Distributing source code with user-created plugins?

[HateDread]

@Sweeney;245122

HD, keep in mind that C++ DLL compatibility rules mean that any code that links to UE4 must be recompilable from source, else it will be incompatible with code changes made by any developer who alters base classes like AActor, etc. If a developer were dependent on a whose UE4 binding couldn’t be recompiled, that would fundamentally break the entire UE4 source code development path for them.

So, the issue at stake isn’t whether or not a given ships with source, but whether that breaks the entire UE4 source development path for developers who use it.

Thus the expectation of requiring source for the portions of a plug-in that link to UE4 while any engine-independent code may remain closed source.

Ahh I can’t believe I missed that part - reading over the thread a bit more makes it pretty obvious. Sounds great.

@;245467

That point here that made to me makes this a pretty open and shut case because you can still protect your IP interests. The only “open source” part here is whatever surface area the and engine have. Epic would have to be better at deprecating public facing APIs (instead of removing it outright which has happened) to ensure that the source still worked between releases. I wrote the RadiantUI framework and I thought my support for handling arbitrary polygonal meshes for UI interaction was pretty neat. During the time when I was selling it if I’d really wanted to I could have isolated that part of the source in a separate library.

I encourage Epic to adopt this since it really does alleviate a significant issue and over time it will become a major thorn that could stunt the viability of marketplace plugins. As an Epic customer if my project breaks during every upgrade or I have to wait for weeks for a half dozen authors to catch up it can get frustrating and lead me to avoid using them in my project. I don’t think Unity’s marketplace would be as vibrant if they had this kind of issue. It’s very nice to be able to move through Unity versions fairly smoothly in-terms of third party compatibility.

Yepp, you’re right - that does make sense.

Sorry for the confusion (on my part). Looking forward to developing some code plugins