Category Archives: Sheffield

Sheffield, Video Games

I tested my work-in-progress Unreal Engine game based on Sheffield in UEVR

It has been so long since I’ve uploaded a video or wrote an article on here, and it seems like such a waste to have this site, and not use it for its’ intended purpose!
I’ve changed the theme of the site, and will be working to make the site work a bit better in the coming weeks, and trying to remember to use it more.

Transcript

Note: This is taken directly from my original script, so it may not be exactly as it appears in the video, because some parts I had to cut out – if anything, this is more in depth than the actual video, since I had to cut it for brevity.

Intro

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you all had a great start to the year.

I know it’s been a while since I made one of these, but I told myself for the new year – I will get back into uploading again.

Just the other day, I saw a new tool come out – and just had to give it a try! It’s called UEVR, by Praydog – and it’s currently in beta and available for free.

It’s designed to take games that are made in Unreal Engine, and make them VR – even those that weren’t originally made to support VR.

Installation

Installation is quite easy, ive put a link in the description – though configuring it to work with the game that you are playing may not be so easy and will need some tweaking.

Naturally, it won’t work for every game – and the development team have compiled a spreadsheet of the games they have tested, as you can see – most are in green, which is a great sign.

Rai Pal

Another free application that I’ve come across that works hand-in-hand with UEVR is Rai-Pal – again, I’ll put a link in the description for this. It’ll give you a breakdown of what engine was used to create the games in your Steam library, and even the Games that are in your library that you don’t have installed.

Please don’t judge me on the games I have! There’s also a lot of tools for debugging Unity games, which may be useful – but I’m not going to go into that in this video; maybe I will in another.

Raji

As you can see from this list, the only game I have installed that was created in Unreal is Raji: An Ancient Indian Epic, which is a 2D platformer that’s set in ancient India, and loosely based on Hindu mythology.

For the purpose of this demonstration is perfect, because it’s the total opposite of a game that’s designed to be played in virtual reality. One thing I found really impressive about this, is that for a game where the camera is set so far away, the close-up details are absolutely fantasic – especially for something that the developers would never even expect you to see.

My Project

And for the main reason I’m making this video, I want to try and see how this plays on my own work-in-progress project. I’m going to be using this with SteamVR, so I’ve opened Unreal and used the build process to compile the game into a Windows executable.

[17 Hours Later]

So, the building has completed – and I’m going to add it to my Steam library. I do this by loading up the Steam application and selecting ‘Add a non-Steam Game to my Library’ from the Games menu, and selecting Browse to find the compiled EXE on my hard drive.

You’ll notice that the project name is MrWhizALSRep – this is because the template I’m using is MrWhiz’s ALS Replication template, but using my own level.

[MrWhiz ALS]

I’ve been using this as the basis for my game for quite a while because it’s updated quite regularly on their Patreon, so whenever a new release comes out – I can just drop it into my project to update the functionality. I’ll put a link to MrWhiz’s channel in the description of this video in case you want to check it out, they do also have tutorials too if you just want to follow them.

When you’ve added it, it’ll show at the top of the selection – make sure it’s ticked, and select Add Selected Programs.

It’ll then show in your library, so what I’d then do is right-click on it, select Properties → Controller – and Enable Steam Input.

I don’t know if this actually makes a difference, but it seems like the right thing to do for compatibility.

Make sure you have UEVR loaded, because you’ll need to launch it from Steam the same way you’d open any other game in your library – but once it has loaded, you’re going to want to Alt + Tab to UEVR to select the running process.

Once selected, press the Inject button – and it should come through to your VR headset.

The first thing you’ll want to do is is Set Standing Position, so it’s relative to your actual position – and recenter the view.

Let me move this out the way for you. My knock-off, Xbox layout controller isn’t working – so I have to feel for my mouse and keyboard, and try to find the WASD keys with my headset on – which isn’t easy!

Ok, so now if I look around….

And I can see the player character if I look down, and to my right..

Sheffield

Irungattukottai – Assetto Corsa Track: What’s New? (September ’23)

A few people have asked about this track, and I just thought I’d show a couple of updates to the Irungattukottai track for Assetto Corsa

  • Added AI Lines so computer players can race too. (though they don’t know how to pit yet!)
  • Cleaned track up quite a lot (this is why the kerbs are all over the place!)

There’s a couple of things I need to work on next, they’ll be

  • TV style replays
  • Moving the kerb to match the track.
  • Environment additions.
  • Collision of environment objects

00:00 – Player POV

07:52 – AI Player POV

WIP track is available to download from the Downloads page:
https://thefan.uk/downloads

Fiat Uno TURBO I.E. MK1 mod from:
https://www.assettoworld.com/car/fiat-uno-turbo-ie-mk1

Sheffield

Sketchup to Unreal (via Blender)

Transcript

Hello – and welcome, or welcome back to the channel. I’m going to be using some Sheffield buildings I found on 3D Warehouse, and importing them into my Unreal map. With them using imagery from Google Earth, I can’t actually use them in the game – but for a sense of where things should go, and how they should look – they’re a lot more useful than the grey blockout buildings you see on the screen. The building we’ve just ran past is Montgomery Theatre on Surrey Street.

I’ve got 3D Warehouse open, and I’m going to use Sheffield Library for this example. So, I download the Sketchup file. I’m going to use the 2023 version, because I’ve downloaded the latest Sketchup – and activated a 30 day free trial of Sketchup Pro – the reason for this is that the Free version of Sketchup doesn’t allow you to export files like we’ll need to do.

I should also apologise for the ReStream overlay, I wasn’t expecting this to come up while I was recording offline screen activity – and don’t feel like re-recording the footage.

Once I’ve opened it, I’ll go to File → Export, and save it as Collada DAE Remember to select Options and ensure that ‘Export texture maps’ is enabled.

I’ll jump over to Blender, where I have a map of Sheffield from the blender-osm plugin, and find the Library. In this map, I’ve coloured all the Sketchup imports yellow, so that I can identify them later – and I’ll search for Library. Once I’ve found it on the Outliner, I’ll press Numpad full stop, or period – to jump to the building on the map

I’ll go into edit mode, select the roof – and Shift S → Cursor to selected, and back to Object mode.

Now when I’ve imported the .dae file, I’ll press Shift → S again and this time ‘Selection to Cursor’

This will snap the imported Sketchup file to the approximate region of the actual building on the map

I’ll eyeball it so it lines up with the map, and select Origin → To Geometry

You’ll be able to tell when it has worked, because all the elements will have those orange dots on them.

Once that’s complete, click File → Export – and this time you want to export to an FBX file.

Now I’m going to head over to Unreal, and import the building.

Open the Content Drawer

I’ve got a subfolder for each building, because they are made of a lot of different parts of mesh.

And I’ll drag the FBX file into the newly created folder, and select Import All.

I’ve got a search filter enabled to only show Static Mesh, and I’ll Select All, and drag them anywhere onto the scene.

To put them into place, I’ll reset the Location and Rotation with the backwards-facing arrow button – and then ‘F’ to jump to the building on the map.

This building actually has quite a bit going on; the yellow mesh is the previous Library I had there -but untextured, so I’ll be replacing that. The dark grey building is The Graves Gallery, which occupies the same building as the library.

I’ll open the content drawer, and I want to adjust the collision for all these mesh elements -so I’ll open a row at a time, to keep track of which I’ve done.

From the panel on the right, I’ll search for Collision to filter out the settings, and change the Collision Complexity to ‘Use Complex Collision as Simple’

Now I need to do that for all of the tabs open.

File → Save All

Now I can delete the yellow mesh-only library, and you can see the textured version in place.

I’ll click Play from Here, and see how it looks in-game.

It’s above ground level, and that’s to be expected – I need to model in the walkway, and the library actually has stairs up to it to access the entrance.

And then if we come up to the roof, you can see how the two buildings are merged.

Let’s have a little run across the rooftops, to make sure the collision is working

And while we are here, we can enjoy the view.

From up here, we can see one of the University buildings straight ahead, and if I run over here – we can see a building I’d prepared earlier – the Millenium Gallery.

I’ve done it again with the City Hall. This time I’m going to let it play out in realtime, so you can see what I’m doing.

If we have a quick run around it, we can see that it’s raised off the ground – but in actual fact it does have steps raised up towards it, so it won’t be flat on the ground – again, I’ll have to put the walkway in for it.

This is why it’s so important to set up the collision on the mesh elements – you’ll see on some parts, the player seems to be walking on the air.

Sheffield

Level Blockout: Norfolk Street, Sheffield [Unreal]

In this update, I want to give you a sneak peek of our upcoming level set in the heart of Sheffield, UK.
Specifically, I’ll be showcasing a section of Norfolk Street.

I hope you enjoy this preview of the Norfolk Street section of the level, and I can’t wait for you to experience it for yourself when the game is ready.
Thank you for watching, and we’ll see you in the next update!

Sheffield

How to Create 360° Videos with Blockade Labs (and Blender)

With Blockade Labs, you can create stunning 360° videos that can be used for a variety of purposes.
This video tutorial will teach you how to use Blockade Labs to create 360° videos that are perfect for social media, marketing, and more. After watching this video, you’ll be able to create professional-grade 360° videos quickly and easily!

Resources

Blockade Labs:
https://www.blockadelabs.com/

Spatial Media Metadata Injector:
https://github.com/google/spatial-media/releases

Sheffield

Robopsychosis – Cybermarket [Deforum Animation]

Step into the world of Cybermarket with Robopsychosis’ latest musical masterpiece.
As an audio architect, Robopsychosis expertly blends retro synth sounds with futuristic beats to create a truly unique and immersive experience.

Inspired by the iconic Blade Runner, the Cybermarket music video takes you on a journey through a bustling metropolis filled with neon lights, towering buildings, and advanced technology.

The expertly edited visuals perfectly complement Robopsychosis’ audio architecture, creating a fully realized cyberpunk universe that draws you in from the very first note.
Whether you’re a fan of Blade Runner or just a lover of cutting-edge music, Cybermarket is sure to transport you to a world of audio-visual wonder.

Check out Robopsychosis’s music at:
https://share.amuse.io/album/robopsychosis-experiment