Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Part I: Unreal Engine 4 Overview

1 Getting Started with Unreal Engine 4

What Is Unreal Engine 4?

A Brief History of Unreal Engine

Introducing Unreal Engine 4

UE4 Highlights for Visualization

Developing Interactive Visualizations with Unreal Engine 4

Unreal Engine 4 Development Requirements

Teamwork in Unreal Engine 4

Costs of Developing for UE4

Cost Savings of UE4

Resources and Training

Summary

2 Working with UE4

Unreal Engine 4 Components

Project Folder Structure

Understanding .uasset Files

Unreal Engine 4 Content Pipeline

Summary

3 Content Pipeline

Content Pipeline Overview

3D Scene Setup

Preparing Geometry for UE4

FBX Mesh Pipeline

Texture and Material Workflow

Importing to the Content Library

Camera Workflow

Summary

4 Lighting and Rendering

Understanding Unreal Engine’s Physically Based Rendering (PBR)

Lights in UE4

Understanding Light Mobility

Real-Time Reflections

Post-Processing

Summary

5 Materials

Materials Overview

UE4 Material Editor

How Unreal Materials Work

Surface Types

Material Instances

A Simple Material

Summary

6 Blueprints

Introducing Blueprints

Objects, Classes, and Actors

The Player

The Player Controller

Pawns

The World

Levels

Components

Variables and their Types

The Tick

Class Inheritance

Spawning and Destroying

Blueprint Communication

Compiling the Script

Summary

Part II: Your First UE4 Project

7 Setting Up the Project

Project Scope

Creating a New Project from the Launcher

Summary

8 Populating the World

Making and Saving a New, Blank Level

Placing and Modifying Assets

Let there Be Light

Moving Around the Scene

Building the Architecture

Adding Details to Your Structure

Summary

9 Making it Interactive with Blueprints

Setting Up the Project

Press Play

Creating the Pawn

Input Mapping

Creating the Player Controller Class

Adding Input with Blueprints

Rotating the View (Looking)

Player Movement

GameMode

Placing the Player Start Actor

Summary

10 Packaging and Distribution

Packaged Versus Editor Builds

Project Packaging

Packaging Options

How to Package

Launching Your Application

Packaging Errors

Distributing the Project

Using Installers

Summary

Part III: Architectural Visualization Project

11 Project Setup

Project Scope and Requirements

Setting Up the Project

Applying Project Settings

Summary

12 Data Pipeline

Organizing the Scene

Materials

Architecture and Fixtures

Exporting the Scene

Importing the Scene

Prop Meshes

Summary

13 Populating the Scene

Scene Building for Visualization

Setting Up the Level

Placing Architecture Static Meshes

Placing Prop Meshes

Scene Organization

Summary

14 Architectural Lighting

Getting the Most from UE4’s Lighting

Static Lighting with Lightmass

Adjusting the Sun and Sky Lights

Building Lighting

Lightmass Settings for Architecture Visualizations

Lightmap UV Density Adjustments

Placing Interior Lighting

Placing Light Portals

Using Reflection Probes

Post-Process Volume

Summary

15 Architectural Materials

What Is a Master Material?

Creating the Master Material

Creating Material Instances

Advanced Materials

Summary

16 Creating Cinematics with Sequencer

Getting Started with Sequencer

Animating the Camera

Editing the Shots

Saving

Collaborating

Rendering to Video

Summary

17 Preparing the Level for Interactivity

Setting Up Your Level

Adding the Player Start Actor

Adding Collision

Enabling the Mouse Cursor

Creating Post-Process Outlines

Summary

18 Intermediate Blueprints: UMG Interaction

Toggling Datasets

Making the Variation Level

Level Streaming

Defining a Player Start Actor

Setting Up the Level Blueprint

Programming the Switching

Testing Time

Unreal Motion Graphics (UMG)

Back to the Level Blueprint

Summary

19 Advanced Blueprints: Material Switcher

Setting the Goal

Building the Actor Blueprint

Creating Variables

Adding Components

Creating the Change Material Function

Understanding the Construction Script

Understanding the Event Graph

Populating the Level

Playing the Application

Summary

20 Final Thoughts

UE4 Continually Changing

Future of Visualization

Next Steps

Virtual Reality

Film Making

Content Creation

Thank You

Glossary

Index