Ask Epic Anything: Programming & Scripting | May 24th, 2023 at 12:30PM EST

[Rodney_Houle]

@Hottentotte

Thanks for the amazing Creator 2.0 ecosystem and your support!
I would like to make an object follow a spline-path. Is there something like getLocationAtDistanceAlongSpline and getRotationAtDistanceAlongSpline from UE5 Blueprints?

There is no way to due this currently, but this is something we would like to add in the future

[Conan_Reis]

@K-MUS

Will be able to debug in VS code? is there an estimated time on when ?

Yes. This is something that essentially has infinite ability to evolve in sophistication. No specific ETA yet though it is a high priority.

@K-MUS

Why not provide in the API at least getters for any property of an object in UEFN ?

Since Verse is statically typed getting user specified properties could be challenging - though not necessarily impossible.

I’m not sure if there is another reason - such as stability or security - or if such functionality is just not implemented yet.

@K-MUS

Is there a performance difference using verse vs direct event in the UEFN editor vs Creative 2.0 edit mode ?

There has been very little performance optimization of Verse - that will be more a focus with the future Verse VM that will replace the Blueprint VM. Until that happens I’m not sure how relevant that answer will be or for how long.

From my own personal bias - I prefer Verse events - especially Await() over subscribing. I think that it is more powerful, flexible and resilient. It will be even easier in the future with things like iterated concurrency expressions. Not everyone agrees on this so try different things out.

[Rodney_Houle]

@dmac921

Will we ever be able to use collision events between custom props?

Yes this is on the roadmap for 2023. You can get more information on this in the Verse Programming Language GDC talk: https://youtu.be/5prkKOIilJg

[Conan_Reis]

@pto2k

The Editor Utility is an excellent tool in both UE4 and UE5. Will it be available in UEFN?

We are looking to have something similar eventually - no specific ETA.

@pto2k

Is Epic currently developing or planning to develop an AI tool (maybe VerseGPT ? ) that can assist individuals with limited coding experience?

AI tooling around Verse will inevitably become a reality at some point - no ETA for Epic efforts on this front.

Some UEFN developers have already done some experimentation - https://twitter.com/wbwarforge/status/1643723599667183618

[Ray-Benefield]

@apersonbeing

If scripts need to interact with each other, what is the best practice when it comes to creating verse devices? Should we do everything in one device or separate it into multiple? What are the pros and cons of having separate devices?

Any major best practices tips would be appreciated too!

Separating out into multiple devices is often the more manageable approach in terms of being easier to add new features to your project in the future. Splitting up logic into multiple parts allows you to make it more flexible and reusable in other systems. Also makes it easier to revisit in the future.

[Conan_Reis]

@t.tutiya

Is there a schema of the Verse language, such as BNF notation? If not, are there any plans to provide one?

Yes there is a Verse BNF - we probably just need to clean it up and remove the future plans from what is currently present before we can put it online in the Verse documentation.

@t.tutiya

Are “true” and “false” types themselves? (Is the logic type a composite type of true type and false type?)

Technically yes - they are separate types in Verse. One of the hints is that true and false are both lowercase like other Verse type name conventions. They aren’t indicated that way in the docs currently though the typing in Verse is quite sophisticated and as this becomes more feature complete the docs will better reflect the Verse type theory.

@t.tutiya

Is the “false” that can be set as the initial value for an option type the same as the false of the logic type?

Yes.

[Conan_Reis]

@stueccles

Thanks for all the hard work on Verse. The concurrency model is unique amongst languages i have worked with and an amazing fit to game scripting.

Awesome! Great to hear!

@stueccles

When will we see some tooling like:

• REPL
• Unit Testing Framework
• Ability to programmatically create in-game data and events for testing

But the devX with Verse is hard to work with, its very hard to test code. When will we see some tooling like:

• REPL
• Unit Testing Framework
• Ability to programmatically create in-game data and events for testing

All the above is being actively worked on - by me in particular. I’m excited about it too as are the internal teams that will be using it. Unfortunately no ETA yet.

[Conan_Reis]

@TheCreaitor

Q1: Are there any plans on making it easier for programmers to share/sell Verse scripts/modules (something like the Fab content browser)? Or is this something that you will leave up to the community.

Yes - the plan is to create collaboration tools. No specific ETA. Definitely use community mechanisms for now.

@TheCreaitor

What plans do you have regarding debugging tools? For example, I wrote a script that tells me it is either stuck in an infinite loop (almost certain this isn’t the case) or that the device terminated because of excessive computation. So knowing what the limits are and what my script is currently using for example would be useful for debugging/optimization.

Verse Debugging is also planned. Also unhelpfully - no specific ETA yet.

[Conan_Reis]

@Megaspace

Have there been any thoughts about moving some of the Verse development to an open source model? I’m sure there are lots of proprietary bits which could make that difficult, but something like the language server could probably benefit from having community involvement.

The plan is to eventually open source Verse once it is sufficiently evolved. Probably sometime after it is available for Unreal development.

[Conan_Reis]

@Nman_Pkr

For Conan Reis Firstly I really enjoy coding with Verse, I’ve been coding for most of my life, never thought I would be programming inside of FortNite.

Awesome! Thank you!

@Nman_Pkr

As a side question, Is there plans to move Verse off of the blueprint VM in Unreal for performance / cost?

Yes - the new custom Verse VM is well underway…

[Ray-Benefield]

@TomJank

How soon will Verse be able to fully replace Creative Devices? For example: when will I be able to grant a player an item without having to use a device in game?

Verse will not replace Creative Devices. In an ideal future, existing devices will evolve into open sourced Verse scripts that we provide so you can learn how they are made or make your own variations of those devices. For each device this means that we will need to have the Verse API necessary to support it. They will still be usable as they are today, but you will be able to see how the device is made.

[Conan_Reis]

@TomJank

How soon will Verse be able to fully replace Creative Devices? For example: when will I be able to grant a player an item without having to use a device in game?

Good question. As Ray above says - ideally all new custom Verse devices will be able to be used anywhere that original style Creative Devices are used. And all original style Creative Devices will continue to work as they do though ideally eventually they will stop being black boxes and you will be able to see the Verse commands that they are comprised of - and of course remix them and make variations of them. We are excited internally at Epic to get to this point - though it isn’t clear if we will 100% reach this point or when.

[Ray-Benefield]

@DRAGONSTUDIO

This question is for Ray Benefield. What kind of challenges do you face as a Creative Tools Designer? And how do you overcome those challenges? Lastly if you could give any advice to creators who are looking to jump into game development as a career, what would your advice be?

I’d say the most difficult challenge is prioritization. There are so many things that need to get done and so many different people dependent on different parts of the system trying to push certain things to be prioritized. There are many bugs to tackle and also new features that would be super beneficial. It’s not an easy solve and it’s a lot of talking with the community and various teams and making your best guess on what will be the greatest return on investment.

I’d say the biggest advice that I would give creators is to build up a portfolio of completed and diverse work as well as collaborations with many different people. Aiming to hit success is great, but if your goal is to get into game development, showing that you can see multiple different types of projects through from start to finish as well as work well with others. It’s often important to remember that you will more often than not be working with others. Technical skills can be earned over time on the job.

[Conan_Reis]

@t.tutiya

How does the compiler reference and import modules from outside the project, such as “/Verse.org/Random”?

Currently everything is known by UEFN - all the API is specified in the three *.digest.verse files. In the future it would download from an online code / asset repository.

@t.tutiya

Currently, the way the Using clause is written differs between modules outside the project and modules inside the project. Why is this?

It is the difference between local vs. remote modules.

@t.tutiya

Will users be able to publish independent modules(such as a “/Verse.org/Random”) in the future?

Yup. Eventually.

[Rodney_Houle]

@K-MUS

Why not provide in the API at least getters for any property of an object in UEFN ?

We are always interested in hearing any Verse API creators feel are missing. This helps us prioritize features.

[Conan_Reis]

@dmac921

Are there plans to raise the current Verse 30FPS ceiling?

I am actively looking into this - also any caping of server vs. client and Sleep(0). Not sure of the interactions between the systems and what is possible yet.

@dmac921

Will we ever be able to use local transforms on attached / children objects?

I hope so! Plan to discuss this soon. Not sure where things will go or any ETA yet.

[Conan_Reis]

@TheRealGwH

Are we going to see in the future software plugins like Maya LiveLink, Houdini engine, Houdini Niagara, And substance painter/designer for UEFN.

The plan is to eventually have software plugins of some sort. Not sure about Python plugins specifically. [I helped integrate Python into Unreal editor so I’m familiar with Houdini, etc.]

[Ray-Benefield]

@DRAGONSTUDIO

Do you prefer coding to Level Design/Game Design? And between the two, which one do you feel is the most challenging?

As much as I love coding, for me it is a means to an end for Game Design. It enables me to be able to not just have an idea and talk to people about it, but to also build out a prototype at least to quickly convey an idea. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a playable prototype is invaluable.

[Ray-Benefield]

@DRAGONSTUDIO

How does one start a career in programming?

For me, I started in high school taking every class possible related to IT, Tech, Programming, etc. I wanted to make games, and as a kid the first thing I realized was to code them. I ended up building a lot of little projects that were shareable. I’ve found that the more shareable projects I have the easier it was to get interviews and to have something to talk about or refer to when asked questions myself.

[Ray-Benefield]

@Wertandrew

Lastly, are there any plans for the ability to mesh swap through verse? Essentially the ability to have verse control material collection parameters, or swapping textures/meshes.

Yes