When you create a new project from a template, you have the option to include the Starter Content pack in your new project. This pack contains Static Meshes, particles, Materials, and other Assets you can use to quickly populate your project.
To include starter content in your project, when you create a new project, under Project Defaults, enable the Starter Content option.
Click the image for full size.
In your project, starter content is located in the Content/StarterContent folder in the Content Browser.
Starter Map
Click the image for full size.
The StarterMap Level, located in the Content/StarterContent/Maps folder, is a demo of the starter content in action. Press Play or Simulate in the Main Toolbar to see it in action.
To learn more about navigating the Viewport, see Viewport Controls.
Advanced Lighting Map
Click the image for full size.
Starter content also includes the Advanced_Lighting Level, which demonstrates a lighting setup created using Blueprints.
You can place different Assets on the platform stage in the middle to see how they look under these lighting conditions, or open the BP_LightStage Blueprint and examine its construction script to see how it was created.
The BP_LightStage Blueprint implements all of the following:
- Directional Light
- Skybox sphere
- HDRI background
- Atmospheric light
- Height fog
- Sky Light
- Light shafts
Rotating the BP_LightStage Actor in the Level defines the sun direction and HDRI rotation. The atmosphere also responds to the Actor's rotation.
You can set the following properties on the BP_LightStage, either as defaults for the Blueprint or on the placed instance in the Level:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Global Brightness | Adjusts a global multiplier on all brightness values. |
| Use HDRI | Whether or not to use HDRI as background. If using HDRI, there are additional settings for setting brightness, contrast, tint, cubemap, and rotation. If you want to use an HDRI with a directional light, you may want to paint out the sun in your HDRI before importing and then line up the sun rotation with the one in the HDRI. Shooting reference objects will help you match the direct vs. indirect light ratio. |
| Use Sun Light | Enables the Directional Light, which is movable by default. |
| Stationary Light for Sun | Makes the Directional Light stationary. |
| Override Sun Color | By default, the sun gets its color from the angle to match atmospheric scattering. When this option is enabled, this behavior is disabled and Tint is used instead. |
| Disable Sun Disk | Disables the sun disk that the Directional Light places in the atmosphere. |
| Shadow Distance | Sets the draw distance for dynamic shadows. |
| Use Atmosphere | Enables atmospheric scattering. Most atmosphere settings on the BP_LightStage correspond to the same settings on an Atmospheric Fog Actor. |
| Use Fog | Enables exponential height fog. |
| Altitude | Sets the height of the fog, so you do not have to move the Actor. |
| Light Shaft Bloom and Light Shaft Occlusion | Enables or disables post-process light shafts from the sun direction. |
To use the Advanced Lighting Assets in an existing project, you can migrate the Advanced_Lighting map, which also migrates its associated Assets.