Creating and Switching Game Projects

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

Open 3D Engine (O3DE), the successor to Lumberyard, is now available in Developer Preview. Download O3DE or visit the AWS Game Tech blog to learn more.

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

• Create a game project

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

• Switch game projects

To learn about creating and compiling a new game project for Lumberyard, watch the following video tutorial.

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 capabilities to use this service and create 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.

Note

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

Creating a Game Project in Lumberyard

You can create a game project using the Project Configurator or command line. 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.

Project Configurator

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

   • Open the Lumberyard Project Configurator, located at lumberyard-version\dev\Bin64BuildPlatform\ProjectConfigurator.exe. For example, when using Visual Studio 2019 as your build platform, the Project Configurator is located at lumberyard-version\dev\Bin64vc142\ProjectConfigurator.exe.

2. In the Project Configurator, click Create new.

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

   1. Enter a name for your project.

      Only alphanumeric characters are allowed. Don't use special characters or spaces in the name. Don't 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. At a command-line prompt, navigate to the lumberyard_version\dev\ directory.

   2. To configure Lumberyard, enter the following command.

      lmbr_waf configure

   3. Build the game project.

      Note

      In Lumberyard version 1.23, the initial build time for a new project can be lengthy. It can take approximately one hour on higher end systems.

      For more information, see Building Lumberyard projects.

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 2019: lumberyard_version\dev\Bin64vc142

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. At a command-line prompt, navigate to the following directory:

   lumberyard_version\dev\Tools\LmbrSetup\Win\

2. To create your project, enter the following command.

   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 Lumberyard projects.

Choosing a Game Project to Open

Use the Project Configurator to set default game 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

   • Open the Lumberyard Project Configurator, located at lumberyard-version\dev\Bin64BuildPlatform\ProjectConfigurator.exe. For example, when using Visual Studio 2017 as your build platform, the Project Configurator is located at lumberyard-version\dev\Bin64vc141\ProjectConfigurator.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 Lumberyard projects.

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

5. Close the Project Configurator.

6. 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 2019, navigate to the lumberyard_version\dev\Bin64vc142 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 to open

• (Optional) Gems enabled for the project

• (Optional) System settings for 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. Follow the procedure in Choosing a Game Project to Open.