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How to make a Decal in Unreal

When it comes to creating a decal the first thing you need is the textures that you will be using for the decal. For this tutorial the textures I am using are a base colour and opacity. The resource for this guide is on google classroom in the folder ‘Decal_Textures’ If you prefer to follow a video tutorial for this then use the link below. If your prefer a written guide then continue reading.

Creating Decals in Unreal Engine 5

Creating the Decal Material:

When creating the decal the first thing we need to do is to create a material, to do this right click in the content draw and select Material. Call this material Decal_M.The import in the Base colour and opacity mask of your decal as textures.

Inside of the material with the material attributes panel selected, go to the details panel on the left hand side and change the material domain from surface to deferred decal.We also need to change the blend mode from opaque to translucent.

Next drag your base colour texture and opacity texture into the material. Attach the RGB pin of the base colour texture into the base colour pin on the material. Attach the RGB pin from the opacity texture into the opacity pin on the material.

Applying the Decal into the level.

Applying the decal to the level is very simple, All you need to do is drag it into the scene.

To make the decal more faded, slightly pull the decal volume away from the surface you are projecting it on.

Common Issues and solutions:

Stretched decal:

If you run into an issue where when you apply your decal on the wall it doesn't look as intended, this just means you need to rotate the decal to the right direction.

Decal affecting multiple objects.

By default a decal will affect all objects that touch it, this causes issues when you are wanting to put a decal underneath an object. To solve these issues, click the object that you don't want to be affected ,search decal in the details panel and untick the receives decal option.

Stretch Challenge:Decal Material Instance

In Unreal we can create material instances, material instances use a material as its base for the template but then can be edited separately to the main material. This means that you can have multiple materials instances of the same material and change some of the attributes such as the textures being used.

To create a material instance, first we need to make the elements within your material editable parameter, right click the texture sample and choose convert to parameter and give them a suitable name relating to what they are.

Now these are editable parameters, we can now create the material instance. To create the material instance, right click the material you want to be the base of your material instance, and click create material instance.

Now open up the material instance, open the global parameters section  and tick the base colour and opacity options to activate them.

With this function you can now switch out the textures used for the base material and opacity mask without affecting the main material.When you want to create different instances for your decals either create a new instance using your decal base or duplicate your existing material instance and edit the parameters independently.

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Doors, teleporters and moving platforms.

Although I was absent on the day for the doors and moving platforms, I was walked through the processes of making these

Teleporter

The teleporter mainly consisted of moving the player for one entrance to another, based on a tag and so when u entered the teleporter, it would search for another teleporter with the same tag which can be changed as its a open variable allowing us to have as many teleporters as we could ever want.

Door

For the door I did it a different way compared to the Guide, it works based off a base rotation and a arrow which can be moved to control the open door rotation.

The door also checks for a tag, allowing us to add keys/ keycards or keep it a player tag to make the player able to open it normally

these can be added by clicking on the teleporter and searching for the tag section and imputing a

Moving Platform

I was shown two types of Moving platforms, one that reacts when overlapped, and another which is played in a loop.

The platform attempts to go to the "target" if overlapped with the player character.

And this one is looped moving between its target and location of origin.

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Audio minigame

I was away for the lesson on audio and making a audio minigame.

While I couldn't find the tutorial the basics were making a maze and adding sound to a pickup, for us to find

some links for sounds we were given are https://freesound.org/ https://uppbeat.io/.

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What is a 3D animation?

A 3D animation is a process of creating a movement of any object in a 3D space relatively to other objects. 3D Animation is more realistic. It hits your screen with life like interaction movements interactions. In video games, movies, and virtual surroundings, this process is utilised to create an immersive experience.

Examples

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Player Types.

Players play games differently, knowing how they do so allows for better level design. People who are achievers want goals and rewards. Therefore, all levels should have clear objectives. Explorers love to explore secret places. Socializers enjoy co-op stuff. Killers like high-risk competition. When you design with these types in mind, levels become more engaging.

Shape Theory.

How players feel about a game’s environment is affected by shape theory. Circles and curves look safe and friendly which makes them suitable for tutorials or rest areas. The squares and rectangles represent stability and order, making them ideal for puzzle. Using triangles and sharp angles creates tension and danger, which is ideal for traps or boss areas. Using these shapes in a strategic way changes player emotions and reactions.

Blockmeshing.

Blockmeshing is the first step in your level design where you use simple blocks to roughly plan the level to test gameplay. Designers concentrate on how players navigate the area, i.e. using landmarks, lighting, framing. They control pacing with open spaces for exploration and tight areas for tension. The mechanics on this stage which includes jumping as well as fighting will also be tested. Everything will be tested to make sure everything is functional and smooth before the final details are added.

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Layout Theory

For theory I'm meant to check out the BioShock intro, but I couldn't find the exact video they were talking about which lasts 10 minutes and so I looked at this video.

At the start the game basically shuts off all possible places to explore with debris, fire, stairs and hallways.

This forces the player to only travel in a fixed path, which leads to a device which gives us a narrator, which then tells us where to go.

As we follow the instructions given by the narrator, we are alerted but the spotlight and large amount of movement bringing the players focus to the commotion.

As you explore on wards its all a straight path again, but now a sound is heard which again guides the player out of interest, which progresses the game further.

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Comparing Minecraft, Teardown and Bonfire Peaks

Minecraft

Minecraft feels like the ultimate creative playground. The voxels aren’t just for looks they’re the whole point of the game. You can build anything, survive, explore, or even blow stuff up. It’s all about freedom, and the blocky style makes it feel like your own little world.

Teardown

Teardown takes the voxel style in a completely different direction. Instead of building stuff, it’s all about destruction. The details in the voxel physics are insane everything breaks apart so realistically that it’s just satisfying to smash and wreck stuff. It’s like Minecraft, but with way more chaos and explosions.

Bonfire Peaks

Bonfire Peaks is totally different from both. It uses the voxel style to feel more calm and emotional, which is weird at first because it’s just blocks. But the puzzles and the way the game looks make you think more about the story and what’s going on in the character’s life.

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Crossy Road

The blocky, voxel style makes the game feel super casual, like it’s designed for quick fun when you’re bored, but it also looks cool and clean enough that it doesn’t feel outdated.

Minecraft

The voxels are the whole reason the game is so fun you can build anything you want, and even though it looks simple, it somehow makes exploring feel endless and exciting.

Teardown

The voxels here make smashing and destroying stuff way more satisfying because it’s like watching a huge blocky world crumble in slow motion it feels real but not too serious.

Skies of the Past

There's no videos on Skies of the past as far as I can see but I found this site which talks about it;

The voxel style makes the game feel like a mix of retro and modern, with its blocky designs giving off nostalgic vibes while still looking great and detailed.

Fugl

The voxel visuals make flying around super cool and relaxing it’s like a blocky dream where the focus is more on the vibe than any hard objectives.

I find how the character changes depending on its surrounding environment to be very hypnotising but very appealing.

The Touryst

The voxel style makes the world feel bright and fun, almost like a vacation in a cute blocky paradise, but it’s still detailed enough to make exploring interesting.

Bonfire Peaks

The blocky graphics give the puzzles a clean, satisfying look, but they also make the emotional story stand out because the style feels simple yet meaningful.

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Healthpack Moodboard

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Voxel Made

Voxel made is both a platform and service, giving good tutorials for people to get better at voxel art while being a place where you can share your art and get publicity.

Sir Carma

Sir Carma is a great Voxel artist, known for his amazing landscapes and projects with the voxel style of modeling, he has a good eye for small details and bringing a voxel landscape to life

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Magica Voxel

Magica Voxel is a great tool, for people from all levels of skill to get into modelling, its a simple software, where you build with blocks

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What is a UV Map?

An image that shows how a texture will look on the surface of a 3D model. The process involved "unwrapping" a 3D object into a 2D layout where a 2D texture is precisely mapped on the object. This process guarantees that all patterns, colours, and materials are in order and match the model’s geometry which is essential for creating rich characters, environments and objects. UV maps are used for normal maps, light maps, and other details so that the texture is placed just right and there are no errors.

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Soundscapes

Soundscapes can be the main thing that brings your game to life, like in Skyrims forests with the birds, wind and the rustling of leaves it creates a realistic environment for the player to explore and be immersed in.

Its not only environmental it can be the sound of creatures or people too. this can bring an idea that there is actually some kind of human life in a game.

Some other things that can be considered in a soundscape could be shooting and alarms, which might set the mood for a sort of war game.

All of these help to entice a player and really help them feel like they are apart of the game

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Cross -Culture Sound

Sometimes when a game comes out in one region, parts of it might not be acceptable due to copyright ,other rules or societal norms because of this they need to be changed a bit to have their games in different countries.

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Sound Influence

The fortnite chest has a very popular sound, it divides attention and gets players wanting more "loot" to survive.

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Cognitive Processing

These give a sound cue to the player while something has or is happening, this helps the players to keep informed and can be quite enjoyable to hear.

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Emotional Impact of Sound

Horror.

In horror games sound tends to play a big part in creating fear or tension, making the player aware of almost every little noise puts the player on edge, silence would also be used to create tension.

Puzzle.

Puzzle games tend to have quite a jolly or lo-fi feel to the sounds, creating a friendly atmosphere for all the players to enjoy rather than something that might unsettle them from the complicated game, this makes the player feel safe and calm while completing the game

Adventure.

Adventure games tend to try include nature as well as sound cues to create emotion and a sense of discovery to better the story telling and player engagement.