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Satheesh Pv

Beginning Unreal Engine 4 Blueprints Visual Scripting

Using C++: From Beginner to Pro

1st ed.

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Satheesh Pv

Mumbai, India

ISBN 978-1-4842-6395-2e-ISBN 978-1-4842-6396-9

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-6396-9

Standard Apress

Trademarked names, logos, and images may appear in this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, logo, or image we use the names, logos, and images only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights.

The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Distributed to the book trade worldwide by Springer Science+Business Media New York, 1 New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004-1562, USA. Phone 1-800-SPRINGER, fax (201) 348-4505, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.springeronline.com. Apress Media, LLC is a California LLC and the sole member (owner) is Springer Science + Business Media Finance Inc (SSBM Finance Inc). SSBM Finance Inc is a Delaware corporation.

Thanks to Jesus for His guidance and to my wife, mother, and brother for their continuous support, and a big thanks to Apress for giving me the opportunity to write this book

Introduction

This book covers the basics of Unreal Engine, including Blueprints, materials, and C++. It starts with downloading Unreal Engine using Epic Games Launcher and using the GitHub version. From there, it moves forward to Blueprint classes and the common classes, such as Game Mode, Game State, Game Instance, and Player Controller. You learn about how to add C++ and get a brief introduction to Unreal C++, materials, and physics. At the end of the book, you make a small demo game extended from a first-person template using Blueprints. In this demo game, you learn how to add ammo and ammo pickup.

This book is primarily aimed at beginners who want to learn more about the Engine, how a project is structured, Unreal Blueprints, and C++.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction to Unreal Engine 4 1

Getting Unreal Engine 1

Download from Epic Games Launcher 2

Download from GitHub 3

Getting to Know Unreal Editor 5

Project Structure 8

An Unreal Editor Tour 9

Chapter 2: Introduction to Blueprints 21

Nodes 21

Blueprint Types 22

Blueprint Classes 23

Level Blueprint 25

Blueprint Interface 27

Blueprint Macro Library 30

Chapter 3: C++ and Unreal Engine 4 33

Installing Visual Studio 33

Adding C++ Code 34

Examining the Header 39

Examining the Source File 42

Exposing Variables and Functions to Blueprints 43

Modifying the Header 43

Modifying the Source File 45

The Final Code 47

Using the Class 50

Calling C++ Functions in Blueprints 51

Chapter 4: Gameplay Classes 55

Actor 55

Game Mode Base 55

Game State Base 56

Game Instance 56

Pawn 58

Character 58

Player Controller 58

Player State 59

Creating Character Class and Player Controller Class 60

Creating and Showing Data on HUD 71

Chapter 5: Physics and Raycasting 79

Simulation 79

Collision 81

Using Trace (Raycast) to Pick up an Item 83

Destruction Using Physics 93

Chapter 6: Importing Meshes and Textures 101

Creating Material 106

Material Types 109

Modifying Materials at Runtime Using Blueprint and C++ 119

Chapter 7: Demo Game 131

Creating the Project 131

Ammo Setup 135

Ammo Pickup 154

Package Game 158

Index 163

About the Author

Satheesh Pv

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is a game programmer living in Mumbai, India. He started his career as a game developer in 2012 by making a first-person multiplayer game with his brother and close friend using the Unreal Development Kit.

Satheesh created Unreal X-Editor, an IDE developed for UnrealScript, the native scripting language of Unreal Engine 3. He was selected by Epic Games as one of the closed beta-testers for Unreal Engine 4 before its public release. He is also a moderator at Unreal Engine forums and a spotlight member and engine contributor.

About the Technical Reviewer

Pranav Paharia

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is a game developer who has worked on game technologies like Cocos2dx, Unity3D, and Unreal Engine 4. He has a bachelor’s degree in information technology and a postgraduate degree in game development. After realizing his die-hard interest in games, he started his career in game development by working for Indie Game Studios making mobile games in many genres. One of the projects he worked on, Song of Swords, won the NASSCOM 2013 People’s Choice of the Year Award. He has worked on a variety of systems for games, including gameplay, multiplayer, data pipelines, and cinematics. He is proficient in C++ and C# and can work on any game technology to create mind-boggling simulations. He is a self-taught programmer and designer.

Since 2013, Pranav has created simulations for single-player games, multiplayer games, card games, VR games, AR simulations, serious games, training simulations, and learning games. He has also worked on a few game development books. With his vast experience in creating simulations, he is now involved in solving real-life problems using the latest technologies, such as creating architectural visualizations, VR training systems, and medical data imaging for clients like DRDO India, Zaha Hadid, Line Creative, and MediaMonks.

Apart from developing graphical simulations, Pranav is currently working on creating virtual productions tech using Unreal Engine. He is an avid gamer who loves Dota 2. He also has keen interest in photography, reading books with philosophical context, and riding his bike on long road trips. He is grateful to Krsna for guiding him through his purpose in life. You can contact him at [email protected]; also check out his website at www.pranavpaharia.com .

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Beginning Unreal Engine 4 Blueprints Visual Scripting

Using C++: From Beginner to Pro

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Front Matter