In this chapter, you will take your first steps into the Unreal Engine world. To do that, you only need a workstation that achieves the Engine system requirement. You can check Unreal Engine system requirements for Windows, Mac, and Linux at the following link: https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.0/en-US/hardware-and-software-specifications-for-unreal-engine/.

In this section, we will see how to download and install Unreal Engine 5. But first, we will need to install the Epics Game Launcher:

1. Go to www.unrealengine.com.
2. Create an Epic Games account by clicking on the SIGN IN option at the top right of the page:

Figure 1.1 – Unreal Engine 5’s official web page with the SIGN IN link in the top-right corner

3. Once you create an Epic Games account, click on the DOWNLOAD option at the top right of the page.

Figure 1.2 – Unreal Engine 5’s official web page with the DOWNLOAD link in the top-right corner

4. Click on DOWNLOAD LAUNCHER and install it.

Figure 1.3 – The Epic Games Launcher download page

At the end of this page, you can also find System requirements for Windows, macOS, and Linux:

Figure 1.4 – Unreal Engine 5 System requirements – click on View Full system requirements to see the full list

Once you have installed Epic Game Launcher, you can launch it and log in with your Epic Games account.

Next, it’s time to install the Engine with the following steps:

1. Open Epic Games Launcher and click on the Unreal Engine tab on the left-hand side.
2. Click on Library at the top of the screen.
3. To install the Engine, click on the plus (+) icon.

   A rectangular thumbnail with a number and an Install button will appear. If you click on the number inside the thumbnail, you can choose the version of the Engine you want to install. In this book, we will use version 5.3.1. You can use later versions of the Engine as well.

Figure 1.5 – This is how you will find the Library tab for the first time

4. Click on Install. Alternatively, you can also click on the Install Engine button on the top right of the windows. This button will install the latest version of the Engine. It will take a while to end the process.

Figure 1.6 – The Library tab will be shown in this way if you don’t have any version of the Engine installed

5. Once you have installed the Engine, the install button becomes the Launch button. Click on the Launch button, and the Engine will be launched.

Figure 1.7 – This is how the Library tab will look when you’ve installed the Engine for the first time

If you click on the row near the Launch button, you can choose from different options:

Figure 1.8 – Engine versions scroll-down menu

Let’s understand what these options are:

• Options: Here, you can change the installation options. You can save a lot of space on your local hard drive by deselecting some components that will be useless for our work such as Android, iOS, and Linux. This will take several minutes.

Figure 1.9 – Engine version installation options menu

• Set Current: Set this Engine version as the current version. This means that any time you launch the Engine from the Epic Games Launcher, it will be in the version selected by you. This also changes the version in the general Launch button on the top-right corner of the Epic Games Launcher.
• Create Shortcut: A shortcut of this specific Engine version will be automatically created on your desktop.
• Remove: This will delete a specific Engine version.
• Verify: This option will repeat the verifying process of the Engine installation. It can correct some Engine errors. This can help in case of some malfunction of the Engine. This process takes several minutes but can be lifesaving during projects.

Now that we have downloaded and installed the Epic Games Launcher and Engine, let’s move on to the next section, where we will learn more about the Epic Games launcher.

The Epic Games Launcher isn’t only the tool with which you can download and install the Engine. It’s a powerful tool where you can find any kind of resources you will need to create your projects.

In this section, we will discover how to manage projects with the Epic Games Launcher, how to get content from the Marketplace, and where to find learning content inside the Epic Games Launcher.

Library

This is the place where you can install the Engine and manage all your projects and contents. The Library tab is divided into three different parts, which are described in the following subsections.

ENGINE VERSIONS

As we saw before, we can choose which Engine version we want to install by clicking on the + icon. We can delete a specific Engine version by clicking on the X icon in the top-left corner of the Engine version thumbnail. (X appears by leaving the mouse over the Engine version thumbnail.)

The version name of the Engine is composed of three numbers.

Figure 1.10 – Engine version thumbnail – the Engine version name is composed of three different values

Let’s see what these numbers represent:

• The first is the main version of the Engine, which, in our case, is 5.
• The second is the major update version, which, in our case, is 2. A major update usually apports significant updates such as new features or bug fixes.
• The last one is the minor update version. A minor update usually fixes bugs.

The Epic Games Launcher will let you know when a new version, a new major update, or a new minor update will be available to download. When a new version or update is available, an orange circle will appear on the Library tab and near the Unreal Engine link on the left side of the Epic Games Launcher. An orange circle with i inside will appear near ENGINE VERSIONS. If you are working with multiple versions, the version that receives an update will have the Update button instead of the Launch button:

Figure 1.11 – New update or version notifications

What should you do when a new update is coming? Well, it depends. A minor update is usually safe, and you can update the Engine. A major update can be more problematic. It usually adds some new features or replaces old features with a new one. This can change important Engine files that could compromise your ongoing projects. So, be careful! In general, if you are working on a project, it is safer that you finish working on your project first and then update the Engine and the project to the new version. Usually, a major update is preceded by a preview version of the update. A preview version is a testing version that allows you to test all the new features coming to the new major update. As a preview version, it is usually unstable and full of bugs. Finally, a version update is a totally new version of the Engine. Your project probably doesn’t work seamlessly with this new version. Just to be clear, to see a new Engine version update, we have to wait for Unreal Engine 6.

Figure 1.12 – The Preview version thumbnail

Note

You can install multiple versions of the Engine for several reasons; for example, if you’re working on various projects that are compatible with specific Engine versions. Additionally, certain plugins you’ve installed (we’ll cover plugin installation in Chapter 2) may exclusively function with older Engine versions. Lastly, even when in the midst of a project, you might want to explore the new features of the latest Engine version.

Coming back to the Library tab, finally, on the right we have the following:

• GitHub source: Unreal Engine is an open-source code software. This means that you can find the source code for free on GitHub to compile the Engine by yourself.
• Release notes: By clicking on this option, you can browse the documentation page for the notes about the current release.
• The last number is the quantity of memory that all the Engine versions you have installed are taking on your local drive.

Figure 1.13 – On the right side of the ENGINE VERSIONS section, there are some useful links and information

Note:

When you install the Engine from the Epic Games Launcher, you are installing a pre-compiled version of the Engine. That means that you can’t modify the source code of the Engine but you can “only” use the features that Epic Games developers give to you with the Engine. If you want to learn more about Engine source code and compiling the Engine, you can browse here: https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.1/en-US/building-unreal-engine-from-source/. (Note that this is an advanced option.)

MY PROJECTS

If you scroll down, you will find all the projects you have created in the default folder:

Figure 1.14 – When you create a project, you can find it in MY PROJECTS

We will go deep into Engine folders later in Chapter 3. You can open a project by double-clicking on a project thumbnail. If you right-click on a project thumbnail, you get the following options:

• Open the project: The Epic Games Launcher will be closed, and a new instance of the Engine will be launched with your project.
• Show in folder: Navigate to the project folder in your local drive.
• Create a shortcut: A shortcut to the project will be automatically created on your desktop.
• Clone: Create a copy of the project by choosing a new name and destination path.

Note that you can also create a copy of the project directly in a folder by copying and pasting the project folder but be sure to have the project saved and closed. You can delete a project by deleting the project folder.

VAULT

The last section of the library is VAULT. VAULT shows all the contents you have acquired from the Marketplace. For each piece of content, you can do the following:

• Create a project with the selected content (if it is a project content)
• Add selected content to an existing project (if it is an assets content)
• Install content to a specific Engine version (if it is a code content or a plugin)

You can also sort content by category or search for specific content. Besides the Filter by menu, there is the amount of memory that Vault Cache is taking on your local drive.

Figure 1.15 – The Unreal Engine vault is filled with hundreds of assets acquired on the Marketplace

Note: Vault Cache is heavy on local hard drives, so you can change the location of the Vault Cache folder in Epic Games Launcher settings on the bottom-left of the window.

Figure 1.16 – If you browse to Settings | Vault Cache Location, you can change the Vault Cache folder

Marketplace

One of the greatest things about Unreal Engine 5 is its resources ecosystem that allows you to obtain incredible results without ever going outside the Engine. Marketplace is the place where you can find thousands of contents for your project. There are 3D assets, animations, plugins, code plugins, and Blueprints but also entire projects to explore, use, and study. You can find free content or pay to buy some. Every month, hundreds of contents go on sale, and you can obtain very expensive assets for free. Marketplace is linked to your Epic Games account. You will find each content that you’ve bought in VAULT inside the Library tab. When you log in with the Epic Games account on a new workstation, you will find all the content that you have bought with that specific account but you will need to download it again.

Figure 1.17 – Unreal Engine Marketplace

If you click on an asset in the Unreal Engine Marketplace, you will find several useful pieces of information about that item. You can buy it or, if you already have it in the vault or if that item is free, you can add it to a project or create a new project with it. Near the Add To Project or Create Project button (if it’s full-project content), you can find the item’s compatibility information.

Figure 1.18 – This asset pack is compatible with Engine versions until 5.1.

Figure 1.19 – This is a full project content – it will create a new project with its content inside

Samples

This is the portal for every learning resource that Epic Games gives to us to learn how the Engine works. In the Samples tab, you will find several projects for any level of skills divided into themes. These projects involve one or more specific topics. It looks like a marketplace, but everything is free. For each sample, you can download the project, read the documentation, or follow a video tutorial if available.

Figure 1.20 – The Epic Games Launcher Samples tab

This is a powerful resource for both beginners to learn the fundamentals of the Engine in a practical way and for experts to be updated on the newest Engine features.

News

In this tab, you can find all the news about Unreal Engine and access all its social channels. The most important channel is the Developer Community Forum, a place where you can find answers from Unreal Engine developers all around the world.

Figure 1.21 – The Epic Games Launcher News tab

Now that we have learned how to use the Epic Games Launcher and discovered all of its features, we can move on to the next section and discover how to create our first project in Unreal Engine 5.

It’s time to create your first project. To do that, you have two options:

• Click on the Launch button on a specific Engine version inside the Library tab. This will create a project running with this specific Engine version.
• Click on the Launch button on the top right of the Epic Games Launcher window. This will create a new project running with the version set as current.

If you have installed the Engine for the first time, you probably have only one version of the Engine. In this case, both options are identical.

When you click on the Launch button, the Epic Games Launcher will be closed. It will take a while and then the Unreal Project Browser window will appear.

Figure 1.22 – The Unreal Project Browser window will open, showing the RECENT PROJECTS tab

You can open a project that was created in your library and if you don’t have any projects yet, this tab will be empty.

To create a new project, you need to browse one of the tabs on the left. Each of these tabs allows you to either create a blank project or create a project starting from a template.

Let’s start with creating a blank game project:

1. Click on the GAMES tab.
2. Select the Blank project preset.
3. Once you click on the GAMES tab, take a look at the Project Defaults section on the right.

Figure 1.23 – The Unreal Project Browser’s Games preset tab

Let’s go over the various options in this menu:

• Blueprint/C++: Here, you can choose whether you want to create a project based on Blueprint or a C++ project. For all the things we are going to create in this book, you will always need a Blueprint project.

Note:

Blueprints are a visual scripting system with a node-based interface. As with many common scripting languages, it is used to define object-oriented classes or objects in the Engine. It’s a very intuitive way to add complex code lines to your project as gameplay mechanics without the need to write code but it still is a code language that has to be learned. C++ is the most common scripting language in the game industry. To create a C++-based project, you need to compile the Engine from the source.

• Target platform: Here, you can choose the target platform for your project. You can choose between Desktop and Mobile. Desktop creates a project suitable for desktop platforms and consoles. Mobile creates a project that is already set to be playable on a mobile device. This means that the project will be created with different project settings according to your choice. You can choose Desktop.
• Quality preset: This is the quality setting of your project. You can choose between Maximum and Scalable. Maximum will set any options at the maximum value available for the target platform. Scalable will disable some complex features in favor of performances. You can choose Maximum. You can change these settings at any time directly inside the Engine.
• Starter content: If this option is checked, you will find a lot of interesting assets loaded inside your projects. This can be very useful at the beginning for study and test purposes and time saving for specific types of assets such as Niagara samples and shaders. You can use a project with starter content to follow the book’s first section.
• Raytracing: If this option is checked, the project will be set for using real-time Raytracing. We will learn how to use Raytracing and Lumen in Chapter 7. If you have the recommended system requirement, you can check this box.

Note

Real-time Raytracing has an impact on performance but also on final quality. You can also follow this book with a project without real-time Raytracing but you can’t use some explained features.

1. Choose the location of your project from the Project Location option and name your project in the Project Name box. These options can be found at the bottom of the window:

Figure 1.24 – Here, you can choose the project location and name

Note

Unreal Engine projects are very heavy on local drive, in terms of both heaviness and loading time. Creating your project on a fast SSD disk is the best solution. Speaking about the name, spaces aren’t allowed. Unreal Engine also doesn’t like very long names (the maximum limit is 20 characters).

2. When you’ve set everything, click on Create.

When you create a project or open a project for the first time, Unreal Engine will take some time to create everything it needs and compile all the shaders. If the loading seems to be stuck at 45%, don’t worry – it’s normal! You can check this in the Task Manager. Search for the UnrealEditor process and click on the left arrow near the process name to expand the UnrealEditor process. Here, you will find the shader compiler. It can take several minutes.

Figure 1.25 – You can check the Unreal Engine’s loading status inside Windows Task Manager

Now that we know how to create a new project from a draft, in the next section, we will learn how new project templates work and how to use them to create a new project.

Now that you know how to create a blank project, we can look at the available samples that you can use as a starting point for your projects. They are divided into five main categories: Games, Film/Video & Live Events, Architecture, Automotive Product Design and Manufacturing, and Simulation.

Note that the blank project of each category has different settings in terms of quality, plugins, and target platform. Blueprint samples are different from C++ samples. In this section, we will go only through blueprint samples.

In the GAMES category, you can find several presets that help you build your game:

• First Person: This preset gives you the perfect starting point to create a first-person shooter, featuring a character represented with a pair of arms, which is viewed from the first-person perspective. The character is already set up to be played with keyboard and mouse controls. This is also great for navigating your environment in a “more gaming way.” If you are planning to create something similar to Call of Duty, Doom, or Quake, then this is the preset for you.
• Third Person: This preset is very similar to the first person preset but it gives you a complete character with a full set of movements. The camera is positioned behind and slightly above the character. This is great for exploring your new environment like a player. If you are planning to create something similar to Dark Souls, Uncharted, or Gears of War, this is the preset for you.
• Top Down: More of the same – this preset gives you a fully animated character viewed with a top-down camera. If you are planning to create something similar to Diablo or Hades, then this is the preset for you.
• Vehicle: This preset gives you a fully rigged vehicle that can be modified and used for your racing sequence or game. “Fully rigged” means that you can control the vehicle with a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad with car wheels and suspensions that work propriety. If you are planning to create a racing game or a racing sequence, then this is the preset for you.
• Handler AR and Virtual Reality are presets that are a great starting point for developing AR/VR applications for desktop, console, android, or iOS, providing interactive objects, plane detection, and spatialized audio.
• In FILM/VIDEO & LIVE EVENTS, you can find several presets that will help you in virtual production/cinematic projects and live events:

Figure 1.26 – The Unreal Project Browser’s FILM/VIDEO & LIVE EVENTS preset tab

• Virtual Production: This preset is a great starting point for everyone who wants to jump into virtual production with Unreal Engine 5; it contains functionality for a virtual camera, VR scouting, and live compositing.
• Dmx, InCameraV.FX, and nDisplay are presets that are an in-depth demonstration of every single possibility you have with Unreal Engine 5 and virtual production. This is an advanced level. Just to be clear, some of the features included in these presets were part of the workflow during The Mandalorian production.
• Blank Project: This is a great preset because it’s a blank project set up with high values in quality settings. This could also be great for us.
• ARCHITECTURE, AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT DESIGN & MANUFACTURING, and SIMULATION are far from our interest but every sample has something new to teach you. Exploring them is useful and helps you to understand the potential of Unreal Engine. The presets inside the AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT DESIGN & MANUFACTURING category give you the possibility to create a product configurator or an automotive shot in a very short time.

Figure 1.27 – Unreal Project Browser’s AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT DESIGN & MANUFACTURING preset tab

Note that any preset or sample can be recreated directly inside the Engine starting from a blank project.

In the end, which is the best preset to create a cinematic photorealistic environment? First Person and Third Person are great presets because they give you the possibility to “play” your environment and simulate what the player will see. However, if you are creating an environment that you will only use for cinematic purposes, maybe a blank project is the better choice. If you want a project already set to achieve high quality in the Viewport, the FILM/VIDEO & LIVE EVENTS blank project is a good choice. Remember that you can always change settings inside the project or create the exact same preset starting from a blank project.

In this chapter, you learned how to install the Engine and how to take advantage of the Epic Games Launcher. Now, you know how to create a project in Unreal Engine 5 with different settings and how to use presets, Marketplace assets, and projects to speed up your workflow.

In the next chapter, we will learn how the Unreal Engine 5 interface works, how to move inside the Viewport, and how to transform objects in the 3D space.