I’ve recently started learning Unreal Engine and have a few questions about the packaging of a project which I can’t get answers about.
When packaging a project, I’ve noticed a massive size in the Engine folder (~500MB) and I wanted to know if this is normal and always necessary to have in a game build (Windows).
When packaging a project, I know I don’t need to cook assets before, but it will improve my build size and quality for the specified platform, correct?
I also noticed a massive build size and read something about it including all the assets including the unused ones, what’s the best way to only package/build the project and only include used assets? I’ve tested listing the maps I want and it worked, I believe, but wanted to confirm this one as well.
Sorry for the extended questions but it’s something I really want/need to know about and hope I can get some help with.
The size of the Engine folder in your packaged project is normal and is necessary for the game to run. The Engine folder contains the files and resources needed for the game engine to function, such as the renderer, physics engine, and other core functionality. The size of this folder can vary depending on the version of Unreal Engine you are using and the specific features and functionality that your game requires.
Cooking assets before packaging a project is not necessary, but it can improve the build size and performance of your game on the specified platform. Cooking assets preprocesses the assets and optimizes them for the specific platform, making the game load faster and use less memory.
To only package and build the project with used assets, you can use the “Maps & Modes” option in the packaging settings. This will allow you to specify which maps and assets to include in the packaged build, rather than including all assets in the project. Additionally, you can also use the Unreal Engine Asset Manager to filter and find the assets that are not being used in your project and then delete them.
It’s worth noting that when you package a project, Unreal Engine creates a new build version of your game that is optimized for the platform you are targeting. This process creates a new set of files and assets, so you can also remove the older version of the builds, to free up some space on your hard drive.
Finally, there are steps you can take to reduce the file size of your game. For instance, textures takes up a lot of space. You can also remove unused plugins from the game. This will also reduce the final size of the game.
Thank you for the quick reply and the clear answer.
I was a bit worried about the Engine folder size, as I built a project with only Starter Content and noticed it’s a massive size, but now I know, thank you once again!