Sams Teach Yourself Unreal Engine 4 Game Development in 24 Hours

In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, learn how to start using Unreal Engine 4 to build amazing games for Windows, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, Android, the web, Linux–or all of them!

Sams Teach Yourself Unreal Engine 4 Game Development in 24 Hours’ straightforward, step-by-step approach shows you how to work with Unreal Engine 4’s interface, its workflows, and its most powerful editors and tools. In just hours you’ll be creating effects, scripting warfare, implementing physics–even developing for mobile devices and HUDs. Every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success.

• Organize new projects and work with the Gameplay Framework
• Master Unreal’s units and control systems
• Import 3D models and work with the Static Mesh Editor
• Create new landscapes and use Unreal’s foliage system
• Bring characters and creatures to life with the Persona Editor
• Apply materials and build lighting
• Integrate and modify audio with the Unreal Sound Cue Editor
• Craft particle effects and simulate physics
• Set up and react to player inputs
• Build levels and entirely new worlds
• Get started with powerful Blueprint visual scripting system
• Script an arcade game from start to finish
• Create events that respond to player actions
• Spawn Actors during gameplay
• Design and create action-based encounters
• Optimize games for mobile devices and touch-based inputs
• Build menus with Unreal’s UMG UI Designer
• Prepare your game for deployment

Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Unreal Engine 4 game development tasks.
Practical, hands-on examples show you how to apply what you learn.
Quizzes and Exercises help you test your knowledge and stretch your skills.
Notes and tips point out shortcuts and solutions.

All the project files and assets you’ll need are available for download, including “before-and-after” files demonstrating initial setup and proper completion for every exercise.

Table of Contents

HOUR 1: Introducing Unreal Engine 4
HOUR 2: Understanding the Gameplay Framework
HOUR 3: Coordinates, Transforms, Units, and Organization
HOUR 4: Working with Static Mesh Actors
HOUR 5: Applying Lighting and Rendering
HOUR 6: Using Materials
HOUR 7: Using Audio System Elements
HOUR 8: Creating Landscapes and Foliage
HOUR 9: World Building
HOUR 10: Crafting Effects with Particle Systems
HOUR 11: Using Skeletal Mesh Actors
HOUR 12: Matinee and Cinematics
HOUR 13: Learning to Work with Physics
HOUR 14: Introducing Blueprint Visual Scripting System
HOUR 15: Working with Level Blueprints
HOUR 16: Working with Blueprint Classes
HOUR 17: Using Editable Variables and the Construction Script
HOUR 18: Making Key Input Events and Spawning Actors
HOUR 19: Making an Action Encounter
HOUR 20: Creating an Arcade Shooter: Input Systems and Pawns
HOUR 21: Creating an Arcade Shooter: Obstacles and Pickups
HOUR 22: Working with UMG
HOUR 23: Making an Executable
HOUR 24: Working with Mobile