2_Light_Painter

Section 2 of the GameDev.tv Unreal VR Course, available on Udemy. Understand the best practices for user interface in VR. Design and build their own spatial interfaces. Create game saving mechanisms for any game. (ref: LP_VR2)

1 User Interface Section Introduction

In this video (objectives)…

1. What you will get from this section.
2. A sneak peak at the section project.
3. Setting up the project.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Know what we are aiming for this section.

2 Creating A VR Pawn Setup

In this video (objectives)…

1. Overview of the desired setup.
2. Creating the C++.
3. Hooking up the Blueprint.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Have an alternative way of setting up VR Pawns.

3 Binding Actions To Motion Controllers

In this video (objectives)…

1. Overview of the painting architecture.
2. Creating a Stroke actor.
3. Setup the input handling.
4. Spawning a stroke.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Forward hand controller actions to their actors.

4 3D Painting With Spline Meshes

In this video (objectives)…

1. Writing and using the interface.
2. Outlining the algorithm.
3. Creating a spline mesh.
4. Updating the end-points.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Use spline meshes for 3D drawing.

5 Frame Rate In VR

In this video (objectives)…

1. Why frame rate matters in VR.
2. Viewing the frame rate.
3. What changes the frame rate?

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Why frame rate is important and how to measure it.

6 Performance Bottlenecks

In this video (objectives)…

1. What are bottlenecks?
2. Tools to identify bottlenecks.
3. Game, render or GPU bound?

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Identify CPU or GPU bottlenecks in own games.

7 Performance Optimisation

In this video (objectives)…

1. Likely causes of bottlenecks.
2. Identifying vertex vs pixel bound.
3. Improving the empty scene frame time.
4. Forward rendering vs deferred rendering.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Diagnose common GPU issues.

8 Reducing DrawCalls With Instancing

In this video (objectives)…

1. Log the number of DrawCalls.
2. Recapping the Instanced Static Mesh.
3. Replacing the meshes in the stroke.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Replace multiple meshes with an Instanced Static Mesh.

9 Rotating & Scaling Stroke Meshes

In this video (objectives)…

1. The rotation and scaling maths.
2. The code outline.
3. Rotating and scaling APIs.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to rotate and scale to fit between two points.

10 Instanced Mesh Materials

In this video (objectives)…

1. Importing new meshes.
2. Creating a material.
3. Enabling the material for instanced static meshes.
4. Hiding the stroke joints.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to add materials to instanced static meshes.

11 Saving Game State

In this video (objectives)…

1. Creating a USaveGame subclass.
2. Saving and Creating APIs.
3. Our SaveGame header file.
4. Implementing Save and Create.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Be able to create and save a SaveGame.

12 Loading A SaveGame

In this video (objectives)…

1. Setup saving from user input.
2. Loading API.
3. Using the loading API.
4. Saving and loading a UPROPERTY.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Load data from a save game file.

13 Serialising The Game State

In this video (objectives)…

1. What is the state of our level?
2. Defining the UPROPERTY.
3. The SaveGame serialising API.
4. Capture and spawn the strokes.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to serialise simple game state.

14 Serialising Actors To Structs

In this video (objectives)…

1. Create Stroke state struct.
2. The Stroke serialisation API.
3. Implementing serialisation.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to use structs to serialise complex state.

15 Renaming C++ Base Classes

In this video (objectives)…

1. Rename the HandController class.
2. Setup an ActiveClassRedirect.
3. Creating a base class.
4. Extracting functionality.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to rename a C++ base class and extract functionality into a super class.

16 Introduction To Vector Design

In this video (objectives)…

1. Introduction to the Daydream sticker sheet.
2. Importing Sketch files into Figma.
3. The basic tools in Figma.
4. Understanding the DMM.
5. Creating a simple layout.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to use Figma to create basic layouts.

17 Understanding Good VR Design

In this video (objectives)…

1. Critique the Daydream designs.
2. Critique you own design.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to critique user interface designs.

18 Designing User Interface For VR

In this video (objectives)…

1. Creating a design frame.
2. Create/capture requirements.
3. Assemble a design.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to build a UI design in Figma.

19 Ergonomic 3D UI Layout In Unreal

In this video (objectives)…

1. Create a placeholder widget.
2. Displaying the widget in the scene.
3. Placing the widget with spline guides.
4. Scaling the widget.
5. Placing the buttons.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to accurately place UI from a design.

20 UI Widget Interaction In 3D

In this video (objectives)…

1. Introducing the Widget Interaction Component.
2. Creating a button to test with.
3. Setting up the Blueprints.
4. Adding a Widget Interaction Component.
5. Clicking the button.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How UI selection works in VR with Unreal.

21 Converting A Design To UMG - Part 1

In this video (objectives)…

1. Setting up the grid layout.
2. Exporting the card button graphics.
3. Setting up the card button.
4. Creating all the states.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Converting button designs to working UMG buttons.

22 Converting A Design To UMG - Part 2

In this video (objectives)…

1. Creating the action bar widget.
2. Laying out the buttons.
3. Creating the button variations.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How buttons scale with their contents.

23 Converting A Design To UMG - Part 3

In this video (objectives)…

1. Layout the images.
2. Exporting the graphics.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to use a horizontal layout.

24 Binding UPROPERTY to UMG

In this video (objectives)…

1. Add base class and reparent PaintingGrid.
2. Bind the Uniform Grid Panel.
3. Create blueprint interface to AddPainting and call it.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to bind a widget to C++.

25 Spawning Widgets In C++

In this video (objectives)…

1. Introduce the APIs. (CreateWidget, GetChildAt, AddChild)
2. Creating the Card widget.
3. Spawn a widget.
4. Add to the size box.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to spawn widgets and add them to PanelWidgets.

26 Converting PaintingPicker to C++

In this video (objectives)…

1. Add PaintingPicker C++ parent.
2. Create the essential components in C++.
3. Copy the component values.
4. Convert the blueprint to C++.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Practice at reparenting Blueprints.

27 Naming Each Slot Uniquely

In this video (objectives)…

1. Add a SlotName variable.
2. Generate the variable on creation.
3. Create a getter for SlotName.
4. Update loading to take the SlotName.
5. Create a new PaintingSaveGame on every load.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

Using UUIDs to generate unique string names.

28 Iterating Over All SaveGames

In this video (objectives)…

1. Creating the PainterSaveGameIndex.
2. The Index API.
3. Using the API.
4. Implementing Load() and Save().
5. Implementing AddPainting() and GetPaintings().

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to use an index to iterate over all save games.

29 Populating The Game List UI

In this video (objectives)…

1. Change the AddPainting interface.
2. Add at index.
3. Add as many paintings as there are.
4. Correct the order of slots.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to populate the UI lists.

30 Binding Text Widgets To C++

In this video (objectives)…

1. Add a text box to the card.
2. Improve spacing of the grid.
3. Creating a UPaintingGridCard parent class.
4. Binding the TextBlock.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to make and bind UMG TextBlocks.

31 Setting TextBlock Content From C++

In this video (objectives)…

1. Creating the SetPaintingName interface.
2. Calling the SetPaintingName interface.
3. The UTextBlock API and FText.
4. Implementing SetPaintingName.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to set TextBlock text in C++.

32 Button Actions And Splash Screens

In this video (objectives)…

1. How to use the OpenLevel API.
2. Binding the button OnClicked.
3. Opening the "Canvas" level.
4. How to get around the hanging issue.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to open levels smoothly in VR.

33 Parsing Level Options In GameMode

In this video (objectives)…

1. Creating a GameMode.
2. Handling the options with InitGame.
3. Parsing out our option.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to parse level loading options.

34 Loading Save Games In GameMode

In this video (objectives)…

1. Why we can't load the game in InitGame.
2. Loading the game at start.
3. Why we should hide the splash screen.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

When to hide a splash screen.

35 Handling Saving In GameMode

In this video (objectives)…

1. Creating the GameMode SavePainting API.
2. Calling the API.
3. Making it save.
4. Quitting to the Menu.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

When it's best to hide information and delegate.

36 Initialize - BeginPlay For Widgets

In this video (objectives)…

1. Removing the old loading and creation code.
2. When to bind buttons.
3. Create an ActionBar C++ parent.
4. Binding the "Add" button.
5. Binding the "Delete" button.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

When to use Initialize in UserWidgets.

37 Hooking Up The Add Functionality

In this video (objectives)…

1. Passing a reference down to ActionBar.
2. Calling back up to PaintingPicker.
3. Create the painting and reload.

After watching (learning outcomes)…

How to call up to a Widget's parent.

38 Clearing Children of UPanelWidget

In this video(objectives)…

1. Create the API and the usage.
2. Overview of the documentation you need.
3. Iterating over the children.
4. Clearing the children of the size box.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

How to iterate and clear children of a UPanelWidget.

39 Connecting A LeftHandController

In this video(objectives)…

1. Create the PaletteMenuHandController.
2. Add and spawn a left hand controller.
3. Connecting in blueprint.
4. Setting the MotionController hand.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

Revision of the HandController architecture.

40 Adding Menus To Hand Controllers

In this video(objectives)…

1. Add a widget component to the controller.
2. Create and setup a widget.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

Revision of the widget components.

41 Overriding a Scene Component

In this video(objectives)…

1. Create new C++ derived class.
2. Adding a custom widget to Blueprints.
3. Overview of IsOverInteractableWidget API.
4. Implementing the click behaviour.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

How to query the interface from a UWidgetInteractionComponent.

42 Refactoring SaveAndQuit

In this video(objectives)…

1. Create UFUNCTION on GameMode.
2. Calling the UFUNCTION.
3. Moving the implementation.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

How to call GameMode functions from Blueprint.

43 Create a Pagination Dot Widget

In this video(objectives)…

1. Create the C++ parent.
2. Create the widget Blueprint and reparent.
3. Setup with the image widget.
4. Replace in the grid widget.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

Overview of the pagination system.

44 Spawning a Pagination Dot

In this video(objectives)…

1. Creating the API.
2. Temporarily calling the API.
3. Implementing the spawning.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

Revision of spawning widgets.

45 Editing UPanelSlot in C++

In this video(objectives)…

1. What is a UPanelSlot.
2. Getting the right slot type.
3. Changing the padding.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

What a UPanelSlot does and how to use it.

46 Transparent Widgets In The World

In this video(objectives)…

1. Creating the SetActive API.
2. Binding the image.
3. Blend modes: transparent vs masked.
4. Implementing SetActive.
5. Reproducing the dots in code.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

The differences between blend modes and when to use them.

47 Calculating Number Of Pages

In this video(objectives)…

1. How to calculate number of pages.
2. Implementing GetNumberOfSlots().
3. Calculating the number of slots.
4. Implementing Number of pages.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

How to calculate the number of pages to paginate a given number of items.

48 Refreshing The Pagination State

In this video(objectives)…

1. Refactoring refresh.
2. Adding a current page variable.
3. Add one dot per page.
4. Clearing the pagination dots.
5. Selecting the current page.

49 Latching an Analogue Input

In this video(objectives)…

1. Binding an axis for pagination.
2. Overview of a latching mechanism.
3. Log latched offsets.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

How to turn an analogue input into an action.

50 Moving Between Pages

In this video(objectives)…

1. Creating the pagination API.
2. Using the API with TActorIterator.
3. Implementing an absorbing boundary.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

How to implement an absorbing boundary.

51 Updating The Pages

In this video(objectives)…

1. Calculating the StartOffset.
2. For loop over the slots.
3. Checking the last page.

After watching(learning outcomes)…

How to display paginated results.

52 How To Become A VR Master

In this video(objectives)…

1. How to read the prototype code
2. Overview of the features
3. MEGA Challenge!

After watching(learning outcomes)…

To have the confidence to continue your VR journey.