In this workshop, I will be recording my learning process using Unreal Engine to create a 3D environment.
Creating a new project
Use the UE4Editor shortcut on the desk top to access Unreal Engine.
From here we select games, then third person, then next.
When creating the project, we first saved the file location to the computer’s D drive. This is because the USB connection of an external HDD slows down the process.
The controls of Unreal Engine are very similar to MAYA 2020, where scaling and moving objects uses shortcuts such as alt, R and E.
A useful feature in UE, is the grid snap, which can be found at the top right of UE.
We started the workshop by deleting the walls and template blocks so that we had a smooth clean surfaces to work on.
I navigated to ThirdPersonBP folder in the content browser section of UE at the bottom of the screen. I then duplicated the example map in the map folder and renamed it to level 01. I saved the selected map and checked that I was on the right thing, as the tab at the top left was named Level01.
I used a box shape and scaled it up on the right side of UE. I then added a cylinder shape and scaled it up on the right side, adding more sides to create a smoother edge and changing the brush type from additive to subtractive. This made it so the cylinder shape would create a gap in any other shape it was touching. So I moved the cylinder inside of the rectangle I had scaled up and created a bridge shape. I then found out that you can group these shapes together in the world outliner using Ctrl + G and duplicated the shape by holding alt + moving the shape.
Each square on the objects and shapes I used has a checkered pattern, this is called a developer texture.
I then used different shapes to create a floating pathway to the finish line. I got the ‘Finish’ text by duplicating the ‘Third Person’ text that I got from the beginning. I then changed the text appropriately to ‘Start’ and ‘Finish’. I created different shapes by adding new shapes with the subtractive mode instead of additive. This allowed me to cut away at basic square and rectangle shapes.
I added more shapes such as stairs, walls, ledges and tunnels. This gave the player more than one way of reaching the finish line. I like experimenting with the orientation and layout of this challenge and it was fun to find multiple ways of reaching the end, I also played some levels of other people in my class.
Conclusion
For a first interaction with Unreal Engine, using simple shapes to create alternate paths towards a goal was pretty straight forward and helped me to learn what shapes we better for what. It also helped me learn how to rotate and angle different shapes and duplicate them. I also learnt that you can make shapes additive or subtractive to cut and add materials from an original shape. I enjoyed learning Unreal Engine this way and playing other people’s levels and seeing what they came up with was interesting.
Leah Morrell Games Designer 