At this point... I have to ask

[M-a-l]

In the previous module we built “Warehouse Wreckage” completely with blueprints, everything clicked smoothly with the learning process, probably because I’m coming from a Film & TV Production background and thus am more comfortable as a visual learner.

But in this module going backwards to C++, having the awkward process of writing code in an external application (VSCode), and most importantly:

Instead of simply right clicking a box and adding a blueprint that already has options, you have to go into a text editor, write text down with a concise structure (otherwise it won’t work) commands to add those options, and then do that in two different locations (The header, and the CPP section).

It all seems like 10 steps backwards from Blueprints. Even though I understand that down the line you can pull prewritten things from things called Libraries in C++, it still seems slower and obtuse compared to just using Blueprints.

Don’t burn my house down, but, what’s the point? Does C++ give a higher degree of flexibility and customization down the line when you’re creating more complex game mechanics? Or does Blueprints do all of that and is easier to understand for beginners? Am I missing some core facts or ideologies?

I know that when beginning any artistic journey you need to learn how to draw triangles before you can draw incredible mountains, but this course so far has felt like learning how to draw triangles, and then going backwards to learning how to make your own paper and pencils, to just eventually end up back to drawing triangles.

Help me understand please,
Thank you,
M

[DanM]

Visual scripting is much easier for beginners to understand, yes. Which is mostly it; in my personal opinion blueprints are rather hard to read for anything non-trivial. Also everything you can do in blueprints you can do in C++ (though might be more verbose) whilst the other way round isn’t always possible.

Blueprints also use a virtual machine whereas C++ compiles to native code making C++ the more performant option. With that said I doubt any of the games made in the course would be significantly worse off if only blueprints were used instead. So would depend on the type of game you’re making whether that effects you.

[M-a-l]

This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks Dan.

PS. For future students who have a similar question, I also found this article useful:

Comparing Blueprints and C++ Use Cases | Tutorial