Hello, in this tutorial we will learn how to create dynamic times of day (day and night). It is not a difficult process, but you should have a basic knowledge of the Unreal Engine 4 editor and a little experience with Blueprint.
Level creation
Create a new level. (You can also use a ready-made level, but make sure it has Skydome and directional light). You can also add some objects to see some shadows from the sun.
Lighting setup
The next step in this tutorial is lighting setup. Select Dominant Directional Light and go to the details panel.
In the "Transform" block, change the state of the property " Mobility" on " Movable. ". This will add dynamic shadows to the scene.
Also, you need to uncheck the " Cast Static Shadows".
Working with the Level Blueprint
To really get a dynamic time of day, we have to use the Level Blueprint - we need to rotate our "sun". You can use Matinee or Timeline, but here we'll just rotate our "sun" every frame.
What does this code do?
- Every tick, or frame, we rotate our sun by a certain degree;
- "SUNSPEED" - controls the speed at which the sun revolves around the world. Let's multiply it by DeltaTime so that the frame rate doesn't affect this speed. Setting this value to 30 gives good speed.
- The "Update Sun Direction" node changes the sky based on the rotation of the Sun. This function is built into the SkyDome class, which must be called every Tick (frame). (NOTE: You must select the Skydome in the 3D window to add this node to the plan.) To get additional information about this feature, check out the Skydome class.
Final steps
Before testing our work, recalculate the lighting of the world. Then you can run the simulation and see how the times of day pass (dawn / day / dusk / night) and how the lighting changes dynamically and how the shadows of objects are calculated.
Using dynamic Global Illumination
A dynamic day system is best used in conjunction with Global Illumination (GI). Although this feature is not yet fully functional, you can find information about it.
Troubleshooting
Nothing happens when I press play; Time stands still!
Make sure you set the sun to "Movable" and that "Cast Static Shadows" is off. Also, make sure your "SUNSPEED" in Blueprint is set to a large enough number. (I recommend 30 for debugging.)
The lighting angle changes, but the visible sun does not move, and the sky does not change from day to night! Or: There are stars in the sky, even during the day!
This means that you have not created the "Update Sun Direction" node properly in your script. This function should be called on every tick. If you don't see an option to add this feature, please make sure you have your skydome.
The sun is moving too fast!
The speed of the sun is controlled by the "SUNSPEED" variable in your script. The value of this parameter sets how many degrees the sun will rotate in one second. For example, if the value "SUNSPEED" is 90, it will take 4 seconds for a day to pass. Just reduce this value to slow down the movement of the sun.
Changing the environment
In this code, we define our time of day: day or night. You can have a way for the level to know if it is night or day. If you are using Matinee, this is fairly easy to do; just put custom events to trigger the results you want. However, if you are using the method I demonstrated above, it can be trickier.
Short review:
- First of all, we get the rotation of our lamp.
- Then we check if it is below the horizon.
- "Night Threshold" allows us to specify how many degrees below the horizon the sun must be before we go to "night".
- Then we set "Night" to reflect our result. We can now use this variable to make logical decisions.
We use the variable "Night".
Now we need to use the "Night" variable. We've created some remote events that are called when the state changes from day to night:
- First of all: that the "Set: Night" node at the beginning is the same as the rightmost node from the last screenshot. (Don't add it again.)
- "LastFrameNight" - defines the current time of day: day or night. If this is not done, then all events related to the time of day will be called every time.
- Then we check the time of day and call the corresponding remote method
You can do whatever you want with the remote events, for example, include various ambient sounds. Wednesday and so on. Here are my custom events settings:
Conclusion
If you want to use more complex day and night events, it is better to use Matinee. You will have much more control over the entire process.
- Translation
- Tutorial
Unreal Engine 4 is a set of game development tools that has a wide range of capabilities, from creating 2D games for mobile to AAA projects for consoles. This engine was used in the development of games such as ARK: Survival Evolved, Tekken 7 and Kingdom Hearts III.
Development in Unreal Engine 4 is very easy for beginners. With Blueprints Visual Scripting, you can create finished games without writing a single line of code! In combination with user-friendly interface this allows for the rapid production of working prototypes.
In this part of the Unreal Engine 4 tutorial, we will take a look at the main features of the program. Here are the main topics that will be covered in it:
- Installing the engine
- Importing assets
- Creation of materials
- Using Blueprints to Create Objects with Basic Functions
Note: The tutorial will be in eight parts:
- Part 1: Getting to Know the Engine
Installing Unreal Engine 4
To install Unreal Engine 4, use Epic Games Launcher... Go to the Unreal Engine website and click on the button Get unreal in the upper right corner.
Before loading the launcher, you will need to create account... After creating it, download the launcher corresponding to your operating system.
After downloading and installing the launcher, open it. The following window will appear:
Enter the address Email and the password used to download the download program and click on Sign In... After logging in, the following window will open:
Press Install Engine in the upper left corner. The launcher will take you to a screen where you can select the components to install.
Note: Epic Games is constantly updating Unreal Engine, so your version of the engine may differ slightly from the one shown in the screenshots. For example, after writing the first draft of this tutorial, the version has already been updated to 4.14.3! The tutorial will suit you if you have version 4.14 or later.
Selected by default Starter Content, Templates and Feature Packs and Engine Source... Better to leave it that way. They will be useful for the following reasons:
- Starter Content: it is a collection of assets (resources) that you can use for free in your own projects. Including these are models and materials. They can be used as temporary resources or in a finished game.
- Templates and Feature Packs: Templates define the basic capabilities of the selected game genre. For example, when choosing a template Side scroller a project will be created with a character, simple movements and a camera on a fixed plane.
- Engine Source: Unreal is an open source engine, meaning anyone can make changes to it. If you need to add additional buttons to the editor, you can do this by modifying the source code.
After selecting the required components, click on Install... After the installation is complete, the engine will appear in the library. Now is the time to create a project.
Project creation
Click on one of the buttons Launch to open the Project Browser. After opening it click on the tab New Project.
Click on the tab Blueprint... Here you can choose one of the templates. However, since we are starting from scratch, we will choose the template Blank.
Additional parameters will be listed below.
Here's what each option is responsible for:
- Target Hardware: when choosing Mobile / Tablet some post-processing effects will be disabled. You can also use the mouse for touch input. Select an option here Desktop / Console.
- Graphical Target: when choosing Scalable 3D or 2D some post-processing effects will be disabled. Choose here Maximum Quality.
- Starter Content: you can enable this option to add Starter Content. To make it easier for us, we will choose No Starter Content.
You can change the project storage folder by clicking on ellipsis at the end of the field Folder.
The project name is not the name of the game, so don't worry if you want a title later. Select the text in the box Name and enter BananaTurntable.
Finally click on Create Project.
Navigating the interface
After creating the project, the editor will open. It is divided into several panels:
- Content Browser: this panel displays all the files in the project. It can be used to create folders and organize files. You can also search files here with search string or filters.
- Modes: in this panel you can switch between tools, for example Landscape tool and Foliage Tool... The default tool is Place tool... It allows you to position at a level Various types objects such as lights and cameras.
- World Outliner: displays all objects at the current level. You can organize the list by sorting related objects into folders, and search and filter them by type.
- Details: all properties of the selected object are displayed here. This panel is used to change the parameters of an object. The changes you make will only affect the selected instance of the object. For example, if there are two spheres in the scene, then changing the size of one change will affect only that sphere.
- Toolbar: contains many different functions... Most often we will use Play.
- Viewport: this is a level overview. You can look around by holding right mouse button and moving her... To move around the level, you need to hold down right-click and use the WASD keys.
Importing assets
What's the point of a turntable if there is nothing to display on it? Download this banana model. There are two files inside: Banana_Model.fbx and Banana_Texture.jpg... You can also use your own model, but why bother when you have such an amazing banana?For Unreal to use the files, you need to import them. Go to Content Browser and click on Import.
Using the file manager, locate the folder where the Banana_Model.fbx and Banana_Texture.jpg are. Highlight both files and press Open.
Unreal will offer several options for importing the .fbx file. Take off checkbox Import Materials because we will be creating our own material. The rest of the parameters can be left unchanged.
Press Import... Two files will appear in the Content Browser.
When you import a file, it is not actually saved to the project unless you explicitly specify it. You can save files by clicking on the file right mouse button and choosing Save... You can also save all files in one go by selecting File \ Save All... Try to save more often!
Note that in Unreal, models are called "meshes" ( meshes). Now that we have the banana mesh, it's time to add it to the level.
Adding meshes to the level
While the level looks pretty empty, let's make it more interesting.To add a mesh to a level, right click and drag Banana_Model from Content Browser to Viewport. Let go left mouse button and the mesh will be added to the level.
Objects on the level can move, turn and to scale... The hotkeys for these actions are - W, E and R... After clicking on them, you can use the manipulator:
About materials
If you look closely at the banana, you can see that it is not yellow! Actually. it looks almost completely gray.To give the banana color and detail, you need to create material.
What is "material"?
Material sets appearance surface. At a basic level, the material defines four aspects:- Base Color: the color or texture of the surface. Used to add detail and color variation.
- Metallic: how metallic the material looks. In general, a purely metallic object has maximum value Metallic and fabric is 0.
- Specular: controls the gloss of non-metallic surfaces. For example, ceramics will have a high Specular value as opposed to clay.
- Roughness: the surface with maximum roughness will have no gloss. Used for surfaces such as stone and wood.
Material creation
To create a material, you need to go to the Content Browser and click on the green button Add New... A menu will appear with a list of assets that can be created. Please select Material.Name the material Banana_Material, and then double click with the left mouse button on the file to open it in the Material Editor.
Material Editor
The Material Editor consists of five main panels:
- Graph: this panel contains all the nodes (nodes) and nodes Result... You can move around the panel by holding right mouse button and moving mouse. Scaling in progress scrolling mouse wheel.
- Details: the properties of the selected node are displayed here. If the node is not selected, then the properties of the material are displayed here.
- Viewport: contains mesh preview representing the material. You can rotate the camera by holding left key and moving scrolling mouse wheel.
- Palette: list of all nodes available for your material.
What is a node (node)?
Before you start creating your material, you need to know about the objects that are used to create it: nodes.Nodes make up most of the stuff. There are many types of nodes with different functions.
Nodes have inputs and outputs, represented by a circle with an arrow. The entrances are on the left and the exits are on the right.
Here is an example using nodes Multiply and Constant3Vector adding a yellow color to the texture:
Materials have a special node called a node Result, which in our case is already created as Banana_Material... This is where all the nodes end over time. What is connected to this node determines the appearance of the final material.
Adding textures
To add color and detail to the model, we need texture... A texture is just a 2D image. They are usually projected onto 3D models, giving them color and detail.To texture the banana, we use Banana_Texture.jpg... You can apply a texture in a material by a node TextureSample.
Go to the Palette panel and find TextureSample... Add a node while holding left mouse button and dragging it to the diagram.
To select a texture, you must first select a node TextureSample... Go to the Details panel and click on drop-down list located to the right of Texture.
This will open a menu listing all textures in the project. Please select Banana_Texture.
To see the texture on the preview mesh, you need to connect it to the node Result... Hold left mouse button on white pin output node TextureSample. Drag and drop its on the input contact Base Color but yes Result.
Return to the Viewport to see the texture in the preview mesh. You can rotate it (hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse) to view other details.
Press Apply in the Toolbar to update the material, and close the material editor when done.
Use of materials
To apply a material to a banana, you need to assign it. Go back to the Content Browser and double click on Banana_Model to open it. The following editor window will appear:
Go to the Details panel and find the section Materials... Press dropdown menu located to the right of Element 0, and select Banana_Material.
Close the mesh editor, go back to the main editor and look at the Viewport. You will see that the banana now has a texture. Congratulations, you now know everything it takes to become a level designer!
Note: if the lighting is too dark, you can change it by going to the World Outliner and clicking on Light source... In the Details panel, find the parameter Intensity and increase its value.
About Blueprints
Even though the banana looks great, it will be even better if it starts spinning on the turntable. The easiest way to create it using "blueprints" Blueprints.In the simplest case, a Blueprint is a “thing”. Blueprints allow you to create your own behaviors for objects. An object can be something physical (such as a turntable) or something abstract, such as a health system.
Want to create a moving car? Use Blueprint... What about a flying pig? Use Blueprints... And if you need a cat that explodes when touched? Blueprints.
Like content, Blueprints uses a node-based system. This means that it is enough to create nodes and connect them - no code is required!
Note: if you prefer to write code, then use C ++ instead.
Blueprints are easy to use, but not as fast as C ++ code. That is, if you need to create something "heavy" in terms of computations, for example, a complex algorithm, then it is better to use C ++.
But even if you prefer C ++, there are times when it is better to use Blueprints. Some of the benefits of Blueprints include:
- Development with Blueprints is usually faster than C ++.
- Ease of ordering. You can divide the nodes into different areas, for example, into functions and graphs.
- If you are working with people who do not know programming, then changing Blueprints is easier due to their clarity and intuitive understanding.
Blueprint creation
Go to Content Browser and click on Add New... Select from the list Blueprint class.A window will open asking you to select a parent class. Your Blueprint will inherit all variables, functions and components from the selected parent class. Take the time to explore the capabilities of each class.
Note: since we can arrange the classes Pawn and Character, they are also actors ( Actors).
The turntable will be in place, so the most appropriate class will be Actor... Please select Actor and name the new file Banana_Blueprint.
Double tap on Banana_Blueprint to open it. Press Open Full Blueprint Editor if a window like this appears:
Blueprint Editor
First, select the Event Graph tab in the Blueprint editor.The blueprint editor consists of four main panels:
- Components: contains a list of the current components.
- My Blueprint: this section is commonly used to manage graphs, functions and variables.
- Details: the properties of the currently selected item are displayed here.
- Graph: this is where the magic happens. All nodes and logic are located here. You can move around the panel by holding down right mouse button and moving mouse. Scaling in progress scrolling mouse wheel.
- Viewport: all components that have visual elements are displayed here. Moving and browsing is the same as in the Viewport of the main editor.
Creating a turntable
To create a table, we need two things - a base and a stand. They can be created with components.What are "components"?
If a Blueprint is a car, then components are the building blocks of which it is made. Examples of components include doors, wheels, and an engine.However, components can be more than just physical objects.
For example, to make the car move, you can add a motion component. You can even make the car fly by adding a flight component.
Adding components
To see the components, you need to switch to Viewport mode. Click on the tab Viewport to switch to it. This is how it looks:
Note: component DefaultSceneRoot when the application is launched, it is not displayed, it is visible only in the editor.
The turntable will use two components:
- Cylinder: simple white top hat. This will be the base on which the banana rests.
- Static Mesh:- this component will render the banana mesh.
It would be nice to make the base a little shorter. Activate scale manipulator by clicking R, and then zoom out (the exact size is not important, you can change it later).
To display a banana, select a component Static Mesh and then click on the tab Details... Press drop-down lists on the right side Static Mesh and select Banana_Model.
Move the banana if it is in the wrong position. To do this, activate move manipulator by clicking W and then move it up.
About Blueprint nodes
Now you need to make the turntable rotate. And here we need Blueprint nodes.Unlike their close relatives - material nodes - Blueprint nodes have special contacts called contacts Execution... The contact on the left is the input, the contact on the right is the output. All nodes have at least one input and output.
If the node has an input contact, then it must be connected for it to work. If the node is not connected, all subsequent nodes will not be executed.
Here's an example:
Node A and Node B will be executed because their input pins have a connection. Node C and Node D are never executed because the input contact Node C has no connection.
Rotating the turntable
Before we start, let's take a look at the Components panel. You can see that at Cylinder and Static Mesh is indented and DefaultSceneRoot- no, because they connected To DefaultSceneRoot.
If you move, rotate or scale the root component, the same will happen with the components attached to it. This behavior allows you to rotate Cylinder and Static Mesh simultaneously, not separately.
Creating a node
To start creating scripts, switch back to the tab Event Graph.Implementing object rotation is so simple that it only requires one node. Right click to an empty space in the graph to open a menu of available nodes. Find AddLocalRotation... We need to rotate the base and the banana, so we'll just rotate the root component. Please select AddLocalRotation (DefaultSceneRoot).
Note: if the node is not in the list, uncheck the box Context Sensitive at the top right of the menu.
A new node will now appear in your graph AddLocalRotation... entrance Target will automatically connect to the selected component.
To set the rotation value, go to the input Delta Rotation and change the value Z on 1.0 ... This allows the Blueprint to rotate about the Z axis. The higher the values, the faster the table will rotate.
For the turntable to rotate constantly, you need to call AddLocalRotation in every frame. To execute the node in each frame, we will use the node Event Tick... It is already in the graph. If it is not there, then create it in the same way as before.
Drag the output pin of the node Event Tick to the input pin of the node AddLocalRotation.
Note: in this implementation, the rotation speed depends on the frame rate. This means that the turntable on slow computers will rotate at a lower speed, and vice versa. For a tutorial, this is fine for us, because I don't want to complicate anything, but in the future I'll show you how to fix it.
Finally, go to the Toolbar and click on Compile to refresh the Blueprint and then close the Blueprint editor.
Adding Blueprints to a Level
Before adding the Blueprint, go back to the Viewport in the main editor and delete the banana model. To do this, select the model and then select Edit \ Delete or press the key Delete.Adding a Blueprint is the same process as adding a mesh. Hold left mouse button on file and drag its in Viewport.
Go to Toolbar and click Play to see the results of your labors!
Note: if you do not delete the original banana model, you may receive a warning about the need to rebuild the lighting. If you delete the model, then the error will no longer appear.
What to do next?
The finished project can be downloaded from here.You have learned a lot in this part of the tutorial, but this is only a small part of Unreal. If you want to continue exploring, then stay tuned for a tutorial in which we'll take a closer look at Blueprints.
Tags:
- unreal engine 4
- blueprints
- materials
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Here you can find detailed description lessons and video training on the Unreal Engine 4 from scratch.
Who will be interested in this?
If you are tired of just playing games and feel like you would like to create something yourself, then the UE4 toolkit can be a good starting point for you.
When learning Unreal Engine 4, you do not need to learn any programming languages, everything will be much easier thanks to special tools for graphical and schematic display.
Right now my PC while learning UE 4 engine:
- Monitor: Samsung S27D390H (27 "1920x1080)
- Percent: AMD FX 6300 (6 half-cores or 3 modules of 3.5 GHz.)
- Operator. memory: 16 GB
- Video card: GeForce GTX Gigabyte 1060 OC Windforce 6 GB DDR5 / 192 bit
- HDD: ST3500418AS
- SSD: Micron 256 Gb
- Webcam: Logitech HD Webcam C270 USB
- Microphone: Blue Snowball
07/18/18. Introductory word why I wanted to learn Unreal Engine 4
In my first video, I touched on the explanation of the relative accessibility of mastering UE4, although there will be plenty of difficulties along the way.
I'm starting to learn Unreal Engine 4, stop talking, it's time to act!
07/19/18. Running UE4 on a weak PC and how to install it
How to run Unreal Engine 4 on a weak PC + how to install it
07/21/18. My progress at UE4 # 1. Building a pleasant landscape
My progress at UE4 # 1. Building a pleasant landscape
07.24.18. My progress in Unreal Engine 4 # 2. Flashlight, walking - running, etc.
My progress in Unreal Engine 4 # 2. Flashlight, walking - running, etc.
07/28/18. My progress in Unreal Engine 4 # 3. A simple scene from F.E.A.R.? Let's try :)
My progress in Unreal Engine 4 # 3. A simple scene from F.E.A.R.? Let's try :)
03/04/19. V.L.A.D.I.K. - stalker at minimum wages, why he abandoned UE4
V.L.A.D.I.K. - stalker at minimum wages, why he abandoned UE4
READ MANDATORY !!!
As a result of my learning Unreal Engine 4- this is a waste of time, because you are learning a narrowly focused specialized tool that is needed only for games, and their development is extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it is not a fact that you will earn anything from this. It is better to study programming languages - they are multifunctional, from website development, programs / applications, to complex calculations and technologies like blockchain. It is really possible to make money on them after six months of training, but then you will be snapped up in any country in the world. Now conclude whether you need to waste your precious time on game engines.
