UMG in 4.5 - Recommended workflow (and can't 'cast to' widget)?

Loving 4.5 so far first of all!

Secondly - UMG changed a little bit it seems from the pre-release version of 4.5. What is the recommended workflow now?

What I’m thinking at this point, assuming you want a main menu and a single map:

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A Main Menu map has its own pawn, playercontroller, gameMode etc. So does the actual game map.

Create Main Menu widgets in PlayerController (and use PlayerController to set mouse visibility)

From Main Menu buttons one can easily remove self widget and create new widget straight via binding a function to go to options etc.

From a Play button I can also remove my Main Menu widget and load a level. My new level has that default pawn, playercontroller, gameMode etc which are different from the Main Menu map.

Now I can create an in-game HUD widget via my pawn, or playerController, so I can send variables easily to the HUD.

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That’s according to my current understanding of how you’d want to deal with a menu and a map. Is my assumption correct? Further tips are appreciated if there’s details one might want to consider…

Also, I can’t seem to ‘cast to’ a specific widget according to the doc (https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/images/Engine/UMG/QuickStart/4/New_25.jpg) anymore?

I created a new project in 4.4.1 and it worked just fine, as I’ve gotten used to. Did this functionality change?

Thanks a lot for hopefully helping out here, and hope I might’ve helped someone out with my workflow summary, if that’s the best way to do it. :slight_smile:

I should also note that my ‘cast to’ problem is on a pawn and playerController… if anyone has gotten that to work or can confirm the problem that’d be helpful as well!

Thanks.

In 4.5, you no longer need to cast your widgets. When you create them, the return value is already pre-casted!

Your workflow seems perfectly valid. There’s no “right” way to do things, if it works then you’re doing it right, pretty much.

Hello RumbleMonk…

I am hoping you might be of some help to me. I am a new user to Unreal… (Hobbyist) and I am trying to get something similar to what you are describing to work in 4.5.

I would like to have a Main menu… with three buttons w/Pic ← resolved

Button one: Options Overlays Main menu ← resolved
Button Two: Clears Main menu and goes to a screen… Call it filler ← resolved
Button Three: Exit Game ← resolved

Filler Screen:
Button one goes back to main menu ← resolved
Button Two Loads to Map1 ← resolved

Map 1:
Button 1 Exit Game ← resolved (Maybe)

Would you have a link that I could work thru… Have searched here under main menu (How I found this post), Create main menu… etc… have tried getting thru this tut: UMG UI Designer | Unreal Engine Documentation but. it is for 4.4 or earlier and I can’t puzzle it out. Or do you have a Utube link I might watch to learn, or could you outline in a step by step (A lot of work I am betting) Or any combo of info to help me ?

Thank you for taking the time to help out.

Respectfully,
Tarly
(Cliff)

PS> in reading more… I am trying to understand where the first widget “Event begin play” is found. In the TUT I followed I had to make a folder called UMG and then I was working thru it. It doesn’t seem to have a “Event begin play”

PSS.Found a post that a user made with this link in it:

AWESOME sauce! (Thank you whom ever posted it.)

Wow… as I watch this video… It Answers a TON of what I want to do.

Event Begin Play isn’t a thing for UMG anymore, now you can use “Event Construct”

Jared - thanks a bunch for your quick input, it would’ve been great if the docs were updated (they were written during the experimental period so I am assuming these will change shortly) and these little gotchas are great to hear about it!

Thanks again!

In case your exit game function isn’t still fully resolved - I use ‘execute console command’ with the command ‘quit’ typed in by hand into the Command string.

Hey Rumble…

I said something about the docs in another thread and one of the devs wrote back and said they were working on it right now… Let me see if I can find the link.

Here it is: Unreal Editor Manual Improvement - Feedback for Unreal Engine team - Unreal Engine Forums

Not only am I blown away by how easy the UMG is, (took me 16 hours to recreate what I had ((mostly)) in T3D. But, the reason for the extreme time is that I know next to nothing about engines.) But, devs write stuff to us all the time. Not a mod devs… of a world class, top of the line product, write to me, a hobbyist. It’s like having a Lamborghini engineer stopping by to tell me how to change my gas cap on a Pinto. Just blows me away. Love it… but, it just blows me away.

Oh, nice to hear they’re working on it! And yes, I’m pretty much blown away to bits with UE myself as well as their help on these forums. :slight_smile: People like yourself is great to have around to!

UMG is great as well, once you learn the very few things to keep in mind (interfacing to HUDs etc, pretty basic stuff for more experienced users I’m sure) it’s so easy to work with! :slight_smile: