Unreal Engine Introduction
Recently we've been looking at Unreal Engine. After a brief introduction to the software we were left to experiment with it. Focusing on getting comfortable with camera controls and adding assets, I started by making a simple level using primitive shapes.
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Before I did anything, I had to set up the lighting as the level was pitch black. I used the atmospheric frog option to create a kind of texture for the sky. I then used the 'Sky Light' to create a universal light source for the whole level.
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I then began experimenting with adding geometry. I added plains and cubes to the level, as well as a light source. This was all very intuitive and I quickly got a grasp of this. I placed a player spawn point in the center of the plain.
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I then tried making a simple level out of this. I used different shapes, scaling and rotating them into place to make an environment. This was all simply dragging and placing objects.
I then moved onto another level. This time, I used free assets instead of basic shapes in order to make a realistic environment. I used the Infinity Blades - Grasslands pack that included many textures and models. I began similarly to the previous level, with a flat plain and a basic lighting setup. I found that I could drag textures onto objects to apply them, and used this as a ground for my level.
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Skipping ahead a bit, I added many objects from the pack into my scene. I decided on making an 'abandoned temple' style level. I added small plants and grass, rocks, walls and a building.
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I then added another building, stacking two objects on top of each other. I then added trees and mountains outside the playable area to create a background for the level (so that it doesn't look as if its floating).
Overall, I enjoyed the software a lot and found it very intuitive. It was engaging to be able to make something and then immediately test it in the play mode.