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Disguise User Guide

Porta Unreal Plugin

Technical requirements

Porta projects are currently built in Unreal Engine 5.*

Review the recommended software and hardware specifications for running Unreal Engine 5 here.

Sample projects

There are two sample projects available that have been specifically configured to use with Porta:

= Demo_Light project = 3D Text project

Introduction

This guide will help you get started using Porta, it will not teach you how to use Unreal Engine. For Unreal Engine 5 documentation and learning resources check out Unreal Engine website.

Porta supports the use of vanilla Unreal Engine and controls the Unreal project from a browser. So this guide will cover how Unreal project controls can be set up for Porta.

Projects are created by designers ahead of time. Projects include different environments, themes, and assets over different levels, as well as cameras, visual effects, and animations. Blueprints (Unreal Engine’s visual scripting language) are used to bring it all together.

These 3D assets are also referred to as graphics in broadcast terms because they are viewed as graphics onscreen.

Designers expose the parameters of an asset in Unreal Engine and configure them so that they can be controlled from Porta running in a browser. Porta can remotely change these parameters, switching items on and off, changing levels or environments, adjusting lighting, changing an item’s positioning, switching camera views, or triggering animations. Augmented Reality (AR) assets can be also added to levels such as sports players, F1 cars, and weather elements.

Unreal Engine needs to be running in standalone play mode while using Porta. To connect Porta to Unreal Engine a binding must be added that syncs content between the two.

To begin, the 3D text item (Text3DActor) is relatively simple to add and the most common element Porta has in Unreal Engine. As a demonstratration of the designer’s workflow you can add a 3D text asset to our level and exposing a parameter that can be used by Porta.

Unreal Engine Workflow

Ensure that you have Unreal Engine 5.* installed. This demo was made using UE5.0.3.

To learn this basic workflow, the project does not need to have any sample content. However, the team has provided a sample project that demonstrates how 3D Text is configured for Porta* which you can use.

If you are planning to use the project for production purposes, you may wish to build an environment with content on at least one level.

Enable the following plugins:

  • Substance plugin

  • 3D Text Plugin

  • Remote Control API

  • Pixel Streaming

  • Porta Manager plugin

  • To download the latest Porta plugin select Help > Plugins from the menu and select the latest Porta plugin

If you have a sample Porta project some of these plugins may already be enabled. If you are not using a sample project, create a new empty project.

Create a new project

In Epic Games Launcher, launch the Unreal Engine 5.0.3.

  1. Create a project by selecing the Games category.
  2. Select a Blank template.
  3. In Project Defaults, select Blueprint project with the default settings.
  4. Enter a name for the project.
  5. Click Create.

The Epic Games Launcher creates a new project and opens the project in Unreal Editor.

Enable the 3D Text plugin

  1. Select Edit > Plugins.
  2. Type 3D in the search bar.
  3. Click on the checkbox to enable it.
  4. Click on the Restart Now button.
  5. Click Save Selected to save all changes.

Unreal Editor will automatically reopen. Close the Plugins window.

Add a 3D text asset to an Unreal project

  1. In the Unreal project click + to add an item.
  2. Select All Classes.
  3. Press CTRL + Spacebar to enable search and type “3D”.
  4. Click on Text3D to add it to the level.
  5. In the Text parameter, type “Porta”. UE: Text 3D In the File menu, click Save All.

Expose an asset parameter in Unreal Engine

Ensure that you have enabled the Remote Control API plugin in your project.

Follow the steps above to enable a plugin.

  1. Open the Content Drawer and from the Content Browser, click + Add.
  2. Select: Miscellaneous > Remote Control Preset.
  3. Double-click on the new Remote Control Preset in the Content Browser to open it.
  4. Select the Text3D asset in the Outliner.
  5. In the Details panel, click on the 3 vertical dots at the edge of the Text parameter to expand the toolbar.
  6. Click Expose property.

Using the Demo_Light project

The team has put together the Demo_Light sample project which you can use to connect with Porta. The project contains all of the configurations and plugins that you need to get started with Porta.

If you are using Unreal Engine by itself, the default location for the project folder is: C:\Users\UserName\Documents\Unreal Projects

If you are using Unreal Engine wth Designer, the default location is: C:\Users\UserName\Documents\RenderStream Projects

The Demo_Light sample project is configured to run in Standalone game mode.

Click the play button to play in Standalone mode. When Standalone mode plays the project the window is black.

The next step is to connect the project to Porta.