https://impromptugames.com/movingtounreal.html
So You've Decided To Move From Unity To Unreal Engine
Ugh, something bad probably happened and now you're here. This sucks!
Let's get you started on the right foot though.
I'm Joe Wintergreen, I'm an Unreal Engine generalist. If you want you
can look at all my stuff.
Here is a bunch of helpful information for people new to Unreal whose
experience is in Unity.
"Where do I start?"
Read the documentation Get in a community
on the Gameplay of helpful folks.
Framework. All of it! This will quadruple
your Learn Speed. Hit up the Epic Online
Unreal has a Gameplay Learning Library.
Framework. Read the There's Alex Rose's
docs and get to grips Discord For Former
with it. It's the Unity Devs and Here it is. Focus on
right choice for every there's also my the ones by Epic
type of game. Don't discord, which you Games.
skim it. Keep it on are welcome in if
hand to read it again. you don't be a
jerk.
Download the latest
Unreal Engine through Read this whole page.
the Epic Games Check out Epic's
Launcher. "Unreal Engine for I know there's a lot
Unity Developers" of text here, but
Right now it's 5.3. In doc. don't skim it! This
general, you always stuff is important and
want to start a It's a pretty good accurate! There's a
project on the newest initial "oh god lot of bad info about
version. There's also what am I looking Unreal on the
no reason to use UE4 at". Here it is. internet, but not
anymore - UE5 is here. This is all
better and has gold.
everything from UE4.
"Just give me tips!"
Alright fine! Here's 20 minutes of rapid fire tips and a video about
the Class Viewer (turn on the Class Viewer). And Chris Murphy's Video
about Features You Probably Don't Know About.
I suggest watching these through immediately, even though it's a bit
overwhelming, just to get a sense of what sorts of things are there,
and then coming back and looking again later when you're more
equipped to directly utilise the scoops.
"I have so many questions!"
Here are answers to some questions that are asked frequently.
I'm worried about What's conceptually
this whole different about I heard a rumour!
situation! Unreal?
Unreal and Unity are
not game engines in
the same sense.
Isn't Epic going to I heard it's hard to
end up screwing me Unreal, idTech, learn!
over in some way? Cryengine, Source,
Snowdrop, etc are game
You should never engines that emerged It can be! It's huge
trust a big from the process of and empowering, but it
corporation, but game development. doesn't do a good job
probably not. Unity and Godot of teaching itself.
Epic's EULA didn't, which is fine, The UI is kept
stipulates that if but not the same "simple" in a way that
the EULA changes, thing, and using them means there are huge
you don't have to is fundamentally features you just
agree to the new different. won't discover unless
terms; as long as someone tells you
you stay on the If you use the about them.
version of Unreal Half-Life Engine, you
you're on. Combined benefit from using the The forums are not
with full access to tools that shipped great, and the entire
the source code, Half-Life; you don't internet is filled
this probably means go in and write your with very
you're pretty safe. own weapon system and confidently-stated
networking and misinformation.
Anecdotally and as savegame system. Googling worked well
of right now, Epic until this year, and
tend to be chill. It's the same way with now it doesn't.
For instance, when Unreal, except you're
they changed their not getting If you can help it,
Unreal Marketplace "whatever Epic ended you shouldn't try to
rev share from 30% up with when making learn it alone. You
to 12%, they made Gears of War" - Epic should put yourself in
it retroactive and spent 25 years some sort of Unreal
refunded every supporting AAA learning community,
Marketplace creator licensees and building like Alex Rose's
the difference on systems that would Discord For Former
every sale they'd pretty much work for Unity Devs, and ask a
made. any and all of them, lot of questions. I've
so that's what you're seen people go from
Anything can getting. It's zero to extremely
change, so keep an overpowered for what capable (and hired) in
eye on 'em, but you you need as an indie, a year, from being in
should be alright. but that's good. You my discord.
want to be
overpowered.
What's the payment
situation? 5% gross
doesn't sound
great!
It's free until you
make a million I heard C++ sucks!
bucks USD, and only
after that is it 5%
gross, and only in Maybe, but Unreal's
quarters where you Don't roll-your-own C++ is pretty
made more than everything. different to C++
$10,000 USD. So elsewhere. It's
most folks never easier. Give it a shot
end up paying Check the system you even though you dread
anything. There are want to make doesn't it.
no subscription exist already. If it
fees or anything. does exist, but seems Most games, though,
To clarify, if you bad, you probably don't need much, if
make a million haven't looked hard any, C++ - you can
bucks, and then one enough at it yet. They build and ship an
dollar, you only aren't banging rocks entire solid,
owe them five together at Epic. You maintainable,
cents. think you can make a performant, complex
better animation game in Blueprint.
If this still sucks system or whatever,
to you, you can you're wrong. Quit it, Check out Tom Looman's
talk to them about you're gonna hurt your Complete Guide to
a custom license team. Unreal C++, that guy
with custom terms. knows what he's doing.
There's an email That said, not
link on their everything in Unreal The most important
website somewhere. rules. I don't like thing is not to be
Unreal's Behaviour dogmatic. C++ and
Make sure you fill Trees, I think they're Blueprint both have
out the Release really bad. I built my their place. If you
Form when you own AI system instead find yourself
release your game. of that which I think insisting that someone
Otherwise you might is real good. Maybe move all their
have to pay you can too! Blueprint to C++ "for
royalties sooner performance", you have
than $1M, become the villain.
apparently. Take Nativisation and
you five minutes. optimisation are not
the same thing.
If you're making
"linear content",
like movies, TV,
etc, Unreal is
literally just
free.
I heard Blueprint
sucks!
Blueprint actually
rules. Look, I get it
- why would a visual
scripting thing be
Porting to consoles good? They're all
isn't an outsource job shit! I agree.
here.
Blueprint is the only
It can be, of course, one that's any good.
but Unreal is built to It's amazing. It will
target every platform also help you learn
What's the deal from one project. the engine. Everything
with platforms? Fortnite is on Switch, you do there will be
Consoles? Epic Android, iOS, Xbox, applicable to C++. No
Launcher? Playstation, PC, and matter who you are,
maybe something else, you should start in
You can put your and that is all built Blueprint. It's 100%
games on any out of one project. true that you can
platform or You can do this too. build an entire game
console, they're For the most part it in Blueprint. Yeah,
all well supported, "just works". Stuff with multiplayer.
and nothing is like "make the Yeah, performantly.
mandatory. If you textures lower res on Yeah, maintainably.
sell on EGS, which the Switch, depending It's not just for
you don't have to, on the asset" is all rapid prototyping.
those sales don't built-in and easy. I
contribute to the did the Switch port of Be a snob about
revenue thresholds Adios in a week. Blueprint at your
above. Porting to peril. I've helped a
consoles is easier Bear in mind you'll lot of people get good
here than on other have to go through the at Unreal and get
engines. console's signing hired for it, and
process to get the Blueprint-related
secret source code you recalcitrance is the
need to compile the number one way people
engine for it. It screw themselves -
tends not to be without realising,
difficult. Whole they sentence
engine's on Github by themselves to months
the way. of wasted time and
frustration only to
mould themselves into
the type of Unreal
user who sabotages any
team they're on.
Swallow your pride and
look at some nodes.
I heard Unreal is
geared towards first
person shooters and
it's a struggle to
You won't use the make something in my
Do I have to put Asset Store as much. genre!
the Unreal logo on
my stuff? It's called the Unreal This isn't true. It
Engine Marketplace, was sort of true in
No, in fact if you and there's a lot of the first half of UE3.
want to use it, you good stuff and a lot By UE4 it wasn't true
have to fill out a of bad stuff on there. in any sense.
form and they can In general, you need Somebody's lyin'.
reject you. You do it less than you do on
still have to put a Unity. Like you don't You can make anything
"this uses Unreal need Rewired; Unreal's in any genre with
Engine, copyright input systems are equal ease. If in
yada yada", etc in solid and work on doubt, look up the
your credits. every platform. Wiki list of Unreal
There'll be a lot of Engine games. Nobody
stuff like that. there had to go out of
their way (or outside
the Gameplay
Framework) to do their
thing.
What if I don't want
fancy graphical bells
and whistles? What if
Doesn't Tencent own I'm not making
Epic or something? Upgrading to the something in a
latest version is not realistic style?
They have some a big deal.
non-controlling That's all fine. The
amount of shares. Most times you upgrade fancy graphics in
The way I've had to the next version of Unreal are easy to
this explained to Unreal you won't run disable, and you still
me is Tim Sweeney into any issues. Some get the benefit of
owns the majority folks like to hold off their fancy tooling.
and nobody else a little just to be
gets any real say sure. Psychonauts 2 Unreal also doesn't
in anything. started on 4.11 and limit the types of
Tencent did invest shipped on 4.26. styles you can go for.
though and do own Staying up to date is You can do anything.
part of it. good here. "Physically based
rendering" doesn't
mean you have to work
in a realistic style.
Unreal doesn't
suddenly remove
important features.
When Epic deprecates a
massive feature, it
tends to stick around
for a long time before
actually being
removed, and then Can I make a 2D game?
you'll have an upgrade
path provided. Yeah, totally. Just
make a game as usual
For instance, the but with an
current particle orthographic camera.
Does Unreal pay you editor is Niagara. If you want sprites
to be this helpful? Before Niagara, for instead of animated
many years, there was meshes, there's a
I fuckin' wish. I Cascade. Cascade is system called Paper2D
don't know what still in the engine, for dealing with
compels me to be but you should use sprites, and it
honest. Niagara, and there's doesn't get a lot of
an automatic converter updates or do much
You could send me of your Cascade with animation, but
money though if you particle systems to there's also a system
wanted, or there's Niagara. called PaperZD (on the
a patreon. marketplace) that does
Similarly, a lot more. As of 5.3,
the animation tool all the latest
Matinee (responsible lighting features work
for the cutscenes in with orthographic -
Gears of War, Mirror's lumen, virtual
Edge, Batman, Xcom, shadowmaps, etc.
etc) was removed from
the engine years after
being deprecated and
replaced with
Sequencer, and to this
day if you open a
level that contains a
Matinee it gets
perfectly converted to
Sequencer.
Unreal introduces new
systems carefully.
If something new comes
into Unreal, usually
it's initially marked
Experimental. This
means Epic don't
recommend relying on
it for production.
Eventually it will
lose that label, and
then it's safe to use Can I make a game
in a shipping game. that's playable in the
browser?
Presumably out of an
abundance of caution, Not really! There used
some features stay to be HTML5 support,
Experimental for a lot but it got deprecated
longer, even though a few years ago. Other
they're good to go and than Pixel Streaming,
are used in many you don't have much
shipped games. Ask recourse here unless
around if you're you want to implement
unsure how safe an it yourself. So that
"experimental" feature sucks.
is.
Also, all the new
stuff is optional, it
doesn't replace old
features. Lumen and
Nanite are new and
cool, but still
optional. You can
still bake lighting
and everything's still
compatible with that.
Unreal doesn't have
multiple rendering
pipelines with their I heard you can't make
own asset a build that's less
requirements. than a billion megs!
You do have access to Out of the box in
multiple renderers in UE5.3, if you disable
Unreal, with different all unnecessary
features - there are plugins and package a
Deferred and Forward nearly-empty project,
renderers for both it's like 120mb. On
Desktop and Mobile UE4 that was more like
with various quirks 75mb. There's a lot
(eg, you only get MSAA more you can do to
on Forward). But your reduce file size -
assets don't care this is just what I've
about this - the done personally. If
renderers all look the you search, you should
same, and you can find some good tips
switch between them at for this.
will to figure out
what best fits your
project.
This is the engine
that made that game
you like.
You know how in Batman
Arkham Asylum you
sometimes have to wait
in front of a door I heard the level
while it design tools are bad!
security-scans you,
but actually it's You probably heard
loading the next chunk that from me. There's
of level while you a way to go, but
stand there throwing things have gotten a
batarangs and it'll hell of a lot better,
take longer to scan especially in 5.3.
you on a slower Check out that link
machine? That's not for some scoops on the
something Rocksteady tools CubeGrid and
did, that's just MeshTool, which are
Unreal's level both excellent and
streaming system they work well together.
used for Gears of War.
You can just use that.
If some game on Unreal
ever did a thing you
liked, there's a good
chance you literally
have the code.
I heard it's a hassle
to develop on/for
Linux and Mac!
Not really! There were
some Mac CPUs that
weren't properly
supported until
recently, but they are
now. You can download
the editor for Mac
through the Epic
Launcher just like PC,
or for Linux, go here.