"generating annotated images of animals in complex environments with Unreal Engine"
by Fabian Plum, René Bulla, Hendrik Beck, Natalie Imirzian, and David Labonte (2023)
- Unreal engine (installed via Epic Games Launcher, see above, v5.0.2 or later)
- Completed generator setup
In principle, any 3D asset in a compatible format can be used with the asset scatterers to populate the generated environments. Here, we will discuss three possible routes of bringing additional 3D assets into the generator.
- (A) Direct import
- (B) Blender (send2unreal)
- (C) Quixel Bridge
We will also discuss how to add new asset scatterers.
The most straight forward way to bring your own 3D assets into Unreal is via direct import. In the Content Browser, simply right-click in the folder where you want to load your asset, and select Import to...
Then select your asset from your computer and import it. That was easy!
Similar to the process outlined in 03_Bringing_3D_models_into_Unreal, you can move any mesh from Blender to Unreal.
In Blender, when configuring the Send to Unreal plugin, instead of the Subject directory of the Unreal project, we import it to Megascans/ExtraMeshes. This choice is purely for the sake of clarity, and you can store your assets wherever you like, really.
Make sure that all meshes you wish to transfer are placed in the Export folder in the Outliner. Apply all transforms.
Then, transfer the assets to Unreal by clicking on Pipeline/Export/SendToUnreal.
NOTE : For additional details refer to 03_Bringing_3D_models_into_Unreal
If you are looking to populate your scenes with assets from the fantastic Quixel Megascans library (free to use for non-commercial Unreal Engine Projects), you can add them to your Content Browser directly via the Quixel Bridge plugin.
This plugin may not yet be enabled / installed. Despair not. Instead, close the Unreal Engine Editor and open the Epic Games Launcher, and head to your installation of Unreal Engine.
Scroll down to the section labeled VAULT and type Bridge into the search bar.
Install the Quixel Bridge Plugin for your version of Unreal Engine.
Re-open the replicAnt.uproject file.
Now, you can import assets directly from the Quixel Megascans library, either via the top bar...
...or within the Content Browser (by right-clicking in any of the directories.)
This process is really rather straight forward. You can either make a copy of one of the asset scatterers currently listed in the Outliner, or add a new asset scatterer to your scene from the Content Browser.
If you decide to add a new asset scatterer, search for the word scatter and drag-and-drop the Blueprint Class
titled BP_Scatter into the viewport.
The new asset scatterer should now appear in the Outliner. Make sure to set the Location to the world origin (0, 0, 0).
With the newly added BP_Scatter selected in the Outliner, scroll down in the Details tab below to
configure the scatterer.
Add all meshes you want to be spawned by this scatterer (+) to the Array of Scatter Meshes.
Scatter Instances Min / Max- Range of elements that are spawned by the asset scatterer. One randomly drawn element from the Array of Scatter Meshes will be spawned per iteration.Min / Max ZOffset- Range of units below / above the ground plane in which assets can be spawned.
The effect of the scale-related parameters will depend on your selected assets - click on Scatter in Editor to
preview the appearance of the scattered meshes in the environment.
Happy Generating!
In case you encounter any problems, consult our troubleshooting guide, or consider raising an issue on the replicAnt GitHub page.
© Fabian Plum, Rene Bulla, David Labonte 2023 MIT License