Run-time Terrain Deformation in Unreal Engine 4

Abstract: Background. When developing video games, an often desired trait is that of player immersion. Player immersion can be achieved through many different ways. However, a common technique used is to allow the player to affect the environment in some way, through destruction or deformation. Unreal Engine 4 is a commonly used commercial game engine, that lacks features necessary to deform terrain at run-time. Objectives. This thesis explores the viability of run-time performant terrain deformation in Unreal Engine version 4.23. A deformation technique of a depth-based Dynamically-Displaced Height Map (DDHM) is selected for implementation and tested with various sizes of landscape terrains. Methods. A small literature study is performed to select a feasible run-time terrain deformation technique. The technique is then implemented in the engine, along with modifications to the engine to provide the necessary functionality. The implementation is then tested on performance and accuracy. Results. The DDHM technique is shown to provide run-time performant terrain deformation for smaller terrain sizes, consisting of an individual landscape component. The selected technique does not meet the run-time requirements for full, large-scale deformation. Conclusions. Run-time performant terrain deformation is shown to be achievable in Unreal Engine 4.23. While the selected technique fails to achieve satisfying results for larger terrain sizes, results on individual landscape components show feasibility for generic technique implementations.