I want to sell a framework built of several modules (plugins) on the marketplace. My idea is to offer it in 2 ways. 1. Is the entire framework packed together, 2. is a series of products which are all the modules the framework is built with, so that you have the option to only buy what you need. Some modules depend on another. How do I manage this properly with the Epic Marketplace?
@SkyeEden I’d like to post this on Marketplace but I can’t include an engine tag in that group which means I can’t post there. Related:
Please include a version tag : go love yourself UE4 - #13 by Roy_Wierer.Seda145
Of course you need to get advice from an official representative, but I think you just need to do it like other people. You separately set each modules (plugins) as a separate lot and then create a Bundle of several modules (plugins) in it and a higher price.
The first lot-set on the top left (Alien Mega Bundle 01) has 7 characters at once, the next lot (Alien Bundle 02) 4 models, and then there are lots with only one monster inside.
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Thanks for your reply. In my situations plugins of a bundle sometimes depend on another. For example a code plugin might rely on a plugin providing a math library. This is I suppose similar to what I see in that model bundel assuming that they use a shared material / texture setup from some sort of core dependency. This makes me wonder how the marketplace handels this.
For example, are such dependencies shown / required before buying a plugin? Is the customer notified by the store?
I don’t think that the dependence of plugins on each other is a serious problem. You know the entire structure of your project as well as the possibilities of its further development and can easily divide it into separate components. You can make a single visual picture from the blocks of your project, sign these blocks for clarity, dependence on each other and their working relationships. (As they do in the gaming industry when there is an original game and DLC for it, when the add-on will not launch without the original game and everyone understands this.)
*Look at the product pages in some Amazon, some sellers correctly and clearly fill the product page and other sellers take it lightly. If you split your project, clearly and correctly fill out the description, then I am sure buyers will not have any questions.
As I imagine it:
- we break our project into blocks of dependence and make a visual visual picture,
- we take the color gradation from the games ( White < Green < Blue < Gold < Orange/Red) and on the basis of it we color our blocks,
- we color our blocks according to their dependencies on each other. We show clearly what cannot work without what,
- for icons in marketplace we also make a background of blocks,
- on the page of the lot of goods make a note at the very top “ALARM!!! This plugin is an add-on to the system (name or reference to the base) it is part of the logic and will NOT work without it.” Here you just need to tell customers that this plugin is part of the main one, to indicate multiples for what reasons it can not work separately and people will not have any more questions.
To attract and promote your work, you can make the main plugin (orange in the picture) much cheaper, make it free, or ask Epic Games to give it away for free on monthly giveaways.
I’m sure even if you make your plugins in one big pack and sell expensive as one lot (for example for $50-70 or higher), then people will still buy it. Of course, provided that it is useful, easy to handle, save users time when working or perform other significant functions.
For example, I increasingly notice how my friends or people on Reddit respond well and recommend the plugin “Node Graph Assistant”.
When I ask why they need it they answer I don’t know, it’s cool, simple and saves me time. 
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Thank you for your time. I like the idea of using colors and perhaps an illustrated overview of the available plugins. I want to keep the process as simple as possible for my customers.
The game + DLC example you gave is a great example of how other marketplaces deal with dependencies. Steam for example will show the following message for DLC:
They however do not block the buyer from getting DLC without having the base game. With software this can make sense as you might want to buy a plugin without its core dependencies just to get a part of the source. I do however want a BIG “You require A, B, C” to compile this product and make absolutely sure that no one gets this wrong. To simplify the buying process I’d like to give the option to the buyer to add the dependencies to the cart automatically, excluding products one has already bought. This should be a “3 step” clear process.
Sketch:
Also, will products “contained” by the bundle be marked as “bought” automatically if you buy the combined framework? Of course there might be small integration differences to combine the plugins into 1 framework but the end product is the same. I would like to mark all plugins contained by the framework as “bought” when someone buys the framework. This would include future updates and added content to the framework product.
Let’s say the absolute core is a module of shared libraries and few base classes (math, gamemode, file access, automation etc.) The first layer are absolute must haves (editor, dev UX, automation), the second layer contains the more project specific things, which you should pick if your project requires them. There is going to be overlap on the second layer.
What I understand of the marketplace is that all products sell under the same license: per Team / Business commercial usage with lifetime included updates for the lifetime of the product. I might not be completely right about it but this is what the others seems to be doing and it would make things simple. It is what I plan to do. Legal / licensing should just be handled by Epic Marketplace defaults, no surprises.
Well if I’m right about that license and if you used to work on someone elses team, then most likely the product you worked on and the plugins you used are not yours 
that would be simple enough
I have the same question. Can you upload multiple plugins to the marketplace as a single product?
No, only one plugin per product.
I see, theres NO WAY of distributing multiple plugins per product?
In that case, how do people handle shared dependencies between plugins? I would end up with ODR violations if I simply duplicate code around - and even if I get it to compile, people will see multiple versions of identical nodes
Can I bundle an installer with my plugin?
What I ended up doing was selling my runtime plugin separately to the Editor Plugin, I reproduced the functionality of the runtime one in Blueprint so the customer has the option of using Blueprint, or upgrading to the fast c++ plugin if they wish.
Another vendor has released their plugin for free, so people can download it once they’ve got the main content product. That’s a good way of doing it - just be clear on the free plugin page that it’s made for the other product.
I don’t think you can bundle installers - pretty sure you can’t but maybe someone has something definitive on that?
I have one plugin which I will require as a dependency for every single other plugin I launch, this is an absolute minimal plugin with utility functions and what I define carefully as core functionality.
Still I can’t pack a dependency with another plugin since like you already noticed it would result in dupes and management hell. Not to mention repo bloat and whatnot.
Technically you can write an installer in the c++ module itself to set up things for you, but you can’t have optional dependencies ever.
For the past months in particular I’m not positive about the way EPIC ignores the forum, pushes out new bugged engine versions and forces marketplace sellers onto the latest versions. The EPIC launcher and especially the vault and marketplace sections lack important features advanced such as selling bundles to basic functionality like filtering products or searching on seller names. It’s noticed by pretty much everyone, requested, reported, name it. I’ve tagged staff members. 0 response.
I’m going to be that guy who b*tches about everything and won’t shut up about it. Truth is I’m sick of how things are going downhill and I might decide to not do business through EPIC marketplace and use my own webshop which does provide what all of us need. FAB, the new marketplace might or might not improve things but we’ll see. Right now I feel putting a modular pack of plugins on the marketplace will just bite me.
If EPIC can’t do it I can. Why do business with people who don’t respond for months and treat you like a worthless one in a million?