Since my C++ knowledge is restricted to Unreal C++ and not having any basic concepts of core C++ , it has always occurred to me what if I can write gameplay actions in C++ and blueprints , but all non gameplay tasks are carried out by C#. Having expert knowledge and experience in C# , I believe I can do pretty much anything if only I have access to C#. Well , last year I found out that, it is very much possible.
The MS SQL Integration Plugin brings the power of C#.Net in Unreal Engine. With this plugin you can store and retrieve data and images from you SQL Server. Build your own queries and select and update data to your database directly from Blueprints. No restrictions in query formation. Any query working inside SQL Client , works here, which means you can select and update multiple data at once , as well as use joins and sub-queries.
Been waiting for something like this for so long. Amazing to see it finally happening. Will be buying this as soon as its released!
Only thing I would ask is that you code it with security in mind. Would be great to make server side logic in blueprints with peace of mind knowing that code will not be compiled into clients and only into dedicated server builds.
Looks very useful, I could use this for other stuff like changing the visibility of objects depending on the returned query and also analytics of the scene usage. I assume at some point when connecting to an external SQL DB some sort of web service will be required?
By default , it will follow the same protocol as followed by normal SQL database server. You obviously don’t have to store passwords in your database but to encrypt other data you have to use SQL Server Encryption within your SQL queries. This system works same as manually logging into the server by yourself and write queries.
No. This is strictly Windows as of now. For android and all , additional functions need to be written in my C# dll source code and that can be called similarly from C++ and then from Blueprints. Seperate LDAP needs to be implemented separately.Thanks for the suggestion , I am putting this up in my to do list. However initial submission will be based on Windows platform only.
Going to submit this in the marketplace as soon as I finish making a video demonstration. Meanwhile , please let me know what features you want in this plugin that suit your project specific requirements
This is a direct db connection? It has no intermediary php or etc layer?
Do I understand correctly that you will be able to directly send queries from blueprints to a database to save/load data?
This only works with MS Sql? Not MySql?
My main interest would be storing and retrieving player stats, inventory, location and such. How difficult will it be to manipulate structure values with this?
Yes , this is a direct DB connection and with Microsoft SQL Server via Blueprints.
You need to create tables in the DB , and then you need to write query string like select , insert and update as shown in the pictures and once you run the game , the data will be stored in the SQL DB. You obviously need to first establish a connection by calling “Set Connection Properties” method and passing the respective parameters.
Well, considering that I would expect the vast majority of the Marketplace’s customers to be indies/hobbiests, I perhaps would have started with one of the free db. Though I am only guessing, my expectation is that you may not sell very many of the MS version.
As far as future versions, my personal preference would be for MySql as many hosting sites have it as a matter of course and it comes prepackaged in Xampp, which makes testing easier.
Now I am curious … I assume you need some C++ code for accessing the DB, right?
How can you submit C++ code to the UE4 Marketplace, I thought that is not possible at the moment?
Well , there are people who have submitted C++ plugins to the marketplace. They are accepting code plugins , and sooner or later , they are definitely going to put them in the market.
I work with SQL Server for a living and can’t wait for this to come out. I want to be able to dynamically create/move/re-size objects based on their data values. 3D data visualizations you can see in VR. Also, SQL2016 has a new feature called AlwaysEncrypted which can keep the data encrypted in-flight and at rest. And Azure SQL Database in the cloud can help with the cost issue too.
