Unreal Engine 4

This is the first time I’ve ever used a game engine or heard about it. I am very new to this field after all and I am very excited to try them out. At first, I struggled with downloading Unreal Engine 4 in class only to find out later that there is already this program downloaded for us. I followed the tutorial video provided on Blackboard and opened the program.

First, I export my 3dsMax model into Unreal as an Autodesk file before creating a new project in Unreal. It has been 5 weeks since the start of the course and I am getting used to the 3D programs, so I felt very confident using this the first time. It turns out all the controls are different and this applies to all programs I have to use throughout the course…

However, I quickly adapted to how to use the camera and movements. The only problems for me at the moment are lighting and many more functions this program has to offer. This will require me to do a lot more self-study, googling, and random key smashes to get used to all the functions.

Placing the models in unreal and material mapping

After exporting the model and placing them on the default checker floor, (which I later realized is erasable after finishing all the screenshots for blogging), I created “Material” to place the texture I did onto my treasure chest like how I did in 3dsMax. I drag and drop the material on the desired model. There were small problems with lighting in this program and how it rendered lights which caused my texture to glitch. I called a friend for a little help and managed to fix it without a problem. Lighting in Unreal Engine is now my new enemy.

Glowing Stars

Making glowing object

As mentioned above, I now hold a grudge against lighting in this program, which is why I practice more and search for tutorials online on how to tackle this problem. Since my model has crystal-like textured stars, I want them to glow too. I searched on Youtube how to make an object glow and insert a new Material called “ M_star ”. By linking the colour to emissive colour. I created a shining star for my little cat friend.

How to make object glow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2scRJ5oEWw

Fireflies

creating material for fireflies to make them 'blink' and shines

The next step into my random search on how this program works. I decided to create fireflies particles from scratch to assist my cat friend in the chest. I search on Youtube for tutorial video and begin my work. The principle was the same as the glowing start except with “Time”, the object/particle will blink and thus, I successfully make my own fireflies.

creating particles to form fireflies

How to make fireflies video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFMQf-STGaU

Fireflies play in real-time

Final Piece

I am very happy with the final piece as a person that has no idea what she was doing at the time. There will always be room for improvements and from what I created for this post, I already have so much ambition to learn and create more projects like this. Although, I still have to figure out how the atmosphere and lighting work in this program but overall, I’m very proud of this small practice I did.