3D Computer Game Engines - Unreal Tournament Creator Tutorials.

As part of this unit I have completed the basic Unreal Tournament creation tutorials which are designed to create a functional CTF map in roughly 15 minutes.

These tutorials have helped me in using BSP brushes and in refreshing my basic knowledge, as some features are implemented differently to my previous work inside UDK.

I will be returning to my previous blockout and rebuilding with BSP brushes to expand on this knowledge further.

The tutorials show a user how to;

• Add player spawn locations 
• Add weapon pickups 
• Modify jump pads 
• Navigate the viewport 
• Adding and subtracting using geometry tools 
• Adding and manipulating meshes in the level 
• Adding CTF flags 
• Mirroring a map to create opposing sides 
• Coloring simple BSP meshes.

The map can be seen below, with the red base in shot.

Following the previous tutorial outcomes, I have completed another two tutorials which cover the implementation some more intricate parts of level design, beginning with lifts.

The lifts are actually very easy to implement within UT and can be drag and dropped in, whilst these could be duplicated into my own folder of blueprints within a map I will be looking into the blueprinting itself to see how it works.

I dragged and dropped the lift actor into my level, placed it appropriately, built meshes and clicked play, it was very simple to build a lift in Unreal Tournament on the face of it.

Teleports are also a very simply implemented feature in Unreal Tournament, with the blueprint being directly accessed from the content browser,

These can be dragged and dropped in much like the lift blueprint, presenting the user with a teleport node and a target node, which can both be manipulated and moved as appropriate.

This allows Unreal Tournament functionality to be added very easily and smoothly.

The final piece added in before the level was made playable, was a Navmesh, this was implemented in the form of a volume encompassing the entire level.

This allows bots to navigate all of the surfaces within the Navmesh volume and is a huge improvement on the node system within UDK, the apple-like navigation nodes.

Through these tutorials I have learned the new methods of implementing older features from UDK, the engine has been streamlined more and as such implementation of things like lifts is far easier than it used to be.

I will of course be looking into the blueprints themselves, to see exactly how they work to expand my knowledge, though I expect the blueprints themselves will be fairly similar to previous kismet work, as well as the previous work I have done in UE4.

I will be looking to implement these features into my level, though I am unsure as of yet how they will affect overall gameplay, as a result I may go for a simpler design with minimal lifts/teleports etc, though it is important I know how they work and these tutorials have therefore served an important purpose.

3D Computer Game Engines - Basic Blockout

Following from the work within my previous unit, the work for which can be see here, I began piecing together a basic blockout using template floor and wall panels provided within UE4.
I was initially going to import my ground floor map layout and utilise it as a texture within a material, placed on a layout block for accuracy, but having done this with other work and the scale not necessarily working out as expected, I have decided to go without a the top down plan and work on it sheerly from reference, building freely within the Unreal Tournament 4 editor.

Using differently sized cubes placed, at this point, randomly in sequence, I have produced a ground floor with a base level of obstacles which are to be navigated around, and can also be used to take cover.
The longer term plan for these cubes is to be replaced by individual sets of meshes incorporating pipes and metal panels to hopefully represent the intended steel mill type environment.
I will be trying to implement tunnelled sections of piping also, which players will be able to navigate through, for example, below is a UT4 Character pawn sized cube in Maya, with half of a potential pipe tunnel, made from an easily varied pipe radius.

I have also placed a long, thin rectangular cube across the central area of the map, in place of the environmental trap I am hoping to configure in the map.

My base blockout can be seen below.

I will be continuing with this blockout process, and adding either a second floor as necessary, or a set of walkways which are elevated above the environmental hazard for navigational ease when the hazard is active.

I may make both walkways and a second flood provided it doesn't take too much time, as the second floor could be used within an alternate game type, Team DeathMatch for example. This will allow me not only to playtest both layout options and judge on which method would work better but also to receive peer opinions based on the layout throughout the process.

3d Computer Game Engines - Perspectives, Game Modes and why I'm using the Unreal Tournament setup.

Not only for completion of this unit, but for any potential future projects, I must understand camera positioning, perspective and why it is so crucial to its respective gameplay type/genre.
To help understand this, I have looked at the blueprints provided in Unreal Engine 4.

First Person;
Traditionally the go-to genre for a shooter on computer or console, the first person perspective is designed to give a player the sense of being their in game counterpart, or at least being as one, being able to see through a soldier's eyes, for example, see everything he/she sees and to some extent, experience events throughout the game first hand.
The perspective has also been used for less conventional games such as Portal and Outlast, both of which differ greatly from the standard shooter blueprint.

Third Person;
The Third Person camera place the physical view behind the player pawn in-engine, often allowing the player to see the whole of the character on screen, sometimes this can lack the immersive feel of a first person perspective, but allows the player to become attached to a main character, potentially relating to them throughout the game.
The pawn controlled in engine of course differs, between things like cars, planes, and in some cases... beach balls.

Flying;
The 'Flying' blueprint provided in Unreal Engine 4 essentially a branch of the Third Person perspective based camera, the camera is used to provide more precision control of the pawn in-game (pitch, yaw & roll), and has been utilised in games like War Thunder and Ace Combat.

Vehicle/Vehicle Advanced;
The Vehicle and Vehicle Advanced blueprints provided on UE4 are much the same as the flying blueprint, in the sense that you're controlling a vehicle, but the controls which the player will take control of will obviously differ substantially between the varying pawns.

Both vehicle blueprints have the option of a 'cockpit' view, which is viewed through the eyes of the driver also, this can also place them in the first person perspective though the main viewpoint for most driving/racing games is Third Person by default.

Side Scroller (2.5D);
The 'Side Scroller' blueprint incorporates a side projected camera with the use of 3D objects and characters on, the incorporation of the 2D type positional camera with 3D items used resulted in the terminology "2.5D".

2D Side Scroller;
The 2D Side Scroller hails from a retro standpoint, with the camera positioned on a side viewpoint showing the player pawn moving laterally left and right on screen, whilst 3D assets can still be used, they will not be viewable in 3D when playing the game itself.
Most 2D side scrollers in history have tended to be sprite based, though with UE4, dependent on designers' skill set, this could change drastically if the platformer market were to pick up, as it has lay relatively dormant for years.

Top Down;
Top Down cameras are designed for an aerial view, sometimes allowing the user to see more of their surroundings, for example this camera type is used effectively in Hotline Miami, allowing the user to plan an attack on a set of enemies.

Twin Stick Shooter;
Twin stick shooters generally utilise top down cameras, allowing for easy controls, using the left stick for movement and the right stick for automated gunfire in whichever direction the stick is moved. There are however, as with other camera blueprint types, variations, as there are some full 3D twin stick shooters with some more complexity to the control scheme, allowing for more involved games which retain the simple point and shoot core gameplay mechanics.

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Unreal Tournament - Why I'm using the First Person setup:

Within this unit, I will be using the First Person camera perspective, this is largely down to not only the limitations of the Unreal Tournament Editor, but also down to the typical shooter standards within the videogame industry.

The Shooter genre as a whole has become very popular in recent years thanks to the first person shooter sub-genre, and by utilising this I will be looking to create a map which any player will be able to navigate without any issue and be able to play immediately.

I will be able to take inspiration from existent game modes within Unreal and elaborate on them for my own gain, I am aiming to produce a Capture the Flag centric map, which will ideally also function as a Team Deathmatch map.