Hi guys,
I am a teen and i have been programming for almost 1 year with C++.I have programmed with other languages as well(C,Python,Java etc.).After trying many APIs and engines for months now,with no actual results(no patience,trying many things at once like DirectX,UE 4,3d modeling etc.),i decided to start from the start.I bought Bjarne’s book on C++(Programming:Principles and practice using C++) to remember programming and C++ fundamentals(my first book on C++ was from the '90s).
So after i’ll finish the book i’ll start learning an engine.I had used(not exactly worked,i havent made anything) many engines(UE4,Unity,CryEngine) recently,but i believe UE 4 is the best choice.C++ coding(my favorite language),incredible graphics,easy level design etc.
Although,the problem i always had with engines is the learning material.There are some tutorial on youtube about programming UE4,the site has some starter tutorials,but thats it.Everyone reads the documentations.The thing is that the documentation is a list of hundreds of classes,with brief descriptins on what they do and most of them are advanced.It might take an hour to find a class for moving an object.Most of the classes i have found have something wih files etc.
Maybe i dont know how to read the documentations(i dont xD).What would you advise me to do.
I don’t think following a series of tutorials or something is a particularly good way to learn. A lot of people just follow the instructions without ever knowing what they have done and why it works.
Set yourself a project. Start building it, learn how to make the engine do what YOU want. It’s true the UE docs can be a bit…erm…thin in places, but you’ll find something on answerhub or the forums or the Slack channel.
I agree completely with mid_gen, assuming you know the basics (I was self-teaching myself programming for over a year, and lacked some seriously basic knowledge).
Set yourself a target, to do some kind of basic game or just a gameplay element. Run through a tutorial for the basics (there are plenty of tutorials around for the basic FPS/Third Person/RTS type stuff). Then start trying to build the things on top of that.
If you ask or search on Answerhub or the forums you’ll usually get a good answer if you have a specific question like : “I want to make X do Y”. Someone will tell you want components/classes are relevant, then you can look up them up in the UnrealEngine reference and search for examples to help you.
