Day 1 – Getting to know Unreal Engine 4

Today I’ve been fiddling around with the Unreal Engine 4, trying the demos, watching videos, toying around in the editor and setting up a test scene.

So far it looks like I can go ahead towards a multiplayer by modding the ShooterGame example, hopefully even as a standalone. That is, if I can figure out where the launcher picks the level it starts.

Today’s Results

Planning the Next Days

Feeling a bit more comfortable with UE4, I’m a bit more confident outlining a rough production timeline for the week.

My First Level in Unreal Engine 4

So as I hinted at in the kickoff post, I’m planning on using a sort of monument that I found on a playground here in Berlin. I literally stumbled upon it a few nights back and was struck by atmosphere of that place.

There was something quite eerie about that playground in the middle of city and in the dead of the night, it felt more than just empty of kids. The road nearby was completely silent, the surrounding high-rises as well. And then it had this… stone monument, square in the middle of it. The overgrowth on the formation was so dense, this could have been in Chernobyl. Deserted for years.

There was also a small amphitheater to the side and some typical playground elements. This playground and the eeriness of that place, was something that I wanted to capture.

I sadly don’t have any night shots of the place, as I just don’t have a camera that could capture them properly. But here is a photo of the formation by day, so that you can get a bit of an idea of what I’m going for and on about.

After today, that’s what I build as a little test in Unreal.

I also racked up nearly 14h. So much for the targeted 8h per day…

I also managed to crash Unreal about 4 times. And somehow my first attempt at packaging a standalone application failed. I blame it on driver issues from my fingerprint sensor, as there where no more troubles after updating them.

My thread on the World of Level Design forums is still waiting for moderation…