Unreal Engine Development Standards

1. Engine Version

• •Target Version: 5.4.2 (Strict Lock).
• •Update Policy: Do not upgrade unless explicitly instructed.

2. Directory Structure

• •Content/: Store all assets here. Organizing by type (Materials, Meshes, Blueprints) is preferred over organizing by feature.
  • •Content/Blueprints/
  • •Content/Materials/
  • •Content/Maps/
• •Source/: C++ source code.
  • •Source/SignalBastion/ implies the primary game module.

3. Blueprint vs. C++ Strategy (Hybrid)

• •C++:
  • •Core Systems (Inventory, Health, Networking logic).
  • •Base Classes (e.g., ABaseCharacter, ABaseBuilding).
  • •Complex Math or heavy loop operations.
• •Blueprint:
  • •UI / HUD Logic.
  • •Visual Effects & Animation handling.
  • •Subclasses for Data tweaking (e.g., BP_GruntEnemy inherits AEnemyBase and sets Health=100).
• •Rule: If a function is called every tick and involves math, move it to C++.

4. Networking (Replication)

• •Authority: The Server is the source of truth.
• •Variable Replication: Use UPROPERTY(Replicated) and GetLifetimeReplicatedProps.
• •RPCs:
  • •Server_Function() for client-to-server requests.
  • •Client_Function() for server-to-client specific messages.
  • •Multicast_Function() for visual events everyone sees (e.g., explosions).
• •Validation: All Server RPCs must have _Validate implementation to prevent cheating.

5. Naming Conventions

• •Classes:
  • •A prefix for Actors (AMyActor).
  • •U prefix for Objects (UMyObject).
  • •E prefix for Enums (EMyEnum).
  • •F prefix for Structs (FMyStruct).
  • •I prefix for Interfaces (IMyInterface).
• •Variables: bIsDead for booleans.

6. Build & Cook

• •Use UnrealEditor-Cmd.exe for command-line builds if needed.
• •Ensure no "Error/Warning" spam in Output Log.