I’ve recently gotten interested in game design but don’t have much background in programming. I’ve been following some Blueprint tutorials for beginners and while they have been helpful in learning how to make basic mechanics (Pickups, HP, ETC.) I feel like I haven’t learned much.
While these tutorials have me using a lot of different events, Sequences, and variables I feel like I don’t understand what any of them do. Are there any beginner tutorials out there that do more than just show me how to design mechanics and instead explain what the different blueprint parts do?
Some other random questions I have. I understand that Unreal Engine 5 is based in C++ so does that mean I should be learning some C++ to better understand what I’m doing? Also If I should just learn C++ why should I bother with the Blueprints besides making it easier to visualize?
Look this isn’t an easy editor to deal with, it takes some getting used too, functions are all over the shop and things you may access easier in other editors you may find are called something else or are used in a slightly different manner.
The best advice i can offer is random search on google or youtube about things you may need to know, it means hours of watching out of date youtubes on old content hoping you can find the right fix for you’re current issue and there will be many as you get used to the functions which all depends on how versed you are with code or experienced with similar programs.
Most use the kiddy style Discord social media service for tech Q/A which i think is childish with it’s profile system much like reddit to be bothered using, just another form of twitter garbage i don’t need.
There maybe some sites out there that offer more indepth knowledge but i find youtube will handle most my questions.
If you know C++ it’s handy but not needed as you can just use Blueprint for coding.
I like Blueprint because it just gives the code more of a GUI so to speak instead of lines of text on a notepad, Blueprint makes it easier if you don’t know all the code there are some useful presets.
you wont understand what any of the tools do until you play with them, encounter problems, and troubleshoot them.
Occasionally you find some tutorial or article or documentation that explains things in a way you can immediately understand. But you still wont remember any of it until you put it into practice from a few different angles.
The quickest way to learn is to just make some projects. Start out by finding some tutorials that cover similar topics. Just skim them to get an idea what can be done - what tools to use.
Then get started and do as much as you can with what you know now, and when you reach a pain point then search for solutions, tools, or ask the community for help.
You just have to build a library of experience. Eventually you realize that you just face the same handful of problems over and over, a few basic troubleshooting techniques solves most of your problems. When you run into something outside your area of knowledge, community is here to help.
Blueprints is easiest way to get going. C++ gives you the ultimate power but you can get familiar with the engine first and complete projects without it. There is plenty to learn so I save C++ for once I’m ready to take on the next phase. I think a lot of people get into the engine that way.
guy is asking how to learn and you are just telling him that once things were better.
if you want to crusade thats fine but why derail somebodies earnest post with your own personal thing? You could make your own thread about it. Or maybe do something more fruitful like track down the useful stuff and catalog it somewhere? I dont think the billion dollar corporation cares about one guy on forums griping - just being real with you.
I wonder why the staff and gurus leave forums? Maybe it’s not worth time to engage with unruly public or something? I could see that, especially seeing as how many people you might help can be rude about it, or argumentative. Probably some good reason for it.
Anyway, for those of us whose best place to learn is the forums, if you know something you can just try to help. Doesn’t have to be an expert to teach somebody something. A day one beginner might know something that I missed.
i dont have a problem with you speaking about things you care about, it just seems like you rudely hijack something unrelated to go on your own spiel.
I dont understand what expectations are meant to be set? There is not enough resources to learn from so just give up? Or it’s less than ideal so just quit?
There was more activity on virtually all forums during that time period. Everywhere on the internet forum engagement is winding down in favor of other platforms.
But the fact is, there is still tons of resources available for newbies, and yes it is spread out and takes some effort to find, hence a lot of us use freetime to help others find things we used. Personally I doubt I’ve ever needed more than an hour to find an answer or example of practically any problem I’ve faced, so I think the situation is overall pretty good for newcomers. Of course things can be better, but you ever notice how like 90% of questions asked are the same ones over and over, and they are clearly answered in about 10,000 places on the internet? Some people just can’t help themselves, and that is their own problem.
Have you tried reaching out to anybody at epic with real pull? And making a real case? I just dont see hijacking threads here endlessly as having any effect at all.
New people coming in aren’t going to care and see that there is this choice you have described. We are just trying to make our games. If you care a lot about preserving information and helping community resources, maybe you can put together an action plan and apply for a mega grant or something?
There has got to be something more useful than just kind of shouting into the void at noobies.
matthew wadstein singlehandedly documented like every blueprint node in the engine. Now isn’t he working at epic?
It’s to bad a guy had to do that but if he spent equivalent time just griping on the forums that there needs to be better documentation… well we all wouldnt have matthew wadstein.
that’s one persons opinion. I’ve seen others share similar idea. Usually people who started game dev before there was so much resources available.
i’ve tried every approach there is to learning and for me the fastest way is skim some tuts to get a starting point, then try my own… same thing i described in my own post.
most of the videos i started with are not showing viable production methods but it doesnt matter because a beginner cannot understand viable production methods. How could a beginner ever grok the use of an interface just from looking at a project? Maybe a genius, but for regular dummy like me a 2 minute explanation can save me hours of fussing.
To each their own of course. I think you have a noble mission but I think you might have unrealistic expectations to some degree, or be too focused on idealisms and less on pragmatics.
In three years I learned how to make pretty decent 3d art from doing almost nothing but tutorials, and in one year I’ve gone from zero to a (nearly) published game with ue4.
Majority of my learning comes from video tutorials. It is always my first choice to get started.
It doesnt replace practical application - i dont think anybody suggest that. Its good to harp on the fact that you must get hands dirty, but i think that has been said already. That was kinda the point i was making here is that there isn’t a tutorial that gives you game dev wisdom, they can only point you in general directions.
Anyway, kinda pointless going on, I’ve made my point here and I like what you are saying in general, just wish you had more of an action plan because i see you posting same things over and over but it doesnt seem like information anybody can really put to good use, while at same time it seems unrealistically negative to me.
It’s rare to find on Youtube, but what I think you need is a full “course” that walks you through the process of creating something specific from start to finish. Like making a simple First Person Shooter, or Puzzle Platformer etc. There are quite a few good courses on udemy that go through everything from start to finish. I bought this one for about $20 on Black Friday last year. Udemy often has sales with huge discounts: https://www.udemy.com/course/unrealblueprint/
I spent my first 2 years just watching youtube videos non-stop about little piecemeal tutorial subjects, and while that eventually did work, I can say it’s a lot faster when you have something organized.
I have a few in-depth tutorials on my channel where I try to explain what nodes actually do etc., but I so rarely have any free time to post new videos. I started to create a series that walks through putting together an entire game, but I got derailed after 2 videos. Still, you might find some of it useful.
I also just started a thread with my favorite YouTube channels listed:
Yes. 100%. Learn C++. Anyone who says “you don’t need it” has no idea what they are saying.
It’s not either/or. It’s BOTH. GOOD UE developers use BOTH C++ and Blueprints. C++ is vastly superior to Blueprints in some ways. Blueprints are vastly superior to C++ in other ways.
Your job is to learn both, be proficient at both, and then you will start to see which one shines in which area, and you will use both effectively.
MOST of the videos and resources you will find on YouTube are Blueprint-only. This is because Blueprints are far easier to understand than C++, even artists with little to no technical training can figure it out, so there is a much larger audience for them, and thus YouTube rewards people for putting out the dumbed-down videos that only focus on Blueprints.
Do not fall into this trap.
You want to be a real developer? Learn C++. This video describes it well:
