Overview

This book helps experienced game developers and modders take their skills to the next level, creating levels with breakthrough depth and interactivity. The only book of its kind, Advanced Level Design with Unreal Technology has been authored by the world's leading Unreal Engine game development trainers, in close collaboration with Epic Games, the creator of Unreal Engine.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jason Busby ,  Zak Parrish ,  Jeff Wilson
Publisher:   Pearson Education (US)
Imprint:   Sams Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 19.50cm , Height: 5.50cm , Length: 22.80cm
Weight:   1.786kg
ISBN:  

9780672329920

ISBN 10:   0672329921
Pages:   1080
Publication Date:   01 October 2009
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Mixed media product
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Advanced Level Design . . . 1 Who Is This Book For? . . . 2 What Should You Know Before You Start? . . . 2 What We Mean By Advanced Level Design . . . 3 Included Assets and Game Assets . . . 3 Working with INI Files . . . 4 Future Software Changes . . . 5 CHAPTER 2: Advanced Material Construction . . . 7 Material Instancing and Parameters . . . 7 Blending . . . 9 UV Manipulation . . . 10 Normals . . . 11 Depth . . . 12 Special Lighting . . . 13 Reflections . . . 14 Distortion . . . 14 Transparency . . . 15 Subsurface Scattering . . . 16 Custom Lighting Models . . . 16 Summary . . . 151 CHAPTER 3: Working with Volumes . . . 153 Available Volume Types . . . 154 Basic Volume Properties . . . 156 BlockingVolumes . . . 156 PhysicsVolumes . . . 159 TriggerVolume . . . 170 PostProcessVolume . . . 186 LevelStreamingVolume . . . 188 LightVolume . . . 188 ColorScaleVolume . . . 189 ReverbVolume . . . 189 RB_ForceFieldExcludeVolume . . . 190 UTAreaNamingVolume . . . 190 UTAutoCrouchVolume . . . 190 FoliageFactory . . . 190 Summary . . . 192 CHAPTER 4: Physics Objects . . . 193 Types of Physics Objects . . . 193 The Concept of Rigid Bodies . . . 196 Working with Rigid Bodies in Unreal . . . 197 KActors . . . 200 KAssets . . . 208 Constraints . . . 211 The Physics Asset Tool (PhAT) . . . 229 Cloth . . . 245 Impulse and Force Actors . . . 252 Physics-Specific Kismet Sequence Objects . . . 258 Physical Materials . . . 263 Summary . . . 268 CHAPTER 5: Creating Special Effects with Particle Systems . . . 269 Anatomy of a Particle System . . . 271 TypeData Modules . . . 283 Modules . . . 286 Cascade Particle System Editor . . . 293 Particle-Specific Material Expressions . . . 301 Types of Particle Modules . . . 312 Beam Emitters . . . 356 Mesh Emitters . . . 374 Trail Emitters . . . 382 Fluid Emitters . . . 393 Levels of Detail . . . 397 Emitter Actor . . . 406 Modifying Particle Systems In-Game . . . 407 Troubleshooting the Effect . . . 480 Summary . . . 481 CHAPTER 6: Creating User Interfaces . . . 483 UI Components . . . 483 UIs Versus HUDs . . . 484 UI Design Workflow Overview . . . 485 The UI Scene Editor . . . 492 The UI Widgets . . . 496 Working with Widgets . . . 498 Widgets States . . . 513 Widget Navigation and the Focus Chain . . . 541 Working with User Inputs . . . 543 Data Stores . . . 548 Styles and Skins . . . 549 Fonts . . . 566 Adding Functionality . . . 569 Sounds . . . 598 Creating HUDs . . . 600 Summary . . . 601 CHAPTER 7: Sound System . . . 603 Sound Types . . . 604 USounds Versus SoundCues . . . 604 The AmbientSound Actors . . . 612 The SoundCue Editor . . . 613 SoundCue Nodes . . . 614 Kismet Sound Actions . . . 632 Working with Music . . . 638 Working with MusicTrackBanks . . . 642 Summary . . . 666 CHAPTER 8: Post-Process Effects . . . 667 The Four Key Methods of Controlling Post-Processes . . . 668 Accessing and Assigning PostProcessEffect Objects . . . 670 Types of Post-Process Effects . . . 675 Post-Process Editor . . . 681 Controlling Post-Process Effects In-Game . . . 715 Summary . . . 716 CHAPTER 9: The Unreal Animation System . . . 717 The Unreal Animation System . . . 718 Skeletal Animation . . . 723 Morph Animation . . . 734 AnimSet Editor . . . 737 Animation Blending . . . 753 AnimTree Editor . . . 754 AnimTree Editor Nodes . . . 770 Morph Nodes . . . 796 Facial Animation with FaceFX . . . 839 FaceFX Studio . . . 840 FaceFX Studio User Interface . . . 872 Physical Animation . . . 900 Setup Procedure for Physical Animation . . . 906 Skeletal Mesh Actors . . . 907 Skeletal Mesh Component . . . 907 Summary . . . 909 CHAPTER 10: Creating Cinematic Sequences . . . 911 Cinematic Sequences . . . 911 Camera Actor . . . 915 Camera Effects . . . 916 Image Separation Through Lighting . . . 920 DumpMovie Command . . . 920 Putting It All Together . . . 920 Summary . . . 999 APPENDIX A: Distributions . . . 1001 Overview . . . 1001 Distribution Types In-Depth . . . 1003 General Performance Cost Comparison . . . 1019 APPENDIX B: The Curve Editor . . . 1023 Animation Curves . . . 1024 Controlling Interpolation Curves . . . 1026 Curve Editor Interface . . . 1030 Preset Curves . . . 1035 Index . . . 1039

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Author Information

Jason Busby is the President/CEO of 3D Buzz, Inc. He has taught 3D animation, programming, game design, and more. His website, 3DBuzz.com, has nearly a quarter of a million members. Jason has been responsible for the creation of more than 100 hours of video training pertaining to game design. Zak Parrish is Chief of Operations at 3D Buzz, Inc. He has been involved in 3D animation for six years and worked as an instructor for five. Zak helped to produce many of the training videos that shipped with the retail package of Unreal Tournament 2004 Special Edition. Jason and Zak are co-authors of the original Mastering Unreal: The Art of Level Design, 0672326922.

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