Unreal Engine 5 for Games – Physics by David Nixon

Learn how to use Chaos physics in Unreal Engine 5 to build interactive game mechanics. This course covers everything from basic physics bodies and collisions to advanced systems like cloth, cables, and destruction. You’ll get hands-on with vectors, forces, and constraints to create realistic movement and interactive objects.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Understand how the Chaos physics engine works in Unreal Engine 5
• Define and manipulate physics bodies, collisions, vectors, traces, forces, and impulses
• Use Constraints to build simple physics-based machines like ziplines, pulleys, catapults, and swings
• Create realistic cables, wires, ropes, chains, and cloth for clothing, flags, curtains, banners, and sails

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Some experience with Unreal Engine and basic knowledge of Actors and Blueprints.
• Tools: A 3-button mouse and keyboard.
• Hardware: A PC capable of running Unreal Engine 5 (minimum 16GB RAM, dedicated GPU recommended).

📝 Description

This course is a straight shot into Unreal Engine 5’s Chaos physics system. It’s built for developers who want to stop fighting with physics and start using it as a tool. You’ll start with the absolute basics—what a physics body is and how collisions work—then quickly move into practical stuff like vectors and traces.

The intermediate section is where things get interesting. You’ll learn how to use Physics Handles to grab and throw objects, set up Physical Materials for different surface properties, and use Physics Volumes to simulate water. The advanced section is the real payoff: you’ll build a working catapult with Constraints, simulate realistic Cables and Cloth, and even set up Destruction Physics for breakable objects. The final project ties everything together into a balloon gun that makes objects float away.

The teaching style is direct and practical. Each lecture builds on the last, and you’ll see the code and Blueprints in action. No fluff, just working examples you can adapt for your own games.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Unreal Engine developers who want to master physics simulations for games
• Game designers looking to add interactive physics-based mechanics to their projects

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

David Nixon is a professional software developer with a degree in Computer Science from Florida Atlantic University. He started his career building websites and providing SEO services, then moved into mobile game development with his game Puzzlers. He later worked as a web developer for a major SaaS company. With over 14,000 reviews and 98,000 students across his courses, he has a proven track record of teaching Unreal Engine effectively.

🏁 Final Result

• A fully functional balloon gun that spawns and attaches helium-filled balloons to objects, causing them to float away.
• A solid understanding of how to apply Chaos physics to your own Unreal Engine 5 projects.