BYOD: Build Your First VR Experience with Unreal Engine

P01 BYOD: Build Your
First VR Experience
with Unreal Engine
Michael Sheyahshe
Chief Information Officer | Technologist
aNm

www.alter-native-media.com
8:30-10am
AM Session 1:
Getting Started

Workshop Schedule
• AM Session 1: Getting Started - 8:30-10am
• Break - 10-10:30am
• AM Session 2: Templates & VR Prep -
10:30am-12pm
• Lunch - 12-1pm
• PM Session 1: Explore Unreal UI - 1-2:30pm
• Break - 2:30-3pm
• PM Session 2: Deployment & Other
Considerations - 3-4:30pm

Obligatory “About Me”
Why 3D?
• Background in Film (BA, OU)
• MFA in 3D Modeling (AAU)
• Interest in “Serious Games” &
Immersive content

@mas_edevhttp://bit.ly/2HrF2rb www.alter-native-media.com

Installation
[overview]
Creating an Epic Games AccountCreating
Downloading and Running the Installer*
Downloading
and Running
Signing into the Epic LauncherSigning
Installing Unreal EngineInstalling
Launching Unreal EngineLaunching

Create Epic Games Account
•UnrealEngine.com
•Fill out form
•Read EULA
•Download

Download and Run the
Installer
• Choose OS
• Download
• Epic Games Launcher
Setup
• Use Epic Games
account login
• Install

Install Unreal Engine
• Space! 8gb
•Time – wait for it
• Epic Games Launcher >
Loading Screen > Unreal
Engine tab
• Install Engine

Launch Unreal Engine
Yay !

10-10:30am
Break

10:30am-12pm
AM Session 2:
Templates & VR
Prep

UE4
Templates

Template
Steps
Choose VR
Set Mobile
Scalable quality
No Starter Content

In the meantime …

Working with the Editor
• Editor UI - Basic Layout
• Toolbar
• Viewport Basics
• Viewport Types
• Viewport Controls
• Navigation Controls

Configure UE4
for Oculus Go
• Android Code Works Install
• Engine > Extras > Android folder
• CodeWorksforAndroid-1Rxx-
windows.exe file
• Follow prompts
• Install … and wait
• Restart machine

Android Code Work for Macs*
• File folder:
/Users/Shared/Epic
Games/UE_4.23/Engine/Extras/AndroidWorks/Mac/CodeWorksForAn
droid-1R7u1-osx.dmg
• Install
• Restart machine (if required)
*Mac workarounds provided by Dan Gleeson

Oculus Go
Setup
[overview]
• Mobile App
• Device Setup
• To join an existing organization:
• To create a new organization:
• App ID
• Enable Developer Mode
• Install the Oculus Go ADB Driver (Windows
only)
• Connect VR Device
• Setup Unreal Engine for Oculus Go
• Add Plugin
• Set VR Level
• Project Settings
Overview

Install Mobile App

VR Device Setup
• Create developer org on Oculus Dashboard
• Create a new organization
• https://dashboard.oculus.com/organizatio
ns/create/
• Join an existing organization
• Note App ID
• Enable Developer Mode
1. Open the Oculus app on your mobile device.
2. In the Settings menu, select your Oculus Go
headset that you’re using for development.
3. Select More Settings.
4. Toggle Developer Mode on.

Install the
Oculus Go ADB
Driver
(Windows only)
https://developer.oculus.com/downloads/
package/oculus-go-adb-drivers/
Download zip
Unzip
Right-click on the .inf file and select Install

ABD for Macs*
• Check NVPACK/android-sdk-macosx/platform-tools
• If not there,
• https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools.html
• select Download SDK Platform-Tools for Mac
• Save to a folder.
• Add the folder to your PATH variable.
• i.e., in ~/.profile add a line like this:
• export PATH="$PATH:/Users/[you]/Vendors/android/platform-tools"
*Mac workarounds provided by Dan Gleeson

Connect VR
Device
Grant access

Setup Unreal Engine for Oculus Go
Launch Unreal
New Project
VR template
Add Oculus Plugin
Edit > Plugins
OculusVR Plugin
Set VR Level
File > Open Level
Content > VirtualRealityBP
> Maps >
MotionControllerMap

Project Settings
• Edit > Project Settings > Maps & Modes
• Default Maps
• Editor Startup Map
• Game Default Map
• “MotionControllerMap”
• Engine > Input > Mobile
• Default Touch Interface = None
• Platforms > Android
• APK Packaging section = Configure Now
• Minimum/Target SDK Version: 21
• FullScreen Immersive on KitKat and above devices: True
• “configure the AndroidManifest for deployment to Oculus
Mobile” = ON
• Platforms > Android SDK
• Engine > Rendering > Mobile HDR = OFF

Before Launching on VR Device
DISABLE ANTIVIRUS AND
FIREWALLS
SHUTDOWN OTHER
PROGRAMS AND APPS

Launch the Unreal Project on the Oculus Go
• Android Debug Bridge - “ADB”
• Connect to a Device with adb
• Terminal/PowerShell > “adb devices”
• Connect adb via Wi-Fi
• Use handout instructions

12-1pm
Lunch

1-2:30pm
PM Session 1:
Explore Unreal UI

Adjusting VR Template for
Oculus Go
Increase VR grip target
• Content Browser >
VirtualRealityBP > Blueprints
> BP_MotionController
• Viewport tab
• Select: Components (menu)
> GrabSphere
• Details (menu) > Transform >
Scale > 3, 3, 3
• Compile
• Save

VR Playtime
Deploy & Explore
in VR
Lunch for VR device Wait as it builds /
packages

2:30-3pm
Break

3-4:30pm
PM Session 2:
Deployment & Other
Considerations

Understanding Unreal Terminology
Projects Templates Objects Classes Actors
Components Pawns Characters
PlayerContro
ller
AIController
Levels World
Blueprints
Visual
Scripting

Projects
A Project is a self-contained unit that holds all the
content and code that make up an individual
game and coincides with a set of directories on
your disk.

Templates
When you would like to jump into creating a particular type of
game, you can use a template to start your game off and get
right to implementing your gameplay ideas. Templates are
available in two versions: there is a C++ version if you are
comfortable working at that level, and there is a Blueprint
version which has the same behavior implemented in visual
script for fast iteration by designers and artists.

Objects
The base building blocks in the Unreal Engine are
called Objects and contain a lot of the essential
"under the hood" functionality for your game
assets. Just about everything in Unreal Engine 4
inherits (or gets some functionality) from an Object.

Classes
A Class defines the behaviors and properties of a
particular Actor or Object used in the creation of an
Unreal Engine game. Classes are hierarchical, meaning
a Class inherits information from its parent Classes (the
Classes it was derived or "sub-classed" from) and
passes that information to its children. Classes can be
created in C++ code or in Blueprints.

Actors
An Actor is any object that can be placed into a level. Actors are a
generic Class that support 3D transformations such as
translation, rotation, and scale. Actors can be created (spawned)
and destroyed through gameplay code (C++ or Blueprints). In
C++, AActor is the base class of all Actors. There are several
different types of Actors, some examples include:
StaticMeshActor, CameraActor, and PlayerStartActor.

Components
A Component is a piece of functionality that can be added to an Actor.
Components cannot exist by themselves, however when added to an Actor,
the Actor will have access to and can use functionality provided by the
Component.
For example, a Spot Light Component will allow your Actor to emit light like
a spot light, a Rotating Movement Component will make your Actor spin
around, or an Audio Component will make your Actor able to play sounds.

Pawns
Pawns are a subclass of Actor and
serve as an in-game avatar or persona,
for example the characters in a game.
Pawns can be controlled by a player or
by the game's AI, in the form of non-
player characters (NPCs).

Characters
A Character is a subclass of a
Pawn Actor that is intended to
be used as a player character.
The Character subclass
includes a collision setup,
input bindings for bipedal
movement, and additional
code for movement controlled
by the player.

PlayerController
The PlayerController Class is used to
take player input and translate that
into interactions in the game and
every game has at least one
PlayerController in it. A
PlayerController often possesses a
Pawn or Character as a representation
of the player in a game.

AIController
Just as the PlayerController possesses a Pawn as a
representation of the player in a game, an AIController
possesses a Pawn to represent a non-player character
(NPC) in a game. By default, Pawns and Characters will
end up with a base AIController unless they are
specifically possessed by a PlayerController or told not to
create an AIController for themselves.

Levels
A Level is a user defined area of gameplay. Levels are
created, viewed, and modified mainly by placing,
transforming, and editing the properties of the Actors it
contains. In the Unreal Editor, each Level is saved as a
separate .umap file, which is also why you will
sometimes see them referred to as Maps.

World
A World contains a list of Levels that are loaded. It handles the
streaming of Levels and the spawning (creation) of dynamic
Actors.
Direct interaction with a World is not necessary, but it does
help provide a specific reference point within the game
structure (ie: mentioning World directly means you are not
speaking about Levels, Maps or the game).

Blueprints Visual Scripting
The Blueprints Visual Scripting system in Unreal Engine is a complete
gameplay scripting system based on the concept of using a node-based
interface to create gameplay elements from within Unreal Editor. As with
many common scripting languages, it is used to define object-oriented (OO)
classes or objects in the engine. As you use UE4, you'll often find that objects
defined using Blueprint are colloquially referred to as just "Blueprints."
This system is extremely flexible and powerful as it provides the ability for
designers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools generally only
available to programmers. In addition, Blueprint-specific markup available in
Unreal Engine's C++ implementation enables programmers to create baseline
systems that can be extended by designers.

Leveraging
Previous
Experience in
Unity
Category Unity Unreal (UE4)
Gameplay Types Component Component
GameObject Actor, Pawn
Prefab Blueprint Class
Editor UI Hierarchy Panel World Outliner
Inspector Details Panel
Project Browser Content Browser
Scene View Viewport
Meshes Mesh Static Mesh
Skinned Mesh Skeletal Mesh
Materials Shader Material, Material Editor
Material Material Instance
Effects Particle Effect Effect, Particle, Cascade
Shuriken Cascade
Game UI UI UMG (Unreal Motion Graphics)
Animation Animation Skeletal Animation System
Mecanim Persona , Animation Blueprint
2D Sprite Editor Paper2D
Programming C# C++
Script Blueprint
Physics Raycast Line Trace, Shape Trace
Rigid Body Collision, Physics

Customizations & Edits
• Text
• Rudimentary grabbables
• Materials*
• Color
• Texture
• Triggers, buttons, other interactions
• Beyond scope, but build on new skills
*Require shaders/materials to recompile – adds time.

Common 3D Terminology
Vertex /
vertices
Edge Polygon
Models or
Objects or
Mesh
Shaders,
Materials, and
Textures
Rendering

File Types for Unreal
Asset Type Supported Formats
3D .fbx, .obj
Texture .png, .jpeg, .bmp ,.tga, .dds, .exr, .psd, .hdr
Sound .wav
Fonts .ttf, .otf
Videos .mov, .mp4, .wmv

Preview Content on a PC
https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unreal/latest/concepts/unreal-ide-guide-go/
You may launch the Unreal Engine with a configuration option to use the Oculus Go plugin in conjunction
with the Mobile renderer on the PC. This allows you to preview mobile development from the desktop
using an Oculus Rift. To do so, disable OculusRift and SteamVR plugins for your project, and add -OpenGL
-FeatureLevelES2 to your command line.
Although it is possible to preview mobile applications in the Oculus Rift during development, it is not
generally useful to do so, because Rift applications are subject to substantially different performance
requirements (see “Performance Targets” in Oculus Go: Testing and Performance Analysis). You may find
it easiest to use the 2D preview in Unreal, and then either build an APK or use Launch on Device when
you need to view the app in VR.
Note: Mobile Content Scale Factor is not currently supported for Oculus development.

Publishing Apps
Oculus
•Similar to Android pipeline, APK
•Requires keys/certificates
• https://developer.android.com/studio/publish/app-signing

Uninstall Build
C:> adb shell pm list packages
C:> adb uninstall packagename

End Wrap-up
REVIEW OF
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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BYOD: Build Your First VR Experience with Unreal Engine

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