Unreal Editor for Fortnite Beginner Tutorial - UEFN Starter Course!

Name: Unreal Editor for Fortnite Beginner Tutorial - UEFN Starter Course!
Uploaded: 2023-03-31T09:00:31.000Z
Duration: 2 h 28 min 35 s

Introduction to UE4 and Creating an Island in Fortnite

In this tutorial, we will learn how to create a game in the Unreal Editor for Fortnite. We will start with the basics of navigating and moving objects in a 3D world, sculpting landscapes from scratch, adding lighting, and finally adding gameplay elements like enemies and weapons.

Getting Started

Download both UE4 and Fortnite within your Epic Games Launcher.

Open up UE4 by double-clicking on it within the launcher.

Create a new project from any of the templates or open up any previous projects.

Select "Greasy Grove" as our template for our first project.

Navigating Your Island

Hold down the right mouse button to pan and move your camera around.

Use WASD keys to move around while holding down the right mouse button.

Use Q to go down and E to go up while holding down the right mouse button.

Adjust camera speed using the button or hold down right mouse button + scroll wheel up/down.

Press F key to focus on selected object or hold Alt + left mouse button to rotate around an object.

Moving, Scaling, and Rotating Objects

Select an object with left mouse click to get Gizmo tool for movement.

Drag arrow along x-axis (red), y-axis (green), or z-axis (blue).

Turn off snap-to-grid for smooth translation movement.

To rotate an object, select it with left click then drag one of three circles that appear around it.

Introduction to Basic Object Manipulation

In this section, the instructor introduces basic object manipulation techniques in Unreal Editor for Fortnite.

Object Scaling and Movement

Snapping is turned on by default, but can be turned off with a button.

Shortcuts for movement, rotation, and scaling are W, E, and R respectively.

To scale uniformly across all axes of an object, press R and hover over the white square in the middle of the three squares.

To move an object along a specific axis (X or Z), hover over the square between two arrows while in movement mode (W).

The globe icon allows you to move an object in the direction it's facing. Clicking it again returns to global access.

Object Duplication and Selection

Ctrl + D duplicates any selected object. Alt + drag also duplicates objects.

Shift + left click selects multiple objects. Control + click deselects objects.

Snapping Objects to Ground and Camera Locking

Pressing N snaps an object to the ground.

Holding down shift while dragging locks camera to an object.

Adding New Objects

The Add button allows you to add basic shapes or point lights.

The Content Drawer contains all files within your project.

Adding Assets to the Environment

In this section, the speaker demonstrates how to add assets to the environment in Fortnite using UE4.

Dragging Assets into the Environment

To add assets to the environment, drag and drop them from the content drawer onto the scene.

Use "Control + Space" as a shortcut to open up the content drawer without having to click on it.

The prefabs folder contains massive buildings that can be added to the scene.

Clicking on "Fort playset prop item definition," "Fort playset item definition," "Fort item definition," and "Fort trap item definition" under miscellaneous allows you to see all available assets at once.

Using Free Assets from Epic Game Services

Epic Game Services offers thousands of free assets that can be downloaded and used in Fortnite.

Use filters such as "free" under base price when searching for free assets.

To use an asset, simply drag it into your scene. Unreal will automatically download it and place it in your world.

Introduction to the Interface

This section covers the basics of the interface and how to navigate it.

Game View Mode

Press G key to turn on game view mode.

Press G key again to toggle back to normal view mode.

Field of View

Click on the button in the top right corner to increase field of view.

Default field of view is 90, but can be increased up to 120.

Perspective Views

Click on perspective button and select top for bird's eye view.

Hold down right mouse button and scroll wheel to pan and zoom in/out.

Click on wireframe button to see polygons that make up world.

Show Flags

Click on show flags button to turn different settings on/off.

Player collision shows all collision volumes that will block player movement.

Customizing User Interface

This section covers how to customize the user interface and use the world outliner and details panel.

World Outliner

Shows all objects that make up world.

Select object and press H key or click eye icon in outliner window to hide/unhide object.

Details Panel

Provides detailed information about selected object in world outliner.

Can be used for editing properties of selected object.

Introduction to Unreal Engine 4

In this section, the speaker introduces the viewer to Unreal Engine 4 and demonstrates how to adjust lighting and customize the user interface.

Adjusting Lighting

To adjust lighting, select a light source and use the details panel to change its intensity, color, and shadow softness.

Increasing the source radius will create a softer shadow.

Customizing User Interface

To customize the user interface, hold down the left mouse button on a tab and drag it to a new location.

To reset the user interface to default settings, go to Windows > Layout > Default Editor Layout.

To add new windows, go to Windows > Place Actors.

Editing Landscape

To edit landscape, switch to landscape mode by selecting it from the drop-down menu or using Shift+2 shortcut.

Use sculpt brush with details layer selected for sculpting terrain.

Use flatten brush for flattening terrain.

Use noise brush for adding natural variation in terrain.

Landscape Sculpting and Painting

This section covers how to sculpt and paint different layers in a landscape.

Adjusting Brush Settings

The tool strength, brush size, and brush fall off are the settings that will be changed the most when sculpting a landscape.

Painting Different Layers

Selecting the paint layer gives access to different layers such as sand and mud.

Hold down the left mouse button to paint over an area with a selected layer.

If a layer is above another layer, it cannot be painted over it. To remove a layer, select it and hold down shift.

Playing Map in Fortnite

Launch session allows for playing the map directly inside Fortnite. Press escape key and select start game to begin playing from player spawner location.

Changes made in Unreal Engine 5 will also be shown in Fortnite while live editing, allowing for rapid prototyping of gameplay elements within Fortnite devices.

Editing Gameplay Elements in Fortnite Devices

This section covers how to edit gameplay elements within Fortnite devices.

Changing Device Settings

Press E key on device to access settings or use details panel within Unreal Engine 5 to change settings directly.

Player team property can be set by changing team index setting within player spawner or details panel.

Introduction to Unreal Engine 4

In this section, the speaker introduces Unreal Engine 4 and explains how to start a game.

Starting a Game

To play a game in Unreal Engine 4, set the player team to any and press "Start Game".

There are two ways to start a game: within the editor or within Fortnite.

Creating a Custom Island

In this section, the speaker explains how to create a custom island from scratch using Unreal Engine 4.

Creating a New Project

Open the project browser by going to File > New > Open Project.

Select "Island Templates" and choose a completely blank island.

Name your project and click "Create".

Adding Landscape

Switch from selection mode to landscape mode.

Use the new tool in manage tab to create a brand new landscape.

Use the add button in manage tab to add more components if needed.

Use sculpt mode to sculpt your landscape as desired.

Adding an Ocean

Press Ctrl + Spacebar to go into content drawer.

Under Fortnite folder, select environments and then water.

Drag out the ocean into your world.

Adjusting Your Island's Size and Lighting

In this section, the speaker explains how to adjust your island's size and lighting using Unreal Engine 4.

Adjusting Island Size

If you don't see square pegs that allow you to adjust your island's size, press G key for widgets view mode.

Move around square pegs until you get desired size of your island.

Adjusting Lighting

Turning off Default Lighting

Go under Windows > World Settings > Timer Day

Disable all time of day management

Adding Custom Lighting

Add a light to your world.

Go under Windows > World Settings > Timer Day

Enable all time of day management

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes the tutorial and mentions that the island needs to be bigger.

Final Thoughts

The island created in this tutorial is fine but it does need to be bigger.

Creating a Beach Environment

In this section, the instructor demonstrates how to create a beach environment in Unreal Engine 4.

Painting Sand and Hiding Ocean

To create a beach environment, exit landscape mode and select the ocean. Press "H" to hide it.

Use the paint tool to select layer 3 (sand) and increase brush size. Paint sand where water is.

Press shift+F1 to go back into selection mode and control+H to bring back water.

Making Island Bigger

Select pins of island and use shift+2 to go back into landscape mode.

Rotate or scale island using r key for curvature adjustment.

Use sculpt smooth and flattened brush for natural transition between beach and cliffs.

Adding River

Under Fortnite environment water, drag out river tool in desired location.

Zoom in on river to see direction of current flow. Rotate it so that it faces the ocean.

Adjust landscape with sculpt brush manually if effects landscape is turned off.

Increasing Grass Spawn Distance

If grass does not spawn in certain areas, increase settings by changing engine scalability settings from epic to cinematic.

This can also be used for low frame rates or performance issues.

Using Prefabs and Assets in Fortnite

In this section, the speaker explains how to use prefabs and assets in Fortnite.

Using Prefabs

Prefabs are completed Lego sets that consist of a collection of pieces or Lego bricks that can be connected with each other to create a larger set as a whole.

To access prefabs, go to the "Prefabs" folder within the Fortnite directory.

Epic Games has already created many prefabs that can be used for building.

To add a prefab to your project, drag it from the content browser into your level.

Browsing Assets

To browse through all available assets, activate all filters and look through every single asset in the content browser.

Alternatively, you can browse through specific types of assets by going to their respective folders within the Fortnite directory.

If you find an asset you like, right-click on it and select "Browse to Asset" to jump directly to its location in the content browser.

Moving and Deleting Prefabs

When working with prefabs, keep in mind that all objects within a prefab are connected.

To move or delete a prefab as a whole, select one of its objects and scroll up until you see the object that connects them all (usually named after the prefab).

You can then move or delete this object as desired.

If you want to use an asset from a prefab without including the entire prefab, right-click on the asset and select "Attach To" > "None".

Grid Snapping

Many Fortnite assets are built on a grid system.

To enable grid snapping when moving objects around, click on the grid snapping icon at the top of the editor window.

You can adjust the size of grid snapping by clicking on its value next to its icon.

Grouping Objects and Importing Assets

In this section, the speaker explains how to group objects and import assets in Fortnite.

Grouping Objects

To move multiple objects around as a group, select them all and press "Ctrl + G" to group them.

You can then move the entire group by selecting any one of its objects.

To ungroup objects, right-click on the group and select "Ungroup".

Importing Assets

You can download high-quality assets from the Epic Games store or import your own assets into Fortnite.

To import an asset, go to the "Import" button at the top of the content browser.

The speaker will cover importing assets in more detail in a separate video.

Using Fortnite Assets to Build an Environment

In this section, the speaker discusses how using Fortnite assets can keep project size under 400 megabytes and provides tips for building an environment.

Building with Big Changes First

Start by placing big changes such as rocks, glyphs, and trees.

Find assets that might work in the environment and drag them into your world to preview them before placing them.

Adding a Waterfall

Search for "waterfall" in the content browser and select one of the available options.

Add a rock wall to make it look like the waterfall is flowing from somewhere.

Add a particle effect to enhance the waterfall's appearance.

Adding Water

Search for "water" in the content browser and select one of the available options.

Place water below the waterfall to create a pond or second river leading into the main river.

Placing Rocks

Place rocks along water and cliffs to add variation to your environment.

Use scaling and flipping tools within the details panel to adjust asset sizes and orientations as needed.

Tips for Environment Creation

The majority of environment creation involves moving, rotating, and scaling objects until they look nice together.

Don't be afraid to experiment with different assets or create your own unique environment.

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