Mastering Unreal Engine

✍ Scribed by Sufyan bin Uzayr

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2022
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 241
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Mastering Unreal Engine: A Beginner’s Guide introduces developers of all ages to the beautiful and valuable world of Unreal Engine in particular and game development in general.

Unreal Engine is a complete development suite for anyone working with real-time technology when it comes to game development. It provides flexibility and power to artists across many sectors to generate cutting-edge entertainment, engaging visualizations, and immersive virtual environments for games and infotainment alike.

Unreal Engine is a prominent game creation engine that is free to use. The majority of people associate Unreal Engine with 3D games. However, it may also be used to create 2D games with ease. It is the de facto standard in the world of game development. That said, it is not hard to be confused when getting started with Unreal Engine because of the wide range of features that it provides.

Mastering Unreal Engine will teach you exactly where to begin. You will learn how to download Unreal Engine, construct your first game, start your game, receive an introduction to blueprints, and ultimately, develop a workable framework.

Unreal Engine is a robust game development engine that offers a wide range of features for creating 2D and 3D games on various platforms. Unreal Engine technology powers hundreds of games, and thousands of people have created careers and businesses on the skills they learned while working with this engine.

To help you get the most out of this powerful piece of technology, Mastering Unreal Engine begins with simple game ideas and playable projects that you can complete at your own pace. The book starts by covering the foundations of using Unreal Engine to build a simple game level. You will also learn how to add such details to the game as actors, animation, and effects.

Mastering Unreal Engine talks at length about the various features of the Unreal Engine game engine, how to install it and how to construct a project in C++, and good coding practices for game development. Furthermore, the book also covers certain niche areas, such as how to utilize Visual Studio in gaming, and how to use existing predefined blueprints to grow and foster a game. More importantly, Mastering Unreal Engine is perhaps one of the first beginner-level books in its league that covers topics related to the Behavior Tree and Blackboard with Artificial Intelligence and multiplayer gameplay in Unreal Engine.

Note: This book assumes you have a working knowledge of C++ programming.

Learn more about our other Mastering titles at:

https: //www.routledge.com/Mastering-Computer-Science/book-series/MCS

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
About the Editor
CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Unreal Engine
WHAT TO EXPECT?
UE CHARACTERISTICS AND FREQUENT USAGE
System Needs
DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING
The Directory Structure of Windows
DirectXRedist FOR WINDOWS
Launcher
4.X FOLDERS
THE ENGINE STARTER
MARKETPLACE
LIBRARY
CHAPTER 2: Start of the Work with Unreal Engine
INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITOR
Unreal Project Browser
USER INTERFACE
The Menu Bar and the Tab Bar
TOOLBAR
VIEWPORT
MODES
OUTLINER OF THE WORLD
BROWSER OF CONTENTS
FEATURES
CONTROLS AND HOTKEYS
CREATING A C++ PROJECT
Setup Is Required
Make a New Class in C++
Changes to Your C++ Class
Compile and Test C++ Code
Final Result
THE FIRST STEPS IN CREATING A GAME
Project
Developing a New Project
Taking over an Established Project
Structure of the Project’s Directory
Bloques
Controls
Creating the Game’s Project
Brushes for BSP
Brushes Using Default BSP Forms
BSP Brush Editing
BSP Brushes Are Being Used to Block Out the Rooms
The Very First Room
The Second Space
The Third Space
The Fourth Space
Browser of Contents
Details
Controls and Hotkeys
IN VISUAL STUDIO, INSTALL THE UNREAL ENGINE
Getting Established
Building an Unreal Project
Opening the Project in Visual Studio
Game Code Management
C++ Class Wizard for Adding Code to Projects
Application Framework
Project Launching in the Development Environment
Making Project Files
Installing Visual Studio for Unreal Engine
Include the UE Installer
CONTENT BROWER
Using the Content Browser
ASSETS
Naming an Asset
Asset Renaming and Transfer
Management of Asset
Reducing Source Control Contingency
Copying Assets to Other Projects
Packs of Asset
CHAPTER 3: Using Blueprints
WHAT EXACTLY IS VISUAL SCRIPTING?
PROGRAMMING VS. BLUEPRINTS
BLUEPRINTS INTRODUCTION
How Do Blueprints Function?
Blueprint Types Most Commonly Used
What Else Can Blueprints Be Used for?
Make a Playable Video Game Character
Make a HUD
Graphs and Blueprint Editors
DEVELOPING BLUEPRINT CLASSES
Blueprint Asset Creation in the Content Browser
Making Use of the Add New Button
Making Use of the Asset View
Making Use of the Asset Tree
New Subclass
Child Actors
Components of Harvest
Placing Nodes
Drag and Drop
Search by Context Menu
Nodes That Are Collapsing
Collapsing to Function
Macro Collapsing
OVERVIEW OF THE BLUEPRINT
BLUEPRINT VARIETIES
ANATOMY OF THE BLUEPRINT
LOOKING FOR BLUEPRINTS
The Syntax for Advanced Search
All Subfilter
Classes on the Blueprint
Blueprint Components
Blueprint Graphs
Blueprint Creation
Using Assets, Create a Blueprint
Putting Blueprints in Different Levels
Putting Blueprint Nodes in Place
Blueprint Node Connections
Making Variables
Combining Blueprints with C++
Why Do Projects Still Require Traditional Programming and Programmers?
THE BENEFITS OF BLUEPRINTS
C++’S BENEFITS
BLUEPRINT AND C++ COMPATIBILITY
Data and Logic in Gameplay
BLUEPRINTS VS. C++
Benefits of the C++ Class
ADVANTAGES OF THE BLUEPRINT CLASS
BLUEPRINT TO C++ CONVERSION
CONCERNS ABOUT PERFORMANCE
NOTES ON ARCHITECTURE
BLUEPRINTS PROGRAMMING GUIDELINES
CHAPTER 4: Blackboard and Behavior Tree with AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
Getting Going
What Exactly Is a Controller?
Developing an AIC
Making a Behavior Tree
The Editor of the Behavior Tree
What Exactly Are Tasks and Composites?
Moving to an Unpredictable Location
Making a Blackboard
The Editor of Blackboard
Making a Target Location Key
What Exactly Is a Service?
Making a Service
Creating a Location at Random
Choosing a Blackboard
Executing the Behavior Tree
Constructing AI Perception
Building an Enemy Key
Approaching an Enemy
Activating the Enemy Key
Developing an Attack Task
Subtree Combination
Developing a Decorator
The Use of Observer Aborts
Behavior Trees
The Fundamentals of Behavior Trees
Advantages of Behavior Trees
CHAPTER 5: Multiplayer Basics
MULTIPLAYER AND NETWORKING
OVERVIEW OF NETWORKING
Plan Ahead of Time for Multiplayer
Client-Server Architecture
Example of Client-Server Gameplay
Basic Networking Concepts
Types of Network Modes and Servers
Replicating Actors
Role and Authority in the Network
Ownership by the Client
Priority and Relevance
Replication Using Variables
RepNotifies
REMOTE PROCEDURE CALLS
Reliability
Validation
MAKING A MULTIPLAYER GAME IN UNREAL ENGINE
Is It Challenging to Create a Multiplayer Game on Unreal Engine?
Which Platform Are Ideal for UE4 Multiplayer Development?
Console/PC
Mobile
VR
Does the Unreal Engine Support Online Multiplayer?
What Game Genres Are Available for Our Unreal Multiplayer Game?
Which Is Better for Development: Unreal Engine or Unity Multiplayer?
What to Expect during the Development Process?
Unreal Engine 4 C++ or Blueprint
The Main Difficulties
Cost of Unreal Engine Multiplayer
CREATING DEDICATED SERVERS
1. Setup Is Required
2. Configuring a Server Build Target
3. Configuring Entry and Default Maps
4. Our Project’s Packaging
5. Launching and Testing Our Dedicated Server
BLUEPRINTS MULTIPLAYER
Examining the Gameplay Framework
Replicating Actors
Authority
Variables
Spawning and Elimination
Replicating an Event
Ownership
Events
Considerations for Join-in-Progress
Reliability
MAKING USE OF STEAM SOCKETS
Turning on the Steam Sockets Plugin
Using Steam Sockets Functions
GRAPH OF REPLICATION
Structure
Activating the System
Configuration Files (.ini)
In Code Binding
High-Level Illustration
TRAVELING IN MULTIPLAYER MODE
Allowing for Uninterrupted Travel
Effortless Travel Flow
Performance and Bandwidth Suggestions
APPRAISAL
INDEX