Intro to unreal with framework and vr

Intro to Unreal
Luis Cataldi – Epic Games, Education Evangelist

Unreal Engine For Academic Use

Good Things to Know:
Unreal Engine (EULA) End User License Agreement - LINK
Assets Naming Convention – LINK
Unreal Engine 4 Coding Standard – Link
Unreal Engine 4 Hardware & Software Specifications – Link
Downloading Unreal Engine Source Code – Link
Building Unreal Engine from Source – Link
Compiling Game Projects - Link
3

Unreal Engine Learning Resources

How UE4 Online Documentation is Structured:
Overview Page - Link
Quick Start Pages – Link
Users Guides - Link
How To Pages - Link
Reference Pages - Link
Samples - Link
Tutorials - Link
APIs - Link
5

UE4’s Online Documentation
Improved metadata support
Skill level
Engine version
Sitemap filters
Checkpoints
6

Unreal Engine Release Notes:
Release Notes - Link
New Features
Performance Improvements
Platform Additions
Bug Fixes
Enhancements
Changes
7

UE4 For Unity Developers:
Unreal Engine 4 For Unity Developers – Link
Unreal Engine 4 Terminology – Link
Unreal Engine 4 Tools & Editors - Link
8

Troubleshooting Guide:
Destructible Troubleshooting Guide – LINK
Troubleshooting Launcher Problems - Link
Lighting Troubleshooting Guide – LINK
Mobile Development Troubleshooting Guide – Link
Swarm Agent Troubleshooting - Link
9

UE4 Skills Video Training Curriculum:
Basics – Link
Animation – Link
Programming - Link
Blueprints - Link
Virtual Reality – Link
Level Editing - Link
Unreal Motion Graphics (UMG) – Link
More…
10

UE4 3rd Party Curriculum:
Unreal Engine 4: The Complete Beginner's Course
Learn to Code in C++ by Developing Your First Game
Complete Introduction to Unreal 4
An Introduction to Creating Realistic Materials in UE4
Master Blueprints in Unreal Engine 4 - Endless Runner
Create a Helicopter Game Control System in Unreal Engine 4
Unreal Essential Training
11

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Game Samples & Free Content In the Learn Tab:
● Content Examples
● The complete A Boy and His Kite
● Open World Demo Collection
● Water Planes
● Matinee environments and characters and content
● Stylized Rendering environments and content
● Realistic Rendering environments and content
● Sun Temple environments and content
● Particle Effects environments and content
● Silly Geo complete game project and content
● Multiplayer Shootout complete game project and content
● Platformer Game complete game project and content
● Swinging Ninja complete game project and content
● Vehicle Game complete game project and content
● Strategy Game complete game project and content
● SciFi Bunk environments and content
● Radial Impact complete game project and content
● And more…

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The Entire Infiltrator Demo Now Available For Download
○ 900 Textures
○ 468 Materials
○ 637 Static Meshes
○ 20 Skeletal Meshes
○ 69 Sound Wavs
○ 181 Animation
These assets are perfect for use in academic projects including:
○ Level design classes building high fidelity gameplay spaces.
○ For high quality environment art and set dressing exercises.
○ For use in game jams and student games.
○ Perfect for dissecting professional caliber AAA UE4 sample content.
○ ...and much more.
Total Size: 4 GB
Dozens of free complete projects available through the Learn Tab:

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Huge Infinity Blade Collection Now Available For Download
Below is a list of specific content included in all the asset packs:
○ 1911 Textures
○ 1051 Materials
○ 1064 Particles
○ 16 Sound Wavs
○ 9 Sound Cues
○ 6 Blueprints
○ Level design classes building gameplay spaces for mobile environments.
○ For environment art and mobile set dressing exercises.
○ For use in mobile and traditional game jams.
○ For use in student games.
○ Perfect for dissecting professional caliber mobile UE4 sample content.
Compatibility:4.9

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The Showdown Cinematic VR Experience Now Available For Download
Below is a list of specific content included in the download:
○ 450 Textures
○ 189 Materials
○ 19 Effects
○ VR design classes building playable spaces.
○ For VR environment art and set dressing exercises.
○ For use in VR jams.
○ For student VR games.
○ Perfect for dissecting professional caliber UE4 sample VR content.
Total Size: 2.8 GB

Working with AnswerHUB - Link
There are 15 full time Epic technicians working to help folks on AnswerHUB at all times, but it's
important for people asking questions to AnswerHUB to do the few things listed below.
USE THE SEARCH FIRST!
o There is a strong chance someone has run into similar or the same issue before.
Categories the issue
o Is it a BUG?
o Is it a problem with C++?
o Is it a problem with Blueprints?
o Is it a Rendering issue?
o Etc...
Good submission make AnswerHUB work
o Provide screenshots of the issue. People are visual.
o List steps to reproduce the issue.
o Take the time to be clear and explain carefully.
o Use examples of what you wish to achieve (based on known games when possible)
AnswerHUB is community driven. Help and you will be helped.
o Unreal Engine is open-source software driven by the community.
o By being active in the community, your credibility grows as a developer.
o More people help those who help others.
o Become active in the community and build Karma Points in AnswerHUB.
17

The Learn Tab:
The place to go for help.
18
Better than Google because:
It searches all of Epic Documentation
It searches the Community Wiki
It searches AnswerHUB
…provides you better answers.
** it is actually a Google gadget. ☻

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GameInstance
GameMode
Pawn Class
HUD Class
PlayerController
Class
PlayerState
Class
GameState
Class

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The GameInstance is a class
who’s state persists switching of
levels, game modes, pawns etc.
Where classes like GameMode or
PlayerController are being reset
and data stored in those classes
is removed. Any data that you
want to keep beyond levels and
matches, for example "what
player did in specific moment so
you can have consequence on
other level" should be placed in
the GameInstance.
GameInstance
GameMode
Pawn Class
HUD Class
PlayerController
Class
PlayerState
Class
GameState
Class

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The GameMode is the definition
of the game, including things like
the game rules and win
conditions. It only exists on the
server. It typically should not have
much data that changes during
play, and it definitely should not
have transient data that clients
need to know about.
GameInstance
GameMode
Pawn Class
HUD Class
PlayerController
Class
PlayerState
Class
GameState
Class

23
The GameState contains the state
of the game, which could include
things like the list of connected
players, the score, where the
pieces are in a chess game, or
the list of what missions you have
completed in an open world
game. The GameState exists on
the server and all clients and can
replicate freely to keep all
machines up to date.
GameInstance
GameMode
Pawn Class
HUD Class
PlayerController
Class
PlayerState
Class
GameState
Class

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A PlayerState is the state of a
participant in the game, such as a
human player or a bot that is
simulating a player. Non-player AI
that exists as part of the game
would not have a PlayerState.
Example data that would be
appropriate in a PlayerState
include player name, score, in-
match level for something like a
MOBA, or whether the player is
currently carrying the flag in a
CTF game. PlayerStates for all
players exist on all machines
(unlike PlayerControllers) and can
replicate freely to keep things in
sync.
GameInstance
GameMode
Pawn Class
HUD Class
PlayerController
Class
PlayerState
Class
GameState
Class

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A PlayerController is the interface
between the Pawn and the human
player controlling it. The
PlayerController decides what to do
and then issues commands to the
Pawn (e.g. "start crouching",
"jump").
In some cases, putting input
handling or other functionality into
the PlayerController is necessary.
The PlayerController persists
throughout the game, while the
Pawn can be transient.
For example, in deathmatch style
gameplay, you may die and
respawn, so you would get a new
Pawn but your PlayerController
would be the same. In this example,
if you kept your score on your Pawn,
the score would reset, but if you
kept your score on your
PlayerController, it would not.
GameInstance
GameMode
Pawn Class
HUD Class
PlayerController
Class
PlayerState
Class
GameState
Class

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GameInstance
GameMode
Pawn Class
HUD Class
PlayerController
Class
PlayerState
Class
GameState
Class
The HUD is the base object for
displaying elements overlaid on
the screen. Every human-
controlled player in the game has
their own instance of
the AHUD class which draws to
their individual Viewport. In the
case of splitscreen multiplayer
games, multiple Viewports share
the same screen, but each HUD
still draws to its own Viewport.
The type, or class, of HUD to use
is specified by the gametype
being used.

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GameInstance
GameMode
Pawn Class
HUD Class
PlayerController
Class
PlayerState
Class
GameState
Class
The Pawn Class is the base class
of all Actors that can be controlled
by players or AI. A Pawn is the
physical representation of a
player or AI entity within the
world. This not only means that
the Pawn determines what the
player or AI entity looks like
visually, but also how it interacts
with the world in terms of
collisions and other physical
interactions.
The Pawn represents the physical
location, rotation, etc. of a player
or entity within the game. A
Character is a special type of
Pawn that has the ability to walk
around.

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Base building blocks in the Unreal Engine

29
Actor
Any object that can be placed into a level

30
Actor
Pawn
Subclass of Actor and serve as an in-game avatar

31
Actor
Pawn
Character
Subclass of Actor and serve as an in-game avatar
Subclass of a Pawn that is intended
to be used as a player character

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Pawn Controller
1-to-1 Relationship

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CharacterMovementComponent
Pawn
Character
CapsuleComponent
SkeletalMeshComponent
Etc.
Controller
1-to-1 Relationship

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Pawn
Character
Default Pawn
CapsuleComponent
Etc.
SpectatorPawn
DefaultPawnMovementComponent
StaticMeshComponent
CollisionComponent, Etc.
Controller
1-to-1 Relationship

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Pawn
Character
Default Pawn
Wheeled
Vehicle
CapsuleComponent
Etc.
VehicleMovementComponent
PhysicsHandle
Etc.
SpectatorPawn
DefaultPawnMovementComponent
StaticMeshComponent
CollisionComponent, Etc.
Controller
1-to-1 Relationship

Gameplay Framework
Quick Reference Link

Unreal Engine
Best Practices for VR

VR Learning Resources for Unreal Engine:
Docs:
▪ Getting Started With VR
▪ UE4 VR Index Page
▪ VR Best Practices
▪ VR Cheat Sheets
▪ Oculus Quick Starts
▪ GearVR Quick Starts
Video:
▪ Integrating the Oculus Rift into UE4
▪ UE4 Support Stream - Developing for VR
▪ 2015 UE4 - VR and Unreal Engine
▪ Unreal Engine 4 Training Stream: Up and Running with Gear VR
Presentations:
▪ UE4 VR - Niklas Smedberg
▪ Lessons from Integrating the Oculus Rift into UE4
Links:
▪ Getting Started with VR in Unreal Engine 4
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Things to keep in at the front of your mind:
World Scale
Getting the scale of your world correct is one of the most important things to help deliver the
best user experience possible on VR platforms. Having the wrong scale can lead to all kind of
sensory issues for users and could even result in Simulation Sickness. Objects are most easily
viewed in VR when they are in a range of 0.75 to 3.5 Meters from the player's camera. Inside of
UE4, 1 Unreal Unit (UU) is equal to 1 Centimeter (CM). This means that object's inside of
Unreal are best viewed when they are 75 UU to 350 UU away from the player's camera when
using VR.
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Distance Distance in Unreal Units(UU)
1 Centimeter 1 Unreal Unit
1 Meter 100 Unreal Units
1 Kilometer 100,000 Unreal Units

World Scale
You can adjust the scale of your world in the World to Meters variable that is located
under World Settings in side of UE4. However exercise caution when adjusting the scale of your
world as again, selecting the wrong scale could lead to a disconnection between the world and
the user which could lead to simulation sickness.
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VR Character Settings
The setup for a character using a VR headset is slightly different than for a
standard character. Things like character Height, Width, Speed, and Camera
Location all need to be slightly modified to accommodate a VR character.
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Character Height & Width
Character Height & Width should mimic real life measurements as much as possible. Using sizes
that are too big or two small could ruin the emersion that you are trying to achieve.
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Property UE4 Default Recommended VR
Height: 192 CM 176 CM
Width: 84 CM 68 CM

Movement Speed
VR movement speed is a difficult property to recommend a setting for because the movement
speed that you choose will mainly be determined by the type of experience that you are trying
to achieve. In the Elemental VR demo for example, the movement speed was cut to about 1/4
normal speed.
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Movement Speed: 60 M/S 24 M/S

Camera Location
The VR camera needs to be positioned slightly lower than the base eye height to compensate for
being at the characters eye level.
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Base Eye Height: 180 CM 160 CM

Make sure your project is running at your HMD's target frame
rate before you build or add anything to your world.
45

Check your performance constantly to ensure that you are
hitting your VR performance targets.
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○ Maintain a very simplistic approach to making your content.
○ Minimize complex shaders as best possible.
○ Add detail to the mesh within reason in lieu of relying of
complex shaders for surface details.
47

LOD's and aggressive culling are a must to ensure that you are
hitting your VR performance targets.
48

Known issues and possible workarounds:
Screen Space Reflections(SSR)
SSR will work in VR but not give you the results that you want and instead you
should look into using reflection probes.
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Normal Mapping Issues
When viewing Normal maps on objects in VR, you will notice that they do not have
the impact that they might have once had. This is because normal mapping does
not account for a binocular display or motion parallax. Because of this, Normal
maps will come out looking flat when viewed with a VR device. To get around this,
you can do one of two things.
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Parallax Mapping
Parallax mapping takes Normal mapping to the next level by accounting for depth
cues, Normal mapping does not. A Parallax mapping shader can better display
depth information, making objects appear to have more detail than they do. This is
because no matter what angle you look at, a Parallax map will always correct itself
to show you the correct depth information from that view point. The best use of a
Parallax map would be for cobblestone pathways and fine detail on surfaces.
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Tessellation Shader Displacement
Tessellation Shader Displacement will displace 3D Geometry in real time by adding
details that are not modeled into the object. Tessellation shaders do a great job of
displaying information because tessellation shaders actually create the missing
detail by creating more vertices and displacing them in 3D Space.
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New Project Settings:
When creating a new project for VR it is best to create a project that uses the Mobile / Tablet
setting with Scalable 3D or 2D and No Starter Content. If you need content you should port /
import only what you need and not everything you have.
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Launching VR Preview:
Testing out your VR set is very straightforward, simply select “VR Preview” from the Play
dropdown button. By default the head tracking will work right away without any changes to your
existing project or template.
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Using VR in Blueprint:
Using VR in Blueprint is very straightforward.
You will need a Camera Component and optionally one or two Motion Controllers Components. By default
your Camera is already set up for HMD support, if you wish to disable rotation changes from the HMD you
can disable “Lock to HMD” in the Component’s properties.
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Performance Considerations:
For the VR experience to feel smooth, your game needs to run on 75 hz
(Oculus DK2) or even 90 hz. (HTC Vive and Oculus CV1) depending on the
device. To see the current framerate type in “stat fps” or “stat unit” (for
more detailed breakdown) in your console when running the game.
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GPU Profiling:
To capture a single frame with GPU timings press Ctrl+Shift+, or type in “profilegpu” in the console.
This command dumps accurate timings of the GPU, you will find that certain processes are a heavy
burden on the framerate (Ambient Occlusion is one common example) when using VR.
The GPU Profiling & Performance and Profiling docs are a good place to learn about profiling your
game.
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Instanced Stereo:
The latest 4.11 release introduces Instanced Stereo Rendering, check the video below for a
comparison video of how that works.
“Basically, we’re utilizing hardware instancing to draw both eyes simultaneously with a single draw
call and pass through the render loop. This cuts down render thread CPU time significantly and also
improves GPU performance. Bullet Train was seeing ~15 – 20% CPU improvement on the render
thread and ~7 – 10% improvement on the GPU.” – Ryan Vance.
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To enable this feature in
4.11 and above, go to
your Project Settings
and look for “Instanced
Stereo” under the
Rendering category.

Disable Heavy Post-Processors:
Due to the demanding requirements of VR many of the advanced Post Processing features that you normally
use should be disabled. To accomplish this you will need to do the following in your level.
• Add a Post Process(PP) volume to your level if there is not already one there.
• Select the PP volume and in the Post Process Volume section enable the Unbound option so that the settings in the PP
volume will be applied to the entire level.
• Expand the Settings of the Post Process Volume and then go through each section and disable any active PP settings by
enabling that property by clicking on it and then set the value from the default, usually 1.0, to 0 to disable the feature.
• When doing this you will not need to hit every section and set all the properties to 0. Instead first disable the really
heavy hitting features like Lens Flares, Screen Space reflections, Temporal AA, SSAO, and anything else that might
have an impact on performance.
• While a lot of the features are disabled by setting things in your .INI this ensures that nothing will happen to performance if
someone deletes the .INI by mistake.
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Static, Stationary and Dynamic Lighting:
You should always use Static lighting and lightmaps when making a VR project as this
is the cheapest option to render. If you need to use dynamic lighting make sure to
limit the amount of dynamic lights to as few as possible and make sure that they
never touch one another. If you have an outdoor scene set your directional light to
dynamic instead of stationary and then turn on Cascading Shadow Maps and set then
adjust the settings to be as low as possible while still giving you shadows. This is going
to take a lot of trial and error to get correct.
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Fake shadows if you can:
Using things like fake blob shadow drop to simulate dynamic shadows are a good
general rule in order to keep VR project running at frame.
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Blob shadow example. Image by Eric Chadwick

VFX in VR:
Some VFX techniques like using SubUV Textures to simulate fire or smoke
do not hold up well when viewed in VR. In many cases it can be more
desirable to use static meshes emitters instead of 2D sprite particles to
simulate VFX's like explosions or smoke trails. Near field effects, or effects
that happen very close to the camera can work well in VR but only when the
effects are made up of Static Meshes particles.
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