic AI and lays the foundation for you to customize and improve the AI of the NPCs in your game. More details on how AI is designed in Unreal Engine will be discussed in Chapter 5, Animation and AI.

Unreal Engine 4 offers the ability to create game for many platforms. If you create a game using Unreal Engine 4, it is portable into different platforms, such as Web, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. Also, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will soon be added as well. It also has an online subsystem to provide games the ability to integrate functionalities that are available on Xbox Live, Facebook, Steam, and so on.

Light is a powerful tool in game creation. It can be used in many ways, such as to create the mood of a scene or focus a player's attention on objects in the game. Unreal Engine 4 provides a set of basic lights that could be easily placed in your game level. They are Directional Light, Point Light, Spot Light, and Sky Light.

Directional Light emits beams of parallel lights, Point Light emits light like a light bulb (from a single point radially outward in all directions), Spot Light emits light in a conical shape outwards, and Sky Light mimics light from the sky downwards on the objects in the level:

The effective design of light also creates realistic shadows for your game. By choosing the types of light in the level, you can affect both the mood and time it takes to render the scene, which in turns affect the frames per second of your game. In the game world, you can have two types of shadows: static and dynamic. Static shadows can be prebaked into the scene and, which makes them quick to render. Dynamic shadows are changed during runtime and are more expensive to render. We will learn more about lights and shadows in Chapter 4, Material and Light.

Post-process effects are effects that are added at the end to improve the quality of the scene. Unreal Engine 4 provides a very good selection of post-process effects, which you can add to your level to accentuate the overall scene.

It offers full scene high dynamic range rendering (HDRR). This allows objects that are bright to be very bright and dark to be very dark, but we are still able to see details in them. (This is NVDIA's motivation for HDR rendering.)

UE4 post-process effects include Anti-Aliasing using Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA), Bloom, Color Grading, Depth of Field, Eye Adaptation, Lens Flare, Post Process Materials, Scene Fringe, Screen Space Reflection, and Vignette. Although a game is often designed with the post-process effects in mind, users are normally given the option to turn them off, if desired. This is because they often consume reasonable amount of additional resources in return for better visuals.

If you are totally new to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI), it can be thought of as intelligence created by humans to mimic real life. Humans created AI to give objects a brain, the ability to think, and make decisions on their own.

Fundamentally, AI is made up of complex rule sets that help objects make decisions and perform their designed function/behavior. In games, NPCs are given some form of AI so that players can interact with them. For example, give NPCs the ability to find a sweet spot to attack. If being attacked, they will run, hide, and find a better position to fight back.

Unreal Engine 4 provides a good basic AI and lays the foundation for you to customize and improve the AI of the NPCs in your game. More details on how AI is designed in Unreal Engine will be discussed in Chapter 5, Animation and AI.

Unreal Engine 4 offers the ability to create game for many platforms. If you create a game using Unreal Engine 4, it is portable into different platforms, such as Web, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. Also, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will soon be added as well. It also has an online subsystem to provide games the ability to integrate functionalities that are available on Xbox Live, Facebook, Steam, and so on.

Post-process effects are effects that are added at the end to improve the quality of the scene. Unreal Engine 4 provides a very good selection of post-process effects, which you can add to your level to accentuate the overall scene.

It offers full scene high dynamic range rendering (HDRR). This allows objects that are bright to be very bright and dark to be very dark, but we are still able to see details in them. (This is NVDIA's motivation for HDR rendering.)

UE4 post-process effects include Anti-Aliasing using Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA), Bloom, Color Grading, Depth of Field, Eye Adaptation, Lens Flare, Post Process Materials, Scene Fringe, Screen Space Reflection, and Vignette. Although a game is often designed with the post-process effects in mind, users are normally given the option to turn them off, if desired. This is because they often consume reasonable amount of additional resources in return for better visuals.

If you are totally new to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI), it can be thought of as intelligence created by humans to mimic real life. Humans created AI to give objects a brain, the ability to think, and make decisions on their own.

Fundamentally, AI is made up of complex rule sets that help objects make decisions and perform their designed function/behavior. In games, NPCs are given some form of AI so that players can interact with them. For example, give NPCs the ability to find a sweet spot to attack. If being attacked, they will run, hide, and find a better position to fight back.

Unreal Engine 4 provides a good basic AI and lays the foundation for you to customize and improve the AI of the NPCs in your game. More details on how AI is designed in Unreal Engine will be discussed in Chapter 5, Animation and AI.

Unreal Engine 4 offers the ability to create game for many platforms. If you create a game using Unreal Engine 4, it is portable into different platforms, such as Web, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. Also, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will soon be added as well. It also has an online subsystem to provide games the ability to integrate functionalities that are available on Xbox Live, Facebook, Steam, and so on.

If you are totally new to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI), it can be thought of as intelligence created by humans to mimic real life. Humans created AI to give objects a brain, the ability to think, and make decisions on their own.

Fundamentally, AI is made up of complex rule sets that help objects make decisions and perform their designed function/behavior. In games, NPCs are given some form of AI so that players can interact with them. For example, give NPCs the ability to find a sweet spot to attack. If being attacked, they will run, hide, and find a better position to fight back.

Unreal Engine 4 provides a good basic AI and lays the foundation for you to customize and improve the AI of the NPCs in your game. More details on how AI is designed in Unreal Engine will be discussed in Chapter 5, Animation and AI.

Unreal Engine 4 offers the ability to create game for many platforms. If you create a game using Unreal Engine 4, it is portable into different platforms, such as Web, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. Also, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will soon be added as well. It also has an online subsystem to provide games the ability to integrate functionalities that are available on Xbox Live, Facebook, Steam, and so on.

Unreal Engine 4 offers the ability to create game for many platforms. If you create a game using Unreal Engine 4, it is portable into different platforms, such as Web, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. Also, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will soon be added as well. It also has an online subsystem to provide games the ability to integrate functionalities that are available on Xbox Live, Facebook, Steam, and so on.

Unreal Engine has a number of editors that help in the creation of the game. By default, the Unreal Editor is the startup editor for Unreal Engine. It can be considered as the main editor that allows access to other subsystems, such as the Material and Blueprint subsystems.

The Unreal Editor provides a visual interface made up of viewports and windows to enable you to import, organize, edit, and add behaviors/interactions to your game assets. Other subeditors/subsystems have very specialized functions that allow you to control details of an asset (how it looks, how it behaves).

The Unreal Editor, together with all the subsystems, is a great tool especially for designers. It allows physical placement of assets and gives users the ability to control gameplay variables without having to make changes in the code.

Shaders and Materials give objects its unique color and texture. Unreal Engine 4 makes use of physically-based shading. This new material pipeline gives artists greater control over the look and feel of an object. Physically-based shading has a more detailed relationship of light and its surface. This theory binds two physical attributes (micro surface detail and reflectivity) to achieve the final look of the object.

In the past, much of the final look is achieved by tweaking values in the shader/material algorithms. In Unreal Engine 4, we are now able to achieve high quality content by adjusting the values of the light and shading algorithms, which produces more consistent and predictable results. More details about Shaders and Materials will be provided in Chapter 4, Material and Light. The following screenshot shows the Material Editor in UE4:

The Cascade particle system

The Cascade particle system provides extensive capabilities to design and create particle effects. Effects from things such as smoke, sparks, and fire can be created by designing the size, color, and texture of each particle and how groups of these particles interact with each other to mimic real-life particle effect behavior. The following screenshot shows the Cascade particle system in UE4:

The Persona skeletal mesh animation

The Persona animation system lets you design and control the animation of the skeleton, skeleton mesh, and sockets of a character. This tool can be used to preview a character's animation and set up blend animation between key frames. The physics and collision properties can also be adjusted through Physics Asset Tool (PhAT). The following screenshot shows the Persona animation system in UE4:

The control of sound and music is done via the Sound Cue Editor. Sounds and music are triggered to play via cues known as Sound Cues. The ability to start/stop/repeat/fade in or out can be achieved using this editor. The following screenshot shows the Sound Cue Editor in UE4:

The Matinee Editor toolset enables the creation of game cut scenes and movies. These short clips created could be used to introduce the start of a game level, tell a story before the game begins or even as a promotional video for the game. The following screenshot shows the Matinee Editor in UE4:

The Blueprint system is a new feature in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine 4 is the first engine to utilize this revolutionary system. For those who are familiar with Unreal Engine 3, it can be thought of as the enhanced and improved combined version of the Unreal scripting system, Kismet, and the Prefab functionality. The Blueprint visual scripting system enables you to extend code functionality using visual scripting language (box-like flow diagrams joined with lines). This capability means that you do not have to write or compile code in order to create, arrange, and customize behavior/interaction of in-game objects. This also provides nonprogrammers (artists/designers) with the ability to prototype or create a level quickly and manipulate gameplay without having to tackle the challenges of game programming. A cool feature of Blueprint is that you can create variables like in programming by clicking on the object and selecting Create Variable. This opens up what developers can do without messing around with complex coding.

To help developers debug Blueprint scripting logic, you can see the sequence of events and property values visually on the flow diagrams as it is being executed. Similar to troubleshooting in coding, break points can also be set to pause a Blueprint sequence. The following screenshot shows the Level Blueprint Editor in UE4:

Unreal Engine has a number of editors that help in the creation of the game. By default, the Unreal Editor is the startup editor for Unreal Engine. It can be considered as the main editor that allows access to other subsystems, such as the Material and Blueprint subsystems.

The Unreal Editor provides a visual interface made up of viewports and windows to enable you to import, organize, edit, and add behaviors/interactions to your game assets. Other subeditors/subsystems have very specialized functions that allow you to control details of an asset (how it looks, how it behaves).

The Unreal Editor, together with all the subsystems, is a great tool especially for designers. It allows physical placement of assets and gives users the ability to control gameplay variables without having to make changes in the code.

Shaders and Materials give objects its unique color and texture. Unreal Engine 4 makes use of physically-based shading. This new material pipeline gives artists greater control over the look and feel of an object. Physically-based shading has a more detailed relationship of light and its surface. This theory binds two physical attributes (micro surface detail and reflectivity) to achieve the final look of the object.

In the past, much of the final look is achieved by tweaking values in the shader/material algorithms. In Unreal Engine 4, we are now able to achieve high quality content by adjusting the values of the light and shading algorithms, which produces more consistent and predictable results. More details about Shaders and Materials will be provided in Chapter 4, Material and Light. The following screenshot shows the Material Editor in UE4:

The Cascade particle system

The Cascade particle system provides extensive capabilities to design and create particle effects. Effects from things such as smoke, sparks, and fire can be created by designing the size, color, and texture of each particle and how groups of these particles interact with each other to mimic real-life particle effect behavior. The following screenshot shows the Cascade particle system in UE4:

The Persona skeletal mesh animation

The Persona animation system lets you design and control the animation of the skeleton, skeleton mesh, and sockets of a character. This tool can be used to preview a character's animation and set up blend animation between key frames. The physics and collision properties can also be adjusted through Physics Asset Tool (PhAT). The following screenshot shows the Persona animation system in UE4:

The control of sound and music is done via the Sound Cue Editor. Sounds and music are triggered to play via cues known as Sound Cues. The ability to start/stop/repeat/fade in or out can be achieved using this editor. The following screenshot shows the Sound Cue Editor in UE4:

The Matinee Editor toolset enables the creation of game cut scenes and movies. These short clips created could be used to introduce the start of a game level, tell a story before the game begins or even as a promotional video for the game. The following screenshot shows the Matinee Editor in UE4:

The Blueprint system is a new feature in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine 4 is the first engine to utilize this revolutionary system. For those who are familiar with Unreal Engine 3, it can be thought of as the enhanced and improved combined version of the Unreal scripting system, Kismet, and the Prefab functionality. The Blueprint visual scripting system enables you to extend code functionality using visual scripting language (box-like flow diagrams joined with lines). This capability means that you do not have to write or compile code in order to create, arrange, and customize behavior/interaction of in-game objects. This also provides nonprogrammers (artists/designers) with the ability to prototype or create a level quickly and manipulate gameplay without having to tackle the challenges of game programming. A cool feature of Blueprint is that you can create variables like in programming by clicking on the object and selecting Create Variable. This opens up what developers can do without messing around with complex coding.

To help developers debug Blueprint scripting logic, you can see the sequence of events and property values visually on the flow diagrams as it is being executed. Similar to troubleshooting in coding, break points can also be set to pause a Blueprint sequence. The following screenshot shows the Level Blueprint Editor in UE4:

Shaders and Materials give objects its unique color and texture. Unreal Engine 4 makes use of physically-based shading. This new material pipeline gives artists greater control over the look and feel of an object. Physically-based shading has a more detailed relationship of light and its surface. This theory binds two physical attributes (micro surface detail and reflectivity) to achieve the final look of the object.

In the past, much of the final look is achieved by tweaking values in the shader/material algorithms. In Unreal Engine 4, we are now able to achieve high quality content by adjusting the values of the light and shading algorithms, which produces more consistent and predictable results. More details about Shaders and Materials will be provided in Chapter 4, Material and Light. The following screenshot shows the Material Editor in UE4:

The Cascade particle system

The Cascade particle system provides extensive capabilities to design and create particle effects. Effects from things such as smoke, sparks, and fire can be created by designing the size, color, and texture of each particle and how groups of these particles interact with each other to mimic real-life particle effect behavior. The following screenshot shows the Cascade particle system in UE4:

The Persona skeletal mesh animation

The Persona animation system lets you design and control the animation of the skeleton, skeleton mesh, and sockets of a character. This tool can be used to preview a character's animation and set up blend animation between key frames. The physics and collision properties can also be adjusted through Physics Asset Tool (PhAT). The following screenshot shows the Persona animation system in UE4:

The control of sound and music is done via the Sound Cue Editor. Sounds and music are triggered to play via cues known as Sound Cues. The ability to start/stop/repeat/fade in or out can be achieved using this editor. The following screenshot shows the Sound Cue Editor in UE4:

The Matinee Editor toolset enables the creation of game cut scenes and movies. These short clips created could be used to introduce the start of a game level, tell a story before the game begins or even as a promotional video for the game. The following screenshot shows the Matinee Editor in UE4:

The Blueprint system is a new feature in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine 4 is the first engine to utilize this revolutionary system. For those who are familiar with Unreal Engine 3, it can be thought of as the enhanced and improved combined version of the Unreal scripting system, Kismet, and the Prefab functionality. The Blueprint visual scripting system enables you to extend code functionality using visual scripting language (box-like flow diagrams joined with lines). This capability means that you do not have to write or compile code in order to create, arrange, and customize behavior/interaction of in-game objects. This also provides nonprogrammers (artists/designers) with the ability to prototype or create a level quickly and manipulate gameplay without having to tackle the challenges of game programming. A cool feature of Blueprint is that you can create variables like in programming by clicking on the object and selecting Create Variable. This opens up what developers can do without messing around with complex coding.

To help developers debug Blueprint scripting logic, you can see the sequence of events and property values visually on the flow diagrams as it is being executed. Similar to troubleshooting in coding, break points can also be set to pause a Blueprint sequence. The following screenshot shows the Level Blueprint Editor in UE4:

The control of sound and music is done via the Sound Cue Editor. Sounds and music are triggered to play via cues known as Sound Cues. The ability to start/stop/repeat/fade in or out can be achieved using this editor. The following screenshot shows the Sound Cue Editor in UE4:

The Matinee Editor toolset enables the creation of game cut scenes and movies. These short clips created could be used to introduce the start of a game level, tell a story before the game begins or even as a promotional video for the game. The following screenshot shows the Matinee Editor in UE4:

The Blueprint system is a new feature in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine 4 is the first engine to utilize this revolutionary system. For those who are familiar with Unreal Engine 3, it can be thought of as the enhanced and improved combined version of the Unreal scripting system, Kismet, and the Prefab functionality. The Blueprint visual scripting system enables you to extend code functionality using visual scripting language (box-like flow diagrams joined with lines). This capability means that you do not have to write or compile code in order to create, arrange, and customize behavior/interaction of in-game objects. This also provides nonprogrammers (artists/designers) with the ability to prototype or create a level quickly and manipulate gameplay without having to tackle the challenges of game programming. A cool feature of Blueprint is that you can create variables like in programming by clicking on the object and selecting Create Variable. This opens up what developers can do without messing around with complex coding.

To help developers debug Blueprint scripting logic, you can see the sequence of events and property values visually on the flow diagrams as it is being executed. Similar to troubleshooting in coding, break points can also be set to pause a Blueprint sequence. The following screenshot shows the Level Blueprint Editor in UE4:

The control of sound and music is done via the Sound Cue Editor. Sounds and music are triggered to play via cues known as Sound Cues. The ability to start/stop/repeat/fade in or out can be achieved using this editor. The following screenshot shows the Sound Cue Editor in UE4:

The Matinee Editor toolset enables the creation of game cut scenes and movies. These short clips created could be used to introduce the start of a game level, tell a story before the game begins or even as a promotional video for the game. The following screenshot shows the Matinee Editor in UE4:

The Blueprint system is a new feature in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine 4 is the first engine to utilize this revolutionary system. For those who are familiar with Unreal Engine 3, it can be thought of as the enhanced and improved combined version of the Unreal scripting system, Kismet, and the Prefab functionality. The Blueprint visual scripting system enables you to extend code functionality using visual scripting language (box-like flow diagrams joined with lines). This capability means that you do not have to write or compile code in order to create, arrange, and customize behavior/interaction of in-game objects. This also provides nonprogrammers (artists/designers) with the ability to prototype or create a level quickly and manipulate gameplay without having to tackle the challenges of game programming. A cool feature of Blueprint is that you can create variables like in programming by clicking on the object and selecting Create Variable. This opens up what developers can do without messing around with complex coding.

To help developers debug Blueprint scripting logic, you can see the sequence of events and property values visually on the flow diagrams as it is being executed. Similar to troubleshooting in coding, break points can also be set to pause a Blueprint sequence. The following screenshot shows the Level Blueprint Editor in UE4:

The control of sound and music is done via the Sound Cue Editor. Sounds and music are triggered to play via cues known as Sound Cues. The ability to start/stop/repeat/fade in or out can be achieved using this editor. The following screenshot shows the Sound Cue Editor in UE4:

The Matinee Editor toolset enables the creation of game cut scenes and movies. These short clips created could be used to introduce the start of a game level, tell a story before the game begins or even as a promotional video for the game. The following screenshot shows the Matinee Editor in UE4:

The Blueprint system is a new feature in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine 4 is the first engine to utilize this revolutionary system. For those who are familiar with Unreal Engine 3, it can be thought of as the enhanced and improved combined version of the Unreal scripting system, Kismet, and the Prefab functionality. The Blueprint visual scripting system enables you to extend code functionality using visual scripting language (box-like flow diagrams joined with lines). This capability means that you do not have to write or compile code in order to create, arrange, and customize behavior/interaction of in-game objects. This also provides nonprogrammers (artists/designers) with the ability to prototype or create a level quickly and manipulate gameplay without having to tackle the challenges of game programming. A cool feature of Blueprint is that you can create variables like in programming by clicking on the object and selecting Create Variable. This opens up what developers can do without messing around with complex coding.

To help developers debug Blueprint scripting logic, you can see the sequence of events and property values visually on the flow diagrams as it is being executed. Similar to troubleshooting in coding, break points can also be set to pause a Blueprint sequence. The following screenshot shows the Level Blueprint Editor in UE4:

The control of sound and music is done via the Sound Cue Editor. Sounds and music are triggered to play via cues known as Sound Cues. The ability to start/stop/repeat/fade in or out can be achieved using this editor. The following screenshot shows the Sound Cue Editor in UE4:

The Matinee Editor toolset enables the creation of game cut scenes and movies. These short clips created could be used to introduce the start of a game level, tell a story before the game begins or even as a promotional video for the game. The following screenshot shows the Matinee Editor in UE4:

The Blueprint system is a new feature in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine 4 is the first engine to utilize this revolutionary system. For those who are familiar with Unreal Engine 3, it can be thought of as the enhanced and improved combined version of the Unreal scripting system, Kismet, and the Prefab functionality. The Blueprint visual scripting system enables you to extend code functionality using visual scripting language (box-like flow diagrams joined with lines). This capability means that you do not have to write or compile code in order to create, arrange, and customize behavior/interaction of in-game objects. This also provides nonprogrammers (artists/designers) with the ability to prototype or create a level quickly and manipulate gameplay without having to tackle the challenges of game programming. A cool feature of Blueprint is that you can create variables like in programming by clicking on the object and selecting Create Variable. This opens up what developers can do without messing around with complex coding.

To help developers debug Blueprint scripting logic, you can see the sequence of events and property values visually on the flow diagrams as it is being executed. Similar to troubleshooting in coding, break points can also be set to pause a Blueprint sequence. The following screenshot shows the Level Blueprint Editor in UE4:

The Matinee Editor toolset enables the creation of game cut scenes and movies. These short clips created could be used to introduce the start of a game level, tell a story before the game begins or even as a promotional video for the game. The following screenshot shows the Matinee Editor in UE4:

The Blueprint system is a new feature in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine 4 is the first engine to utilize this revolutionary system. For those who are familiar with Unreal Engine 3, it can be thought of as the enhanced and improved combined version of the Unreal scripting system, Kismet, and the Prefab functionality. The Blueprint visual scripting system enables you to extend code functionality using visual scripting language (box-like flow diagrams joined with lines). This capability means that you do not have to write or compile code in order to create, arrange, and customize behavior/interaction of in-game objects. This also provides nonprogrammers (artists/designers) with the ability to prototype or create a level quickly and manipulate gameplay without having to tackle the challenges of game programming. A cool feature of Blueprint is that you can create variables like in programming by clicking on the object and selecting Create Variable. This opens up what developers can do without messing around with complex coding.

To help developers debug Blueprint scripting logic, you can see the sequence of events and property values visually on the flow diagrams as it is being executed. Similar to troubleshooting in coding, break points can also be set to pause a Blueprint sequence. The following screenshot shows the Level Blueprint Editor in UE4:

The Blueprint system is a new feature in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine 4 is the first engine to utilize this revolutionary system. For those who are familiar with Unreal Engine 3, it can be thought of as the enhanced and improved combined version of the Unreal scripting system, Kismet, and the Prefab functionality. The Blueprint visual scripting system enables you to extend code functionality using visual scripting language (box-like flow diagrams joined with lines). This capability means that you do not have to write or compile code in order to create, arrange, and customize behavior/interaction of in-game objects. This also provides nonprogrammers (artists/designers) with the ability to prototype or create a level quickly and manipulate gameplay without having to tackle the challenges of game programming. A cool feature of Blueprint is that you can create variables like in programming by clicking on the object and selecting Create Variable. This opens up what developers can do without messing around with complex coding.

To help developers debug Blueprint scripting logic, you can see the sequence of events and property values visually on the flow diagrams as it is being executed. Similar to troubleshooting in coding, break points can also be set to pause a Blueprint sequence. The following screenshot shows the Level Blueprint Editor in UE4:

Actors are the base class of all gameplay objects in Unreal. For the Actors to have more properties and functionalities, the Actor class is extended to various more complex classes. In terms of programming, the Actor class acts as a container class to hold specialized objects called Components. The combination of the functionalities of the Components gives the Actor its unique properties.

Actors are the base class of all gameplay objects in Unreal. For the Actors to have more properties and functionalities, the Actor class is extended to various more complex classes. In terms of programming, the Actor class acts as a container class to hold specialized objects called Components. The combination of the functionalities of the Components gives the Actor its unique properties.

When starting up Unreal Engine, you will be first brought to a menu window by default. This new start menu is simple and easy to navigate. It features a large tab that allows you to select which version of game engine you want to launch and has a clear representation of the projects you have created. It also provides access to Marketplace, which is a library of game samples that are created by others, which you could download (some free, some paid). The menu also provides latest updates and news from Epic to ensure developers are kept abreast of the latest development and changes. The following screenshot shows the start menu:

After launching the desired version of Unreal Engine, the Unreal Project Browser pops up. This browser provides you with the option to create game levels that have been pre-customized. This means that you have a list of generic levels, which you can start building your game levels with. For those who are new to game making, this feature lets you dive straight into building various types of games quickly. You can have a first-person shooting level and third-person game setup, or a 2D/3D side-scrolling platform level directly in either Blueprint or C++ as the base template. What is so awesome about the New Project tab is that it also allows you to select your target device (PC/mobile), image quality target, with or without the Unreal content included in the startup project. The following screenshot shows the Project Browser:

When the Unreal Editor starts, there is a default layout of various windows and panels. One of them is the Content Browser. The Content Browser is a window where you can find all the content (game assets) that you have. It categorizes your assets into different folders such as Audio, Materials, Animations, Particle Effects, and so on. This window has also the Import button, which lets you bring in game assets that were created using other software into the game. The following screenshot shows the default location of the Content Browser (outlined in green):

The Toolbar is a customizable ribbon that provides quick access to tools and editors. The default layout includes quick access to the Blueprint and Matinee editors. Quick play and launch game function is also part of the standard ribbon layout. These buttons allow you to quickly view your creation in-game. The following screenshot shows the default Toolbar:

The Viewport is the window to the game world so what you see is what is in the game. If you have created a level using one of the options provided in the New Project menu, you would notice that the camera has been adjusted accordingly to the settings of that pre-customized level. This is the window that you will use to place objects into and move them around. When you click on the Play button in the toolbar, this Viewport window comes alive and allows you to interact with game level. The following screenshot shows the Viewport window being highlighted in the editor:

The Scene Outliner contains the list of objects that are placed in the scene. It is only what is loaded currently in the scene. You can create folders and have customized names for the objects (to help you identify the objects easily). It is also a quick way to group items so that you can select them and make changes in bulk. The following screenshot shows the Scene Outliner highlighted in the editor:

The Modes window gives you the power to create and place objects into the game world. You can select the type of activity you wish to execute. Select from Place, Paint, Landscape, Foliage and Geometry Editing. Place is to put objects into the game world. Paint allows you to paint vertices and textures of objects. Landscape and Foliage are useful tools for making large scale natural terrains in the game. Geometry Editing provides the tools to modify and edit the object. The highlighted area in the following screenshot shows the Modes window:

When starting up Unreal Engine, you will be first brought to a menu window by default. This new start menu is simple and easy to navigate. It features a large tab that allows you to select which version of game engine you want to launch and has a clear representation of the projects you have created. It also provides access to Marketplace, which is a library of game samples that are created by others, which you could download (some free, some paid). The menu also provides latest updates and news from Epic to ensure developers are kept abreast of the latest development and changes. The following screenshot shows the start menu:

After launching the desired version of Unreal Engine, the Unreal Project Browser pops up. This browser provides you with the option to create game levels that have been pre-customized. This means that you have a list of generic levels, which you can start building your game levels with. For those who are new to game making, this feature lets you dive straight into building various types of games quickly. You can have a first-person shooting level and third-person game setup, or a 2D/3D side-scrolling platform level directly in either Blueprint or C++ as the base template. What is so awesome about the New Project tab is that it also allows you to select your target device (PC/mobile), image quality target, with or without the Unreal content included in the startup project. The following screenshot shows the Project Browser:

When the Unreal Editor starts, there is a default layout of various windows and panels. One of them is the Content Browser. The Content Browser is a window where you can find all the content (game assets) that you have. It categorizes your assets into different folders such as Audio, Materials, Animations, Particle Effects, and so on. This window has also the Import button, which lets you bring in game assets that were created using other software into the game. The following screenshot shows the default location of the Content Browser (outlined in green):

The Toolbar is a customizable ribbon that provides quick access to tools and editors. The default layout includes quick access to the Blueprint and Matinee editors. Quick play and launch game function is also part of the standard ribbon layout. These buttons allow you to quickly view your creation in-game. The following screenshot shows the default Toolbar:

The Viewport is the window to the game world so what you see is what is in the game. If you have created a level using one of the options provided in the New Project menu, you would notice that the camera has been adjusted accordingly to the settings of that pre-customized level. This is the window that you will use to place objects into and move them around. When you click on the Play button in the toolbar, this Viewport window comes alive and allows you to interact with game level. The following screenshot shows the Viewport window being highlighted in the editor:

The Scene Outliner contains the list of objects that are placed in the scene. It is only what is loaded currently in the scene. You can create folders and have customized names for the objects (to help you identify the objects easily). It is also a quick way to group items so that you can select them and make changes in bulk. The following screenshot shows the Scene Outliner highlighted in the editor:

The Modes window gives you the power to create and place objects into the game world. You can select the type of activity you wish to execute. Select from Place, Paint, Landscape, Foliage and Geometry Editing. Place is to put objects into the game world. Paint allows you to paint vertices and textures of objects. Landscape and Foliage are useful tools for making large scale natural terrains in the game. Geometry Editing provides the tools to modify and edit the object. The highlighted area in the following screenshot shows the Modes window:

After launching the desired version of Unreal Engine, the Unreal Project Browser pops up. This browser provides you with the option to create game levels that have been pre-customized. This means that you have a list of generic levels, which you can start building your game levels with. For those who are new to game making, this feature lets you dive straight into building various types of games quickly. You can have a first-person shooting level and third-person game setup, or a 2D/3D side-scrolling platform level directly in either Blueprint or C++ as the base template. What is so awesome about the New Project tab is that it also allows you to select your target device (PC/mobile), image quality target, with or without the Unreal content included in the startup project. The following screenshot shows the Project Browser:

When the Unreal Editor starts, there is a default layout of various windows and panels. One of them is the Content Browser. The Content Browser is a window where you can find all the content (game assets) that you have. It categorizes your assets into different folders such as Audio, Materials, Animations, Particle Effects, and so on. This window has also the Import button, which lets you bring in game assets that were created using other software into the game. The following screenshot shows the default location of the Content Browser (outlined in green):

The Toolbar is a customizable ribbon that provides quick access to tools and editors. The default layout includes quick access to the Blueprint and Matinee editors. Quick play and launch game function is also part of the standard ribbon layout. These buttons allow you to quickly view your creation in-game. The following screenshot shows the default Toolbar:

The Viewport is the window to the game world so what you see is what is in the game. If you have created a level using one of the options provided in the New Project menu, you would notice that the camera has been adjusted accordingly to the settings of that pre-customized level. This is the window that you will use to place objects into and move them around. When you click on the Play button in the toolbar, this Viewport window comes alive and allows you to interact with game level. The following screenshot shows the Viewport window being highlighted in the editor:

The Scene Outliner contains the list of objects that are placed in the scene. It is only what is loaded currently in the scene. You can create folders and have customized names for the objects (to help you identify the objects easily). It is also a quick way to group items so that you can select them and make changes in bulk. The following screenshot shows the Scene Outliner highlighted in the editor:

The Modes window gives you the power to create and place objects into the game world. You can select the type of activity you wish to execute. Select from Place, Paint, Landscape, Foliage and Geometry Editing. Place is to put objects into the game world. Paint allows you to paint vertices and textures of objects. Landscape and Foliage are useful tools for making large scale natural terrains in the game. Geometry Editing provides the tools to modify and edit the object. The highlighted area in the following screenshot shows the Modes window:

When the Unreal Editor starts, there is a default layout of various windows and panels. One of them is the Content Browser. The Content Browser is a window where you can find all the content (game assets) that you have. It categorizes your assets into different folders such as Audio, Materials, Animations, Particle Effects, and so on. This window has also the Import button, which lets you bring in game assets that were created using other software into the game. The following screenshot shows the default location of the Content Browser (outlined in green):

The Toolbar is a customizable ribbon that provides quick access to tools and editors. The default layout includes quick access to the Blueprint and Matinee editors. Quick play and launch game function is also part of the standard ribbon layout. These buttons allow you to quickly view your creation in-game. The following screenshot shows the default Toolbar:

The Viewport is the window to the game world so what you see is what is in the game. If you have created a level using one of the options provided in the New Project menu, you would notice that the camera has been adjusted accordingly to the settings of that pre-customized level. This is the window that you will use to place objects into and move them around. When you click on the Play button in the toolbar, this Viewport window comes alive and allows you to interact with game level. The following screenshot shows the Viewport window being highlighted in the editor:

The Scene Outliner contains the list of objects that are placed in the scene. It is only what is loaded currently in the scene. You can create folders and have customized names for the objects (to help you identify the objects easily). It is also a quick way to group items so that you can select them and make changes in bulk. The following screenshot shows the Scene Outliner highlighted in the editor:

The Modes window gives you the power to create and place objects into the game world. You can select the type of activity you wish to execute. Select from Place, Paint, Landscape, Foliage and Geometry Editing. Place is to put objects into the game world. Paint allows you to paint vertices and textures of objects. Landscape and Foliage are useful tools for making large scale natural terrains in the game. Geometry Editing provides the tools to modify and edit the object. The highlighted area in the following screenshot shows the Modes window:

The Toolbar is a customizable ribbon that provides quick access to tools and editors. The default layout includes quick access to the Blueprint and Matinee editors. Quick play and launch game function is also part of the standard ribbon layout. These buttons allow you to quickly view your creation in-game. The following screenshot shows the default Toolbar:

The Viewport is the window to the game world so what you see is what is in the game. If you have created a level using one of the options provided in the New Project menu, you would notice that the camera has been adjusted accordingly to the settings of that pre-customized level. This is the window that you will use to place objects into and move them around. When you click on the Play button in the toolbar, this Viewport window comes alive and allows you to interact with game level. The following screenshot shows the Viewport window being highlighted in the editor:

The Scene Outliner contains the list of objects that are placed in the scene. It is only what is loaded currently in the scene. You can create folders and have customized names for the objects (to help you identify the objects easily). It is also a quick way to group items so that you can select them and make changes in bulk. The following screenshot shows the Scene Outliner highlighted in the editor:

The Modes window gives you the power to create and place objects into the game world. You can select the type of activity you wish to execute. Select from Place, Paint, Landscape, Foliage and Geometry Editing. Place is to put objects into the game world. Paint allows you to paint vertices and textures of objects. Landscape and Foliage are useful tools for making large scale natural terrains in the game. Geometry Editing provides the tools to modify and edit the object. The highlighted area in the following screenshot shows the Modes window:

The Viewport is the window to the game world so what you see is what is in the game. If you have created a level using one of the options provided in the New Project menu, you would notice that the camera has been adjusted accordingly to the settings of that pre-customized level. This is the window that you will use to place objects into and move them around. When you click on the Play button in the toolbar, this Viewport window comes alive and allows you to interact with game level. The following screenshot shows the Viewport window being highlighted in the editor:

The Scene Outliner contains the list of objects that are placed in the scene. It is only what is loaded currently in the scene. You can create folders and have customized names for the objects (to help you identify the objects easily). It is also a quick way to group items so that you can select them and make changes in bulk. The following screenshot shows the Scene Outliner highlighted in the editor:

The Modes window gives you the power to create and place objects into the game world. You can select the type of activity you wish to execute. Select from Place, Paint, Landscape, Foliage and Geometry Editing. Place is to put objects into the game world. Paint allows you to paint vertices and textures of objects. Landscape and Foliage are useful tools for making large scale natural terrains in the game. Geometry Editing provides the tools to modify and edit the object. The highlighted area in the following screenshot shows the Modes window:

The Scene Outliner contains the list of objects that are placed in the scene. It is only what is loaded currently in the scene. You can create folders and have customized names for the objects (to help you identify the objects easily). It is also a quick way to group items so that you can select them and make changes in bulk. The following screenshot shows the Scene Outliner highlighted in the editor:

The Modes window gives you the power to create and place objects into the game world. You can select the type of activity you wish to execute. Select from Place, Paint, Landscape, Foliage and Geometry Editing. Place is to put objects into the game world. Paint allows you to paint vertices and textures of objects. Landscape and Foliage are useful tools for making large scale natural terrains in the game. Geometry Editing provides the tools to modify and edit the object. The highlighted area in the following screenshot shows the Modes window:

The Modes window gives you the power to create and place objects into the game world. You can select the type of activity you wish to execute. Select from Place, Paint, Landscape, Foliage and Geometry Editing. Place is to put objects into the game world. Paint allows you to paint vertices and textures of objects. Landscape and Foliage are useful tools for making large scale natural terrains in the game. Geometry Editing provides the tools to modify and edit the object. The highlighted area in the following screenshot shows the Modes window:

Here is some quick information on the different views in 3D modeling creation: the example map is loaded by default in the Perspective view. Other than having the map in the Perspective view, you can change what you see in the viewport in the top, side, or front views, respectively. The option to switch to any of these is in the left-hand corner of the viewport. The following screenshot shows the location of the button to press so that you can switch views:

If you wish to see more than one view concurrently, navigate to Windows | Viewports and then select any of the viewports (The default viewport uses Viewport 1.).

The selected viewport number will pop up. You can drag and dock this Viewport window and add it to the default Viewport 1. The following screenshot shows Viewport 1 and Viewport 2 displayed at the same time (one in the Perspective view and the other in the Top view):

Here are some of the key presses to help you move around and view objects:

In the Perspective view:

In the Orthographic (Top, Front, and Side) view:

For those of you who are familiar with games, you can use WASD to navigate the camera in the editor too.

WASD control in the Perspective view:

On selection of an object:

Here is some quick information on the different views in 3D modeling creation: the example map is loaded by default in the Perspective view. Other than having the map in the Perspective view, you can change what you see in the viewport in the top, side, or front views, respectively. The option to switch to any of these is in the left-hand corner of the viewport. The following screenshot shows the location of the button to press so that you can switch views:

If you wish to see more than one view concurrently, navigate to Windows | Viewports and then select any of the viewports (The default viewport uses Viewport 1.).

The selected viewport number will pop up. You can drag and dock this Viewport window and add it to the default Viewport 1. The following screenshot shows Viewport 1 and Viewport 2 displayed at the same time (one in the Perspective view and the other in the Top view):

Here are some of the key presses to help you move around and view objects:

In the Perspective view:

In the Orthographic (Top, Front, and Side) view:

For those of you who are familiar with games, you can use WASD to navigate the camera in the editor too.

WASD control in the Perspective view:

On selection of an object:

Here are some of the key presses to help you move around and view objects:

In the Perspective view:

In the Orthographic (Top, Front, and Side) view:

For those of you who are familiar with games, you can use WASD to navigate the camera in the editor too.

WASD control in the Perspective view:

On selection of an object:

To help you select objects in the level more easily, you can go to World Outliner (its default location is in the top right-hand corner of the editor), and you will see a full list of all the objects in the level. Click on the name of an object to select it and its details will also be displayed. This is a very useful way to help you select objects when you have many objects in the level. The following screenshot shows how World Outliner can be used to select the Box brush (which we've just created) in the level:

If you have difficulties seeing the box, you can change View Mode to Unlit (the button is in the viewport that's next to the Perspective button). The following screenshot shows you how to change View Mode to Unlit:

To help you select objects in the level more easily, you can go to World Outliner (its default location is in the top right-hand corner of the editor), and you will see a full list of all the objects in the level. Click on the name of an object to select it and its details will also be displayed. This is a very useful way to help you select objects when you have many objects in the level. The following screenshot shows how World Outliner can be used to select the Box brush (which we've just created) in the level:

If you have difficulties seeing the box, you can change View Mode to Unlit (the button is in the viewport that's next to the Perspective button). The following screenshot shows you how to change View Mode to Unlit:

If you have difficulties seeing the box, you can change View Mode to Unlit (the button is in the viewport that's next to the Perspective button). The following screenshot shows you how to change View Mode to Unlit:

To position an object in a level, we use the Transform tool to move objects in the x, y, and z directions. Select the object and press the W key to display the Transform tool. Three arrows will appear to extrude from the object. Click and hold the red arrow to move the object along the x axis, the green arrow to move it along the y axis, and the blue arrow to it move along the z axis.

To help you position the objects more accurately, you can also switch to the Top view when moving objects in the x and y directions, the Side view for adjustments in the y and z directions, and the Front view to adjust the x and z directions.

For those of you who want precise position control, you can use Details. Select the object to display details. Go to Transform | Location. You can select Relative or World position by clicking on the arrow next to Location. Change the X, Y, and Z values to move the object with more precision.

To position an object in a level, we use the Transform tool to move objects in the x, y, and z directions. Select the object and press the W key to display the Transform tool. Three arrows will appear to extrude from the object. Click and hold the red arrow to move the object along the x axis, the green arrow to move it along the y axis, and the blue arrow to it move along the z axis.

To help you position the objects more accurately, you can also switch to the Top view when moving objects in the x and y directions, the Side view for adjustments in the y and z directions, and the Front view to adjust the x and z directions.

For those of you who want precise position control, you can use Details. Select the object to display details. Go to Transform | Location. You can select Relative or World position by clicking on the arrow next to Location. Change the X, Y, and Z values to move the object with more precision.

To rotate an object in a level, we use the Rotate tool to rotate objects around the x (row), y (pitch), and z (yaw) directions. Select the object and press the E key to display the Rotate tool. Three lines with a box tip will appear to extrude from the object. Click and hold the red arrow to rotate the object around the x axis, the green arrow to rotate it around the y axis, and the blue arrow to rotate it around the z axis.

Another way to rotate an object more accurately is by controlling its rotation through the actual rotation values found under Details. (Select the object to be rotated to display its details). In the Transform tab, go to Rotation, and set the X, Y, and Z values to rotate the object. There is an arrow next to Rotation that you can click on to select if you want to adjust the rotation values for Relative or World. When you select to rotate an object using the Relative setting, the object will rotate relative to its current position. When the object is rotated using the World setting, it will be relative to the world's position.

If you want the player controller (as shown in the preceding screenshot) to have the light blue arrow facing inwards and away from you, you will need to rotate the player controller 180 degrees around the y axis. Enter Y as 180 under the Relative setting. The player controller will be rotated in the manner shown in this screenshot:

To rotate an object in a level, we use the Rotate tool to rotate objects around the x (row), y (pitch), and z (yaw) directions. Select the object and press the E key to display the Rotate tool. Three lines with a box tip will appear to extrude from the object. Click and hold the red arrow to rotate the object around the x axis, the green arrow to rotate it around the y axis, and the blue arrow to rotate it around the z axis.

Another way to rotate an object more accurately is by controlling its rotation through the actual rotation values found under Details. (Select the object to be rotated to display its details). In the Transform tab, go to Rotation, and set the X, Y, and Z values to rotate the object. There is an arrow next to Rotation that you can click on to select if you want to adjust the rotation values for Relative or World. When you select to rotate an object using the Relative setting, the object will rotate relative to its current position. When the object is rotated using the World setting, it will be relative to the world's position.

If you want the player controller (as shown in the preceding screenshot) to have the light blue arrow facing inwards and away from you, you will need to rotate the player controller 180 degrees around the y axis. Enter Y as 180 under the Relative setting. The player controller will be rotated in the manner shown in this screenshot:

To help you move objects into position more accurately, you can make use of the snap grid button at the top of the viewport as shown in the following screenshot. Turning the drag snap grid on allows you to translate objects according to the grid size you select. Click on the mesh-like symbol to toggle snap grid on/off. The numbers displayed on the right are the minimum grid sizes by which an object will move when translated.

I have also noticed that a portion of the floor is not textured yet. Use the same wood texture as you did previously to make sure that the ground is fully textured using M_Wood_Floor_Walnut_Polished.

Then, click and drag SM_Door into the viewport. Rotate the door and fit it into the door frame in the same manner as shown previously. Here, you can see how the door is in place:

To help you move objects into position more accurately, you can make use of the snap grid button at the top of the viewport as shown in the following screenshot. Turning the drag snap grid on allows you to translate objects according to the grid size you select. Click on the mesh-like symbol to toggle snap grid on/off. The numbers displayed on the right are the minimum grid sizes by which an object will move when translated.

I have also noticed that a portion of the floor is not textured yet. Use the same wood texture as you did previously to make sure that the ground is fully textured using M_Wood_Floor_Walnut_Polished.

Then, click and drag SM_Door into the viewport. Rotate the door and fit it into the door frame in the same manner as shown previously. Here, you can see how the door is in place:

To fully understand the concept of a Material, we need to break it down into its fundamental components. How a surface looks is determined by many factors, including color, presence of print/pattern/designs, reflectivity, transparency, and many more. These factors combine together to give the surface its unique look.

In Unreal Engine, we are able to create our very own material by using the Material Editor. Based on the explanation given earlier, a Material is determined by many factors and all these factors combine together to give the Material its own look and feel.

Unreal Engine offers a base Material node that has a list of customizable factors, which we can use to design our Material. By using different values to different factors, we can come up with our very own Material. Let us take a look at what is behind the scene in a material that we have used in Chapter 2, Creating Your First Level.

Go to Content Browser | Content | Starter Content | Materials and double-click on M_Brick_Clay_New. This opens up the Material Editor. The following screenshot shows the zoomed-in version of the base Material node for the brick clay material. You might notice that Base Color, Roughness, Normal, and Ambient Occlusion have inputs to the base M_Brick_Clay_New material node. These inputs make the brick wall look like a brick wall.

The inputs to these nodes can take on values from various sources. Take Base Color for example, we can define the color using RGB values or we can take the color from the texture input. Textures are images in formats, such as .bmp, .jpg, .png, and so on, which we can create using tools, such as Photoshop or ZBrush.

We will talk more about the construction of the materials a little later in this book. For now, let us just keep in mind that materials are applied to the surfaces and textures are what we can use in combination, to give the materials its overall visual look.

Notice that I have used both Materials and Textures in the previous section. It has often caused quite a bit of confusion for a newbie in the game development. Material is what we apply to surfaces and they are made up of a combination of different textures. Materials take on the properties from the textures depending on what was specified, including color, transparency, and so on.

As explained earlier, Textures are simple images in formats such as .tga, .bmp, .jpg, .png, and so on.

Now, we understand that a custom material is made up of a combination of textures and material is applied onto surfaces to give the polygon meshes its identity and realism. The next question is how do we apply these numerous textures that come with the material onto the surfaces? Do we simply slap them onto the 3D object? There must be a predictable manner in which we paint these textures onto the surfaces. The method used is called Texture Mapping , which was pioneered by Edwin Catmull in 1974.

Texture mapping assigns pixels from a texture image to a point on the surface of the polygon. The texture image is called a UV texture map. The reason we are using UV as an alternative to the XY coordinates is because we are already using XY to describe the geometric space of the object. So the UV coordinates are the texture's XY coordinates, and it is solely used to determine how to paint a 3D surface.

How to create and use a Texture Map

We will first need to unwrap a mesh at its seams and lay it out flat in 2D. This 2D surface is then painted upon to create the texture. This painted texture (also known as Texture Map) will then be wrapped back around the mesh by assigning the UV coordinates of the texture on each face of the mesh. To help you better visualize, take a look at the following illustration:

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_mapping)

As a result of this, shared vertices can have more than one set of UV coordinates assigned.

A special form of texture maps – Normal Maps

Normal Maps are a type of texture maps. They give the surfaces little bumps and dents. Normal Maps add the details to the surfaces without increasing the number of polygons. One very effective use of Normal Mapping is to generate Normal Maps from a high polygon 3D model and use it to texture the lower polygon model, which is also known as baking. We will discuss why we need the same 3D model with different number of polygons in the next section.

Normal maps are commonly stored as regular RGB images where the RGB components correspond to the X, Y, and Z coordinates, respectively, of the surface normal. The following image shows an example of a normal map taken from http://www.bricksntiles.com/textures/:

To fully understand the concept of a Material, we need to break it down into its fundamental components. How a surface looks is determined by many factors, including color, presence of print/pattern/designs, reflectivity, transparency, and many more. These factors combine together to give the surface its unique look.

In Unreal Engine, we are able to create our very own material by using the Material Editor. Based on the explanation given earlier, a Material is determined by many factors and all these factors combine together to give the Material its own look and feel.

Unreal Engine offers a base Material node that has a list of customizable factors, which we can use to design our Material. By using different values to different factors, we can come up with our very own Material. Let us take a look at what is behind the scene in a material that we have used in Chapter 2, Creating Your First Level.

Go to Content Browser | Content | Starter Content | Materials and double-click on M_Brick_Clay_New. This opens up the Material Editor. The following screenshot shows the zoomed-in version of the base Material node for the brick clay material. You might notice that Base Color, Roughness, Normal, and Ambient Occlusion have inputs to the base M_Brick_Clay_New material node. These inputs make the brick wall look like a brick wall.

The inputs to these nodes can take on values from various sources. Take Base Color for example, we can define the color using RGB values or we can take the color from the texture input. Textures are images in formats, such as .bmp, .jpg, .png, and so on, which we can create using tools, such as Photoshop or ZBrush.

We will talk more about the construction of the materials a little later in this book. For now, let us just keep in mind that materials are applied to the surfaces and textures are what we can use in combination, to give the materials its overall visual look.

Notice that I have used both Materials and Textures in the previous section. It has often caused quite a bit of confusion for a newbie in the game development. Material is what we apply to surfaces and they are made up of a combination of different textures. Materials take on the properties from the textures depending on what was specified, including color, transparency, and so on.

As explained earlier, Textures are simple images in formats such as .tga, .bmp, .jpg, .png, and so on.

Now, we understand that a custom material is made up of a combination of textures and material is applied onto surfaces to give the polygon meshes its identity and realism. The next question is how do we apply these numerous textures that come with the material onto the surfaces? Do we simply slap them onto the 3D object? There must be a predictable manner in which we paint these textures onto the surfaces. The method used is called Texture Mapping , which was pioneered by Edwin Catmull in 1974.

Texture mapping assigns pixels from a texture image to a point on the surface of the polygon. The texture image is called a UV texture map. The reason we are using UV as an alternative to the XY coordinates is because we are already using XY to describe the geometric space of the object. So the UV coordinates are the texture's XY coordinates, and it is solely used to determine how to paint a 3D surface.

How to create and use a Texture Map

We will first need to unwrap a mesh at its seams and lay it out flat in 2D. This 2D surface is then painted upon to create the texture. This painted texture (also known as Texture Map) will then be wrapped back around the mesh by assigning the UV coordinates of the texture on each face of the mesh. To help you better visualize, take a look at the following illustration:

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_mapping)

As a result of this, shared vertices can have more than one set of UV coordinates assigned.

A special form of texture maps – Normal Maps

Normal Maps are a type of texture maps. They give the surfaces little bumps and dents. Normal Maps add the details to the surfaces without increasing the number of polygons. One very effective use of Normal Mapping is to generate Normal Maps from a high polygon 3D model and use it to texture the lower polygon model, which is also known as baking. We will discuss why we need the same 3D model with different number of polygons in the next section.

Normal maps are commonly stored as regular RGB images where the RGB components correspond to the X, Y, and Z coordinates, respectively, of the surface normal. The following image shows an example of a normal map taken from http://www.bricksntiles.com/textures/:

Notice that I have used both Materials and Textures in the previous section. It has often caused quite a bit of confusion for a newbie in the game development. Material is what we apply to surfaces and they are made up of a combination of different textures. Materials take on the properties from the textures depending on what was specified, including color, transparency, and so on.

As explained earlier, Textures are simple images in formats such as .tga, .bmp, .jpg, .png, and so on.

Now, we understand that a custom material is made up of a combination of textures and material is applied onto surfaces to give the polygon meshes its identity and realism. The next question is how do we apply these numerous textures that come with the material onto the surfaces? Do we simply slap them onto the 3D object? There must be a predictable manner in which we paint these textures onto the surfaces. The method used is called Texture Mapping , which was pioneered by Edwin Catmull in 1974.

Texture mapping assigns pixels from a texture image to a point on the surface of the polygon. The texture image is called a UV texture map. The reason we are using UV as an alternative to the XY coordinates is because we are already using XY to describe the geometric space of the object. So the UV coordinates are the texture's XY coordinates, and it is solely used to determine how to paint a 3D surface.

How to create and use a Texture Map

We will first need to unwrap a mesh at its seams and lay it out flat in 2D. This 2D surface is then painted upon to create the texture. This painted texture (also known as Texture Map) will then be wrapped back around the mesh by assigning the UV coordinates of the texture on each face of the mesh. To help you better visualize, take a look at the following illustration:

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_mapping)

As a result of this, shared vertices can have more than one set of UV coordinates assigned.

A special form of texture maps – Normal Maps

Normal Maps are a type of texture maps. They give the surfaces little bumps and dents. Normal Maps add the details to the surfaces without increasing the number of polygons. One very effective use of Normal Mapping is to generate Normal Maps from a high polygon 3D model and use it to texture the lower polygon model, which is also known as baking. We will discuss why we need the same 3D model with different number of polygons in the next section.

Normal maps are commonly stored as regular RGB images where the RGB components correspond to the X, Y, and Z coordinates, respectively, of the surface normal. The following image shows an example of a normal map taken from http://www.bricksntiles.com/textures/:

Now, we understand that a custom material is made up of a combination of textures and material is applied onto surfaces to give the polygon meshes its identity and realism. The next question is how do we apply these numerous textures that come with the material onto the surfaces? Do we simply slap them onto the 3D object? There must be a predictable manner in which we paint these textures onto the surfaces. The method used is called Texture Mapping , which was pioneered by Edwin Catmull in 1974.

Texture mapping assigns pixels from a texture image to a point on the surface of the polygon. The texture image is called a UV texture map. The reason we are using UV as an alternative to the XY coordinates is because we are already using XY to describe the geometric space of the object. So the UV coordinates are the texture's XY coordinates, and it is solely used to determine how to paint a 3D surface.

How to create and use a Texture Map

We will first need to unwrap a mesh at its seams and lay it out flat in 2D. This 2D surface is then painted upon to create the texture. This painted texture (also known as Texture Map) will then be wrapped back around the mesh by assigning the UV coordinates of the texture on each face of the mesh. To help you better visualize, take a look at the following illustration:

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_mapping)

As a result of this, shared vertices can have more than one set of UV coordinates assigned.

A special form of texture maps – Normal Maps

Normal Maps are a type of texture maps. They give the surfaces little bumps and dents. Normal Maps add the details to the surfaces without increasing the number of polygons. One very effective use of Normal Mapping is to generate Normal Maps from a high polygon 3D model and use it to texture the lower polygon model, which is also known as baking. We will discuss why we need the same 3D model with different number of polygons in the next section.

Normal maps are commonly stored as regular RGB images where the RGB components correspond to the X, Y, and Z coordinates, respectively, of the surface normal. The following image shows an example of a normal map taken from http://www.bricksntiles.com/textures/:

Let us go through some of the possible configurations in Unreal's Collision properties that we should get acquainted with.

Collision hulls

For a collision to occur in Unreal Engine, hulls are used. To view an example of the collision hull for a Static Mesh, take a look at the light blue lines surrounding the cube in the following screenshot; it's a box collision hull:

Hulls can be generated in Static Mesh Editor for static meshes. The following screenshot shows the menu options available for creating an auto-generated collision hull in Static Mesh Editor:

Simple geometry objects can be combined and overlapped to form a simple hull. A simple hull/bounding box reduces the amount of calculation it needs during a collision. So for complex objects, a generalized bounding box can be used to encompass the object. When creating static mesh that has a complex shape, not a simple geometry type of object, you will need to refer to the Static Mesh creation pipeline section later on in the chapter to learn how to create a suitable collision bounding box for it.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

Let us go through some of the possible configurations in Unreal's Collision properties that we should get acquainted with.

Collision hulls

For a collision to occur in Unreal Engine, hulls are used. To view an example of the collision hull for a Static Mesh, take a look at the light blue lines surrounding the cube in the following screenshot; it's a box collision hull:

Hulls can be generated in Static Mesh Editor for static meshes. The following screenshot shows the menu options available for creating an auto-generated collision hull in Static Mesh Editor:

Simple geometry objects can be combined and overlapped to form a simple hull. A simple hull/bounding box reduces the amount of calculation it needs during a collision. So for complex objects, a generalized bounding box can be used to encompass the object. When creating static mesh that has a complex shape, not a simple geometry type of object, you will need to refer to the Static Mesh creation pipeline section later on in the chapter to learn how to create a suitable collision bounding box for it.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

When designing collisions, you will also need to decide what kind of interactions the object has and what it will interact with.

To block means they will collide, and to overlap can mean that no collision will occur. When a block or an overlap happens, it is possible to flag the event so that other actions resulting from this interaction can be taken. This is to allow customized events, which you can have in game.

Note that for a block to actually occur, both objects must be set to Block and they must be set so that they block the right type of objects too. If one is set to block and the other to overlap, the overlap will occur but not the block. Block and overlap can happen when objects are moving at a high speed, but events can only be triggered on either overlap or block, not both. You can also set the blocking to ignore a particular type of object, for example, Pawn, which is the player.

The Blocking Volume can be used to prevent players/characters/game objects from entering a certain area of the map. It is quite similar to collision hull which we have described earlier and can be used in place of Static Mesh collision hull, as they are simpler in shapes (block shapes), hence easier to calculate the response of the collision. These volumes also have the ability to detect which objects overlap with themselves quickly.

An example of the usage of the Blocking Volume is to prevent the player from walking across a row of low bushes. In this case, since the bushes are rather irregularly shaped but are roughly forming a straight line, like a hedge, an invisible Blocking Volume would be a very good way of preventing the player from crossing the bushes.

The following screenshot shows the properties for the Blocking Volume. We can change the shape and size of the volume under Brush Settings. Collision events and triggers other events using Blueprint. This is pretty much the basic configuration we will get for all other volumes too.

The Camera Blocking Volume works in the same way as the Blocking Volume but it is used specifically to block cameras. It is useful when you want to limit the player from exploring with the camera beyond a certain range.

The Trigger Volume is probably one of the most used volumes. This is also the volume which we would be using to create events for the game level that we have been working on. As the name implies, upon entering this volume, we can trigger events, and via Blueprint, we can create a variety of events for our game, such as moving an elevator or spawning NPCs.

The Nav Mesh Bounds Volume is used to indicate the space in which NPCs are able to freely navigate around. NPCs could be enemies in the game who need some sort of path finding method to get around the level on their own. This Nav Mesh Bounds Volume will set up the area in the game that they are able to walk through. This is important as there could be obstacles such as bridges that they will need to use to in order get across to the other side (instead of walking straight into the river and possibly drowning).

The Physics Volume is used to create areas in which the physics properties of the player/objects in the level change. An example of this would be altering the gravity within a space ship only when it reaches the orbit. When the gravity is changed in these areas, the player starts to move slower and float in the space ship. We can then turn this volume off when the ship comes back to earth. The following screenshot shows the additional settings we get from the Physics Volume:

Pain Causing Volume

The Pain Causing Volume is a very specialized volume used to create damage to the players upon entry. It is a "milder" version of the Kill Z Volume. Reduction of health and the amount of damage per second are customizable, according to your game needs. The following screenshot shows the properties you can adjust to control how much pain to inflict on the player:

Kill Z Volume

We kill the player when it enters the Kill Z Volume. This is a very drastic volume that kills the player immediately. An example of its usage is to kill the player immediately when the player falls off a high building. The following screenshot shows the properties of Kill Z Volume to determine the point at which the player is killed:

Level Streaming Volume

The Level Streaming Volume is used to display the levels when you are within the volume. It generally fills the entire space where you want the level to be loaded. The reason we need to stream levels is to give players an illusion that we have a large open game level, when in fact the level is broken up into chunks for more efficient rendering. The following screenshot shows the properties that can be configured for the Level Streaming Volume:

Cull Distance Volume

The Cull Distance Volume allows objects to be culled in the volume. The definition of cull is to select from a group. The Cull Distance Volume is used to select objects in the volume that need to disappear (or not rendered) based on the distance away from the camera. Tiny objects that are far away from the camera cannot be seen visibly. These objects can be culled if the camera is too far away from those objects. Using the Cull Distance Volume, you would be able to decide upon the distance and size of objects, which you want to cull within a fixed space. This can greatly improve performance of your game when used effectively.

This might seem very similar to the idea of occlusion. Occlusion is implemented by selecting object by object, when it is not rendered on screen. These are normally used for larger objects in the scene. Cull Distance Volume can be used over a large area of space and using conditions to specify whether or not the objects are rendered.

The following screenshot shows the configuration settings that are available to the Cull Distance Volume:

The Blocking Volume can be used to prevent players/characters/game objects from entering a certain area of the map. It is quite similar to collision hull which we have described earlier and can be used in place of Static Mesh collision hull, as they are simpler in shapes (block shapes), hence easier to calculate the response of the collision. These volumes also have the ability to detect which objects overlap with themselves quickly.

An example of the usage of the Blocking Volume is to prevent the player from walking across a row of low bushes. In this case, since the bushes are rather irregularly shaped but are roughly forming a straight line, like a hedge, an invisible Blocking Volume would be a very good way of preventing the player from crossing the bushes.

The following screenshot shows the properties for the Blocking Volume. We can change the shape and size of the volume under Brush Settings. Collision events and triggers other events using Blueprint. This is pretty much the basic configuration we will get for all other volumes too.

The Camera Blocking Volume works in the same way as the Blocking Volume but it is used specifically to block cameras. It is useful when you want to limit the player from exploring with the camera beyond a certain range.

The Trigger Volume is probably one of the most used volumes. This is also the volume which we would be using to create events for the game level that we have been working on. As the name implies, upon entering this volume, we can trigger events, and via Blueprint, we can create a variety of events for our game, such as moving an elevator or spawning NPCs.

The Nav Mesh Bounds Volume is used to indicate the space in which NPCs are able to freely navigate around. NPCs could be enemies in the game who need some sort of path finding method to get around the level on their own. This Nav Mesh Bounds Volume will set up the area in the game that they are able to walk through. This is important as there could be obstacles such as bridges that they will need to use to in order get across to the other side (instead of walking straight into the river and possibly drowning).

The Physics Volume is used to create areas in which the physics properties of the player/objects in the level change. An example of this would be altering the gravity within a space ship only when it reaches the orbit. When the gravity is changed in these areas, the player starts to move slower and float in the space ship. We can then turn this volume off when the ship comes back to earth. The following screenshot shows the additional settings we get from the Physics Volume:

Pain Causing Volume

The Pain Causing Volume is a very specialized volume used to create damage to the players upon entry. It is a "milder" version of the Kill Z Volume. Reduction of health and the amount of damage per second are customizable, according to your game needs. The following screenshot shows the properties you can adjust to control how much pain to inflict on the player:

Kill Z Volume

We kill the player when it enters the Kill Z Volume. This is a very drastic volume that kills the player immediately. An example of its usage is to kill the player immediately when the player falls off a high building. The following screenshot shows the properties of Kill Z Volume to determine the point at which the player is killed:

Level Streaming Volume

The Level Streaming Volume is used to display the levels when you are within the volume. It generally fills the entire space where you want the level to be loaded. The reason we need to stream levels is to give players an illusion that we have a large open game level, when in fact the level is broken up into chunks for more efficient rendering. The following screenshot shows the properties that can be configured for the Level Streaming Volume:

Cull Distance Volume

The Cull Distance Volume allows objects to be culled in the volume. The definition of cull is to select from a group. The Cull Distance Volume is used to select objects in the volume that need to disappear (or not rendered) based on the distance away from the camera. Tiny objects that are far away from the camera cannot be seen visibly. These objects can be culled if the camera is too far away from those objects. Using the Cull Distance Volume, you would be able to decide upon the distance and size of objects, which you want to cull within a fixed space. This can greatly improve performance of your game when used effectively.

This might seem very similar to the idea of occlusion. Occlusion is implemented by selecting object by object, when it is not rendered on screen. These are normally used for larger objects in the scene. Cull Distance Volume can be used over a large area of space and using conditions to specify whether or not the objects are rendered.

The following screenshot shows the configuration settings that are available to the Cull Distance Volume:

The Camera Blocking Volume works in the same way as the Blocking Volume but it is used specifically to block cameras. It is useful when you want to limit the player from exploring with the camera beyond a certain range.

The Trigger Volume is probably one of the most used volumes. This is also the volume which we would be using to create events for the game level that we have been working on. As the name implies, upon entering this volume, we can trigger events, and via Blueprint, we can create a variety of events for our game, such as moving an elevator or spawning NPCs.

The Nav Mesh Bounds Volume is used to indicate the space in which NPCs are able to freely navigate around. NPCs could be enemies in the game who need some sort of path finding method to get around the level on their own. This Nav Mesh Bounds Volume will set up the area in the game that they are able to walk through. This is important as there could be obstacles such as bridges that they will need to use to in order get across to the other side (instead of walking straight into the river and possibly drowning).

The Physics Volume is used to create areas in which the physics properties of the player/objects in the level change. An example of this would be altering the gravity within a space ship only when it reaches the orbit. When the gravity is changed in these areas, the player starts to move slower and float in the space ship. We can then turn this volume off when the ship comes back to earth. The following screenshot shows the additional settings we get from the Physics Volume:

Pain Causing Volume

The Pain Causing Volume is a very specialized volume used to create damage to the players upon entry. It is a "milder" version of the Kill Z Volume. Reduction of health and the amount of damage per second are customizable, according to your game needs. The following screenshot shows the properties you can adjust to control how much pain to inflict on the player:

Kill Z Volume

We kill the player when it enters the Kill Z Volume. This is a very drastic volume that kills the player immediately. An example of its usage is to kill the player immediately when the player falls off a high building. The following screenshot shows the properties of Kill Z Volume to determine the point at which the player is killed:

Level Streaming Volume

The Level Streaming Volume is used to display the levels when you are within the volume. It generally fills the entire space where you want the level to be loaded. The reason we need to stream levels is to give players an illusion that we have a large open game level, when in fact the level is broken up into chunks for more efficient rendering. The following screenshot shows the properties that can be configured for the Level Streaming Volume:

Cull Distance Volume

The Cull Distance Volume allows objects to be culled in the volume. The definition of cull is to select from a group. The Cull Distance Volume is used to select objects in the volume that need to disappear (or not rendered) based on the distance away from the camera. Tiny objects that are far away from the camera cannot be seen visibly. These objects can be culled if the camera is too far away from those objects. Using the Cull Distance Volume, you would be able to decide upon the distance and size of objects, which you want to cull within a fixed space. This can greatly improve performance of your game when used effectively.

This might seem very similar to the idea of occlusion. Occlusion is implemented by selecting object by object, when it is not rendered on screen. These are normally used for larger objects in the scene. Cull Distance Volume can be used over a large area of space and using conditions to specify whether or not the objects are rendered.

The following screenshot shows the configuration settings that are available to the Cull Distance Volume:

The Trigger Volume is probably one of the most used volumes. This is also the volume which we would be using to create events for the game level that we have been working on. As the name implies, upon entering this volume, we can trigger events, and via Blueprint, we can create a variety of events for our game, such as moving an elevator or spawning NPCs.

The Nav Mesh Bounds Volume is used to indicate the space in which NPCs are able to freely navigate around. NPCs could be enemies in the game who need some sort of path finding method to get around the level on their own. This Nav Mesh Bounds Volume will set up the area in the game that they are able to walk through. This is important as there could be obstacles such as bridges that they will need to use to in order get across to the other side (instead of walking straight into the river and possibly drowning).

The Physics Volume is used to create areas in which the physics properties of the player/objects in the level change. An example of this would be altering the gravity within a space ship only when it reaches the orbit. When the gravity is changed in these areas, the player starts to move slower and float in the space ship. We can then turn this volume off when the ship comes back to earth. The following screenshot shows the additional settings we get from the Physics Volume:

Pain Causing Volume

The Pain Causing Volume is a very specialized volume used to create damage to the players upon entry. It is a "milder" version of the Kill Z Volume. Reduction of health and the amount of damage per second are customizable, according to your game needs. The following screenshot shows the properties you can adjust to control how much pain to inflict on the player:

Kill Z Volume

We kill the player when it enters the Kill Z Volume. This is a very drastic volume that kills the player immediately. An example of its usage is to kill the player immediately when the player falls off a high building. The following screenshot shows the properties of Kill Z Volume to determine the point at which the player is killed:

Level Streaming Volume

The Level Streaming Volume is used to display the levels when you are within the volume. It generally fills the entire space where you want the level to be loaded. The reason we need to stream levels is to give players an illusion that we have a large open game level, when in fact the level is broken up into chunks for more efficient rendering. The following screenshot shows the properties that can be configured for the Level Streaming Volume:

Cull Distance Volume

The Cull Distance Volume allows objects to be culled in the volume. The definition of cull is to select from a group. The Cull Distance Volume is used to select objects in the volume that need to disappear (or not rendered) based on the distance away from the camera. Tiny objects that are far away from the camera cannot be seen visibly. These objects can be culled if the camera is too far away from those objects. Using the Cull Distance Volume, you would be able to decide upon the distance and size of objects, which you want to cull within a fixed space. This can greatly improve performance of your game when used effectively.

This might seem very similar to the idea of occlusion. Occlusion is implemented by selecting object by object, when it is not rendered on screen. These are normally used for larger objects in the scene. Cull Distance Volume can be used over a large area of space and using conditions to specify whether or not the objects are rendered.

The following screenshot shows the configuration settings that are available to the Cull Distance Volume:

The Nav Mesh Bounds Volume is used to indicate the space in which NPCs are able to freely navigate around. NPCs could be enemies in the game who need some sort of path finding method to get around the level on their own. This Nav Mesh Bounds Volume will set up the area in the game that they are able to walk through. This is important as there could be obstacles such as bridges that they will need to use to in order get across to the other side (instead of walking straight into the river and possibly drowning).

The Physics Volume is used to create areas in which the physics properties of the player/objects in the level change. An example of this would be altering the gravity within a space ship only when it reaches the orbit. When the gravity is changed in these areas, the player starts to move slower and float in the space ship. We can then turn this volume off when the ship comes back to earth. The following screenshot shows the additional settings we get from the Physics Volume:

Pain Causing Volume

The Pain Causing Volume is a very specialized volume used to create damage to the players upon entry. It is a "milder" version of the Kill Z Volume. Reduction of health and the amount of damage per second are customizable, according to your game needs. The following screenshot shows the properties you can adjust to control how much pain to inflict on the player:

Kill Z Volume

We kill the player when it enters the Kill Z Volume. This is a very drastic volume that kills the player immediately. An example of its usage is to kill the player immediately when the player falls off a high building. The following screenshot shows the properties of Kill Z Volume to determine the point at which the player is killed:

Level Streaming Volume

The Level Streaming Volume is used to display the levels when you are within the volume. It generally fills the entire space where you want the level to be loaded. The reason we need to stream levels is to give players an illusion that we have a large open game level, when in fact the level is broken up into chunks for more efficient rendering. The following screenshot shows the properties that can be configured for the Level Streaming Volume:

Cull Distance Volume

The Cull Distance Volume allows objects to be culled in the volume. The definition of cull is to select from a group. The Cull Distance Volume is used to select objects in the volume that need to disappear (or not rendered) based on the distance away from the camera. Tiny objects that are far away from the camera cannot be seen visibly. These objects can be culled if the camera is too far away from those objects. Using the Cull Distance Volume, you would be able to decide upon the distance and size of objects, which you want to cull within a fixed space. This can greatly improve performance of your game when used effectively.

This might seem very similar to the idea of occlusion. Occlusion is implemented by selecting object by object, when it is not rendered on screen. These are normally used for larger objects in the scene. Cull Distance Volume can be used over a large area of space and using conditions to specify whether or not the objects are rendered.

The following screenshot shows the configuration settings that are available to the Cull Distance Volume:

The Physics Volume is used to create areas in which the physics properties of the player/objects in the level change. An example of this would be altering the gravity within a space ship only when it reaches the orbit. When the gravity is changed in these areas, the player starts to move slower and float in the space ship. We can then turn this volume off when the ship comes back to earth. The following screenshot shows the additional settings we get from the Physics Volume:

Pain Causing Volume

The Pain Causing Volume is a very specialized volume used to create damage to the players upon entry. It is a "milder" version of the Kill Z Volume. Reduction of health and the amount of damage per second are customizable, according to your game needs. The following screenshot shows the properties you can adjust to control how much pain to inflict on the player:

Kill Z Volume

We kill the player when it enters the Kill Z Volume. This is a very drastic volume that kills the player immediately. An example of its usage is to kill the player immediately when the player falls off a high building. The following screenshot shows the properties of Kill Z Volume to determine the point at which the player is killed:

Level Streaming Volume

The Level Streaming Volume is used to display the levels when you are within the volume. It generally fills the entire space where you want the level to be loaded. The reason we need to stream levels is to give players an illusion that we have a large open game level, when in fact the level is broken up into chunks for more efficient rendering. The following screenshot shows the properties that can be configured for the Level Streaming Volume:

Cull Distance Volume

The Cull Distance Volume allows objects to be culled in the volume. The definition of cull is to select from a group. The Cull Distance Volume is used to select objects in the volume that need to disappear (or not rendered) based on the distance away from the camera. Tiny objects that are far away from the camera cannot be seen visibly. These objects can be culled if the camera is too far away from those objects. Using the Cull Distance Volume, you would be able to decide upon the distance and size of objects, which you want to cull within a fixed space. This can greatly improve performance of your game when used effectively.

This might seem very similar to the idea of occlusion. Occlusion is implemented by selecting object by object, when it is not rendered on screen. These are normally used for larger objects in the scene. Cull Distance Volume can be used over a large area of space and using conditions to specify whether or not the objects are rendered.

The following screenshot shows the configuration settings that are available to the Cull Distance Volume:

Level Blueprint is a type of Blueprint that has influence over what happens in the level. Events that are created in this Blueprint affect what happens in the level, and are made specific to the situation by specifying the particular object it targets.

Feel free to jump to the next section first where we will go through a Blueprint example, so that we are able to understand Level Blueprint a little better.

The following screenshot shows a blank Level Blueprint. The most used window is Event Graph, which is in the center. Using different node types in Event Graph and linking it up appropriately creates a responsive interaction within the game. The nodes come with variables, values, and other similar properties used in programming to control the game events graphically (without writing a single line of script or code).

Level Blueprint is a type of Blueprint that has influence over what happens in the level. Events that are created in this Blueprint affect what happens in the level, and are made specific to the situation by specifying the particular object it targets.

Feel free to jump to the next section first where we will go through a Blueprint example, so that we are able to understand Level Blueprint a little better.

The following screenshot shows a blank Level Blueprint. The most used window is Event Graph, which is in the center. Using different node types in Event Graph and linking it up appropriately creates a responsive interaction within the game. The nodes come with variables, values, and other similar properties used in programming to control the game events graphically (without writing a single line of script or code).

The rendering system in Unreal Engine 4 uses the DirectX 11 pipeline, which includes deferred shading, global illumination, lit translucency, and post processing. Unreal Engine 4 has also started branching to work with the newest DirectX 12 pipeline for Windows 10, and DirectX 12 capabilities will be available to all.

Unreal Engine 4 uses the Physical Based Shading Model (PBSP). This is a concept used in many modern day game engines. It uses an approximation of what light does in order to give an object its properties. Using this concept, we give values (0 to 1) to these four properties: Base Color, Roughness, Metallic, and Specular to approximate the visual properties.

For example, the bark of a tree trunk is normally brown, rough, and not very reflective. Based on what we know about how the bark should look like, we would probably set the metallic value to low value, roughness to a high value, and the base color to display brown with a low specular value.

This improves the process of creating materials as it is more intuitive as visual properties are governed by how light reacts, instead of the old method where we approximate the visual properties based on how light should behave.

For those who are familiar with the old terms used to describe material properties, you can think of it as having Diffuse Color and Specular Power replaced by Base Color, Metallic, and Roughness.

The advantage of using PBSP is that we can better approximate material properties with more accuracy.

The Material Editor enables visual scripting of the High Level Shading Language (HLSL), using a network of nodes and connection. Those who are completely new to the concept of shaders or HLSL should go on to read the next section about shaders, DirectX and HLSL first, so that you have the basic foundation on how the computer renders material information on the screen. HLSL is aproprietary shading language developed by Microsoft. OpenGL has its own version, known as GLSL. HLSL is the programming language used to program the stages in the graphics pipeline. It uses variables that are similar to C programming and has many intrinsic functions that are already written and available for use by simply calling the function.HLSL shaders can be compiled at author-time or at runtime, and set at runtime into the appropriate pipeline stage.

To open the Material Editor in Unreal Engine 4, go to Content Browser | Material and double-click on any material asset. Alternatively, you can select a material asset, right-click to open the context menu and select Edit to view that asset in the Material Editor.

If you want to learn how to create a new material, you can try out the example, which is covered in the upcoming section.

We will continue to use the levels we have created. Open Chapter3Level.umap and rename it Chapter4Level.umap to prevent overwriting what we have completed at the end of the previous chapter.

To create a new Material asset in our game package, go to Content Browser | Material. With Material selected, right-click to open the contextual menu, navigate to New Asset | Material. This creates the new material in the Material folder (we want to place assets in logical folders so that we can find game assets easily). Alternatively, you can go to Content Browser | New | Material.

Rename the new material to MyMaterial. The following screenshot shows the new MyMaterial correctly created:

Note that the thumbnail display for the new MyMaterial shows a grayed-out checkered material. This is the default material when no material has been applied.

To open the Material Editor to start designing our material, double-click on MyMaterial. The following screenshot shows the Material Editor with a blank new material. The spherical preview of the material shows up as black since no properties have been defined yet.

Let's start to define some properties for the MyMaterial node to create our very own unique material. Base Color, Metallic, and Roughness are the three values we will learn to configure first.

Base Color is defined by the red, green, and blue values in the form of a vector. To do so, we will drag and drop Constant3Vector from MyPalette on the right-hand side into the main window where the MyMaterial node is in. Alternatively, you can right-click to open the context menu and type vector into the search box to filter the list. Click and select Constant3Vector to create the node. Double-click on the Constant3Vector to display the Color Picker window. The following screenshot shows the setting of Constant3Vector we want to use to create a material for a red wall. (R = 0.4, G = 0.0, B = 0.0, H = 0.0, S = 1.0, V = 0.4):