Applications

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Notes

Notes

Production Management

Production Management

Python

Python

Blueprints

Blueprints

Blueprint Node Library

Blueprint Node Library

Material Node Library

Material Node Library

Magic Leap Development

Magic Leap Development

Interoperability

Interoperability

Niagara

Niagara

C++

C++

Editor

Selection

Select All By Class

Select SM > RMB > Select > Select Matching (All Classes)

Transformation

Temporary Reposition Actor Pivot

Select Actor/s > ALT + MMB + Drag

Save Transform State After Simulation

Simulate scene.

With selected actors, press K to save their transform state.

Units

UE units are in centimeters.

Asset Management

Moving & Renaming Files

Following any move or rename, RMB the directory to access and process Fix Up Redirectors in Folder. This will update and links between the moved or renamed asset to any other asset/s that is referenced or it itself references.

To view redirectors in a directory with the Content Browser, navigate to Filter > Other > Show Redirectors.

Developers Content

Utilize the following sandbox directory for prototyping, experimenting, and collaborative development efforts.

Content Browser > View Options > Show Developers Content

Notes:

• Never reference content from other directories in this Developers Content directory.
• For collaborating and displaying each developer's content in project, Content Browser > Filters > Other Filters > Other Developers.

Ref: https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/Basics/ContentBrowser/UserGuide/DevelopersFolder/

Marketplace Content

Import Marketplace content into a temporary project and then Migrate into actual project to help manage organization of different sourced content and mitigate extraneous content.

Environment

Base Environment Lighting Setup

Generate a base environment lighting setup with Window > Environment Light Mixer.

Materials

Color Picker Value Parameter

When set to greater than 1, this is shown as a gradient in the swatch and is used to denote the intensity of the 'glow'.

Cinematics

Sequencer Curve Tangents

• Enable tangents to be shown for manipulation. They may not be visible and accessible by default.
• Right click individual tangent to convert to weighted tangent for custom length.

Batch Export Multiple Screenshots

Sequencer

• Set up in Sequencer with each camera on a separate frame.
• Each camera is to be positioned for the intended screenshot.
• Use left/right keyboard keys for quick navigation among cameras.

Export Renders

• Render image sequence as alternative to individual screenshots per view.
• Render Movie Settings
• Specify output location.
• Add some time to the following Render Movie Settings to allow for any effects or other animations to settle before generating the screenshot. Without this warm up, effects like motion blur could distort image.
• Warm Up Frame Count
• Delay Before Warm Up
• Delay Before Shot Warm Up

Add Tracks Simultaneously Across Actors

Tracks can be added to multiple actors by selecting them all and adding the relevant tracks, which will add to each of the selected actors at the same time. This can save time and coordination over individually managing actor tracks.

Quick Export

Arrow at top left of viewport > High Res Screenshot

Views can be set to bookmarks for quick navigation amongst cameras.

Post-Processing

• Disable camera PP by setting the blend weight: Camera Settings > Post Process Blend Weight.

This will allow for the PPV in the scene to drive the PP enabled effects rather than the camera overriding them.

• Be cautious of multiple PPV in the scene, including those in other sub-levels, which can have their streaming disabled so as not to be rendered in a cinematic.

Motion Blur

The following parameters can contribute to the application of motion blur:

• Camera > Details > Motion Blur > Amount
• Post Process Volume > Details > Motion Blur > Amount
• Project Settings > Default Postprocessing Settings > Motion Blur
• Materials may need to have motion vectors enabled

Experimentation discovered that the following setting removed trailing motion blur artifacts in cinematic renders:

• Project Settings > Default Postprocessing Settings > Anti-Aliasing Method > FXAA

Compositing

Backplate Compositing

Setup

1. Enable Edit > Plugins > Composure.
2. Navigate to Edit > Project Settings > Engine - Rendering > Post Processing > Enable
• Set Enable alpha channel support in post processing to Allow thru tonemapper.
3. Restart editor to compile shaders.

Add New Comp

Window > Virtual Production > Composure Compositing

RMB (in Composure Compositing) > Create New Comp > Empty Comp Shot

RMB (new comp) > Add Layer Element > Media Plate

Optimization & Performance

Visibility & Occlusion Culling

Frustum culling is enabled by default, but distance culling and precomputed visibility need to be manually enabled.

Understanding Culling Methods | Live Training | Inside Unreal

Learn how to optimize your games by setting up and using the available culling methods available in UE4! In this introductory stream, Tim Hobson will go over...

www.youtube.com

Visibility and Occlusion Culling

Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) provides methods of culling for visibility and occlusion. These culling methods are useful for optimizing game performance. Each method works to reduce the number of visible Actors in the Level by setting whether they should be drawn to the screen or not.

docs.unrealengine.com

Debug Shader

With transparency, manage performance with Viewport, View Mode > Optimization Viewmodes > Shader Complexity.

When constructing shaders, manage the number of instructions required for it. Higher number of instructions impacts real-time performance.

Draw Calls

In a simplified way, draw calls are the number of objects in the scene, each of which are rendered separately; then each material within the object is also a separate draw call. Draw calls are more than this simplified way of thinking about it, but it is not entirely dependent on poly count; instead focus on number of different objects and their materials.

Reference the following command to monitor Triangles drawn and Draw Primitive Calls:

stat rhi

Shadows

Dynamic shadows are very performance intensive, not necessarily the lights in the scene. Note that dynamic shadows are highly reliant on the polygon count in the scene. Instead, consider static lighting for shadows.

Animation Strategies

Importing Content

Morph Targets

When importing the FBX, enable FBX Import Options > Mesh > Skeletal Mesh.

This enables the Import Morph Targets option, which should also be enabled to access the morph targets in the incoming FBX file.

Material Management

Importing Content

Geometry With Vertex Colors

Import FBX

• When importing the FBX, set Vertex Color Import Options > Replace to enable access to the vertex color attributes within the incoming geometry.
• This can also be enabled in the static mesh Details > Vertex Color Import Options > Replace.

Material

• For the UE4 material applies to these incoming assets, simply use a Vertex Color to the Base Color.

Megascans Asset Management

Overview

This is a powerful asset management tool and integrator among a variety of tools, including Unreal Engine, Unity, Houdini, and many others. The assets are sourced from Quixel's Megascan library, which continuously grow in size and diversity. Their high quality make them ideal for quick use in just about any type of environment development. They even include the applicable LODs necessary to provide optimization within the created environment, and can be further refined with custom LOD Settings in UE. I've used this in a few instances to mostly test Blueprints in UE, but the process for accessing and integrating them is very quick and simple.

General

Log file location: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Bridge

Materials

Surface Assets

• Albedo
• Normal
• ORDp
• Channel Assignments:
• Red Channel: Occlusion
• Green Channel: Roughness
• Blue Channel: Displacement
• Compression Setting defaults to Masks (No sRGB)

3D Assets

• Albedo
• Normal
• DpR
• Channel Assignments:
• Red Channel: Displacement
• Green Channel: Roughness
• Blue Channel: Not Utilized
• Compression Setting defaults to Masks (No sRGB)

Nanite

Utilize Nanite where possible and applicable

Efficient compression integration.

Resources

Nanite in UE5: The End of Polycounts? | Unreal Engine

Nanite allows for millions of poly models to be rendered effortlessly in real time. But how does it work? In this feature video, we show you everything you n...

www.youtube.com

Game Development

Actions

Input Mappings & Binding

Initialize new actions via Bindings:

• Project Settings > Engine > Input > Bindings
• Add as many new actions with their corresponding input control mappings.

Once initialized, these action mappings will be accessible via BPs as Input Actions that reference the Action Mapping name specified under Project Settings.

Case Study

This is a short video of actual gameplay within Unreal Engine 4 that documents the initial setup of a character that I conceptualized, modeled, rigged, and textured recently. I had a lot of fun developing it that I wanted to see it in action, so this is the first work-in-progress as I integrate the character and its assets into Unreal Engine 4. It includes cloth simulation and socket assignments to manage the bow and knife assets. Stay tuned; more WIP videos will follow.

Command Line

Metrics

Display FPS.

stat fps

Display game, GPU, etc. metrics.

stat unit

Display GPU metrics.

stat rhi

Display rendering metrics.

stat scenerendering

Display Nanite metrics.

nanitestats list

Mixed Reality

UE4 Remote Session

Source:

Using Remote Session Plugin for iOS Development

The Remote Session Plugin is meant to replicate the inputs from an iOS device, connected on the same network as your PC, so you can test your game or app from the editor, or from a locally running packaged version of the game or app.

docs.unrealengine.com

This is to allow for the app to be quickly deployed for testing on the mobile device (iPad,iPhone) which has the enabled UE app. It primarily focuses on the UI elements of the app.

Plugin Setup

Settings > Plugins > Remote Session (enabled)

App

Unreal Remote 2 (URemote) Connect to IP Address and await Play on UE4 session

Process

Play > New Editor Window (PIE)

Note

Does not permit AR functionality, even with the correct AR plugin configured in Plugins, since the AR Session will not be enabled via the Play, but only with a full deploy through XCode and mobile device (iOS).

Log Note

(Message received during testing) Attempting to start an AR session but there is no AR plugin configured. To use AR, enable the proper AR plugin in the Plugin Settings.

ARCore Development

Android Development Environment

Android Development Requirements

Product documentation including reference and guides for Unreal Engine 4 In this page you'll find hardware and software development kit (SDK) requirements needed to start developing for the Android platform. The currently supported SDK version(s) can be found in UEBuildAndroid.cs. You can find it in your [UE4 Root Directory]/Engine/Source/Programs/UnrealBuildTool/SharingAndReleasing/Mobile/Android folder.

docs.unrealengine.com

Android SDK & NDK

Updated 20210427

Android Device

Enable Developer Mode.

• Settings > About Tablet > Software information > Build number (tap 7x)

Enable USB Debugging.

• Settings > Developer options > USB Debugging

Verify Google Play Services for AR is updated.

If applicable, install appropriate driver: https://developer.android.com/studio/run/oem-usb

UE4 Development Environment

Project Initialization

Projct Category: Games

Template: Handheld AR

Project Settings:

• Target Hardware > Mobile / Tablet

Project Settings

1. Platforms >

Android > APK Packaging >

Configure Now

Accept SDK License

Android Package Name: com.Company.Project

2. Settings > Scalability > Preview Rendering Level > Android
3. Active Play Mode > Mobile Preview

Launch Project To Device

Package Project

File > Package Project > Android

Settings

Spatial Coordiation

ARSessionConfig

Session Type:

• World:
• Enables all world tracking and plane detection Includes option to detect images if set up in BP_Pawn
• Image:
• Disables all world tracking and plane detection

Reset Camera Tracking

Test with 'Image' Session Type does not appear to make impact

Candidate Images

Verify all tracked images are included here.

Data Asset

Window > Details to access additional info for that specific data asset.

Touch Controls

• Setup:

Settings > Project Settings > Input > Mobile >

• Enable Always Show Touch Interface
• Verify Default Touch Interface set to Default Virtual Joysticks

Note: These controls are visible and function with the Remote Session

Tests

Setup: Session Type: Image Reset Camera Tracking: Disabled Reset Tracked Objects: Disabled (Not applicable to tracked images) Candidate Images: 1 data asset assigned

Result: Object spawned upon image detection but then the object stuck to the camera and the camera's movement. It did not track with the image.

BP_Pawn Transformation of spawned object: Y-axis transformation to towards and away from the camera. +Y means the object gets spawned closer to the camera and vice versa.

Setup: Image Session Type, spawn in level BP, transform attempt in pawn BP Print Log: Get All AR Tracked Images: ARTrackedImage_2147482043 Get Local to World Transform: Actual XYZ coordinates BP_Placeable: false

Game Instance BP -Location for global variables, such as BP_Placeable -Assign in Project Settings > Maps & Modes > Game Instance Class -Variables called by using 'Get Game Instance' to 'Cast To BP_ARGameInstance' to either Get or Set of the variable

References

Android Game Development

Developing games for the Android platform. Help shape the future of Unreal Engine documentation! Tell us how we're doing so we can serve you better. Welcome to the new Unreal Engine 4 Documentation site! We're working on lots of new features including a feedback system so you can tell us how we are doing.

docs.unrealengine.com

Mixed Reality Resources

Perforce & UGS

Nomenclature

• Workspace
• Local copy is a local copy of what is on the remote server.
• The Depot
• This is the Perforce Depot where all of the files are stored
• Staged Files
• These are file intended to go back to the remote server from the local copy.

Workspace Management

Delete Workspace

View > Workspaces

Select workspace to be deleted > RMB > Delete Workspace

Setup Guides

UnrealGameSync (UGS)

When a team is working on an Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) project, they're working in an environment where code and content is continuously developed and integrated into the project. Oftentimes, while working in a collaborative development environment, success depends on a team's ability to effectively collaborate and communicate on problems that might arise during the development and integration process.

docs.unrealengine.com

Using Perforce as Source Control

Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) comes with an integrated method that allows people to work together on their projects using version control software called Perforce. Source Control allows users on your team to share assets and code with one another, as well as providing a backup and history of changes so any files can be rolled back to an earlier version if something went wrong with the file.

docs.unrealengine.com

UE Resources

Acronyms

Keyboard Shortcuts

Support Tools

On This Page

• Notes
• Editor
• Selection
• Select All By Class
• Transformation
• Temporary Reposition Actor Pivot
• Save Transform State After Simulation
• Units
• Asset Management
• Moving & Renaming Files
• Developers Content
• Marketplace Content
• Environment
• Base Environment Lighting Setup
• Materials
• Color Picker Value Parameter
• Cinematics
• Sequencer Curve Tangents
• Batch Export Multiple Screenshots
• Sequencer
• Export Renders
• Add Tracks Simultaneously Across Actors
• Quick Export
• Post-Processing
• Motion Blur
• Compositing
• Backplate Compositing
• Optimization & Performance
• Visibility & Occlusion Culling
• Debug Shader
• Draw Calls
• Shadows
• Animation Strategies
• Importing Content
• Morph Targets
• Material Management
• Importing Content
• Geometry With Vertex Colors
• Megascans Asset Management
• Overview
• General
• Materials
• Surface Assets
• 3D Assets
• Nanite
• Resources
• Game Development
• Actions
• Input Mappings & Binding
• Case Study
• Command Line
• Metrics
• Mixed Reality
• UE4 Remote Session
• Plugin Setup
• App
• Process
• ARCore Development
• Android Development Environment
• UE4 Development Environment
• Settings
• ARSessionConfig
• Reset Camera Tracking
• Candidate Images
• Data Asset
• Touch Controls
• Tests
• References
• Mixed Reality Resources
• Perforce & UGS
• Nomenclature
• Workspace Management
• Delete Workspace
• Setup Guides
• UE Resources
• Acronyms
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Support Tools