Unreal Engine 5 for Beginners

This book is a complete beginner’s guide for building dynamic games from scratch with Unreal Engine 5 and exploring some of its cutting-edge features, such as Lumen and Nanite.

Key Features

Get up and running with Unreal Engine 5 and explore the tools in the Unreal Editor
Build dynamic game environments with cutting-edge features like Nanite and Lumen
Use visual scripting via Blueprint to add gameplay elements and UI logic

Book DescriptionUnreal Engine 5 is the latest release of Epic Games' game engine, allowing users to create large-scale, dynamic 3D creations easily. This book is a comprehensive introduction for those new to Unreal, which will have you up-to-speed with the fundamentals in no time.
Throughout Unreal Engine 5 for Beginners, this easy-to-follow guide will teach you how to build a sample game from scratch. You'll go from simply installing the software to creating high detail worlds using Nanite, light up the environment with Lumen, and dive into programming to add gameplay elements and UIs. You will also breathe life into your game projects using some of the engine's tools such as the Level Editor, Material Editor, MetaSounds, Particle systems, Blueprints, and Character animations. Finally, you will debug your game, create backups, and use GitHub for version control. Not only will you understand these concepts on a practical level, but you will also understand some of the underlying theories behind them too.
By the end of the book, you will have a comprehensive understanding of all the basic features of the engine to create simple games from start to end, and it will be a good jumping-off point to exploring more complex Unreal Engine 5 topics.What you will learn

Familiarize yourself with the new Unreal 5 Editor
Learn how to integrate megascan assets into your game environments
Create high detail game environments with geometry and materials
Use new features like Nanite and Lumen to improve game environments
Add gameplay functionality through basic visual scripting (Blueprints)
Learn how to debug your code to find errors
Discover the Unreal Engine Marketplace for obtaining assets
Learn best practices such as project organization and source control

Who this book is forThis book is aimed at aspiring game developers with limited experience using Unreal Engine, who are either new to game development or come from other platforms and are interested in learning Unreal Engine 5.This book will benefit those interested in game creation, plus those familiar with 3D modelling software, scripting, graphic design, or sound creation. No specific knowledge is required, since all the core skills taught in this book will be built up from scratch.