Book Image

Unreal Engine 5 Game Development with C++ Scripting

By : ZHENYU GEORGE LI
Book Image

Unreal Engine 5 Game Development with C++ Scripting

By: ZHENYU GEORGE LI

Overview of this book

Unreal Engine is one of the most popular and accessible game engines in the industry, creating multiple job opportunities. Owing to C++ scripting's high performance, advanced algorithms, and engineering maintenance, it has become the industry standard for developing commercial games. However, C++ scripting can be overwhelming for anyone without a programming background. Unreal Engine 5 Game Development with C++ Scripting will help you master C++ and get a head start on your game development journey. You’ll start by creating an Unreal Engine C++ project from the shooter template and then move on to building the C++ project and the C++ code inside the Visual Studio editor. You’ll be introduced to the fundamental C++ syntax and essential object-oriented programming concepts. For a holistic understanding of game development, you’ll also uncover various aspects of the game, including character creation, player input and character control, gameplay, collision detection, UI, networking, and packaging a completed multiplayer game. By the end of this book, you’ll be well-equipped to create professional, high-quality games using Unreal Engine 5 with C++, and will have built a solid foundation for more advanced C++ programming and game development technologies.

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Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Preface
Preface
Who this book is for
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
Download the example code files
Conventions used
Get in touch
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1
Part 1 – Getting Started with Unreal C++ Scripting
Part 1 – Getting Started with Unreal C++ Scripting
Free Chapter
2
Chapter 1: Creating Your First Unreal C++ Game
Chapter 1: Creating Your First Unreal C++ Game
Technical requirements
Understanding C++ scripting in Unreal
Creating your C++ Shooter project from a template
Converting an existing Blueprint project to a C++ project
Summary
3
Chapter 2: Editing C++ Code in Visual Studio
Chapter 2: Editing C++ Code in Visual Studio
Technical requirements
Launching VS
Walking through the VS IDE’s UI
Editing code in VS
Practicing C++ coding
Summary
4
Chapter 3: Learning C++ and Object-Oriented Programming
Chapter 3: Learning C++ and Object-Oriented Programming
Technical requirements
What is C++?
Exploring the C++ program structure
Defining C++ functions
Working with a basic calculator program
Learning the C++ syntax
Working on the improved calculator program
Creating references and pointers
Understanding OOP
Working on an OOP calculator program
Summary
5
Chapter 4: Investigating the Shooter Game’s Generated Project and C++ Code
Chapter 4: Investigating the Shooter Game’s Generated Project and C++ Code
Technical requirements
Understanding the MyShooter C++ project structure
Understanding the game program structure
Getting familiar with the source code
Launching Unreal Editor and opening the game project in Visual Studio
Summary
6
Part 2 – C++ Scripting for Unreal Engine
Part 2 – C++ Scripting for Unreal Engine
7
Chapter 5: Learning How to Use UE Gameplay Framework Base Classes
Chapter 5: Learning How to Use UE Gameplay Framework Base Classes
Technical requirements
Creating a Pangaea top-down game project
Understanding the gameplay framework base classes
Creating game actor classes
Recompiling C++ projects
Using the UPROPERTY macro
Using the UFUNCTION macro
Adding components to the new actors
Creating blueprints from the new actor classes
Learning about the Unreal gameplay framework classes
Using the Cast template function
Summary
8
Chapter 6: Creating Game Actors
Chapter 6: Creating Game Actors
Technical requirements
Setting up the player avatar
Setting up the character’s SkeletalMeshComponent
Creating the player avatar’s animation blueprint
Summary
9
Chapter 7: Controlling Characters
Chapter 7: Controlling Characters
Technical requirements
Controlling the player character to attack
Destroying actors
Creating the enemy character
Testing the game
Summary
10
Chapter 8: Handling Collisions
Chapter 8: Handling Collisions
Technical requirements
Understanding collision detection
Setting the collision presets
Using collisions for game interactions
Summary
11
Chapter 9: Improving C++ Code Quality
Chapter 9: Improving C++ Code Quality
Technical requirements
Refactoring code
Refining code
Outputting debug messages
Checking an Actor instance’s actual class type
Summary
12
Part 3: Making a Complete Multiplayer Game
Part 3: Making a Complete Multiplayer Game
13
Chapter 10: Making Pangaea a Network Multiplayer Game
Chapter 10: Making Pangaea a Network Multiplayer Game
Technical requirements
Comparing single-player and multiplayer games
Launching the multiplayer Pangaea game in the editor
Understanding multiplayer game network modes
Handling network synchronizations
Summary
14
Chapter 11: Controlling the Game Flow
Chapter 11: Controlling the Game Flow
Technical requirements
Designing the Pangaea game’s flow
Creating the UI widgets
Adding networking functions to PangaeaGameInstance
Adding UI widgets to game levels
Adding the game timer
Destroying a base defense tower to win the game
Summary
15
Chapter 12: Polishing and Packaging the Game
Chapter 12: Polishing and Packaging the Game
Technical requirements
Polishing the game
Using Unreal Engine console commands
Packaging the game
What to do next
Summary
16
Index
Index
Why subscribe?
17
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Preface

Welcome, and thank you for choosing to pick up the Unreal Engine 5 Game Development with C++ Scripting book! This comprehensive book is designed to assist game developers and students in advancing their professional skills in C++ programming for Unreal Engine game development.

Unreal Engine is a powerful and versatile game engine widely used in both the gaming and movie-making industries. Possessing advanced and professional Unreal Engine development skills enables individuals to adapt more effectively to the demands of a career in game development, opening a multitude of opportunities for them.

When developing with Unreal Engine, you have the option to use either one or both of two available programming tools:

  • Blueprint provides a user-friendly interface suitable for non-programmer developers
  • C++ is predominantly employed by software engineers, providing a more robust and flexible approach to game development

As an Unreal Engine developer, you may have a genuine interest in understanding C++ and how it integrates with the engine, even if you don’t identify as a software engineer or aspire to become one.

This book is designed to assist you in expanding your knowledge and skills by guiding you through the necessary steps to create a fully fledged game, covering essential aspects of game development. It aims to smoothen the learning curve, allowing for a more seamless and efficient grasp of the concepts presented. The carefully organized topics eliminate the need for random searching and prevent wasted time on unrelated readings, enabling you to focus on the relevant information. Moreover, this book serves as a valuable reference manual, offering a comprehensive resource that can be revisited and utilized for further study.

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