Index

Numbers

3D scenes

setting up, 38

units, 38

A

accessing Levels interface, 287

action mappings, 142

Actor Blueprint, 324–326

adding components, 319–320

adding to level, 331

building, 313–314

Change Material function, 326–327

Change Material function, creating, 321

construction scripts, 322–324

Event Graph, 327–328

index input, 321–322

materials, adding, 333

meshes, adding, 331–332

variables, 314–315

Current Material Index, 318

IsClicked, 318

Materials, 317

Meshes to Modify, 315–316

Start Material Index, 317–318

actors, 103–104, 341

adding from Class Browser, 125

blueprints, 202–203

CineCameraActor, 261

components, 107

construction scripts, 110

duplicating, 125

focusing camera on, 129

grouping, 201–202

pawns, 106, 136

Player Start actor, placing, 155–156

post process volume actors, 224–231

reflection capture actors, effect on performance, 224

Sky Light actor, 128

the world, 106

adding

IES profiles, 133

lighting to scenes, 195–196

AddMovementInput function, 149

adjusting

Capsule Component, 140

max walk speed, 142

pitch and yaw, 140–141

UV density in Lightmass, 218–220

advanced settings (UE4 Editor), 137

After Effects, 8

alpha channels, 53

ambient occlusion, 228, 242

animations, 9

Sequencer, 258–267

dynamic camera, animating, 261–264

answer hubs, 341

anti-aliasing, 70–71, 230–231

aperture f-stop, 228

application dependence, as limitation of UE4, 12

applications

distributing, 33

launching, 161

applying

architectural visualization project settings, 173–175

materials, 81

architectural visualization project

applying project settings, 173–175

assets, moving, 173

clean geometry, ensuring, 180

creating, 169–170

data pipeline, organizing the scene, 178–179

exporting the scene, 182

FBX files, 182–183

FBX files, exporting, 190

FBX files, importing, 191–192

fixtures, 179

importing the scene, 184–188

Auto Generate Collision option, 185

Generate Lightmap UVs option, 185

Import into Level feature, 186–188

Transform Vertex to Absolute option, 185

input settings, 172

materials, 179

migrating from another project, 170–172

mindful geometry, 190

pivot points, 189

populating the scene

cloning tool, 198

creating levels, 194–195

dragging and dropping meshes, 197

lights, adding, 195–196

organization, 199–202

placing prop meshes, 198

setting location to zero, 197

setting up the level, 194

Shift+dragging, 198

surface snapping, 198

World Outliner, 199–200

prop meshes, 188

scope of, 167–169

setting up, 169–172

UV coordinates, 180–182

architecture, building, 129–130

Architecture Meshes, 39–40

collision, 47

pivot points, 47–48

arrays, Meshes to Modify variable, 315–316

assets

migrating from another project, 170–172

moving, 173

naming conventions, 41

placing in Levels, 123

renaming, 173

snapping, 125

assigning GameMode class to project, 153–154

Atmosphere Sun Light check box, 126–127, 210

atmospheric fog simulation, 126, 195, 210

attenuation, 222

authoring complexity, as limitation of UE4, 11

Auto Convex Collision, 47

auto exposure, 71–72, 222, 227–228

Auto Generate Collision option, 185

Auto Generate Lightmap UVs import option, 44–45

Auto Reimport feature, 50–51

automatic LOD creation, 46

axis mappings, 142

B

Backface Cull, 39

base color, 61, 99

adding to master materials, 237–238

base eye height, setting for pawns, 140

base UV channel, architectural visualization project, 181–182

Batman Arkham Knight, 5

BeginPlay event, 110–111, 292–293

benefiting from UE4

changing datasets, 13

comparing options, 13

Billboard component, 319–320

binding events, 307–309, 328

Blend Radius setting (Post Process Volume), 226

bloom, 71

Bloom setting (Post Process Volume), 227

Blueprints, 6, 7, 102

Actor Blueprint, 324–326

adding components, 319–320

adding to level, 331

Change Material function, creating, 321

Event Graph, 327–328

index input, 321–322

materials, adding, 333

meshes, adding, 331–332

variables, 314–318

actors, 103–104

components, 107

pawns, 106

casting, 112

classes, 103

inheritance, 109

communication, 111

direct Blueprint communication, 111

event binding, 307–309, 328

event dispatchers, 111

input, adding, 144

axis events, 145–146

interfaces, 111–112

Level Blueprint, opening, 290–292

loading levels with, 289–290

migrating from another project, 170–172

objects, 103

variables, 107–108

PC, 104

input handling, 104–105

rotation, 105

players, 104

scripts, compiling, 112

ticks, 108–109

the world, 106

Bokeh, 73

Braking Friction setting, 142

brick instances, 252

building

Actor Blueprint, 313–314

architecture, 129–130

content, 31

scenes for visualization, 194

builds

configuration, 159

packaged builds, versus editor builds, 158

bulk editing with property matrix, 273–275

buttons

creating, 303–305

horizontal box, creating, 301–303

Recapture Scene, 212

C

cameras

dynamic cameras, 261

animating, 261–264

focusing on actors, 129

workflow, 56–57

Capsule Component, adjusting, 140

carpet instances, 251

casting, 112

Change Material function, creating, 321

changing nature of UE4, 338

Channel 0, architectural visualization project, 181–182

CharacterMovement Component, 141

characters, 341

child classes, 109

CineCameraActor, 261

circle DOF, 73

Class Browser, 125

classes, 103

GameMode class

assigning to project, 153–154

creating, 152–153

inheritance, 109

pawns

base eye height, 140

Braking Friction, 142

Capsule Component, adjusting, 140

creating, 138–139

max walk speed, adjusting, 142

movement speed, setting up, 141–142

pitch and yaw, adjusting, 140–141

view height, setting, 140–141

Player Controller class, creating, 144

clean geometry, ensuring, 180

click action event, 329–330

cloning tool, 198

collaborating sequences, 264

collision primitives, 272

collisions, 271–272

architecture mesh collision, 47

Auto Generate Collision option, 185

complex collisions, 272

Convex Decomposition, 47

level streaming pre-configuration steps, 285

per-polygon collisions, 272

Player Collision view, 271

preparing levels for, 272–273

bulk editing with property matrix, 273–275

prop collisions, 276

prop mesh collision, 47

visualizing, 275

color

base color, adding to master materials, 237–238

linear color, 85

as numbers, 85

Color Grading setting (Post Process Volume), 227

color scales, base color, 61

communication, Blueprints, 111

community events, 19–20

Community section (Epic Games Launcher), 22–23

community support, 19

comparing

options, as strength of UE4, 13

packaged versus editor builds, 158

compiling

Blueprint scripts, 112

Level Blueprint, 298–299

shaders, 83–84

complex collisions, 272

components, 107, 341

adding to Actor Blueprint, 319–320

Compress Lightmaps setting (Lightmass), 217–218

compression, 53

conferences, for UE4, 19–20

Config folder, 28

configuring levels for level streaming, 281–286

building lighting, 285–286

enabling collision, 285

importing new architecture, 283–284

making the variation level, 282–283

replacing meshes, 284

saving your level, 283

setting up Lightmap density, 284

toggling datasets, 282

construction scripts, 110, 322–324

content. See also content pipeline

building, 31

exporting, 31

geometry, preparing for UE4, 39

importing, 31

Content Browser, 32

content browser, 341

Content folder, 29

.uasset files, 30

content library, importing to, 54–56

options, 54–55

texture options, 55–56

content pipeline

3D scenes, setting up, 38

Backface Cull, 39

camera workflow, 56–57

collision, 46–47

architecture mesh collision, 47

Convex Decomposition, 47

prop mesh collision, 47

FBX mesh pipeline, 48–51

export settings, 48

reimporting, 50–51

importing to content library

import options, 54–55

texture options, 55–56

LOD, 46

automatic LOD creation, 46

naming conventions, 40–41

pivot points, 47–48

preparing content, 37–38

statistics, 38

textures, 52–53

alpha channels, 53

compression, 53

Mip-Maps, 53

resolution, 53

supported formats, 52

UV mapping, 42–45

Lightmap UV coordinates, 44–45

multiple UV channels, 43–44

real-world scale, 42

tiling versus unique coordinates, 42–43

world-projection mapping, 42

Contrast setting (Post Process Volume), 226

Controller Rotation Yaw, 140–141

Convex Decomposition, 47

cooking, 158

copying assets, 173

costs of developing for UE4, 16–18

testing, 17

creating

architectural visualization project, 169–170

buttons, 303–305

Change Material function, 321

custom events, 294–297

labels, 305

Levels, 122–123

levels, 194–195, 286–287

master materials, 236

ambient occlusion, 242

base color, 237–238

instances, 244

metallic input channel, 238–240

normal channel, 241–242

roughness channel, 240–241

texture scaling, 243–244

master sequences, 258–260

materials, 80, 92–99

base color map, 99

instances, 93–94

normal map, adding, 97–98

placing parameter nodes, 92–93

roughness map, adding, 94–97

pawns, 138–139

post-process outlines, 278–279

projects from the Launcher, 116–119

widgets, 307

Current Material Index variable, 318

custom events, creating, 294–297

D

data pipeline (architectural visualization project)

clean geometry, ensuring, 180

exporting the scene, 182

FBX files, 182–183

exporting, 190

importing, 191–192

fixtures, 179

importing the scene, 184–188

Auto Generate Collision option, 185

Generate Lightmap UVs option, 185

Import into Level feature, 186–188

Transform Vertex to Absolute option, 185

materials, 179

mindful geometry, 190

organizing the scene, 178–179

pivot points, 189

prop meshes, 188

UV coordinates, 180–182

datasets

changing, 13

toggling, 282

debugging errors, 161–162

decelerating movement, 142

default game mode, 137–138

default units, in UE4, 38

defining

Player Start actor, 290

scope of projects, 116

delta time, 108–109

details, adding to structures, 130–133

lighting, 131–133

props, 130–131

Details panel, 124, 341

detecting false clicks, 330

developing visualizations, 7–8

development, costs of, 16–18

direct Blueprint communication, 111

directional light

adding to scenes, 196

sun light, 207–209. See also sun light

directional light actor, 126

Display Units, 38

distributing

applications, 33

projects, 162

documentation, for UE4 development, 18

DOF (depth of field), 72–73, 228–229

Bokeh, 73

circle DOF, 73

Gaussian DOF, 73

dragging and dropping meshes, 197

duplicating actors, 125

dynamic cameras, 261

animating, 261–264

keyframes, setting, 262

naming tracks, 263

piloting the camera, 262–263

transitions, 263

E

editing

bulk editing with property matrix, 273–275

master sequences, 263–264

editor builds versus packaged builds, 158

Editor Preferences window, 342

enabling the mouse cursor, 277–278

ensuring clean geometry, 180

Epic Games, 4

Epic Games Launcher, 22–24

Community section, 22–23

Learn section, 23

Library section, 23

Marketplace, 23

projects, creating, 116–119

errors, debugging, 161–162

event dispatchers, 111

Event Graph, 327–328

events, 292–293

axis events, adding, 145–146

BeginPlay, 292–293

binding, 307–309, 328

click action, 329–330

custom events, creating, 294–297

input mapping, 142–144

action mappings, 142

axis mappings, 142

flexibility of, 143–144

scaling input, 150–152

setting up, 143–144

mouse over, 328–329

exporting

architectural visualization project model, 182

content, 31

FBX files, 190

meshes, 48–50

exposure, auto exposure, 71–72

eye adaptation, 71–72

F

false clicks, detecting, 330

FBX, mesh pipeline, 48–51

export settings, 48

reimporting meshes, 50–51

FBX exporter, 38

FBX files, 7

architectural visualization project, 182–183

exporting, 190

importing, 191–192

saving, 51

files. See also projects

FBX, 51, 182–183

.pak files, 158

redirectors, 173

source control, 15

.uasset, 30, 264

UMAP, 207

.uproject files, 26–27

film effects, 73–76

motion blur, 74

Screen Percentage, 75–76

screen space reflections, 74–75

SSAO, 74

film making, UE4 in, 340

fixtures, architectural visualization project, 179

flexibility of input mapping, 143–144

floor instances, 247–248

focal distance, 228

focusing camera on actors, 129

fog, atmospheric fog simulation, 126

folders

project folder

Config folder, 28

Content folder, 29

Intermediate folder, 30

Plugins folder, 29

Saved folder, 28–29

structure of, 27

frames

ticks, 108–109

vertex shaders, 84

Fringe effect setting (Post Process Volume), 226

functions, 149–150

AddMovementInput, 149

Change Material function, creating, 321

latent functions, 293–294

material functions, 87–88

future of visualization, 338

G

game community reaction to UE4, 6

GameMode, 137–138

GameMode class

assigning to project, 153–154

creating, 152–153

game-style navigation system, 129

Gaussian DOF, 73

G-Buffers, 74

GDC (Game Developer’s Conference), 20

Gears of War, 5

Generate Lightmap UVs option, 185

generating LOD meshes, 46

geometry

clean geometry, ensuring, 180

mindful geometry, 190

Get Actor Forward vector function, 149–150

Get Actor Right vector function, 149–150

getting the most from PBR, 62–63

GI (global illumination), 11, 206

Gimbal Lock, 140–141

glass, rendering, 252–256

Global Asset Picker, 342

global illumination, 65, 66

GPUs, development requirements, 14

Grain effect setting (Post Process Volume), 227

Graph Editor, 82

grouping actors, 201–202

H

hardware, costs of developing for UE4, 16

history of UE4, 5

horizontal box, creating, 301–303

HUD, 342

I

IES profiles, 222

adding, 133

Import into Level feature, 186–188

importing

architectural visualization project model, 184–188

Auto Generate Collision option, 185

Generate Lightmap UVs option, 185

Import into Level feature, 186–188

Transform Vertex to Absolute option, 185

architecture into levels, 283–284

Auto Generate Lightmap UVs import option, 44–45

content, 31

to content library, 54–56

options, 54–55

texture options, 55–56

FBX files, 191–192

improving build times, 214

Indirect Lighting Quality setting (Lightmass), 216

Indirect Lighting Smoothness setting (Lightmass), 216

inheritance, 90–91

classes, 109

input handling, 104–105

input mapping, 142–144

action mappings, 142

axis events, adding, 145–146

axis mappings, 142

flexibility of, 143–144

scaling input, 150–152

setting up, 143–144

installers, 163

instances of materials, 89–91, 93–94

brick, 252

carpet and rugs, 251

creating, 244

floors, 247–248

painted walls, 245–247

Intensity setting

for spot lights, 221–222

for sun light, 210

interactive visualizations, 9, 10

Perspective Viewport, 10

interactivity

adding to projects, 32

preparing levels for

adding Player Start actor, 270

collisions, 271–272

creating post-process outlines, 278–279

Player Collision view, 271

interfaces, Blueprints, 111–112

Intermediate folder, 30

Is Valid branch, 148

IsClicked variable, 318

J-K-L

keyboard shortcut, creating for Level Blueprint, 297–298

keyframes, setting, 262

labels, creating, 305

latent functions, 293–294

launching your application, 161

layers, 200

LDs (level designers), 194

Learn section (Epic Games Launcher), 23

lens flares, 71

Lens Flares setting (Post Process Volume), 227

Lerp nodes, 96

Level Blueprint

compiling, 298–299

keyboard shortcut, creating, 297–298

opening, 290–292

saving, 309

level streaming

adding streaming levels, 287–289

defining a Player Start actor, 290

events, 292–293

latent functions, 293–294

Level Blueprint, 290–292

Levels interface, accessing, 287

loading levels with Blueprints, 289–290

making a new level, 286–287

pre-configuration steps, 281–286

building lighting, 285–286

enabling collision, 285

importing new architecture, 283–284

making the variation level, 282–283

replacing meshes, 284

saving your level, 283

setting up Lightmap density, 284

toggling datasets, 282

programming the switching, 294

testing, 294

levels. See also level streaming

assets, placing, 123

configuring for level streaming, 281–286

building lighting, 285–286

enabling collision, 285

importing new architecture, 283–284

making the variation level, 282–283

replacing meshes, 284

saving your level, 283

setting up Lightmap density, 284

toggling datasets, 282

creating, 194–195, 286–287

dragging and dropping meshes, 197

material switcher Blueprint, adding, 331

preparing for interactivity

adding Player Start actor, 270

bulk editing with property matrix, 273–275

collisions, 271–272

creating post-process outlines, 278–279

enabling the mouse cursor, 277–278

Player Collision view, 271

prop collisions, 276

setting up, 194

Library section (Epic Games Launcher), 23

Light Propagation Volumes, 63

lighting, 63–73

adding to scenes, 195–196

adding to structures, 131–133

anti-aliasing, 70–71

Atmosphere Sun Light check box, 126–127

atmospheric fog simulation, 195

auto exposure, 222

bloom, 71

building, 212–214

directional light, 196

eye adaptation, 71–72

lens flares, 71

light portals, 222

moveable lights, 64–65

global illumination, 65

shadows, 64

specular reflections, 65

post process volume actors, 224–231

reflection probes, 68, 223

reflections, 68

screen space reflections, 74–75

SSR, 68

sky lights, 196, 210–211

Lower Hemisphere is Solid Color setting, 212

Mobility setting, 212

Source Type setting, 212

spot lights

attenuation, 222

Intensity setting, 221–222

Mobility setting, 221

Temperature setting, 222

static lights, 67–68, 207

global illumination, 67

shadows, 67

stationary lights, 65–66

global illumination, 66

shadows, 65–66

sun light, 207–209

Atmosphere Sun Light check box, 210

atmospheric fog simulation, 210

Intensity setting, 210

Mobility setting, 209–210

Temperature setting, 210

Unlit View mode, 125–126

Lightmaps, 43, 207

UV coordinates, 44–45

Lightmass, 7, 11

architectural visualization project, 181–182

Compress Lightmaps setting, 217–218

Indirect Lighting Quality setting, 216

Indirect Lighting Smoothness setting, 216

Num Indirect Lighting Bounces setting, 216

Static Lighting Level Scale setting, 216

static lights, 207

UV density adjustments, 218–220

limitations of UE4

application dependence, 12

authoring complexity, 11

development time, 12

margin of error, 11–12

positional tracking, 12

linear color, 85

loading levels with Blueprints, 289–290

location, setting to zero, 197

LOD (level of detail), 11, 46

automatic LOD creation, 46

meshes, generating, 46

logic, 17

Lower Hemisphere is Solid Color setting, 212

M

margin of error, as limitation of UE4, 11–12

Marketplace (Epic Games Launcher), 23

masked materials, 88

masks, 86–87

Mass Effect, 5

master materials, 91, 234

creating, 236

ambient occlusion, 242

base color, 237–238

metallic input channel, 238–240

normal channel, 241–242

roughness channel, 240–241

texture scaling, 243–244

glass, 252–256

instances

brick, 252

floors, 247–248

painted walls, 245–247

POM, 249–252

master sequences

collaborating, 264

creating, 258–260

editing, 263–264

Render Movie Settings dialog, 265–266

rendering to video, 264–265, 266–267

Material Editor, 81

compiling shaders, 83–84

nodes, placing, 82–83

opening, 81

preview viewport, 83

saving materials, 84

UI, 82

material functions, 87–88

material switcher Blueprint, 311–312, 324–326. See also Actor Blueprint

adding to level, 331

Change Material function, 326–327

construction scripts, 322–324

materials, 80, 234–235. See also lighting

adding to Actor Blueprint, 333

applying, 81

for architectural visualization project, 179

color

linear color, 85

as numbers, 85

creating, 80, 92–99

base color map, 99

instances, 93–94

normal map, adding, 97–98

placing parameter nodes, 92–93

glass, rendering, 252–256

inheritance, 90–91

instances, 89–91

creating, 244

master materials, 91, 234

creating, 236

Metallic input, 62

modifying, 81

MSO materials, 179

normal maps, 85–86

parameters, 90, 235–236

overriding, 90–91

pixel shaders, 84

POM, 249–252

post processing, 76

roughness, 61–62

roughness map, adding, 94–97

saving, 84

specular value, 61–62

surface types

masked materials, 88

opaque, 88

translucent, 89

vertex shaders, 84

Materials variable, 317

max walk speed, adjusting, 142

meetup.com, 20

meshes

adding to Actor Blueprint, 331–332

dragging and dropping, 197

exporting, 48–50

multiple materials, 53

prop meshes, 188

replacing, 284

Meshes to Modify variable, 315–316

Metallic input (PBR), 62, 238–240

middleware engines, 5

migrating from another project, 170–172

mindful geometry, 190

Mip-Maps, 53

Mobility setting

for sky light, 212

for spot lights, 221

for sun light, 209–210

modes, 343

modifying

assets, 123

materials, 81

motion blur, 74

Motion Blur setting (Post Process Volume), 229

mouse interface

cursor, enabling, 277–278

detecting false clicks, 330

mouse over events, 328–329

moveable lights, 64–65

global illumination, 65

shadows, 64

specular reflections, 65

movement speed, setting up, 141–142

movement speed, setting up

Braking Friction, 142

deceleration, 142

moving

assets, 173

pawns, 147–152

adding movement input, 148–152

Is Valid branch, 148

referencing the pawn, 147–148

within scenes, 128–129

MSO (multi-subobject) materials, 179

multiplying colors, 238

N

naming conventions, 40–41

assets, 41

prefixes, 41

suffixes, 41

tracks, 263

navigation, game-style navigation system, 129

new projects, setting up, 30–33

nodes, 234–235

Lerp nodes, 96

parameters, 235–236

placing in Material Editor, 82–83

Normal channel, 241–242

normal maps, 85–86, 97–98

normals, 39

Num Indirect Lighting Bounces setting (Lightmass), 216

NVIDIA, VXGI, 63

O

objects, 103

actors, 103–104

spawning, 110

variables, 107–108

opaque materials, 88

opening

Level Blueprint, 290–292

Material Editor, 81

operating systems, development requirements, 14

organizing scenes

actor blueprints, 202–203

grouping actors, 201–202

layers, 200

World Outliner, 199–200

overriding material parameters, 90–91

P

packaged builds versus editor builds, 158

packaging your product, 33, 160

build configuration, 159

errors, 161–162

platforms, 159

painted wall instances, 245–247

.pak files, 158

panels, Details panel, 124

parameters, 235–236

of materials, 90

overriding, 90–91

parent classes, 109

pawns, 106

base eye height, 140

Capsule Component, adjusting, 140

creating, 138–139

max walk speed, adjusting, 142

movement speed, setting up, 141–142

Braking Friction, 142

moving, 147–152

adding movement input, 148–152

Is Valid branch, 148

referencing the pawn, 147–148

pitch and yaw, adjusting, 140–141

rotating the view, 146–147

view height, setting, 140–141

PBR (Physically Based Rendering), 4, 7, 60–63

base color, 61

getting the most from, 62–63

Metallic input, 62

reflection probes, 223

roughness, 61–62

PC (player controller), 104

input handling, 104–105

mouse interface, 105

rotation, 105

performance, effect of reflection capture actors on, 224

per-polygon collisions, 272

Perspective Viewport, 10

PIE (Play in Editor) mode, 136, 343

piloting the camera, 262–263

pitch and yaw, adjusting, 140–141

pivot points, 47–48

architectural visualization project, 189

pixel shaders, 84

pixels, normal maps, 85–86

placing

assets in Levels, 123

light portals, 222

nodes in Material Editor, 82–83

Player Start actor, 155–156

prop meshes in scenes, 198

platforms, 159

play modes, 136–137

Simulate, 137

Standalone Game, 137

Player Collision view, 271

Player Controller class

creating, 144

rotating the view, 146–147

Player Start actor

adding to levels, 270

defining for level streaming, 290

placing, 155–156

players, 104, 105

PC, 104

mouse interface, 105

rotation, 105

the world, 106

PlayerState, 343

plugins, 343–344

Plugins folder, 29

POM (Parallax Occlusion Mapping), 249–252

populating

Levels with content, 32

scenes, 193

cloning tool, 198

creating levels, 194–195

dragging and dropping meshes, 197

lights, adding, 195–196

organization, 199–202

placing prop meshes, 198

setting location to zero, 197

setting up the level, 194

Shift+dragging, 198

surface snapping, 198

World Outliner, 199–200

positional tracking, as limitation of UE4, 12

Post Process Volume, 69

post process volume actors, 224–231

post processing, 69–70

materials, 76

prefixes, naming conventions, 41

preparing

content, 37–38

levels for interactivity

adding Player Start actor, 270

collisions, 271–273

creating post-process outlines, 278–279

enabling the mouse cursor, 277–278

Player Collision view, 271

prop collisions, 276

preview viewport (Material Editor), 83

Priority setting (Post Process Volume), 226

professional game engines, 5

projects, 25–27, 344

.uproject files, 26–27

architectural visualization project

applying project settings, 173–175

clean geometry, ensuring, 180

creating, 169–170

exporting the scene, 182

FBX files, 182–183

FBX files, exporting, 190

FBX files, importing, 191–192

fixtures, 179

importing the scene, 184–188

input settings, 172

materials, 179

mindful geometry, 190

organizing the scene, 178–179

pivot points, 189

populating the scene, 193–203

prop meshes, 188

scope of, 167–169

setting up, 169–172

UV coordinates, 180–182

cooking, 158

creating from Launcher, 116–119

distributing, 33, 162

folder structure, 27

Config folder, 28

Content folder, 29

Intermediate folder, 30

Plugins folder, 29

Saved folder, 28–29

GameMode class, assigning, 153–154

input mapping, 142–144

action mappings, 142

axis mappings, 142

setting up, 143–144

installers, 163

packaging, 33, 158, 160

pawns

Braking Friction setting, 142

Controller Rotation Yaw, 140–141

creating, 138–142

movement speed, setting up, 141–142

Player Controller class, creating, 144

scope of, defining, 116

setting up, 30–33, 136

storing, 31

testing, 32–33

upgrading, 24–25

workflow

adding interactivity, 32

building content, 31

exporting content, 31

importing content, 31

populating Levels with content, 32

setting up a new project, 30–31

prop collisions, 276

prop mesh collision, 47

Prop Meshes, 40

prop meshes, 188

placing in scenes, 198

property matrix, 344

props, adding to structures, 130–131

providing support, 33

Q-R

QA, costs of developing for UE4, 17

rasterization, 344

raytracing, 37

real-time, 344

running UE4 in, 8

real-world scale, 42

Recapture Scene button, 212

redirectors, 173, 344

referencing the pawn, 147–148

refining projects, 32–33

Reflection Capture Actors, 68

reflection probes, 68, 223

reflections, 68

screen space reflections, 74–75

Screen Space Reflections setting (Post Process Volume), 229

specular reflections, 65

SSR, 68

reimporting meshes, 50–51

release of UE4, 5

renaming assets, 173

Render Movie Settings dialog, 265–266

rendering

animations, 9

architectural visualization project settings, 173–175

glass, 252–256

RTT, 340

sequences, 264–265, 266–267

stills, 9

renderings, 8–9

replacing meshes, 284

requirements

for architectural visualization project, 167–169

for UE4 development, 14

resolution of textures, 53

rotation, 105, 146–147

roughness, 61–62, 240–241

roughness map, adding to materials, 94–97

RTT (Render to Texture), 340

rug instances, 251

S

Saturation setting (Post Process Volume), 226

Saved folder, 28–29

saving

FBX files, 51

Level Blueprint, 309

Levels, 122–123

levels, 283

materials, 84

sequences, 264

scaling input, 150–152

scenes

architectural visualization project, populating, 193–203

building for visualization, 194

moving around, 128–129

populating

cloning tool, 198

creating levels, 194–195

dragging and dropping meshes, 197

lights, adding, 195–196

organization, 199–202

placing prop meshes, 198

setting location to zero, 197

Shift+dragging, 198

surface snapping, 198

World Outliner, 199–200

scope

of architectural visualization project, 167–169

of projects, defining, 116

Screen Percentage, 75–76

screen space reflections, 74–75

Screen Space Reflections setting (Post Process Volume), 229

scripting

Blueprints, 6, 102

actors, 103–104

classes, 103

compiling the script, 112

objects, 103

PC, 104

players, 104

construction scripts, 110, 322–324

Sequencer, 7, 258–267

dynamic cameras, 261

animating, 261–264

sequences, 258

collaborating, 264

master sequences, creating, 258–260

master sequences, editing, 263–264

Render Movie Settings dialog, 265–266

rendering to video, 264–265, 266–267

saving, 264

setting up

architectural visualization project, 169–172

input mapping, 143–144

levels, 194

movement speed, 141–142

projects, 136

shaders, compiling, 83–84

Shadowmaps, 207

shadows

in moveable lighting, 64

in static lighting, 67

in stationary lighting, 65–66

Shift+dragging, 198

Simulate mode, 137

Skeletal Meshes, 39

Sky Light actor, 128

sky lights, 210–211

adding to scenes, 196

Lower Hemisphere is Solid Color setting, 212

Mobility setting, 212

Source Type setting, 212

Slate, 344

snapping, 125

surfaces, 198

source art, 27

source control, 15

Source Type setting, 212

spawning, 110

specular reflections, 65

specular value, 61–62

spot lights

attenuation, 222

Intensity setting, 221–222

Mobility setting, 221

Temperature setting, 222

SSAO (screen space ambient occlusion), 74, 228

SSR (Screen Space Reflection), 68

Standalone Game mode, 137

Start Material Index variable, 317–318

Static Lighting Level Scale setting (Lightmass), 216

static lights, 67–68, 207

global illumination, 67

shadows, 67

Static Meshes, 39

Architecture Meshes, 39–40

Prop Meshes, 40

stationary lights, 65–66

global illumination, 66

shadows, 65–66

statistics, 38

stills, 9

storing projects, 31

strengths of UE4

changing datasets, 13

comparing options, 13

structures, adding details to, 130–133

lighting, 131–133

props, 130–131

suffixes, naming conventions, 41

sun light, 207–209

Atmosphere Sun Light check box, 210

atmospheric fog simulation, 210

Intensity setting, 210

Mobility setting, 209–210

Temperature setting, 210

support, providing, 33

surface snapping, 198

surface types

masked materials, 88

opaque materials, 88

translucent, 89

T

TAA (temporal anti-aliasing), 70–71, 230–231

teamwork, in UE4, 15

Temperature setting

for spot lights, 222

for sun light, 210

testing

costs of developing for UE4, 17

level streaming, 294

projects, 32–33

TextRender component, 320

Textures, 11

textures, 52–53

adding to master materials, 243–244

alpha channels, 53

compression, 53

masks, 86–87

Mip-Maps, 53

resolution, 53

roughness, 61–62

RTT, 340

supported formats, 52

third-party plugins, automating LOD generation, 46

ticks, 108

delta time, 108–109

tiling versus unique coordinates, 42–43

time, costs of developing for UE4, 16–17

toggling datasets, 282

TomShannon3d.com, 16

tools

cloning tool, 198

UE4 Editor, 25

tracks, naming, 263

training for UE4 development, 18

Transform Vertex to Absolute option, 185

transitions, 263

translucent materials, 89

triangles, 38

Backface Cull, 39

U

.uasset files, 30, 264

UDK (Unreal Developer’s Kit), 5

UE4 (Unreal Engine 4), 3–4

applications for, 8

Atmosphere Sun Light check box, 126–127

benefiting from, 13

changing nature of, 338

community events, 19–20

community support, 19

costs of developing for, 16–18

default units, 38

Details panel, 124

development requirements, 14

documentation, 18

in film making, 340

future of, 11

game community reaction to, 6

GameMode, 137–138

history of, 5

interactivity, 10

lighting, 63–73

limitations of

application dependence, 12

authoring complexity, 11

development time, 12

margin of error, 11–12

positional tracking, 12

next steps for, 339

platform support, 7

post processing, 69–70

projects, 25–27

folder structure, 27

upgrading, 24–25

release of, 5

releases, 24

RTT, 340

running in real time, 8

source control, 15

speed, 8–9

strengths of

changing datasets, 13

comparing options, 13

teamwork in, 15

training, 18

updates to, 6

versioning, 15–16

versions of, 24

visualizations, 7–8

“wow” factor, 10–11

WYSIWYG nature of, 9–10

UE4 Editor, 4, 25

advanced settings, 137

PIE mode, 136

UI (user interface)

EU4 Editor, 4

Material Editor, 82

UMG, 299–305

buttons, creating, 303–305

labels, creating, 305

widgets, 299–301

UMAP files, 207

UMG (Unreal Motion Graphics), 7, 299–305

buttons, creating, 303–305

horizontal box, creating, 301–303

labels, creating, 305

widgets, 299–301

adding to viewport, 307

creating, 307

Unbound setting (Post Process Volume), 225

Unlit View mode, 125–126

Unreal Dev Grant program, 19

Unreal Engine Marketplace, 19

Unreal Tournament, 5

unrealengine.com, 3

update to UE4, 6

upgrading projects, 24–25

.uproject files, 26–27

UV density adjustments (Lightmass), 218–220

UV mapping, 42–45

architectural visualization project, 180–182

Lightmap UV coordinates, 44–45

multiple UV channels, 43–44

real-world scale, 42

tiling versus unique coordinates, 42–43

world-projection mapping, 42

UVW coordinates, 42

V

variables, 345

Actor Blueprint, 314–315

vector functions, 149–150

versioning, 15–16

source control, 15

version control software, 31

versions of UE4, 24

vertex shaders, 84

video, rendering sequences to, 264–265

view height, setting for players, 140–141

base eye height, 140

Capsule Component, adjusting, 140

view rotation, 146–147

viewports, adding widgets to, 307

Vignette effect setting (Post Process Volume), 226

visual scripting languages, Blueprints, 6

visualizations, 7

developing, 7–8

future of, 338

scene building, 194

source art, 27

visualizing collisions, 275

VR (virtual reality), 7, 339

VXGI, 63

W

websites

meetup.com, 20

unrealengine.com, 116

www.TomShannon3d.com, 16

www.unrealengine.com, 3

White Balance setting (Post Process Volume), 226

widgets, 299–301

adding to viewport, 307

creating, 307

workflow

building content, 31

camera workflow, 56–57

distributing your application, 33

exporting content, 31

importing content, 31

packaging your product, 33

populating Levels with content, 32

setting up a new project, 30–33

testing projects, 32–33

World Outliner, 199–200, 345

world-projection mapping, 42

worlds, 106, 345

www.TomShannon3d.com, 16

www.unrealengine.com, 3

WYSIWYG nature of UE4, 9–10

X-Y-Z

yaw, adjusting, 140–141

zero, setting locations to, 197