Why does there have to be so many Unreal versions? Can’t new features just be added to one version? What is it that makes it impossible to keep the same version at least for a year or so? Its not like we pay for the software so its not a money thing. I just would like to know. It pretty much breaks my games every version change so its pretty frustrating if there is no need for it. I can’t even use 4.19 because all my textures are broken. Could we get to like 4.xx.9 before going to 4.20? instead of every 4.xx.3 +/-. Don’t shoot me if there is a good reason. I have no idea what goes on under the hood.
Another question may be why do you feel you need to move to each new version every time to begin with ? One reason there is seperate versions at all is so that everyone’s work is not broken every time Epic change or fix something. It’s better to stay on whichever version works for you, and only move when there’s a new feature or fix that you really need.
i agree also older versions work better for some people due to hardware demands. also another reason to upgrade is if you need a specific plugin as they may not immediately get updated if at all. personally i use 4.17 and it does everything i need it to do and more, plus it runs well on my system.
the alternative would be forced updates which break systems and may add features you dont need. not worth it to me.
You can stay on version you need. This is absolute normal way for software and game engine is specific where newest features can’t be just added to one older version.
I guess I will have to think completely different to every other piece of software that exists. It just seems to me that if you use standard blueprints and standard materials and standard tools that there should be no reason for your game to break at almost every major update. I am not using C++ so its not some arbitrary code that I wrote that does something weird. Its 100% standard materials and 100% standard blueprints etc… Like the destructible meshes I have in one game don’t transfer to the new version. But destructible meshes are standard things. I guess it just doesn’t make since to me why they break. One of my 4.14 games just refuses to open in 4.18.3. I don’t want to have 6 versions of the engine of my computer…
I dont really want to stick with 4.18.3 but I guess I will. I like having the latest and greatest especially if there are performance improvements or say they upgrade to support the latest and greatest Metal etc… My main point was that maybe major features should be put off for a yearly +/- upgrade. Keep tweaking and adding small features etc to the current version. Then at say some point every year they add the features that need a new main version number. They need to take the route of perfect perfect perfect then add new Big features change main number ( with lots of beta testing before release ) then perfect perfect perfect repeat but not in 3-4 month cycles but the big features once a year. In the middle have a rock solid engine that doesn’t waste any developers time with broken parts. In 4.19 I can’t even start a new project because I can’t make a material. Its 100% broken. I get 60+ errors with the material. I have posted the problem in a different thread but I just don’t get how a core tool like that ships fully broken. Its because of the short major update cycle in my opinion. There just isn’t enough beta testing happening for such a complex program.
I disagree! Software does not have this problem for sure. I can’t think of one piece of software that punishes you by breaking say a document or cad file or whatever. I have old CAD files that I can open on any newer version of Autocad. They are not backwardly compatible at like 3-4 year intervals. Never, though is there a forward compatibility problem. Please name one that has this problem. All Adobe products don’t break data files with new features. There was an issue with Logic Pro but that was that they had not figured out how to store data files. Now that its cloud based there is no loss of data but still you can open old files it just would loose locations of audio parts. I can open a text file thats 30 years old lol if I could find one.
From your other comment, if you don’t like frequently updates - stay on 4.0 and wait for 5.0. About CAD - UE, this is not CAD. Here something more than objects just. I have my opinion about UE upgrades too, but I have more to say about bug fixes in newest versions and make better and current documentation instead of putting new features in engine.
You said software. Software updates constantly and I upgrade every piece of software I have constantly. Thats why its hard for me to wrap my head around NOT upgrading UE
the way materials work is alot different in 4.19 than in previous versions. its not a lack of testing, in many cases its the systems being reworked entirely. for some things they do go back a few versions and update things and do bug fixes but thats only for certain things.
also no program will ever be perfect. just look at the games industry to prove that, games are tested and retested through development then on day one theres tons of bugs that are found only because theres a million people playing and doing weird things on a array of different hardware.
if you want the latest features then use the latest version, it will have bugs and will require better hardware. ifyou want the most stable release then use an older version. its an amazing piece of software and you can use it for free. if you pay for a license then there is way more support. honestly im personally fine with how things are and im sure many others are as well, we can have the latest features if we want and we get them as soon as they are working rather than waiting for them to become old news. if your not happy with unreal then go play with unity, cryengine, or amazons kit. theres a ton of alternative out there.
Ahh that was the info I was looking for as far as materials go. But if they are reworking an entire system as important as materials, that needs to be done right with lots and lots of testing before release.
I never said perfect I meant perfect (pərˈfekt) like make better and better. The first version of a major update with UE almost always breaks something with my games. I guess I just have to learn to wait until the x.xx.2 or 3 version
guess you dont read the notes and watch the streams theyve been talking about how the new material rendering is different for months now, since even before 4.19 release. alot of these new features they begin working on several versions in advance and many start as very specific things that licensees need for their work then epic takes the system refines and tests and eventually passes along to the masses. of course this is all just based on things ive seen or read about and may not reflect what actually happens 100%. i dont know all since i dont work for epic just speculating based on things ive heard in streams and such.
I try to have the time to read the new features but it’s too much info too often. I skim through it. But by different you mean broken for my machine. I guess that is pretty different lol. Even if I would have read that they are doing something different with material rendering I would never have thought much about it. I would assume that something as fundamental as materials would work flawlessly.
4.19.1 fixes the issue