How to make stunning visual effects using Unreal Engine 4

By Ryan Fleming December 4, 2013

make stunning visual effects using unreal engine 4 vfx — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Take heed, prospective game designers, for Epic Games is here to help you. The relatively recently released Unreal Engine 4 is a powerful gaming engine that can assist anyone to make next-gen looking games. Well, almost anyone. For as user friendly as the tools are, there is still a steep learning curve for those that don’t already know what they are doing.

For those with the inclination and/or the patience to try game design, Epic has released a closer look at how to use the Unreal Engine 4 to create visual effects. This video is the second released under the “Inside the Unreal” series, which kicked off with a brief look at designing character aesthetics.

From lens flares to dust motes, the engine is designed to make the lives of developers easier. Check it out and look for more videos in the series coming soon.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Gaming

Resident Evil 4 Separate Ways DLC: How to solve the shield wall puzzle in Chapter 4

A wall of shields

As you progress through Resident Evil 4's Separate Ways DLC, you'll eventually need to help Luis score some ingredients for a fresh batch of medicine to aid in fending off the infection ailing both Leon and Ada. As you begin your quest to find the ingredients, you'll first have to solve a lithograph puzzle to open a door leading into a room filled with shields on the wall. In this room, you'll have to shoot specific shields in a specific order to open a cabinet revealing your first ingredient: red ink. Here's how to solve the shield wall puzzle.
How to solve the shield wall puzzle in Chapter 4
After solving the lithograph puzzle and opening the door, you'll enter an area where you can interact with a printing machine to get a piece of paper that hints at interacting with (shooting) the shields hanging all along the walls of the room. The problem is that, well, there are a lot of shields in this room. To find the correct shields, turn around from the printing machine and look at the fireplace along the wall behind you. To the left of this fireplace are the five shields from the picture that you printed.

You need to shoot three of these shields in the following order:

Gaming

Resident Evil 4 Separate Ways DLC: how to solve the lithograph puzzle in Chapter 4

A wall with lithographs

Part of the way through Chapter 4 of Resident Evil 4's Separate Ways DLC, you'll find yourself needing to track down some ingredients to make some new medicine. One of the first things you'll encounter while doing so is a wall of lithographs that must be placed in a specific order to open a hidden door leading to a shield wall puzzle, which itself yields one of the necessary ingredients you're seeking. Here's how to solve the lithograph puzzle.
How to solve the lithograph puzzle in Chapter 4
When you first set off to find the ingredients, you'll probably come across the wall with two lithographs set in it alongside two empty slots. This means you'll first need to find the other two stone tablets – both of which are nearby and require minimal effort to round up. One tablet is easily found in the same room as the lithograph puzzle, while the other is on a desk in a room further down the main hallway.

When you've obtained both lithographs, return to the puzzle and place the tablets into the empty slots. Notice next to each slot is a symbol (two of which are partially scrubbed off) that corresponds to one of the symbols on each of the lithographs. In order to solve this puzzle, you'll need to not only match the appropriate symbol, but you'll also need to select and flip the lithographs to the correct colors, too.

Gaming

Resident Evil 4 Separate Ways DLC: How to open the door in Chapter 2

Ada Wong holds a gun in Resident Evil 4.

Resident Evil 4's Separate Ways DLC tells a parallel story that shows what Ada Wong was up to during Leon's adventure. And although her grappling hook provides some fun new mobility mechanics that can help her reach new heights, she'll still need to solve some puzzles to proceed through certain barriers. The first real puzzle to pop up in the Separate Ways journey is in Chapter 2, when your progress is impeded by a door that can only be unlocked by pressing specific symbols on a mechanism beside it. We'll tell you the correct symbols to press below so that you can get through the door and continue Ada's expedition.
How to open the door in Chapter 2
When you arrive at the door with the mechanism to its left, you'll find that you can only press down three symbols before the puzzle resets. As such, you'll need to press the correct symbols all in one go for the door to unlock. And while you can turn around and scan the area for some clues if you'd like, we've actually got the correct order ready for you to go below. Even better, you don't have to press any of the symbols first or last, so just follow the image below in any order you'd like.

When you've pressed the correct symbols on the mechanism, you'll find that the door opens for you and allows you to continue through Chapter 2. Don't get too comfortable, though – there are some much trickier puzzles coming later in the game.