Where to start? (turnbased rpg)

Development Getting Started & Setup
1

Hey folks!

I’m new to the engine and I wanna use this thread first to get some starting advise and maybe later I’ll be back with specific questions.

I wanna start by explaining where I’m coming from/where I’m at and then where I wanna go.

Where I’m coming from:

I got some experience as a gamedev, since I developed the 2D rpg DEEP 8 in RPG Maker. This took around 17 years, so I’m not shy of doing the work. I did pretty much everything myself, including 3D artworks in Blender, so I got in touch with some 3D stuff as well, which certainly will come in handy switching to a 3D engine.
My worst enemy is probably programming. My brain is just not specifically made for that, although I did program a battlesystem, menu etc. for DEEP 8. So I’m sure with some work I’ll be able to do it in unreal too. Maybe it’s just not gonna be the most elegant code. :wink: I can live with that, as long as it works.

Where I wanna go:

My plan is now to develop an ambitious 3D rpg with maybe a retro touch to it, possibly limited resolution or so, I’m not so sure of that yet. I wanna use fixed cameras and optionally tank controls. Dynamic cameras will appear, but when they do, you know something special is happening. Graphic wise I don’t plan for it to be photorealistic or anything, yet not super stylized either. Maybe roughly something like PS2 graphics, assets. Maybe slightly higher resolution, 720p or so, but not HD, so I don’t get overwhelmed with creating detailed textures.

Once again I wanna build my own ambitious turnbased battle system yet with only one playable character this time. Moreover an elaborate equipment and developing system and up to 10 enemies that can be targeted with skills that have different AOE (area of effect), maybe a little similar to Chrono Trigger.

Where to start?

I did a lot of writing and drawing concept stuff so far but recently I decided to take look at the engine and do some first tutorials. I did for instance some blueprint tutorials which in theory I understood and reproduce but I feel like I’m still very far of using them to my own needs, which is kinda normal at the start, I guess.

I just watched a video of someones 6 months journey in UE.

There tip was mentioned “do what is most interesting to you first”. In general I would agree, since I moved from blueprint tutorials to landscape etc I find it much more enjoyable. On the other hand I’m thinking I can’t avoid the unpleasant things to the bitter end. I gotta plan all this somehow together. I can’t do all the modeling and build cities, without an idea how to put them in function. Also I feel there’s still a good chance of building complex systems in a ■■■■■■, unfavorable way.

What I currently do for instance is writing down stuff from tutorials that seems useful, for instance: Using Master-Materials sounds like a nice idea, I thought it should be possible to control all the materials of a certain map or character and thus manipulate the roughness for when it’s raining for instance. Maybe even depending on whether the topology is facing up.

So if you have any further recommendations on where to start, how to plan or what tutorials to use, let me know.

As a little thank you for reading/helping me out, here’s a concept artwork I did for the game I’m planning to do.

Intro Assault Meling kl
Intro Assault Meling kl1000×1285 141 KB

2

My only advice is: don’t make that game.
We all have a dream, ambitious game we’d like to make, but it’s almost certainly impossible to make it as your first game, especially if you’re not very good at programming.
I know you’re not going to listen to me and I understand, 5 years ago I wouldn’t have done it either.
In any case, I wish you good luck with your project and I hope you manage to pull it off.

3

Hello,

Okay. This was A LOT.

Anytime you have a question, you really should condense it. Asking multiple questions is fine, but trying to solve them all in one place gets messy very quickly. So, ask one thing first, and then move on to the next (in a different thread).

What is the first thing you want/need to do?

If you want people here to sort through your ideas and organize them for you, then you’ll very likely need to hire a programmer. If you do not want to do that, I HIGHLY suggest you buy @unreal_sensei 's class. He’s extremely organized, and you’ll learn how to think like a programmer, and not just an artist.

5

Thank you guys for all those replies! I feel like I already gained a bit of orientation.

Well, this sounds a bit like a weak argument. :wink: Especially considering the context I described.
However in general I would agree with you. This is a mad task, and I’ve seen a lot of devs fail in the rpg maker scene. However I succeeded before against so many odds, I don’t see why I couldn’t do it again.

Technically I did only ask one thing: Where to start? I just gave it some context. :wink:
But thanks for the recommendation. I’m already subscribed to UnrealSenseis YT and completed his landscape/castle tutorial, which helped me a lot. I feel like I’m going to to a lot of his tutorials in the furture.
Btw: Saying I can’t program at all would be a bit understated. After all I programmed a relatively complex battlesystem in rpg maker, consisting of a few hundred “events”. I just need to learn to translate that into UE. Also there’s probably opportunity for improving the workflow a lot.

Thanks. :slight_smile:

Could you elaborate on that? In which case do you sense they wont be enough?

This is a passion project as well, of course. I’m not expecting any commercial success. My first game was a personal achievement, yet a financial catastrophe, but that’s okay.

I actually read the thread you mentioned and I read your comments in it. I found it a bit odd, to not recommend YT, although I understand that there’s a lot of BS flying around there. So you have to sort out of course and take whatever is useful and if you follow tutorial of a diversity of people, you will probably get the best of all of them and what fits your need.
But I actually tried to follow your advise for a second and checked out the Learning section. I clicked on a random video and it was … a YT-link. :smiley: Okay, I will still visit this section from time to time, if I’m looking for something.
However am I blind or is there no search bar to enter tags …?

Okay, this time I also got a concrete question:
I stumbled across how to create “blend materials” from multiple material instances. However the way to do this seems overly strange to me. You can only open that menu when you are on a specific material in quixel bridge. Is this really the proper way to do this?

Also it seems weird to be, that this is limited to 3 materials.
Blending materials is kinda mysterious to me and I’m planning on educating myself with this rather lengthy video:

6

Not sure what the wink is for.

You may think you asked one thing, but you didn’t. And I answered that anyway.

Here, you do precisely what I suggested. This is clear. Stay on this track on you’ll get whatever help you’ll need.

Anyway, good luck to you.