XBox One Blueprint nodes or C++ ?

I am sure this doesn’t fall under NDA, so it would be nice to hear from XB1 devs and/or Epic.

I am looking into registering for XB1 as a developer and my game is most likely going to be 100% made with BP. I know there was a project released on PS4 that is entirely written in BP. So my question is this - after all said and done, and I get access to XB1 UE4, would I have to code all the bells and whistles for XB1 (achievements, leaderboards, etc.) using C++ or is XB1 stuff entirely can be done in BP ?

Thanks beforehand

What you’re asking is really “is there an OnlineSubsystem implementation available for Live! for Xbox One licensees?”

If you look in the public header file OnlineSubsystemNames.h, you will see among other things:



...
#ifndef FACEBOOK_SUBSYSTEM
#define FACEBOOK_SUBSYSTEM FName(TEXT("FACEBOOK"))
#endif

#ifndef STEAM_SUBSYSTEM
#define STEAM_SUBSYSTEM FName(TEXT("STEAM"))
#endif

#ifndef PS4_SUBSYSTEM
#define PS4_SUBSYSTEM FName(TEXT("PS4"))
#endif

#ifndef LIVE_SUBSYSTEM
#define LIVE_SUBSYSTEM FName(TEXT("LIVE"))
#endif

#ifndef THUNDERHEAD_SUBSYSTEM
#define THUNDERHEAD_SUBSYSTEM FName(TEXT("THUNDERHEAD"))
#endif
...


@jwatte: Right, but while Steam is there too, it’s unusable in BP. That’s what I am concerned about for XB1. Plus, there might be some other things specific to XB1.

If you think the Xbox Live subsystem will have bugs, then yes, you will need C++ to fix those bugs.
If you tink the Xbox Live subsystem has features that are not exposed through the current blueprint nodes, then yes, you will need C++ to expose those features to blueprint.

Lol, it doesn’t matter what I think. It’s not a hypothetical system.

i think a better question for OP, is if he was to use the advanced sessions plugin, would he still need to go into cpp for anything?

Not sure if it’s relevant. Apparently a game can be made for PS4 without touching C++. The question is if it’s true for XB1 too (I assume I’d have to build engine for XB1, which isn’t a big deal; but missing XB1 related functionality in BP would be a big deal). So I don’t see how any plugins are relevant to this.

extremely relevant, as the existing blueprints are limited in their ability to work with online subsystems (for example, friends list, matchmaking, achievements etc) whereas this plugin will give him access to all of that in pure BP

Hello ! Did you find answer to your question ? Is it possible to only use blueprint ?

Nope, you still need to use C++.

Thank you for your quick reply ! ^^ Mmmm … is there some info about managing Player Id, Achievements etc in some locked xbox forum thread ??

You will have to use c++ to use the Xbox API. 100%. Also I wouldn’t recommend a major use of blueprints for 8th gen consoles. Your game will experienced performance issues.

Dont worry, unreal c++ is extremely easy to learn.

When you apply for IDXBOX you will get all the docs and whatnot. There is nothing out there because anything related to console dev is under NDA (except for Meta Quest VR stuff).

I’m used to find many blueprints tutorials whenever i find myself puzzled by some aspect of game developpement with unreal lol So i am a bit intimidated about this now. I guess i’ll have a better understanding when i have access to these docs. Until then it might be a good idea to get familiar with C++ basics. Thank you guys !

Release on PC first, get a taste of dev cycle and only then think of console dev, because console dev is much harder for indies.