Hello Everybody,
So today I started looking into engine modification because there is a small feature I want to add to the GenericOctree class. I watched many tutorials and finally figured out the steps required to get a copy of the engine (kinda)working on my system. I created my fork of the repository, cloned it to my computer, ran Setup.bat and GenerateProjectFiles.bat. Next I opened the newly generated project file and built the project in what seemed like around 30 to 40 minutes. Now it kinda works. I can click open UE4Editor in my binaries and the project browser will open. I created a blank project and built it with no errors, except whenever I try to run the project file the project dialog gets to 96% and then disappears without opening the editor. Note I am pulling from the “master” branch which is the most up to date and most likely to have bugs.
Anyways, this post is not about whatever problem is occurring with my project. I want to know the workflow of the people who make modifications to the engine. From what I understand you are supposed to do everything I mentioned above and assuming all that goes well you can make your changes to your branch and then create a pull request for your changes in the branch of the Unreal Engine that you originally pulled from. Is this how you guys do it.
Also, whenever you update your branch by pulling the recent changes from one of the Unreal Branches, do you have to run the two bat files every time before you compile the engine? And how many times do you pull in recent changes and compile the engine for your branch when you are working on a feature? Should you do it once a day, once a week, never?
Finally, what branch of the Unreal Engine do you pull from for your branch when you want to make a change to engine which you want to submit later? Do you pull from the unpredictable “master” branch or some other one?
I have some ideas for new features in the engine, I am just a little confused about the details on how to go about it.
Any help is very much appreciated,
Farshooter