Unreal Engine
We use for our project the Unreal Engine, before you install the engine make sure you install the latest final stable version (No preview or .1) those versions are mostly unstable and will may have some changes in the final version. To get the engine you need to install the epic game hub, there you get under "Unreal Engine" the available engines.
Lets go!
Now we begin to build the prototype in the Unreal Engine, we import all the 3D stuff and start our first Level. The engine provide a 3rd and 1st person template were we can start. There are some general thinks we need to decide before we go deeper in to the mechanics. The gameplay is the most important aspect of your game, so that´s why you need to set you settings first.
- If you want an open world it might be a good start to first generate or build the terrain
- if you have a linear game (a to b) then its better to start with blocks to get a better understanding of your map size and event locations.
- Whatever you do always use the "Note" script to wright down necessary information for the area.
The Game Instance!
The most used and the also most important node (beside the save game) is the game instance. This script will always provide all important information and its always be loaded when the game is running. When you change a level and want to store important information's about the character or game settings this node will always give your game the information's needed to run your game.
Save Game!
To load and save the game you need a save game file. The save game file can be a single slot use and also multi slot save. The most important aspect of the save game is the proper synchronization between the game instance and the save game file.
Events
To control the game in the right direction you need events. To check the events we need a checklist. There multiple ways to trigger events. The most common way is a trigger box with a variable check on entering. These are variables witch are most easy to set up.
Variable types:
- Boolean (Simple yes or no Values)
- Integer ( Numbers 0,1,2,3,4 ...)
- Float ( 00.4 , 0, 1,25 ...)
- String ( string name)
Each variable type can be checked by a simple branch note.
