Hello, I would like to introduce myself, my name is Avrigeanu Laurian, and I’m from Romania, I’m a 21 year old college drop-off that has basic knowledge of c++/c#(Space Engineers)/Java/+modding history in Papyrus(Skyrim CK, scripting), extensive knowledge of social behaviors and trends, photoshop mediocre and video game addict with above 1000 games under my belt(since I’m such a loser! Haha).
I am starting a project with some of my older colleagues in UDK4, but I barely know anything so far, should I be intimidated by the programming language of UDK4? Is it going to be any harder than learning Papyrus?(Trust me, CK is hell compared to UDK)
I want to know where I should start from. Should I learn C++? Should I take C++ classes? Can I avoid doing the latter and read up tutorials and that would help me reach an advanced level of understanding?
Thank you all in advance, Laurian.
If you already know a programming language then it should be easier to move to C++.
If you are really in a hurry go to: http://www.learncpp.com/. It teaches you all you need to know, at least to get started with UE4.
From what i understand, the process in UE4 is to write quick prototypes with blueprints, and, once they get too intense or heavy to execute move them to real C++ code.
Also, since you’re coming from C# and Java, Native C++ has no garbage collector, but something similar can be replicated using smart pointers.
That link is very useful, I’ve been looking for something like that for ages! Very much appreciated :D.
I don’t really know a programming language, I know the basics of a few(C++/Java/C#, like what you learn in high-school/college first semester etc.) and only have advanced knowledge of one which really isn’t much of a language(Papyrus).
I’ve only been programming for about 2 years and I’m self thought so I don’t know if this is the best advice but…
I’d recommend getting comfortable with Blueprint first. This will teach you the structure of UE4 and blueprint is practically essential for many areas of UE4. Once you’re comfortable with Blueprint start creating C++ classes for GameModes, PlayerControllers, etc. and reparent your blueprints to these C++ classes so you can port code to the C++ class and inherit it in your blueprints.
Also make a project for each of the C++ game templates as a reference for basic code for player input, Tick, BeginPlay, etc.
Hope this helps. I started C++ in Unreal about 6 months ago and this workflow really worked for me. I’m very comfortable working in C++ now, especially when I combine it with blueprints.
Since you have a basic knowledge of C++, I would recommend getting very familiar with Blueprints. You’re likely going to be using them a lot. Once you feel comfortable with them, I would then start focusing on the C++ side. In that time it also doesn’t hurt filling in the gaps in your C++ knowledge. 