Package Custom Scenes into Executable

Step 4 of 4 in Customize 3D Scenes for Aerospace Blockset Simulations

When you finish modifying a custom scene as described in Customize Scenes Using Simulink and Unreal Editor, you can package the project file containing this scene into an executable. You can then configure your model to simulate from this executable by using the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block. Executable files can improve simulation performance and do not require opening the Unreal^® Editor to simulate your scene. Instead, the scene runs by using the Unreal Engine^® that comes installed with Aerospace Blockset™.

Package Scene into Executable Using Unreal Editor

Before packaging the custom scenes into an executable, make sure that the plugins are:

• Located in the Unreal Engine installation area, for example, C:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE_5.1\Engine\Plugins\Marketplace\Mathworks.

• Deleted from your project area, for example, C:\project\AutoVrtlEnv\Plugins.

Then, follow these steps.

1. Open the project containing the scene in the Unreal Editor. You must open the project from a Simulink^® model that is configured to co-simulate with the Unreal Editor.

   For more details on how to package projects, see "Packaging Projects" under Unreal Engine 4 Documentation.

2. In the Unreal Editor toolbar, select Settings > Project Settings to open the Project Settings window.

3. In the left pane, in the Project section, click Packaging.

4. In the Packaging section, set or verify the options in the table. If you do not see all these options, at the bottom of the Packaging section, click the Show Advanced expander .

   Packaging Option	Enable or Disable
   Use Pak File	Enable
   Cook everything in the project content directory (ignore list of maps below)	Disable
   Cook only maps (this only affects cookall)	Enable
   Create compressed cooked packages	Enable
   Exclude editor content while cooking	Enable

5. If you create a new scene outside the scenes provided in the support package, specify the scene from the project that you want to package into an executable. Also specify the GriffissAirport scene.

   1. In the List of maps to include in a packaged build option, click the Adds Element button .

   2. Specify the path to the scene that you want to include in the executable. By default the Unreal Editor saves maps to the /Game/Maps folder. For example, if the /Game/Maps folder has a scene named myScene that you want to include in the executable, enter /Game/Maps/myScene. Scenes inside the plugins replace the /Game folder with the plugin folder.

      To include the GriffissAirport map, enter /MathWorksAerospaceContent/Maps/GriffissAirport.

   3. Add or remove additional scenes as needed.

6. If you have any required asset directories to include in the executable which are not in the MathWorks^® plugins, then specify them under Additional Asset Directories to Cook.

7. In the left pane, in the Game section, click Asset Manager.

8. Expand Primary Asset Types to Scan, and under it expand elements 0 and 1. For both array elements, clear the Is Editor Only check box

9. Close the Project Settings window.

10. Rebuild the lighting in your scenes. If you do not rebuild the lighting, the shadows from the light source in your executable file are incorrect and a warning about rebuilding the lighting displays during simulation. In the Unreal Editor toolbar, select Build > Build Lighting Only.

11. In the top-left menu of the editor, select File > Package Project > Windows (64-bit). Select a local folder in which to save the executable, such as to the root of the project file (for example, C:/Local/myProject).

    Note

    Packaging a project into an executable can take several minutes. The more scenes that you include in the executable, the longer the packaging takes.

    Once packaging is complete, the folder where you saved the package contains a WindowsNoEditor folder that includes the executable file. This file has the same name as the project file.

    Note

    If you repackage a project into the same folder, the new executable folder overwrites the old one.

    Suppose you package a scene that is from the myProject.uproject file and save the executable to the C:/Local/myProject folder. The editor creates a file named myProject.exe with this path:

    C:/Local/myProject/WindowsNoEditor/myProject.exe

Simulate Scene from Executable in Simulink

To improve co-simulation performance, consider configuring the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block to co-simulate with the project executable.

1. In the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block of your Simulink model, set the Scene source parameter to Unreal Executable.

2. Set the File name parameter to the name of your Unreal Editor executable file. You can either browse for the file or specify the full path to the file by using backslashes. For example:

   C:\Local\myProject\WindowsNoEditor\myProject.exe

3. Set the Scene parameter to the name of a scene from within the executable file. For example:

   /MathWorksAerospaceContent/Maps/GriffissAirport

4. Run the simulation. The model simulates in the custom scene that you created.

If you are simulating a scene from a project that is not based on the AutoVtrlEnv project, then the scene simulates in full screen mode. To use the same window size as the default scenes, copy the DefaultGameUserSettings.ini file from the support package installation folder to your custom project folder. For example, copy DefaultGameUserSettings.ini from:

C:\ProgramData\MATLAB\SupportPackages\<MATLABrelease>\...
toolbox\shared\sim3dprojects\automotive\AutoVrtlEnv\Config

to:

C:\<yourproject>.project\Config

Then, package scenes from the project into an executable again and retry the simulation.