Chapter 1. Preparing for a Big Project

When you are about to create a C++ game using Unreal Engine, it means that you are going to create a big project. The two specific reasons for such a choice are: you are a core programmer and not familiar with the blueprints concept, or you want the game to run faster. Either way, you are about to get the right start here.

It's been said several times that C++-based games are quite a bit faster (10 times faster) than games made with blueprints. Although that was hearsay on the Unreal forums, the fact is that it is partly true. All games made with Unreal are equal in performance to those relying on the same technology and engine code base. However, when things get complex, it gets a little slower, and that speed difference is not as noticeable; it is something measured in milliseconds.

Starting a C++ project with Unreal is quite different, as it is not something that can be done inside the editor anymore. You'll need all the help of the IDE and, based on your platform, the setup will be different. My setup currently while writing this book is Windows 10, Unreal 4.10 and Visual Studio 2015. Apart from Google Documents, that's all that I need to create my data tables, and that's all that is needed!

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

• Start a new Unreal Engine C++ project from scratch
• Set the project and editor settings to match your needs
• Map any input device to match your game design
• Import and export assets in and out of the Unreal Editor
• Migrate assets between the different Unreal projects
• Retarget animations between the different skeletons
• Add the required modules and header files to the project code