4.15 has this feature Cooking Blueprints to C++ native code is no longer an experimental feature.
It sounds wonderfull, and is probable much more that just that.
So since I am new to UE - as in this week and not the last two months - in general (not coding nor c++) could I take this into my advantage to learn the engine better due to more examples and tutorials are available in blueprint then in c++ (or I do miss some search query keywords)?
Tuts are probably not just for 4.15.0 (yet) but fiddling the nodes of 4.14.3 or earlier has learning advantages too. And I need to learn UE first before I can actually choose/step forward/back in versions.
Therefore I’d like to ask the experienced and beyond, would it be the better choise to move on to 4.15.0 now or keep on struggling with 4.14.3?
I’m no expert in the C++ realm yet by any means, but from personal experience introducing others into UE4 I think learning Blueprint first is a great way to get started whether you’re new to coding, or have been coding for a year or two. The main reason for this is that the Blueprint context menu makes finding functions and variables very easy as you only need to type a keyword to filter.
As for which version to use? If you’re in the learning process it doesn’t really matter much. I usually wait a week to see if there will be a 4.15.x patch though.
You might as well upgrade since newer versions usually just add extra functionality+fixes. You shouldn’t find yourself at any disadvantage by upgrading.
You most likely won’t notice any of the changes in 4.15, it should feel exactly the same as 4.14.3 for you, with the added benefit of performance improvements, etc.
Also, cooking blueprints into C++ does not mean you will need to know C++. I believe it’s just an optional thing available to make blueprints run faster in the background. Not something you’ll need to worry about when creating your game.
Blueprints tutorials usually works well with newer versions too. If you don’t have a reason to stay back at 4.14 (e.g. some closed source plugin that was compiled for an older verion) then just upgrade. You could do this easy in the windows explorer… rightclick on the UE4 project file (blue logo) and choose “Switch Unreal version…”. Cooking blueprints to C++ is great but usually only matters when you get closer to finish your game and would get more performance. If you just hit play and could insta test (without waiting that some compiler finishes first) then your game would probably a bit slower but you would be faster (in learning, trying something different, …).
Blueprints are a great way to learn the API on the engine. I’m coding in C++ for 25 years plus, yet i still struggled using C++ when i migrated to UE4 because i didn’t know the engine API. Most of the stuff you learn by accessing it through blueprints. At some point you’ll notice the limitations of the blueprint system and that’s basically where you start creating your own classes. Later you’ll download the engine source to fix bugs you discovered or alter behavior of certain components (networked HISM anyone ?)
int* a = &anyone;
int* sure = &me;
while( a <-- sure )
{
heap = "What's HISM?";
printf(heap);
}
If it’s not Hiding Inherited Static Methods it must be a relaxing school on a Hawaian island.
Without kidding, thanks for the feedback all. Think I need to do the blueprints first in any case, due to the lack of my API knowledge. Did find the survival sample on the wiki which looks promising.
Unreadable code, got to see that first. So I’ll do such soon.