Unreal Engine Basics is one of the core study topics in our Technology catalog. This page gathers the essentials: what the topic covers, the key concepts and
terminology, worked examples and exam-style questions — everything also available as 231 companion flashcards for spaced-repetition practice.
Main questions this page answers:
- What Unreal Engine panel displays the list of actors currently present in the level?
- How do you open the Blueprint editor for a specific Blueprint asset?
- What is the purpose of the Construction Script in a Blueprint?
- Which node executes logic only once when the game begins playing?
- What Unreal Engine node connects two execution pins to make a function that can be called like an event?
- How does Unreal's Event Tick node work?
- What is the difference between a Static Mesh and a Skeletal Mesh component?
- How do you create a new Material asset in Unreal Engine?
What Unreal Engine panel displays the list of actors currently present in the level?
The Outliner panel lists all actors currently placed in the level, organized hierarchically, and allows selection, searching, grouping, and visibility toggling of actors directly from a docked or floating window in the editor.
What is an Animation Blueprint in Unreal?
An Animation Blueprint is a specialized Blueprint that drives a Skeletal Mesh's animation by blending state machines, blend spaces, and animation graphs. It contains an AnimGraph and an EventGraph and is assigned to the mesh component.
How do you make a Blueprint function return a value?
In the Blueprint function creation window, set the function to Pure or Impure with an output pin, then in the graph add Return Node(s). Wire the desired value into the Return Node's input before the function's output execution pin to pass the result back to the caller.
What is the Maps & Modes section of Project Settings used for?
Maps & Modes lets you set the default Editor Startup Map, Game Default Map, default GameMode class, and default classes for Pawn, PlayerController, HUD, GameState, and PlayerState. These are loaded when the game starts or the editor opens.
What is the difference between SetActorLocation and SetActorRelativeLocation?
SetActorLocation moves the actor in world space. SetActorRelativeLocation moves it relative to its parent's transform, useful for attached children that should follow the parent.
What is an Animation Montage in Unreal?
An Animation Montage is a reusable sequence that plays a specific animation on a slot, optionally blended with the base state machine. It's commonly used for attacks, reloads, and upper-body actions.
What is an Atmospheric Fog actor in Unreal?
Atmospheric Fog adds distance-based fog to outdoor levels, blending distant
geometry and lights into a colored haze. It supports sun scattering and integrates with the Sky Atmosphere to give scenes atmospheric depth and realism.
What does the World Outliner show?
The World Outliner lists every actor currently placed in the loaded level, organized hierarchically. Selecting an entry highlights and selects that actor in the viewport for inspection.
What is a Scene Component versus an Actor?
An Actor is a spawnable object in a level. A Scene Component is an Actor component that has a transform and can be parented; most rendering and collision components inherit from it.
What does the Ambient Occlusion material input represent?
Ambient Occlusion provides pre-baked cavity shading from the texture, usually stored in the green channel. It darkens creases and contact areas to add realism.