Unreal Engine VR Cookbook: Developing Virtual Reality with UE4

246 Pages·2017·26.635 MB·English

by  Mitch McCaffrey

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Unreal Engine VR Cookbook
Developing Virtual Reality with UE4
Mitch McCaffrey
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The following are registered trademarks of Google: Android™, Daydream™, Google Cardboard™.
Steam VR is a registered trademark of Valve Corporation.
Oculus Rift is a registered trademark of Oculus VR, LLC.
Samsung Gear VR is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
PlayStation VR is a registered trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
Unreal Engine is a registered trademark of Epic Games, Inc., in the United States of America and
elsewhere.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-464917-7
ISBN-10: 0-13-464917-6
1 17
Editor-in-Chief
Mark L. Taub Executive Editor
Laura Lewin Development Editor
Sheri Replin Managing Editor
Sandra Schroeder Full-Service Production Manager
Julie B. Nahil Project Editor
Anna Popick
Copy Editor
Barbara Wood
Indexer
Dick Evans
Proofreader
Anna Popick
Technical Reviewers
Luis Cataldi
Jeff Wilson
Clinton Crumpler Editorial Assistant
Olivia Basegio Cover Designer
Chuti Prasertsith Compositor
The CIP Group
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Praise for Unreal Engine VR Cookbook
“I’ve been a fan of Mitch’s work for quite some time. Back in early 2014, Mitch was exploring new
locomotion mechanics in Unreal Engine for VR characters and sharing his findings, as well as numerous
sample files, on the www.unrealengine.com forums in massive ongoing threads. Even in the early days of
VR exploration, his work was helpful to many newcomers working to understand the issues of designing
for a comfortable virtual experience. With his YouTube channel, Mitch’s VR Labs, he helped thousands of
people understand the foundations of locomotion and interaction mechanics with clear and concise UE4
videos. I’m thrilled that he has taken the time to bring all his knowledge and experience in working with
Unreal Engine and virtual reality to the Unreal® Engine VR Cookbook. With the current attention and
appetite for understanding how best to work in the exciting medium of virtual reality with Unreal Engine, I
think Mitch is uniquely qualified to share this book with the world.”
—Luis Cataldi, Unreal Engine Education, Epic Games, Inc.

Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Part I: Getting Started
1 Terminology and Best Practices
Terminology
Devices
Software
Unreal Engine
Best Practices
Summary
2 Head Mounted Display Setup
Gear VR
Gear VR Project Setup
Gear VR Global Menu Setup
Gear VR Global Menu Progress Material
Rift and Vive
Rift and Vive Project Setup
Rift and Vive Tracking Origins
Summary
3 Toolkit
Generic Function Library
Oculus Function Library
Steam VR Function Library
Summary
Part II: Recipes
4 Trace Interaction
Understanding Trace Interaction
Understanding Interfaces
Setting Up Trace Interaction
Basic Project Setup
Interaction Interface Setup
Interaction Component
Interaction Pawn Setup
Setting Up a Basic Interactive Object
Summary
Exercises
5 Teleportation
Setting Up Teleportation
Parabolic Tracing
Visualizing the Teleport
Visualization Material
Visualization Actor
Simple Teleportation Volume
Summary
Exercises
6 Unreal Motion Graphics and 2D User Interfaces
Challenges with 2D UI in VR
History and Compatibility of UMG
Basic VR Menu
Menu Actor
Menu Pawn
Custom Menu Interaction
Implementing Custom Menu Interaction: Approach 1
Implementing Custom Menu Interaction: Approach 2
Summary
Exercises
7 Character Inverse Kinematics
Introduction to Inverse Kinematics
Setting Up Head IK
Mirror Creation
IK Pawn
Head IK Animation Blueprint
Setting Up Hand IK
Adding Motion Controllers to Your Pawn
Hand IK Animation Blueprint
Summary
Exercises
8 Motion Controller Interaction