Before starting...

... I'd like to reply to some questions that some of you might already have.

Does this book take into account Blueprint or C++?

This book will explain both, so don't worry.

If you don't know C++, you can follow along with the Blueprint part of this book, and if you so wish, you can try the C++ one.

If, on the other hand, you are a programmer that prefers C++, then don't worry! This book will explain how to deal with AI in Unreal using C++.

There are so many books around about AI, why should I choose this one?

Different books explain different aspects of AI, and often they are not mutually exclusive, but rather they complement each other.

However, the major point of interest of this book is that it is a good compromise between the theory of the different AI systems that are present in Unreal and practical applications, since the whole book is full of concrete examples.

Does this book provide a test project/materials to work on?

Absolutely, yes. You will be able to download the content for this book from the following link: http://hog.red/AIBook2019ProjectFiles (the link is case-sensitive).

I am already using the Unreal Engine for Artificial Intelligence, is this book good for me?

This all depends on your level of knowledge. In fact, in the first part of this book, we will talk mainly about the AI framework that's built into the Unreal Engine and how to use it. This is probably the part you are more familiar with if you have had some experience with Unreal for AI. However, this book will dive deep in these topics, that even an expert could find some useful tips. The second part, instead, will discuss some debugging methods for Game AI and will also explain how to extend them (mainly with C++). Feel free to have a look at the outline, and decide if this book suits you.

I am already using another game engine, is this book still good for me?

Well, as much as I'd like to say that this is a general book about AI, it isn't—at least not completely. Although the main focus will still be toward the main concepts of AI, we will look at implementing them in Unreal. However, this book will heavily rely on the built-in AI framework in Unreal. Thus, I encourage you to read more generalized books about AI to get a better understanding. On the other hand, you can always try. Maybe, by understanding some concepts here, other books will be easier to read and you will be able to transfer this knowledge into the game engine of your choice.

I'm a student/teacher, is this book suitable for teaching in class?

Absolutely, yes. I know how important it is to find good resources when teaching a class, and I'm writing this book with this intention in mind. As a result, regardless of whether you are a student or a teacher, you will find a section at the end of each chapter with some exercises that you can improve your skills this (or propose them to your students, if you are a teacher). Also, you can find some more integrative material here: http://hog.red/AIBook2019LearningMaterial (the link is case-sensitive).

Is this book going to cover everything, everything, and everything about AI in Unreal and all its systems?

Well, despite my best efforts to describe each of the systems in great detail, covering everything is an impossible task, due also to the complexity of such big engine. However, I'm confident to say that this book covers most of the aspects related to each AI system within the Unreal Engine, including how to extend the built-in systems and how to efficiently perform debugging. Thus, I can certainly say that this book is very comprehensive.