I do believe some people are overlooking the obvious complexities of C++, thats not to say its bad once you actually know it and there are alot of learning resources but that is also one of the issues, with UScript for example there were a few trusted sources but for C++ there are literally topics all over which returns more false positive search hits when scouring the internet. I consider myself to be quite a capable programmer but with the removal of UScript I now consider myself largely a beginner based soley on my lack of experience with C++ and nothing more. Infact I have enough experience across C-Type languages to say I actually know more programming concepts than what the base C++ language provides.
Its easy to get a narrow field of view when youre always playing in that field but as soon as you step out into the surroundings things can be quite daunting, this case is non-specific but transferable skills will always trump everything else. If you honestly NEED C++ because you cant do it any other way then there is a problem, just like if I couldnt do what I was doing in UScript any other way, granted it’ll take time to learn the syntax and nuances especially in C++'s case because it seems to really enjoy being just obscure enough to be frustrating.
This is largely based on my experience with actually writing in various languages and has little to do with the underlying semantics, Im certain sure we could show clocked times of foreach in every language vs one and other but thats not real world is it. We all know that throwing more programmers at a problem wont necessarily get it solved quicker, you’ll probably just end up with multiple solutions because its clear we’ll never agree on a one size fits all. It largely comes down to personal preference and I find I actually prefer C to Epic’s UE4 C++ but thats an opinion and goes to how I feel about the usability and how productive I would rate myself which is actually the most important thing about this entire discussion, you can have all the speed in the world but if youre running in the wrong direction all the time its not going to help you.
Gameplay programmers need to be more productive than ever in this environment, we have people pushing for games to be made over a weekend and we cant do that while we are typing out macros and extra domain specific syntax all the time. That is why I would choose UScript over C++, is that its lean, I know full well the drawbacks which is why I think Blueprint is a great replacement and I do believe people saying blueprints isnt really for advanced programmers might need to open their eyes like I have. If a programmer is more productive in C++ I want to give them the tools and the backing to be able to strive in that environment and the same goes for blueprint, if I had other options like C# I could certainly be more productive in text based programming. In the end we’re in the business of making products, obviously we all weigh up the pros/cons for a specific project and base our choice in third party software on that, dont we?