City Sample Quick Start - Generating a City and Freeway in Unreal Engine 5

The City Sample project is a technical demonstration of how you can use procedurally generated data from SideFX's Houdini Engine in Unreal Engine 5 to create a working simulated world. The City Sample uses the data generated from Houdini to populate assets, drive artificial intelligence simulations, audio simulations, and much more.

This guide is part two of a two-part series that walks you through importing data which you generated in Houdini Engine into Unreal Engine 5.

In this guide, you will learn how to:

• Import data you generated from Houdini Engine into Unreal Engine 5.

• Prepare an open world environment to support your city.

• Use the Rule Processor to import Houdini procedural data to generate your city.

• Use the point cloud data with Zone Graph for Traffic simulation.

• Generate Hierarchical Level of Detail meshes for World Partition.

Prerequisites for this Guide

• Completion of City Sample - Generating a City and Freeway using Houdini

• SideFX Houdini

  • We recommend using version 18.5.532 since it's the version that was used to develop the City Sample project.

• At least 2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space to extract the data and generate small-sized cities. For bigger cities, you can expect to use from 5 to 10 GB of space.

• Refer to the City Sample Recommended System Specifications.

• Download the City Sample Unreal Engine 5 project through the Epic Games Launcher.

Additional Notes about this guide

• The workflow and files used in this guide work with the Windows 10 operating system. While Unreal Engine and Houdini support Mac and Linux, the workflows and source files have not been tested with those systems and we cannot guarantee they will work as intended.

• This guide also assumes you have knowledge of Windows operating systems when using something like Command Prompt.

Step 1 - Project Setup and Configuration

Before you can use your own city's data you generated while following the City Sample: Generating a City and Freeway using Houdini guide, you'll first need to open and set up a few things in Unreal Engine 5.

1. Open the City Sample project with Unreal Engine 5.

2. In the Content Browser under the Content > City, create a folder with the exact same name as the city you created in Houdini. For example, the sample Houdini city file you created in Part 1 was named "MyCity". Therefore, name the folder you create in the Content Browser MyCity.

3. Open your named city folder and create two new folders named Geometry and PBC.

4. The City Sample project includes the Houdini Engine Plugin, which is already enabled. From the main menu, open the Houdini Engine dropdown menu and select Create Session.

   If a session cannot be created, check the Output Log for additional context as to why it failed to do so.

At this point, you have opened the City Sample project and created folder locations to import the data you generated in Houdini for your own city. You have a new folder named for your city, and two folders within it named Geometry and PBC.

Step 2 - Importing the City Data into Unreal Engine 5

With your own city's folders created and a Houdini Engine session started in the previous step, you can now import your data into Unreal Engine 5.

1. In Windows, open the file location where you saved your Houdini city data. In the first part of the Quick Start Guide for Generating a City and Freeway using Houdini, you set the folder path as D:/CitySampleSource/MyCity.

2. Inside the Windows MyCity folder, open the PBC folder. In Unreal Engine, use the Content Browser to open the City > MyCity > PBC folder. Select all the files in the PBC folder in Windows and drag them to the PBC folder in Unreal Engine.

   Once the import process completes, your PBC folder should look like the one below with the imported point cloud data generated by Houdini.

3. Inside the Windows MyCity folder, open the EXPORT folder. In Unreal Engine, use the Content Browser to open the City > MyCity > Geometry folder. Select all the files in the EXPORT folder in Windows and drag them to the Geometry folder in Unreal Engine.

   This video has been sped up to show the full import process of a smaller city created in Houdini being imported. The import process can take some time depending on the size of your city. For example, the cities included with the City Sample project can take less than 10 minutes for the Small_City to import and upwards of 40 minutes for the Big_City to import.

4. Use the File menu to Save All.

At this point, you should see all your geometry and point cloud data files have been imported and saved as assets in the folders you created in Step 1 of this guide. These assets are used in the steps that follow to start generating your city.

Step 3 - Preparing an Open World Level

In this step, you will create a new level from a templated City Open World level. This template level provides a starting point for creating your own city like the one from City Sample, with its own lighting and skybox set up and Blueprint spawners used to populate data.

1. Using the File menu, select New Level (1). Choose City Open World Empty (2) from the available templates and click Create (3).

2. Once the new level has been created, use the File menu to Save Current Level As (1). Save the map in the Content > Maps (2) folder and enter the Name (3) of your city into the text field. For example, this guide uses MyCity as the level name.

3. Click Save in the Save Level As window.

You now have a level that you can use to generate and build your city.

Step 4 - Running the Rule Processor Generation

All the data needed to start generating your city has been imported into the engine and you have a map with which to load and save it. In this step, you'll use the Rules Processor for the City and Freeway point cloud data you imported into the engine. The Rules Processor maps the generated point cloud data from Houdini Engine to rules that tell Unreal Engine how to use that data to populate the world.

1. From the main menu, use Window > Rule Processor to open RuleProcessor_City. This opens the window where the files you generated in Houdini will be used to generate the city in Unreal Engine.

   Click image for full size.

2. In the RuleProcessor_City window, replace the Point Cloud column's assigned assets with ones of the same name from the City > [YourCityName] > PBC folder. For example, this guide uses the files imported in Step 2 located in the City > MyCity > PBC folder.

3. In the RuleProcessor_City window, click Run Rules to process your imported city files.

4. A pop-up window asks you to confirm the processing. When ready, click OK.

   The time it takes to generate your city can vary based on the size of your city. It can take 15 minutes to an hour to finish processing.

5. Repeat the process for the Freeway PBC files located in the PBC folder. From the main menu, use Window > Rule Processor to open Rule Processor_Freeway. Replace the Point Cloud column's assets with ones of the same name from the City > [YourCityName] > PBC. For example, this guide uses the files imported in Step 2 located in the City > MyCity > PBC folder.

6. In the RuleProcessor_Freeway window, click Run Rules to process your imported freeway files.

7. A pop-up window asks you to confirm the processing. When ready, click OK.

   The time it takes to generate your city can vary based on the size of your city. It can take 15 minutes to an hour to finish processing.

8. In the World Partition panel, left-click and drag to select all the cells in the world partition map. Right-click and select Load Selected Cells.

Using the Rule Processor for the City and Freeway point cloud data provides Unreal Engine with information to generate your city based on sets of rules. This lets the engine place assets to build out the city.

Once the Rules Processor has completed processing the data, the city can be loaded into the Level Viewport using the World Partition Editor. Once loaded, you can fly out and inspect your city.

Step 5 - Setting up Point Cloud Data for the Zone Graph for Traffic

Now that you have a city you can work with, there are two Blueprint Spawners included with the level that configure and set up the city. This means you need to duplicate some Data Assets used with the Small City for your own city. These data assets rely on point cloud data you imported.

1. In the Level Viewport, use the Show dropdown menu to ensure that Navigation is enabled.

2. In the Content Browser, navigate to the Content > AI > Traffic folder.

3. In the ParkingSpaces folder, make a copy of the CitySampleSmallCityParkingSpaces Data Asset. Rename it, replacing "SmallCity" with the name of your city. For example, this guide uses CitySampleMyCityParkingSpaces.

4. Open the CitySampleMyCityParkingSpace Data Asset. In the Parking Spaces Point Cloud assignment slot, replace City_cars_parked with the one of the same name found in your city's Content > City > [YourCityName] > PBC folder. This guide uses Content/City/MyCity/PBC.

5. Return to the folder Content > AI > Traffic.

6. In the TrafficLights folder, make a copy of the CitySampleSmallCityTrafficLights Data Asset. Rename it, replacing "SmallCity" with the name of your city. For example, this guide uses CitySampleMyCityTrafficLights.

7. Open the CitySampleMyCityTrafficLights Data Asset. In the Traffic Lights Point Cloud assignment slot, replace City_traffic with the one of the same name found in your city's Content > City > [YourCityName] > PBC folder.

8. In the World Outliner, enter "Builder" into the Search text field (1). This returns both the CityTrafficBuilder_BP and FreewayTrafficBuilder_BP Blueprints. Next to each of these line items, hover over each of them and click the Pin (2) icon next to their names to force them to load in the Level for purposes of editing it.

9. With the CityTrafficBuilder_BP loaded, select it in the World Outliner (1). Use the Details panel to replace the existing point cloud data with the one you imported for your city. Under the section named Mantle, assign your City_traffic point cloud data to the Epic Intersections Mantle Point Cloud** assignment slot (2).

   Click image for full size.

10. With the FreewayTrafficBuilder_BP loaded, select it in the World Outliner (1). Use the Details panel to replace the existing point cloud data with the one you imported for your city. Under the section named Mantle, assign your Freeway_traffic_data point cloud data to the Epic Freeway Mantle Point Cloud assignment slot (2).

    Click image for full size.

11. In the World Outliner, search for and select BP_MassTrafficIntersectionSpawner (1). Use the Details panel and locate the Traffic Light Instance Data (2) assignment slot found under Mass > Spawn Data Generators > Index [0] > Generator Instance > Traffic Lights. Replace the Data Asset with the one you created earlier in this part of the guide named CitySampleMyCityTrafficLights**.

    Click image for full size.

12. In the World Outliner, search for and select BP_MassTrafficParkedVehicleSpawner (1). Use the Details panel and locate the Parking Spaces (2) assignment slot found under Mass > Spawn Data Generators > Index [0] > Generator Instance > Entity Type to Parking Space Type. Replace the Data Asset with the one you created earlier in this part of the guide named CitySampleMyCityParkingSpaces**.

    Click image for full size.

You should now have two Data Assets that are duplicates of the Parking Spaces and Traffic Lights ones used with the Small City. In these Data Assets, you have assigned your own city's point cloud data for use in the next section for Zone Graph Generation.

Step 6 - Running the Zone Graph Generation for Traffic

At this point, you have created some Data Assets to use with the various Blueprint Spawners found in your city level. You've assigned some of the generated point cloud data from Houdini Engine to these Spawners through the Data Assets.

In this step, you will use an Editor Utility Widget made specifically for performing tasks of generating a Zone Graph for lanes of traffic using the point cloud data you assigned to Data Assets and Blueprint Spawners in the previous section.

1. In the Content Browser, navigate to Content > AI > ZoneGraphBuilder. Right-click on the Editor Utility Widget named WBP_CitySampleZoneGraphBuilder and click on Run Editor Utility Widget.

   Click image for full size.

2. In the Editor Utility Widget window, click both buttons for Build Zone Shapes next to City Traffic Builder (1) and Freeway Traffic Builder (2), then click Do All The Things! (3).

3. In the Content Browser, navigate to the Content > AI > Traffic > ParkingSpaces folder. Open the CitySampleMyCityParkingSpaces Data Asset.
   

4. In the Parking Spaces Point Cloud assignment slot, replace the City_cars_parked (1) with the one from your city's Content > City > [YourCityName] > PBC folder, then click the Populate Parking Spaces from Point Cloud (2) button.

5. In the Content Browser, navigate to the Content > AI > Traffic > TrafficLights folder. Open the CitySampleMyCityTrafficLights Data Asset.
   

6. In the Traffic Lights Point Cloud assignment slot, replace the City_traffic (1) with the one from your city's Content > City > [YourCityName] > PBC folder, then click the Populate Traffic Lights from Point Cloud (2) button.

Once you have run the Zone Graph Editor Utility Widget and populated the data from both the Parking Spaces and Traffic Lights Data Assets, you can now visualize the navigation that is generated from that data inside the Level Viewport. If you do not see the navigation data (like below), use the Level Viewport's Show menu to ensure that Navigation is enabled, or press the hotkey P to toggle it on and off.

Step 7 - Generate World Partition HLODs for Your City

An important part of building your city — no matter its size — is that it likely has parts that need to be seen from far distances. The World Partition system handles far distances through Hierarchical Level of Detail (or HLODs) that can combine many objects into single, large Actors that can be streamed in and out dynamically. See World Partition - Hierarchical Level of Detail to learn more about them.

For your city, the next step is to generate your own HLODs that can be streamed in and out dynamically using World Partition. The size of your city can contribute to how long it takes for HLODs to be generated for your level. You can use the in-editor tools to do this through the Build menu, or by closing the project and using a Windows Command Prompt to do so, with the latter method taking less time.

Using Windows Command Prompt with Command Line Arguments

1. In Windows, open a Command Prompt window.

2. Enter the following command into window, accounting for your own project's folder location:

   "D:\Builds\UE_5.0\Engine\Binaries\Win64\UnrealEditor-Win64-DebugGame-Cmd.exe" D:\UE5 Test Projects\CitySample MyCity.umap -run=WorldPartitionBuilderCommandlet -AllowCommandletRendering -Builder=WorldPartitionHLODsBuilder -D3D11

3. Press Enter to start the process.

   The command line arguments are set up as follows:

   "[FilePathOfYourEngineBuild]" [FilePathOfYourCitySampleProject] [YourMapName].umap -run=WorldPartitionBuilderCommandlet -AllowCommandletRendering -Builder=WorldPartitionHLODsBuilder -D3D11

• The engine file path to the UnrealEditor-Win64-DebugGame-Cmd.exe

• The file path to the CitySample project. If the project is located in the Engine directory, you can use just the name of the project.

• The map file you want to open.

• The remaining command arguments to run World Partition and build HLODs.

Using In-Editor Tools to Build HLODs

1. From the main menu, click Build and select Build HLODs from the menu.

2. Save your Level.

While working in the Level Editor, you may not notice anything has changed. This is because when you work with World Partition to edit the level, you are choosing what cells from the World Partition Editor to load in. However, if you were to Play-in-Editor (PIE) or Simulate prior to building the HLODs, you'd have seen that only objects within a certain distance are loading in. Anything beyond that distance is empty and not loaded for performance reasons.

Once HLODs are built, they are dynamically loaded and unloaded by World Partition during PIE and Simulate modes. In the examples below, if HLODs are not built, you'll only see parts of the city loaded near the camera within a set range. However, once HLODs are built, World Partition will load the HLODs for anything beyond the set range.

Step 8 - End Results

In this final step, you'll place a Player Start in your City level where you want to spawn in when you launch the game.

1. Find a location in your city you want to designate as a starting location when you use Play-in-Editor (PIE) to launch the project.

2. Right-click in the Level Viewport near the ground and use the context menu to select Place Actor > Player Start.

   Depending on where you clicked in the scene, your placed Player Start may be intersecting another object or above the ground. Move the Player Start so that it doesn't display any error messages, such as "Bad Size."

   Left, good Player Start placement; Right, bad Player Start placement.

3. Using the Level Viewport controls, press the Play-in-Editor button.

   The first time you play-in-editor or simulate can take a moment to load. Subsequent times will load more quickly.

At this point, you should have a city that you've successfully built using the source files provided for Houdini Engine for you to build a procedural city and be able to import and set it up in Unreal Engine 5. You should also be able to explore and play through your own city, similarly to how Small City and Big City have been set up.