Unreal Engine 4
for Beginners
David Nixon
Unreal Engine 4 for Beginners
Copyright © 2017 David Nixon
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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s | 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
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s | 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
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s | 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
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s | 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
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s | 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