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Hands-On Artificial Intelligence with Unreal Engine
Hands-On Artificial Intelligence with Unreal Engine

Hands-On Artificial Intelligence with Unreal Engine: Everything you want to know about Game AI using Blueprints or C++

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Hands-On Artificial Intelligence with Unreal Engine

Making the First Steps in the World of AI

From the bronze giant Talos, to Symbolic Systems and Neural Networks: how AI has been shaped and used in video games.

Welcome, reader, to the beginning of our journey in Artificial Intelligence, or AI for short. Have you ever wondered about how those hard-working peons in Warcraft explore complicated maps? Or, how those perky ghosts in Pac-Man can get you wherever you are? Or perhaps how your opponents in Final Fantasy optimize their attacks to slaughter your team?

A screenshot from Final Fantasy XV [Square Enix, 2016] during a battle.

Then you've come to the right place!

In this chapter, we will explore the prerequisites to becoming an AI game developer and how AI is used in the game development pipeline. Then, we will take a look at the history of AI in general and in video games, and learn how the conjunctive effort of many brilliant...

Before starting...

... I'd like to reply to some questions that some of you might already have.

Does this book take into account Blueprint or C++?

This book will explain both, so don't worry.

If you don't know C++, you can follow along with the Blueprint part of this book, and if you so wish, you can try the C++ one.

If, on the other hand, you are a programmer that prefers C++, then don't worry! This book will explain how to deal with AI in Unreal using C++.

There are so many books around about AI, why should I choose this one?

Different books explain different aspects of AI, and often they are not mutually exclusive, but rather they complement each other.

However, the major point of interest of this book is that it is a good compromise between the theory of the different AI systems that are present in Unreal and practical applications, since the whole book...

Prerequisites

Since this book is targeted at people who are getting started with AI in game development, I will not assume any prior/background knowledge in AI. However, please take the following into account:

  • Blueprint users: You should be familiar with Blueprint programming, and know how a Blueprint graph works in general.
  • C++ users: You should be familiar with programming, especially with the C family languages (such as C, C#, C++, or even Java), and in particular with C++, since it's the language that Unreal Engine uses. Being familiar with the Unreal Engine C++ API is a great bonus, although not strictly required. So, even if you are not a master, don't worry—follow along and you will learn.

Also, it would be great if you had some knowledge about vector math and physical kinematic principles at least the ones commonly used in video games. Either...

Installing and preparing the software

Before you continue reading, let's install the software we need. In particular, we will need Unreal Engine and Visual Studio.

Unreal Engine

Let's talk about Unreal Engine. After all, this is a book about how to develop game AI within this wonderful game engine.

Unreal Engine is a game engine that was developed by Epic Games. It was first released in 1998, and nowadays it is one of the most used (open) game engines (alongside Unity) due to its powerful features. The following screenshot shows the main interface of Unreal Engine:

Screenshot of the main interface of Unreal Engine

We need to have the latest version of Unreal Engine installed. You can find it by visiting https:/...

Becoming an AI Game Developer

Ever dreamed of becoming an AI Game Developer? Or maybe just be able to write "intelligent" programs? Then this book is for you!

However, I need to advise you that this is no easy task.

Game development and design are some of the most extensive works of art around. This is due to a large amount of expertise that is required to bring a game to life. You can get an idea of this by just looking at the final credits in a game. They are endless and contain names of people who have dedicated a lot of their time to the game in various roles. AI development is a central part of this big process, and it requires years to master it, like most things in life. As such, iteration is key, and a great place to get started in this book.

What it means to be an...

A bit of history

Before venturing on our journey, I believe that having a general overview of the history of AI and AI in games might be beneficial. Of course, you can skip this part if you are a more hands-on type of person who cannot wait to getting down to programming AI.

What is AI?

This is a very interesting question, which doesn't have a unique answer. In fact, different answers lead to different aspects of AI. Let's explore some (of many) definitions that have been given by different scholars (in chronological order).

Actually, Russell and Norvig, in their book, organized these specific definitions into four categories. Here is their schema:

Russell and Norvig's four categories. Top-left: "Systems...

Planning our journey

It's finally time to start planning our journey, before jumping into the next chapter.

Technical terminology

Since, for some of you, this is your first journey into AI, it's important that you have a small glossary of the technical terms that are used throughout this book (and in general, in AI). We have already encountered some of these in the past few pages:

  • Agents are systems that are capable of autonomous reasoning toward solving a specific set of goals.
  • Backward Chaining is the process of tracing the cause of a problem by working backwards.
  • Blackboard is an architecture for exchanging data between different agents, and sometimes even within the agent itself (especially in Unreal).
  • Environment...

Summary

In this chapter, we have seen how wonderful the world of AI in video games is. We explored the history behind video games, both in Academia and in the industry. We have planned our journey in this book and explained what it will look like.

Now, it is time to prepare ourselves because, starting from the next chapter, we are going to get our hands dirty and jump straight into Unreal Engine.

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Key benefits

  • Understand the built-in AI systems in Unreal Engine for building intelligent games
  • Leverage the power of Unreal Engine 4 programming to create game AI that focuses on motion, animation, and tactics
  • Learn to profile, visualize, and debug your Game AI for checking logic and optimizing performance

Description

Learning how to apply artificial intelligence ( AI ) is crucial and can take the fun factor to the next level, whether you're developing a traditional, educational, or any other kind of game. If you want to use AI to extend the life of your games and make them challenging and more interesting, this book is for you. The book starts by breaking down AI into simple concepts to get a fundamental understanding of it. Using a variety of examples, you will work through actual implementations designed to highlight key concepts and features related to game AI in UE4. You will learn to work through the built-in AI framework in order to build believable characters for every game genre (including RPG, Strategic, Platform, FPS, Simulation, Arcade, and Educational). You will learn to configure the Navigation, Environmental Querying, and Perception systems for your AI agents and couple these with Behavior Trees, all accompanied with practical examples. You will also explore how the engine handles dynamic crowds. In the concluding chapters, you will learn how to profile, visualize, and debug your AI systems to correct the AI logic and increase performance. By the end of the book, your AI knowledge of the built-in AI system in Unreal will be deep and comprehensive, allowing you to build powerful AI agents within your projects.

Who is this book for?

Hands-On Artificial Intelligence with Unreal Engine is for you if you are a game developer with a bit experience in Unreal Engine, and now want to understand and implement believable game AI within Unreal Engine. The book will be both in Blueprint and C++, allowing people from every background to enjoy the book. Whether you're looking to build your first game or expand your knowledge to the edge as a Game AI Programmer, you will find plenty of exciting information and examples of game AI in terms of concepts and implementation, including how to extend some of these systems.

What you will learn

  • Get an in-depth knowledge about all the AI Systems within Unreal Engine
  • Create complex AIs, understanding the art of designing and developing Behavior Tree
  • Learn how to perform Environmental Queries (EQS)
  • Master the Navigation, Perception, and Crowd Systems
  • Profile and Visualize the AI Systems with powerful debugging tools
  • Extend every AI and Debug system with custom nodes and functions
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Table of Contents

18 Chapters
Section 1: The Unreal Framework Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Making the First Steps in the World of AI Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Behavior Trees and Blackboards Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Navigation Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Environment Querying System Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Agent Awareness Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Extending Behavior Trees Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Crowds Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 2: Designing and Implementing Behavior Trees Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Designing Behavior Trees - Part I Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Designing Behavior Trees - Part II Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Designing Behavior Trees - Part III Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 3: Debugging Methods Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Debugging Methods for AI - Logging Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Debugging Methods for AI - Navigation, EQS, and Profiling Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Debugging Methods for AI - The Gameplay Debugger Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Going Beyond Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
(4 Ratings)
5 star 25%
4 star 0%
3 star 25%
2 star 50%
1 star 0%
Miguel Mar 12, 2024
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
A book that covers all topics of AI in Unreal. Very useful, thank you!
Subscriber review Packt
Rose Sep 26, 2024
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
This is a good introduction to Unreal Engine's AI framework that is still applicable and mostly up-to-date in version 5.4.4, even though it was written in UE4. I enjoyed the GameplayDebugger extension a lot, but the BehaviorTree design section was rather short and simple, was definitely hoping for more advanced behavior there.
Subscriber review Packt
Amazon Customer Jul 01, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2
'Hands-On' 'Everything you want to know about Game AI' talk about misleading phrases. This book has 14 chapters but only 3 of them actually walk you through building a behavior tree and its related components, even then the end result is a barebones 'chasing' AI algorithm that would come off as a completely unfinished mechanic in any game. The rest of the chapters just dump a bunch of information on you in regards to the different AI systems and features that Unreal offers but its all just theory because the author fails to offer examples as to how anyone would go about implementing any of it in their own game.Overall, despite being over 500 pages long this book offers almost nothing tangible for someone who is looking to implement useful AI functionality into their Unreal projects.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
jackfurneri1984 Mar 14, 2021
Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2
Sebbene di materiale scritto ce ne sia parecchio, ho trovato molti aspetti teorici che non trovano un risvolto pratico nell'utilizzo di Unreal.Ci sono solo 2/3 capitoli che mostrano un piccolo esempio ma molto basilare.Purtroppo ho dovuto richiedere il reso della merce dal momento che non ho trovato il prodotto utile per i miei fini lavorativi.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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