Cute Expression - A character mod that doesn't actually contain any characters!

[Sereau]

This is mostly a UE4 learning project. Given the scope it is unlikely to ever be finished. If the pieces somehow manage to come together, though, the goal is to make a short SP campaign mixing anime type characters with PBR/'realistic' maps.

Unfortunately still figuring out how to setup a character pipeline(and getting sidetracked with other things), so for now this thread will be for sharing various insights involved in the production process as well as maps and other things.

[Sereau]

Working on implementing a selective post process that only affects characters (and not the environment).

-Using the cel shading method from:
http://blog.theoroy.com/2017/04/27/a...hading-in-ue4/

-The article mentions using CustomStencil to distinguish between cel-shaded and non-cel-shaded meshes. However, UT4 uses the CustomStencil for player outlines so a workaround is needed.

CustomStencil as used by UT4
{

No outline == 0,
Red == 1,
Blue == 2,
Green == 3,
Yellow == 4,
Flag == 128, (Show outline even if visible)
White == Otherwise

}

-The bit for the value 128 is used as a flag; if it is set then the outline will be drawn even when a UTCharacter is not occluded.

-The outline is implemented as a post-process material in UTPlayerCameraManager, which is contained in UTPlayerController. Unfortunately, it is not possible to override the outline material using Blueprints without writing a C++ plugin. In order to work around this, we derive BP classes from UTPlayerCameraManager and UTPlayerController. Since it is not possible(?) to set the PlayerController class with a mutator, it is necessary to derive new GameMode BPs in order to use the custom PlayerController.

-UTPlayerCameraManager is hardcoded to use these materials for the outline:

Material'/Game/RestrictedAssets/Materials/M_OutlinePP.M_OutlinePP'
MaterialFunction'/Game/RestrictedAssets/Materials/MF_TeamColorOutlines.MF_TeamColorOutlines'

-We use a CustomDepth Stencil Value of 64 as a flag to indicate that the mesh should be cel shaded. The Stencil Value needs to be copied from UTCharacterContent to UTCharacter, which will be implemented by the MultiSkeletonSupport mutator.

-CustomStencil can be enabled by editing the mesh component:

Mesh->Rendering

Render CustomDepth Pass
CustomDepth Stencil Value

-Since we are trying to mix cel shaded and PBR renders, we blend the character rendering to get:





The map in the background is made using assets from UE4 Marketplace pack 'Modular SciFi Season 1 Starter Bundle' by SE_JonF.
It should be noted that it is not compatible with UT4 out of the box.
Getting it to work with UT4 requires flipping bits in the .uasset headers and editing engine source.

[Sereau]

DM-CTE-Lanscapst

Download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lhqs1sujdz...capst.zip?dl=0
(~426MB)

UT4 build: 3525360
Build date: 2018 06 18
Recommended player count: 2-4 players

This is a small speedmap made mostly with Infinity Blade assets; total build time about 3 days. The map design is arranged around a 'regular' figure 8 pattern.

-Background mesh/terrain was made with Substance Designer and World Machine.
-The water fountain sound is from the Sonniss GDC 2015 pack.

Installation:
Place the .pak file in the UT4 user directory:
C:\Users\[username]\Documents\UnrealTournament\Saved\Paks\MyContent\

or alternatively, place it in the UT4 program directory:
\UnrealTournament\UnrealTournament\Content\Paks\

Other notes:
-Redistribution: This map is free to be distributed, provided that this notice is supplied with the map and that the map is not provided for commercial gain. An exception is made to the requirement that this notice be distributed with the map if the map is downloaded from a UT4 server or UTCC (utcc.unrealpugs.com).
-Renaming the .pak file might prevent UT4 from loading it.

[ÐutchSmºke]

Niceness Sereau! Thank you for the map! (You might want to consider moving it to the WIP section of the forum)
Loaded onto the LoPing Arena for your enjoyment. Be sure to check the replays of your works!
Admins:

MapRotation=/Game/_CE_Content/_mixed/maps_mp/DM-CTE-Lanscapst_c
MD5: AA17A856B9C1AD3C37F8CCDE88A37F42