50 Things in Unreal Engine

Overview

This page will go through each and every item on my list, showcasing what the outcome was.

**Note**

Many of these items that I learned came from different tutorials on YouTube and were re-created in my own projects for learning purposes. In order to make them more my own, I tried to take different design strategies and update them past the tutorial.

#1 - Inventory System

• An inventory system that works with a database of items, each based on a struct of variables

• System takes into account if an item is stackable as well as the max stack if true

• Works by an actor component attached to each blueprint and requires a max size for the inventory

• UI knows whether to open up just the player's inventory or a double inventory for moving items between inventories

#2 - Dynamic Footsteps

• Depending on the surface the character walks on, different sounds will play

• Makes use of physical surfaces and materials to recognize the surface

• Each surface has a different number of footstep sounds to avoid repetition

#3 - Slow Motion

• Added slow motion to work 2 different ways

• If set up as seen in the picture, everything in the world will be set to .5 speed, but the player will be at normal speed

• If the last 2 nodes on each path of the Flip Flop are disconnected, everything including the player will be at .5 speed

#5 - Ragdoll Effect

• When the player collides with a certain object, the mesh is launched

• After a couple of seconds, they return to a normal state

#6 - Cascade Particles

• Using the Cascade particle system, I was able to create different particle effects like the fireball seen to the right

#7 - Stylized Mouse Cursor

• By using a widget of an image, I was able to set my mouse cursor in-game using software cursors in the project settings

#8 - Camera Shake

• Using the "Perlin Noise" pattern, I tested various combinations to achieve the effects I wanted

• I then wrote notes on the different outcomes of these combinations

#9 - Ability System

• A system that has various abilities the player can choose from

• Each one has its own animation, cast time, and cooldown

• Ultilized Cascade to create the effects

#10 - Sprint/Crouch

• Gave the player the ability to crouch and sprint

• The sprint not only increases the speed but also decreases a stamina bar

• After stopping the sprint, the player slowly regains that stamina

#11 - AI Walking

• Utilizing the behavior tree, an NPC is able to wander around the level

• It will choose a random location after each movement and move to that location

#12 - AI Perception

• Building upon the basic movement of the NPC, if it sees the player, it will chase them

#13 - Setting up a Scene

• Set up a desert scene using assets from Quixel Bridge

• Utilized the Sky Light, Sky Atmosphere, and Atmospheric Fog to get the desired effect

• Piloted a Cine Camera Actor to maintain the correct angle while placing objects

#14 - Health Bar UI

• Set up a HUD for the player that shows their current health as a progress bar

• Made the progress bar look stylized and changed how it moved

• Decided to go with a fish tank rather than traditionally styled health bar

#15 - Switching Characters

• Set up 2 different ways:

• 1. When pressing the "switch character" button, the mesh and animations of the player character will change

• 2. When pressing the buttom, the player will posses a different character in the level

#16 - Health System

• Gave the player a total health amount and created blueprints to deal damage or heal

• Utilized a blueprint interface to change the stats of the player character

• Used the construction script to change the platform's text and color when the amount to deal to the character is input

#17 - Taking In-Game Screenshots

• When the "screenshot" button is pressed, a console command executes

• A picture is saved to the "saved" folder in the project files

#19 - Upgrading Player Stats

• Created blueprints to increase/decrease the player's stats

• Utilized a blueprint interface to go into the player character and set their max health or speed to a new amount

#20 - Settings Menu

• Created a settings widget that gets pulled up when the player presses the appropriate button

• Allows them to change screen resolution, texture quality, frame rate limit, and more

• Also includes an "optimal" button to run a benchmark test and apply the best settings for the computer

#21 - Save Settings

• Improving upon the settings menu, included a save functionality to remember settings on future playthroughs

• Loads every setting to what in the save

#22 - Day/Night System

• Created a system that will change the sun's direction as the game is played

• When the sun hits a certain point, the sky is changed to night or day

#23 - Save Game State

• Save Game system incorporated into the inventory system noted at the top of the page

• Saves all of the items in the player's inventory as well as items in chests

#24 - Grab Mechanic

• Allows the player to pick up different items and place them back down

• Uses a physics constraint component to interact with the different items

#25 - Enumerations

• Utilized enumerations to find and describe different character states

• Created a switch on the default movement mode enumeration as well as a custom enum

#26 - Placing Foliage

• Using the foliage mode and downloaded assets from Quixel Bridge, learned the ins and outs of placing foliage on a level

• Made use of size ranges, density, different tools, and more

#27 - Drag and Drop Operation

• Building off of the inventory system, implemented a drag and drop operation

• Allows the player to drag items between inventories

• Includes a small icon of the item held as the player moves their mouse

#28 - Dynamic Input Mode

• Allows the player to switch between input modes freely

• Game only allows them to run around like normal

• Game and UI allows the player to still walk around but also interact with different aspects of the HUD

#30 - Moving Along a Spline

• A blueprint that moves along a certain path as long as the player is close enough

• Acts like a "guide" leading the player to wherever the designer chooses

#32 - Keypad to Open Door

• Uses a widget included in a door blueprint that takes a certain combination

• If the combination is correct, the door is opened, otherwise it resets

#33 - Hold Input

• Allows the player to hold down a certain button to accomplish a task

• This example uses a test bush that after holding down an input, a certain amount of berries are collected

#34 - AI Find Location

• Created for an in-development restaurant game, spawns a certain amount of AI every few seconds at a certain time of day

• Once spawned, the AI finds a specific "table" (for now just a chair) and stands by it

• After a specific period of time, the AI walks away and despawns

#35 - Cooking System

• A cooking station blueprint pulls up a widget allowing the player to create a basic meal

• Players can see the required ingredients and how many they have

• Pressing the button will show a progress bar that once completed, will give the player the meal

#36 - Importing a Landscape

• Used a heightmap found online and changed the image size to match one listed on Unreal Engine's Landscape Technical Guide

• Imported the file into Unreal Engine and adjusted the z value on its scale to reduce the dramatic slopes of the mountains

#37 - Building System

• Allows the player to place objects similar to Fortnite's editing mode

• Walls and other objects are placed on a grid to prevent overlap

#38 - Double Jump

• Utilizing the setting in the character movement component, the number of jumps the player could do was changed

• Also utilized the max jump hold time to allow players to hold the jump button to go higher

#39 - Grappling Hook

• Implemented a grappling hook for the character that allows them to swing from different objects

• Can set it to only attach to certain things or everything

#40 - Water System

• Using the water plugin for Unreal Engine, tested various bodies of water and the settings within them

• Also tested buoyancy objects to float in those bodies of water

#41 - Pushing Objects

• Within a blueprint containing a static mesh cube, I added a physics constraint as well as 2 box collisions for the x and y axis

• The swinging and twisting motions were locked to prevent the cube from moving in any other direction

#42 - Checkpoint System

• Created a miniature course the player has to jump up to reach a certain "checkpoint"

• The checkpoint blueprint saves the player's respawn point when stepped on

• If the player fails and dies, they will respawn on that checkpoint

#43 - Hotbar

• Working with the same inventory system implemented earlier, a second inventory component was added to the player's hud

• This inventory can hold items just like the regular inventory but has a smaller max size

• The hotbar stays on the player's HUD as opposed to the toggle-able main inventory

#44 - Fast Travel

• Using a very basic UI for the "map", the player can click on 4 different fast travel locations

• When they click on one of these locations, the player can select the "fast travel" button and be teleported there

#45 - Farming System

• Allows the player to select a certain seed to plant when interacting with a plot of dirt

• Each seed has different grow time and will update the mesh every x seconds as it grows

• Images are of a test plant that changes the material as it grows

#46 - New Modeling Mode

• Explored the new modeling mode in Unreal Engine 5

• Utilized this mode to create various static meshes

• Sculpted meshes to create new and complex shapes

#47 - Item Inspection

• Allow the player to pick up and look at a held item

• Pulls up a menu of button options and a description

• Lets player rotate and move the item

#48 - Dialogue System

• A system that implements text bubbles for dialogue with NPCs

• Allows for multiple responses and different outcomes for each