Book Image

Mastering Game Development with Unreal Engine 4 - Second Edition

By : Matt Edmonds
Book Image

Mastering Game Development with Unreal Engine 4 - Second Edition

By: Matt Edmonds

Overview of this book

<p>To make a basic combat game from scratch, you will quickly override existing UE4 classes, and add and implement simple C++ functions while running and building them. These are all discussed as a short summary for new developers and as a quick refresher for experienced developers. Next, you will build a combat player character with expanded controls, create logic for a character, swap weapons, attack and move, bridge over scene changes and transitions, retain data between scenes, and manage the scene-change process. </p><p>You will then build an intelligent enemy AI and add physics based particles for weapon impacts. You will also get acquainted with cutting-edge features such as Volumetric Lightmaps for precomputed lighting, and Atmospheric and Volumetric Fog, to build advanced visuals in our ongoing GitHub project. </p><p>Moving on, you will explore the tools required to build an in-game cut-scene for a more professional gameplay experience and story direction. </p><p>Along the way, you will implement a solid game UI, including writing a full in-game load and save system that will enable players to resume their game from any point. You will also prepare, build, and work on VR and AR taking them from editor to real-world, building two new projects one in each of these brand new areas of UE4 and integrate classes from the main project into AR! </p><p>By the end of the book, you will have mastered all major UE features and will be able to bring self-imagined games to life through Unreal Engine 4.18+.</p>

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Table of Contents (15 chapters)
Preface
Preface
Who this book is for
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
Get in touch
Free Chapter
1
Making a C++ Project for a First-person Shooter
Making a C++ Project for a First-person Shooter
Introduction
Technical requirements
Building the FPS C++ project
Modifying our game with C++
Summary
Questions
Further reading
2
Inventory and Weapons for the Player
Inventory and Weapons for the Player
Introduction
Technical requirements
Adding the Weapon and Inventory classes
Adding a WeaponPickup class
Putting our inventory to use
Summary
Questions
Further reading
3
Blueprint Review and When to Use BP Scripting
Blueprint Review and When to Use BP Scripting
Introduction
Technical requirements
Blueprint review and Blueprint-only games
Blueprint scripting and performance
Summary
Questions
Further reading
4
U.I. Necessities, Menus, HUD, and Load/Save
U.I. Necessities, Menus, HUD, and Load/Save
Introduction
Technical requirements
Integrating UMG into our player's HUD class
Using UMG and game save slots
Summary
Questions
Further reading
5
Adding Enemies!
Adding Enemies!
 Introduction
Technical requirements
Creating an AI controller and a basic brain
More polished combat – spawn points, hit reactions, and dying
Summary
Questions
Further reading
6
Changing Levels, Streaming, and Retaining Data
Changing Levels, Streaming, and Retaining Data
Introduction
Technical requirements
Traditional level loading
Perchance to stream?
Summary
Questions
Further reading
7
Getting Audio in Your Game
Getting Audio in Your Game
Introduction
Technical requirements
Basic sounds and triggering by animation
Environments and sound
Summary
Questions
Further reading
8
Shader Editing and Optimization Tips
Shader Editing and Optimization Tips
Introduction
Technical requirements
Knowing and building materials
Materials at runtime and various platforms
Summary
Questions
Further reading
9
Adding an In-game Cutscene with Sequencer
Adding an In-game Cutscene with Sequencer
Introduction
Technical requirements
Sequencer – UE4's newest cutscene tool
Alternatives to sequencer
Summary
Questions
Further reading
10
Packaging the Game (PC, Mobile)
Packaging the Game (PC, Mobile)
Introduction
Technical requirements
Know your platform(s)
How to build, test, and deploy
Summary
Questions
Further reading
11
Volumetric Lightmaps, Fog, and Precomputing
Volumetric Lightmaps, Fog, and Precomputing
Introduction
Technical requirements
Volumetric lightmaps, lightmass, and fog
Lightmass tools
Summary
Questions
Further reading
12
In-scene Video and Visual Effects
In-scene Video and Visual Effects
Introduction
Technical requirements
Playing in-scene video with Media Framework
Adding physics particles
Summary
Questions
Further reading
13
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in UE4
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in UE4
Introduction
Technical requirements
Making a VR project and adding new controls
Making an AR project and porting our projectiles
Summary
Questions
Further reading
14
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Other Books You May Enjoy
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Introduction

Getting your game successfully out to an audience is quite possibly the most underrated and absolutely necessary skill in being a user of UE4. In this chapter, we will explore a couple of those avenues. Every team and every project will need to explore their respective platforms, but the process is fairly similar across each, with their own specifics of course. For some it's definitely more complicated to get to an audience than others, but hopefully by the end of this chapter you will have a good idea of the expectations to bring a product to just about any market. In this chapter we'll cover:

  • Packaging the game for the PC
  • Android and iOS setup
  • When and how to make standalone installed versions of the game
  • Build and run on Android and iOS
  • Compare UE4's play vs. package builds
  • Tips to avoid downtime to builds
...
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