AWS Documentation » Amazon Lumberyard » User Guide » Creating Lumberyard Game Projects » Creating and Switching Game Projects

Creating and Switching Game Projects

This feature is in preview release and is subject to change.

You can use the Project Configurator to create and change the settings that affect building and editing of a game project. Use the Project Configurator to do the following:

• Create a game project.

• Enable or disable gems (code and assets files) from your project.

• Switch projects.

When you create a game project, the following are also created:

• A game gem that includes your game-specific code. The gem is named after your game project and is located in the MyNewProject\Gem directory.

• A Visual Studio solution file specific to your game.

You can also create a project from the command line. For more information, see Lmbr.exe.

Project Templates

When you create your game project with the Project Configurator, you can use the following templates:

Empty Template

The Empty template has the minimum features required for the editor to load and run a game project:

• CryLegacy – Enables the editor and launcher to load a game project that contains legacy code.

• Legacy Game Interface – Enables the editor and launcher to load a game project that contains legacy game interface code.

• LyShine gem – Provides access to the in-game UI system for Lumberyard.

• Maestro gem – Provides access to cinematics features.

Default Template

The Default template builds on the Empty template and enables the following gems to provide basic features for game development:

• Amazon GameLift – Provides flow graph nodes for using this service and creating game sessions.

• Camera – Includes a basic camera component for runtime rendering.

• ChatPlay – Includes the interface for triggering events based on Twitch chat activity.

• Cloud Canvas – Provides visual scripting capabilities to power your game backend with AWS services.

• Gestures – Allows gesture-based input, including click/tap, drag, hold, pinch, rotate, and swipe.

• Http Requestor – Adds support to handle HTTP and HTTPs requests.

• In-App Purchases – Provides the in-app purchasing API for Android and iOS.

• Input Management Framework – Converts input to user-defined gameplay events.

• LyShine – Provides access to the in-game UI system for Lumberyard.

• PBS Reference Materials – Includes a set of physically based shading reference materials and texture assets.

• Physics Entities (Legacy) – Provides physics entity modifiers to simulate physical events.

• Primitive Assets – Provides primitive objects to manipulate in your level.

To see the gems that enabled for the Default template, create a project from that template and choose Enable Gems.

The Default template also includes a simple level for you to manipulate components and entities in the editor and experiment with other assets in a neutral, gray environment. The simple level includes a camera, a single light, an environment probe for reflections, and primitive objects with physics enabled. The objects are provided by the Primitive Assets Gem.

Creating a Game Project in the Project Configurator

When you create your game project, we recommend the Default template and its set of gems. This template helps you start designing and developing quickly. Some of the gems in the template are optional.

To see a base project without optional gems, use the Empty template. This template creates a basic project using the minimum features to start a game.

To create a game project in the Project Configurator

1. Open the Project Configurator with your preferred method:

   • Open Lumberyard Setup Assistant and on the Summary page, click Configure project.

   • Navigate to the lumberyard_version\dev\Tools\LmbrSetup\Win\ directory and then start ProjectConfigurator.

2. In the Project Configurator, click Create new.

   Note

   If Create new is unavailable, open Lumberyard Setup Assistant and select Compile the game code.

   

3. In the Create a new project window, do the following:

   1. Enter a name for your project.

      Only alphanumeric characters are allowed. Do not use special characters or spaces in the name. Do not use single C++ keywords such as if, while, break, new, and virtual.

   2. Choose one of the following: Default or Empty.

   3. Click Create project.

   

4. When your project is created, click Continue.

5. In the Project Configurator, select the new project and click Set as default to make it the default project that Lumberyard Editor loads.

6. (Optional) Click Enable Gems to add gems to your project.

   Note

   If you selected Code & Assets gems, you must build your project.

   1. In a command line window, navigate to the lumberyard_version\dev\ directory.

   2. Enter the following command to configure Lumberyard correctly:

      lmbr_waf configure

   3. Build the game project.

      For more information, see Building Your Game Project.

7. Close the Project Configurator.

8. Open Lumberyard Editor with your preferred method:

   • Open Lumberyard Setup Assistant and on the Summary page, click Launch editor.

   • Start Editor.exe from one of the following directories:

     • For Visual Studio 2017: lumberyard_version\dev\Bin64vc141

     • For Visual Studio 2015: lumberyard_version\dev\Bin64vc140

Creating a Game Project from a Command Line

When you create a game project from a command line, you can enter lmbr for a list of all possible commands that you can use with Lmbr.exe.

To create a game project from a command line

1. In a command line window, navigate to the following directory:

   lumberyard_version\dev\Tools\LmbrSetup\Win\

2. Enter the following command to create your project:

   lmbr projects create MyNewProject

3. To set your new project as the default or active project, enter the following command:

   lmbr projects set-active MyNewProject

4. To configure Lumberyard to run this project, navigate to the following directory:

   lumberyard_version\dev\

5. Enter the following command:

   lmbr_waf configure

6. Build the game project.

   For more information, see Building Your Game Project.

Choosing a Game Project to Open

Use the Project Configurator to set a game project as the default project that opens in Lumberyard Editor.

To open a game project

1. Open the Project Configurator with your preferred method:

   • From the desktop, double-click the Project Configurator icon.

   • Navigate to the lumberyard_version\dev\Tools\LmbrSetup\Win directory and double-click Project Configurator.exe.

2. On the Summary page, select the project and click Set as default.

   

3. (Optional) Click Enable Gems and select the additional features and assets that you want available to design your game. If you select a gem labeled with Code & Assets, you must build your project from a command line.

   For more information, see Building Your Game Project.

4. Close the Project Configurator.

5. After setting the default project, open Lumberyard Editor with your preferred method:

   • From the desktop, double-click the Lumberyard Editor icon.

   • For Visual Studio 2017, navigate to the lumberyard_version\dev\Bin64vc141 directory and double-click Editor.exe.

   • For Visual Studio 2015, navigate to the lumberyard_version\dev\Bin64vc140 directory and double-click Editor.exe.

   After the first launch and each time you change projects, Asset Processor runs in the background. Asset Processor manages your assets and project files. While Lumberyard Editor opens, you can see messages appear with status information.

   For more information, see Using Asset Processor.

Switching Game Projects

To switch projects, you must close Lumberyard Editor. With the Project Configurator, you then specify a different project and its gems and system settings for the editor to open

When you switch projects, you can specify the following:

• Name of the project that you want to open.

• (Optional) Gems enabled for the project.

• (Optional) System settings that you want the editor to use.

To switch game projects

1. In Lumberyard Editor, choose File, Project Settings, Switch Projects.

   

2. You must close Lumberyard Editor before you can open the Project Configurator. In the dialog box, choose Save.

3. In the Project Configurator, select the project and click Set as default.

   

4. (Optional) Click Enable Gems and select the additional features and assets that you want available to design your game. If you select a gem labeled with Code & Assets, you must build your project from a command line.

   For more information, see Building Your Game Project.

5. (Optional) Choose Advanced Settings and verify that the System entity and Memory settings are appropriate for your project.

6. Close the Project Configurator.

7. After setting the default project, open Lumberyard Editor with your preferred method.

   • From the desktop, double-click the Lumberyard Editor icon.

   • For Visual Studio 2017, navigate to the lumberyard_version\dev\Bin64vc141 directory and double-click Editor.exe.

   • For Visual Studio 2015, navigate to the lumberyard_version\dev\Bin64vc140 directory and double-click Editor.exe.

   After the first launch and each time you change projects, Asset Processor runs in the background. You see messages appear with status information before the editor opens. For more information about Asset Processor, see Using Asset Processor.