Understanding Unreal Engine Units

As a developer using Unreal Engine, it is important to understand the various units that are used within the engine. This article will provide an overview of these units and their purpose.

Table of Contents

Units in Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine uses a variety of units to measure different aspects of your project. Some of the most common units include:

Meters (m): The basic unit of measurement used in Unreal Engine. It is used to represent distance, scale and position of objects.
Centimeters (cm): A smaller unit of measurement than meters, centimeters are often used for small details on 3D models.
Millimeters (mm): Even smaller than centimeters, millimeters are used to measure very fine details such as the size of text or button graphics.
Seconds (s): The basic unit of time measurement in Unreal Engine. It is used to represent how long a script or animation should run.
Milliseconds (ms): A smaller unit of time than seconds, milliseconds are often used for real-time calculations and input processing.
Radians: Used for trigonometric calculations, radians are an alternative to degrees and are defined by the ratio of an arc length to its chord.
Normals: A normal is a unit vector that defines the direction of a surface’s normal at a given point. It is used in lighting, shading and other rendering-related tasks.
Units per second (U/s): Used to represent data rates, this unit is often used when dealing with network communication or data streaming.

Understanding these units is crucial for working with Unreal Engine, as they are used extensively throughout the development process. It’s important to be familiar with them and understand how they relate to each other in order to create accurate and efficient projects.

Summary

In conclusion, understanding the various units used in Unreal Engine is essential for working with the engine effectively. By being familiar with these units and their relationships to each other, developers can create accurate and efficient projects that will run smoothly. If you are new to Unreal Engine or just looking for a refresher on the basics of units, this article should provide a helpful overview.