Run-time Terrain Deformation in Unreal Engine 4 - DiVA portal

Master of Science in Game and Software Engineering May 2020

Run-time Terrain Deformation in Unreal Engine 4

Rikard Magnom

Faculty of Computing, Blekinge Institute of Technology, 371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden

This thesis is submitted to the Faculty of Computing at Blekinge Institute of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Game and Software Engineering. The thesis is equivalent to 20 weeks of full time studies.

The authors declare that they are the sole authors of this thesis and that they have not used any sources other than those listed in the bibliography and identified as references. They further declare that they have not submitted this thesis at any other institution to obtain a degree.

Contact Information: Author(s): Rikard Magnom E-mail: rima15@student.bth.se

University advisor: Adjunct Prof. Stefan Petersson Department of Computer Science

Faculty of Computing Blekinge Institute of Technology SE?371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden

Internet : bth.se

Phone : +46 455 38 50 00

Fax

: +46 455 38 50 57

Abstract

Background. When developing video games, an often desired trait is that of player immersion. Player immersion can be achieved through many different ways. However, a common technique used is to allow the player to affect the environment in some way, through destruction or deformation. Unreal Engine 4 is a commonly used commercial game engine, that lacks features necessary to deform terrain at run-time. Objectives. This thesis explores the viability of run-time performant terrain deformation in Unreal Engine version 4.23. A deformation technique of a depth-based Dynamically-Displaced Height Map (DDHM) is selected for implementation and tested with various sizes of landscape terrains. Methods. A small literature study is performed to select a feasible run-time terrain deformation technique. The technique is then implemented in the engine, along with modifications to the engine to provide the necessary functionality. The implementation is then tested on performance and accuracy. Results. The DDHM technique is shown to provide run-time performant terrain deformation for smaller terrain sizes, consisting of an individual landscape component. The selected technique does not meet the run-time requirements for full, large-scale deformation. Conclusions. Run-time performant terrain deformation is shown to be achievable in Unreal Engine 4.23. While the selected technique fails to achieve satisfying results for larger terrain sizes, results on individual landscape components show feasibility for generic technique implementations.

Keywords: terrain, deformation, real-time, unreal engine

Sammanfattning

Bakgrund. Under utvecklingen av datorspel ?r det ofta en eftertraktad egenskap att kunna ?vertyga spelaren om realismen i spelv?rlden. Detta kan uppn?s p? flera s?tt, men en vanlig teknik ?r att l?ta spela p?verka omgivningen i spelet p? n?got s?tt, genom f?rst?relse eller deformering. Unreal Engine 4 ?r en vida anv?nd kommersiell spelmotor som saknar funktionalitet f?r att deformera terr?ng i realtid. Syfte. Syftet med detta arbete ?r att utforska genomf?rbarheten i att tillf?ra terr?ngdeformering i realtid i Unreal Engine version 4.23. En deformeringsteknik involverande en "Dynamically-Displaced Height Map" (DDHM) v?ljs ut f?r implementation och testas med olika storlekar p? landskapsterr?ng. Metod. En mindre litteraturstudie genomf?rs f?r att v?lja en rimlig teknik f?r terr?ngdeformering i k?rtid. Tekniken implementeras sedan i motorn, i sambard med modifikationer till motorn f?r att tillf?ra n?dv?ndig funktionalitet. Implementationen testas sedan p? prestanda och precision. Resultat. DDHM-tekniken visas kunna tillf?ra k?rtidsduglig terr?ngdeformering f?r mindre terr?ngstorlekar, best?ende av individuella landskapskomponenter. Tekniken m?ter inte realtidskriterierna f?r full, storskalig terr?ngdeformation. Slutsatser. Deformering av terr?ng i k?rtid visas vara genomf?rbart i Unreal Engine 4.23. Den utvalda tekniken visar lovande resultat f?r mindre storlekar av landskapsterr?ng, men misslyckas att prestera f?r st?rre terr?ngstorlekar.

Nyckelord: terr?ng, deformering, realtid, unreal engine

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