Unreal Engine 4 for Beginners David Nixon Unreal Engine 4 for Beginners Copyright © 2017 David Nixon All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, except as provided by United States copyright law. Limit of Liability / Disclaimer of Warranty: The author makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not apply or be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. 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Ta b le of Con te n ts | 4 CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 – GETTING STARTED 1.1 Licensing ..................................................................... 19 1.2 Registration ................................................................ 21 1.3 Download & Installation ............................................. 24 1.4 Chapter 1 Quiz ............................................................ 26 Answers ........................................................................ 27 2.1 Projects ....................................................................... 29 Unreal Project Browser ................................................ 29 Projects Tab .............................................................. 30 New Project Tab ....................................................... 32 2.2 Levels .......................................................................... 36 Creating, Opening & Saving Levels ............................... 37 Playing a Level .............................................................. 40 2.3 Actors.......................................................................... 41 The Static Mesh Actor .................................................. 42 Geometry Brushes ........................................................ 43 Materials ................................................................... 45 The Light Actor ............................................................. 46 Summary of Actors ....................................................... 47 Ta b le of Con te n ts | 5 2.4 Chapter 2 Quiz ............................................................ 48 Answers ........................................................................ 50 3.1 Level Editor Overview ................................................. 53 Unreal Engine vs the Unreal Editor ............................... 53 Unreal Editor vs the Level Editor .................................. 54 Panels of the Level Editor ............................................. 54 Customizing the Interface............................................. 60 3.2 Place Mode ................................................................. 62 Place Mode Tabs ........................................................... 63 3.3 Navigating Within the Viewport ................................. 66 Mouse Navigation ......................................................... 66 WASD Navigation.......................................................... 67 Focusing ........................................................................ 67 Maya Navigation ........................................................... 68 Camera Speed ............................................................... 69 3.4 Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Actors ......................... 70 Move Tool ..................................................................... 71 Rotate Tool ................................................................... 74 Scale Tool ...................................................................... 75 World Space vs Local Space .......................................... 76 3.5 Snapping ..................................................................... 79 End Key ......................................................................... 79 Ta b le of Con te n ts | 6 Surface Snapping .......................................................... 79 Grid Snapping ............................................................... 83 Snap Size ................................................................... 84 Grid Units .................................................................. 85 Rotation Snapping ........................................................ 86 Scale Snapping .............................................................. 86 3.6 Different Ways to View Your Level ............................. 88 Immersive Mode .......................................................... 88 View Modes .................................................................. 88 Lit Mode.................................................................... 89 Unlit Mode ................................................................ 90 Wireframe Mode ...................................................... 91 Orthographic Views ...................................................... 91 Show Flags .................................................................... 94 Game View ................................................................... 96 Piloting Actors Within the Viewport ............................. 96 3.7 Content Browser ......................................................... 98 Sources Panel and Asset Window ................................. 98 Back Button and Forward Button ............................... 100 Breadcrumbs .............................................................. 100 Add New Button ......................................................... 101 Import Button ............................................................. 103 Ta b le of Con te n ts | 7 Save All Button ........................................................... 103 View Options .............................................................. 103 Tiles vs List vs Columns ........................................... 104 Show Folders .......................................................... 105 Show Developers Folders ....................................... 105 Show Plugins Content ............................................. 106 Show Engine Content ............................................. 106 Show Collections..................................................... 106 Thumbnail Options ................................................. 109 Content Browser Windows ......................................... 110 3.8 Details Panel ............................................................. 113 Property Matrix .......................................................... 114 View Options .............................................................. 115 Transform Category .................................................... 117 Relative vs World .................................................... 119 Mobility .................................................................. 120 3.9 World Outliner .......................................................... 121 World Outliner Data ................................................... 122 Grouping Actors .......................................................... 123 Organizing and Finding Actors .................................... 127 3.10 Chapter 3 Quiz ........................................................ 129 Answers ...................................................................... 131 Ta b le of Con te n ts | 8 4.1 Static Meshes ........................................................... 134 Replacing the Mesh of a Static Mesh Actor ................ 135 Physics ........................................................................ 136 4.2 Brushes ..................................................................... 140 Brushes vs Meshes ..................................................... 140 Brush Settings ............................................................. 142 Brush Type .............................................................. 143 Brush Shape ............................................................ 144 Size Properties ........................................................ 144 Sides Properties ...................................................... 145 Hollow Property ...................................................... 145 Stair Brushes ............................................................... 146 4.3 Materials ................................................................... 153 Apply Material to All Surfaces .................................... 154 Surface Materials Category ........................................ 155 Elements ..................................................................... 156 Textures ...................................................................... 157 Surface Properties Category ....................................... 158 Material Scaling ...................................................... 160 4.4 Lights ........................................................................ 161 Overview of Light Types ............................................. 161 Building the Lighting ................................................... 163 Ta b le of Con te n ts | 9 Directional Light ......................................................... 164 Intensity .................................................................. 165 Light Color............................................................... 166 Temperature ........................................................... 168 Affects World .......................................................... 168 Cast Shadows .......................................................... 168 Indirect Lighting Intensity ....................................... 169 Point Light ................................................................... 169 Spot Light .................................................................... 172 Sky Light ...................................................................... 173 4.5 Atmospheric Fog ....................................................... 175 Sun Disc ...................................................................... 176 Atmospheric Fog Properties ....................................... 177 4.6 Player Start Actor ...................................................... 181 4.7 Components ............................................................. 184 Adding Components ................................................... 184 Component Structure ................................................. 186 Rotating Movement Component ................................ 187 4.8 Volumes .................................................................... 189 Blocking Volumes ....................................................... 190 Trigger Volumes .......................................................... 190 Pain Causing Volumes ................................................. 192 Ta b le of Con te n ts | 10 Kill ZVolume ................................................................ 194 Physics Volume ........................................................... 195 4.9 Chapter 4 Quiz .......................................................... 198 Answers ...................................................................... 200 5.1 Introduction to Blueprints ........................................ 203 Level Blueprint vs Blueprint Classes ........................... 203 Level Blueprint Editor ................................................. 205 Event Graph ................................................................ 205 Nodes.......................................................................... 206 Pins and Wires ............................................................ 208 Adding Nodes ............................................................. 209 Compiling .................................................................... 211 Simple Blueprint Example ........................................... 211 5.2 Variables ................................................................... 213 Data Types .................................................................. 214 Get Node .................................................................... 217 Set Node ..................................................................... 218 Default Value .............................................................. 219 Updated Blueprint Example ........................................ 220 Variable Properties ..................................................... 221 5.3 Arrays........................................................................ 224 ForEachLoop Node ..................................................... 225