How to manage a scene in Unreal Engine.

Assets Loading and Subdivision

All assets you will use inside your game are pre-loaded and saved by Unreal Engine insise its ‘Content’ folder.
You must divide the contents neatly in order to manage then in the best way.

The standard way is:

Content Browser> Content

– SFX
– BGMusic

– Blueprints

– Maps (here Levels)

– Materials
– Textures

– Particles

– Meshes

Game Levels

A game is divedes in multiple game levels. For example in a platform game there are multiple worlds, every world can be put inside a level.

1. MAIN TOP MENU> File> New Level> default or Empty
2. DRAG AND DROP in Maps folder (it’s not mandatory)
3. RMB over the Map: Edit/Rename/Duplicate etc…
4. MAIN TOP MENU> Window> Levels

Put elements inside a Game Level

1. Content Browser> DRAG AND DROP elements (Actors) into 3D Viewport

2. The elements are added inside RIGHT COLUMN> World Outlines.

Hot Keys of World Outlines are:

– SINGLE LMB empty area: select the actor
– SINGLE LMB over the name: rename the actor
– SHIFT + LMB: select multiple actors
– CTRL + LMB: add/remove selection
– DOUBLE LMB: focus on actor
– RMB: properties rollout> Select> All, Invert etc…

World outliner> Searching:

– Actors matching specific terms can be excluded by using “-” before a term.
– A term can be forced to match exactly, as opposed to a partial match, by adding a “+” before a term.
– Double quotes can be placed around the search term to force an exact match of the full term in the Actor’s long name.

Subdivide a Game Level

1. RIGHT COLUMN> World Outliner> ON THE TOP RIGHT ‘Create New Folder’
2. DRAG AND DROP elements inside the folder you have just created.

An example can be:

– Lights
– Heros
– Enemys
– Environment

NOTICE: the main parent is the Map

Statistics

MAIN TOP MENU> Window> Statistics

Father and son…

1. RIGHT COLUMN> World Outliner> DRAG AND DROP son over the parent

Layers

With layers you can manage visibility of Actors during the creative process.
For example, you might be working on a building that has multiple levels but is comprised of many modular parts. By assigning each floor to a layer, you can hide each of the floors you are not working on making the top view much more manageable.

1. MAIN TOP MENU> Window> Layers, Layer Tab will be added on the RIGHT COLUMN
2. RMB into Layer empty panel> Create Empty Layer
3. Select Actors in the 3D Viewport> RIGHT COLUMN> Layer Tab> RMB over the new Layer> Add Selected Actors to Selected Layers

OR

3. World Outliner> DRAG AND DROP Actor over Layers Tab> yourLayer

NOTICE: an Actor can be in as many layers as you want.

4. Select the Layer> BOTTOM LEFT ‘See Contents’ and TOP LEFT small icon ‘Back’

OR

4. DOUBLE LMB over the Layer name, INTO ‘World Outliner’ the Actors inside the Layer will be selected