Gamecode (Russian, Eng sub)

On February 9, 2023

Release date:2022

Duration:23 h 59 m

Author:XYZ School

Skill level:Beginner

Language:Russian

Exercise files:Yes

A gameplay programmer implements the player’s experience, such as controlled transportation or grappling hooks as seen in Uncharted 4. If you enjoy tasks like these, this course is for you. Here, you will learn how to implement any mechanics in practice and do so systematically, as it is done in AAA studios. After completing the course, you will be able to create not only shooters, but games of any other genre – 2D platformer, RTS, flight simulator, fighting, or RPG.

Learn how to write code that will allow the character to move, move, shoot, and actively interact with the outside world. You will learn C++, work with Unreal Engine, set up inventory and environment, create images and weapons. Work as a game programmer in 5 months.

This course covers various aspects of Unreal Engine 4, including:

Introduction to Unreal Engine
Main objects in UE
C++ in UE
UE4 structure, game assembly
Character controller, camera, and movement
Skeleton and animation
Character class and basic movement
Advanced movement (swimming, climbing, stairs)
First person character
Weapons (damage, health, pistol, machine gun, ammunition, weapon switching, shotgun, explosions, grenades, sniper rifle, knife)
Artificial Intelligence (automatic tower, perception system, navigation, moving character, behavior tree, shooting enemy)
Networking and replication
Interactive objects and player inventory
Equipment of weapons from inventory, wheel of choice
Save system and level streaming
UE4 optimization (profiling tools, logical loads)

Table of Contents

Part 1: Introduction

1. Course overview:
What is game logic programming
What will be taught on the course
What technologies will be used and requirements on the course

2. Installing and configuring the environment:
Installing UE4
Install Visual Studio C++ community edition

3. Create a new project:
Using the UE4 blank project template
Editor Overview
Basic Level Creation Tools
Astors and static meshes
BSP brushes and working with them
Simple Grid Material

4. C++ in Unreal Engine:
For those who are new to C++: why 2 files (.h and .cpp)
object model. Classes UObject, AActor, UActorComponent
Reflection system in UE4: UPROPERTY(), UFUNCTION() etc.
One more point for those who are new to C++: what are pointers and how they are used.

5. Assembling the game:
Visual studio solution: engine (UE4) and game projects.
Build configurations (DebugGame Editor, Development editor, DebugGame, Development, Shipping)
Making changes to the code and loading them with the editor (full rebuild vs. hot reload vs. live coding)
Assembly and packaging (packaging) of the game.

6. Setting up the remaining environment: task tracker and version control system:
Perforce as the version control system of choice. Overview of other options – git, SVN, Plastic SCM
Jira and Trello issue trackers

Part 2: Creating a character from scratch in C++. Input handling, character movement and animation system in Unreal Engine.

1. ACharacter and UCameraComponent classes:
AActor and Pawn classes in UE4
Camera component

2. Input processing and simple movement. Movement Component:
Input tables, input actions and input axis
Movement component and movement modes
UInputComponent and Input Handling

3. Character animations. Anim Instance class and Animation blueprint:
Skeletal meshes
Animation sequence and animation montage

4. Implementation of jump, squat and run:
We process input (pressing “space”, “ctrl”, “sprint”)
We call the appropriate method on the character
Animation support

Part 3: Weapons

1. Melee weapon:
Import weapon model
Creating the BaseWeapon and MeleeWeapon Classes
Equipping a weapon with a character. Attachment to slots.
Attack with a melee weapon. Input handling and animation.
Hit capsule and hit tests
Applying impact to objects
Additional animations

2. Ranged weapon basics: hit scan:
Import of ranged weapon model: weapon + magazine
Implementation of shooting mechanics
Hit registration via hit scan.
Adding visual effects

3. Ranged weapons: ammunition, rate of fire, aiming (ADS):
Ammunition
Automatic fire
Aiming down (ADS)

4. Ranged Weapons: Shotguns:
Shotgun hit registration – cone of destruction, multiple hit-scans)
Shotgun reload

5. Registration of hits through projectiles (“projectiles” – projectiles):
Complex ballistics (gravity and ricochet)
Projectile movement component

6. Explosions:
Create an exploding Actor – a barrel
Explosion zone. Explosion Damage Registration
Dealing damage and adding momentum

7. Grenades:
Create a grenade
Throwing a grenade (character animation)
Grenade Trajectory – Bounce Handling
grenade timer

Part 4: NPC artificial intelligence. AI characters. AI Controllers, Blackboards, Navigation and Behavior Tree

1. Creation of a “stationary” NPC – a tower:
Creating the AICharacter and AIAnimationInstance classes
AIcontroller and TeamID
Blackboard. Installing an enemy in the blackboard. (on hit in radius)
Handling blackboard values in AIController

2. Feelings and system of perception:
perception system. Perception System. Sense of sight AI_SenseSight
Adding vision to the “tower”

3. Navigation. Create a moving character:
Creating a moving character (e.g. “zombie”)
Navigation mesh
Adding movement

4. Behavior tree:
New AI Character with ranged weapons. It has 2 behaviors: patrol and fight with the player.
What is a behavior tree?
Behavior Tree Nodes
Waypoints. Implementing the Patrol State
Switching between combat and patrol modes

Part 5: UI, Inventory System, Interactive Objects and Triggers

1. UMG system and widgets:
Player Widgets
Enemy health bars
Create a menu

2. Equipment. Selection wheel:
The EquipmentComponent component for saving the player’s weapons
Selection wheel

3. Pickable and consumables items:
PickableItem Component and Pickable Item Blueprint
Consumable Items

4. Inventory:
InventoryComponent for saving picked up items
inventory widget
Equipping weapons from inventory.
Using items from inventory

5. Interactive objects:
InteractiveComponent component
Example of an interactive object: Doors
Example of an interactive object: Elevators }

6. Triggers:
Using triggers to summon enemies

Part 6: Networking and replication

1. Overview of Game flow in Unreal engine. Game mode and game state:
UE4 game flow, game instance class
Game mode and game state classes

2. Replication model in Unreal engine:
Client-server model in UE
Network mode and server types
Replication types
Network Roles

3. Replication of game mechanics:
Actor replication and movement
Testing replication in UE4
Player health replication
Hit registration replication
Artificial intelligence replication

4. Creating a multi-user session and joining it:
Session creation
Finding and joining a session

Part 7: Unreal save system, level streaming.

1. Saving the game:
USaveGame class
Save and load types (asynchronous, synchronous, binary)
Saving player properties
Saving interactive objects

2.Loading levels:
Open level function
Using open level in a network game. Move from lobby to other maps
Saving the current level in a single player game with USaveGame

3. Streaming levels:
Create a persistent level
Using streaming volumes for streaming
Loading and unloading sublevels via C++

4. Saving with streaming:
Saving interactive objects in the unloaded level
Loading the state of interactive objects in a loaded level

Part 8: Profiling and optimization in UE4

1. Profiling tools: STAT commands, Session frontend and Unreal Insights

2. Significance manager and Animation sharing:
SkeletalMesh update performance settings
AI controller upgrade cost and pathfinding tasks
Using Significance Manager to Optimize Character Updates
Using Significance Manager to Optimize Character Animations

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