This page intentionally left blank
D I G I TA L G A M I N G A N D S I M U L AT I O N P R O G R A M D I R E C T O R
U N I V E R S I T Y O F H O U S T O N - V I C T O R I A
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2016 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
Version Date: 20150325
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4987-0625-4 (eBook - PDF)
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable
efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot
assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors
and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this
publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been
obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we
may rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced,
transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access
www.copyright.com
(http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood
Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses
and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license
by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and
are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the CRC Press Web site at
http://www.crcpress.com
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my family, whose unconditional love and
support have helped me through my academic and professional
endeavors.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Figures......................................................................................................... xv
List of Tables.......................................................................................................xxvii
Preface..................................................................................................................xxxi
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. xxxix
SECTION I
Unreal Technology Basics:
Introductory Development
Techniques
Chapter 1
Setting up Unreal Project Templates ............................................... 3
1.1
Introduction............................................................................. 3
1.2
Unreal Project Types............................................................... 3
1.3
Blank Projects and Content Migration ................................... 4
1.4
First Person Projects ............................................................. 10
1.5
Third Person.......................................................................... 14
1.6
Side Scroller.......................................................................... 17
1.7
Top-Down Templates............................................................ 19
1.8
Summary............................................................................... 24
1.9
Exercises ............................................................................... 25
Chapter 2
Introduction to Level Design in Unreal Technology ..................... 27
2.1
Introduction and Objectives.................................................. 27
2.2
Establishing the Geometry.................................................... 27
2.2.1
Geometry Brush Overview ...................................... 33
2.3
Improving the Level Aesthetics with Materials.................... 55
2.4
Refining the Geometry and Adding Meshes......................... 60
2.5
Refining the Level with Lighting.......................................... 68
2.6
Adding Functionality ............................................................ 71
2.7
Summary............................................................................... 82
2.8
Exercises ............................................................................... 83
vii
viii
Contents
Chapter 3
Unreal Visual Scripting with Blueprints........................................ 85
3.1
Introduction to Unreal Blueprints......................................... 85
3.2
A Tour of Unreal Blueprint Editor........................................ 85
3.2.1
Graph Editor............................................................. 85
3.3
Types of Blueprints............................................................... 86
3.3.1
Level Blueprint ........................................................ 86
3.3.2
Class Blueprint......................................................... 87
3.3.3
Data-Only Blueprint................................................. 87
3.4
Variables, Functions, and Events .......................................... 92
3.4.1
Events....................................................................... 93
3.4.2
Functions.................................................................. 93
3.4.3
Variables................................................................... 93
3.5
Class Blueprints vs. Level Blueprints................................... 94
3.6
Construction Script ............................................................... 97
3.7
Components Mode................................................................ 98
3.7.1
Components ............................................................. 98
3.7.2
Component Events and Functions ........................... 98
3.8
Creating Your Own Class Blueprints.................................. 106
3.9
User Input and Interaction .................................................. 111
3.9.1
Action Mappings.................................................... 111
3.9.2
Axis Mappings ....................................................... 111
3.10 Summary............................................................................. 123
3.11 Exercises ............................................................................. 123
Chapter 4
Materials in Unreal Engine.......................................................... 125
4.1
Introduction......................................................................... 125
4.2
Anatomy of a Material........................................................ 125
4.2.1