So, I’ve got very limited “experience” making games / coding. I’ve fiddled with UE over the years and have made a few scripts for Garry’s Mod, but never made a full game before. I’m now trying to make a FPS (Multiplayer Paintball Game to play with friends). I find myself not really making my own content / code, but I find that I more or less just follow tutorials and make very minor changes. I do make some of my own blueprints but it’s always based on some blueprint I found on youtube or this forum.
I guess I’m just trying to figure out if I’m way out of my league and what I’m trying to do just isn’t in reach yet. Do I need to start smaller / more basic? If so, what would you recommend as a starting game? What can I do to start actually doing my own programming rather than just following a tutorial?
The word you’re looking for if you want to Google some more is “Scope”!
As far as first game, most seasoned devs will try to tell you not to try to make it multiplayer, especially not network multiplayer, but you CAN do it! Especially if you keep it simple. Get it to a playable point before anything.
As far as coding without help- A musician learns an instrument by playing scales and songs others wrote. It’s the same principle here- the more you understand how and why you are coding the things you are you learn how to use those pieces elsewhere. Optimal code is often copied, if they put this information out there it’s for free use. Just try to give them credit somewhere, but nobody’s crediting people on StackOverflow in their final webpages.
Let me give you some pointers to try to keep it manageable, and prioritize.
One game mode, let’s say Team Deathmatch. You can always add more later!
Use basic assets. Don’t commit to foliage and such right off the bat, use basic shapes to build out your level.
Use the UE FPS Template assets for characters and weapon!
No AI until you have a people-only working version, other than a training dummy to test your weapon on.
Take the time to learn your UI, and what goes on the Game INSTANCE vs the Game MODE so you can reset for the next game without shutdown and add new game MODES (TDM, CTF, Lone Wolves) later.
Get it playable FIRST. Then worry about art and such later.
Thank you for your response! The musician analogy makes total sense, and I definitely find myself focusing too much on minor details rather than main gameplay mechanics which makes me feel like I’m not making any real progress. Also is there any good documentation on Game Mode and Game Instance, I haven’t done any research on those to be honest.
And as for gameInstance, you get a new one every time the game starts up, and it’s deleted when you close.
I was misspeaking earlier, I meant game STATE not instance. GameState is things you want to reset on a new game start, things like score, time, etc. Changeables. Game MODE is “These are the rules.”
The question you have to ask yourself is: Do you want to make your game the Slow Way or the Fast Way?
The Slow Way.
You will need to learn how to script/program c++ and create media (example: 3D Models, Textures, Audio) from scratch the Unreal Way.
You'll need to Firstly learn Replicated ...
Avatar Control, Shooting Mechanics, FX, Scoring and some Material Manipulation like Material Painting and Decals. If you start with learning Replication in UE (Blueprints/C++) First-thing, you will be ahead of the game.
The Fast Way.
Leverage others experience and acquire a FPS Multiplayer Game Template from the Marketplace, UEFN, Start a Team, or Join a Team. I did all of them!
I have recommendations for both Slow and Fast ways. We can discuss further on discord to avoid hijacking this post
Well I plan on this being a nice polished game, I’m a solo dev and work full time, so probably slow and steady. This is simply a passion project and kinda anticipated it taking a few years to get it to where I want, especially given my very limited experience in the field.
I wont be that Guy that says start small for your first game. I’m that guy that says start with a Chat System and build on top of it. You’ll learn a lot about Replication in Unreal developing a Chat System that supports Private Messages and Group Messages. Network Communications at the core is the transfer of Messages and messages can be represented in many data forms.
Here’s a UE Template (Multiplayer by Default) that can kickstart the journey into high gear. Totally underated and overlooked, but its more powerful then most.
I present to you the Collaborative Viewer Template.
