Off Topic: How do you deal with being overwhelmed?

[Robert_US]

So there isn’t really a discussion place so I hope this post is okay.

So I’ve been doing the 2D course for a while. I’m actually a bit frustrated with myself for how long it has been taking due to work and social commitments and adult responsibilities getting in the way. On top of that, Unreal isn’t the most welcoming and intuitive program, from the coding side of things. I feel like I’ve not really been doing much of what I expected to do…which is more like Raylib (the first course I took on GameDev) and doing C++ closer to the ground level. I don’t really feel like I’m using C or C++, and more that I’m learning Unreal’s language.

With that said, there are so many Unreal specific macros and functions to learn I feel like I’m learning a new language from scratch. I take tons of notes as I do the lessons (because I’d never remember so much information otherwise…this also contributes to why I’m so slow doing the lessons. a 12 minute lesson takes 40 minutes with pausing and taking notes and entering code), and so much is obfuscated behind proprietary Unreal functions and macros that it doesn’t seem like somone that trained on Unreal first could take this knowledge to another engine.

Keep in mind I’m saying this as someone still new to Unreal, so I don’t know if it “opens up” the more you work with it.

I guess my main question is what are ways that you all handle the overwhelming amount of information and things to learn? Do you have a system to memorize things or do you take notes? Do you feel frustrated when you forget how to do something in Unreal?

I think for me I wish the documentation was better. If I need to know how to do something in C or C++ I could go to cppreference or some other site and find the function, what arguments it takes, what it does, and examples. Unreal doesn’t seem to have that. I’ve tried going through the documentation but it leaves a LOT to be desired. I wish there was a book or site with a breakdown of Unreal functions and variables much like there would be for any language.

What about you? What do you like or dislike about Unreal?

[Srl1]

When I try to learn new things, I take notes too, and like you, some lessons become longer than they are. But somehow I feel that for me, that is the best way to learn something. If I get overwhelmed, I just
take short breaks and that helps a lot. Usually, if nothing makes sense, coming after break sometimes everything looks so easy to do that it even looks funny.

[GDTVPrince]

Just slow down, lower expectations and take more breaks. Sounds simple but can be hard.
I understand your frustration really, wanting to excel at GameDev but having to balance with other priorities.

Accept Unreal Coding for what it is instead of expecting vanilla C++. Also don’t try to cram and memorize code that took years to be developed and optimized.

Research about the amazing capabilities of the brain storing, recycling and deleting info. Don’t expect to memorize info you’re not using daily and repeatedly, your brain will delete useless code it doesn’t use daily.

The only thing that gets me out of mental overload is to write my thoughts and feelings on paper far away from electronics. Natural herbs, diet, exercise and more sleep are givens, and scientifically supported.

Quit social media for a while, stop posting devlogs, stop comparing myself, stop seeing others achievements to focus on my own studies…

Clearing watch later playlist, quit brainrot, edutainment, doomscrolling, shorts, quick dopamine hits, instant AI tools…

All of this helps me. Just know you’re not alone in this, we’re all struggling to learn together.

[GDTVPrince]

what are ways that you all handle the overwhelming amount of information and things to learn?

I remind myself to be more realistic, to respect my brain’s info absorption speed and fighting the multi-tasking myth.

Do you have a system to memorize things or do you take notes?

No system, just “overcommenting” code and taking notes.

Do you feel frustrated when you forget how to do something in Unreal?

No because I know how big Unreal truly is. It was never meant for solo developers with small scope games, it’s not a single software, it’s more of a suite with a plethora subsystems for large AAA studio teams.

What do you like or dislike about Unreal?

Having to learn both Blueprints and C++ to know where to draw the line of balance. Having to learn what’s best done in C++ and what’s best done in Blueprints.

Deleting classes, renaming classes and renaming projects are also a nuisance with too many steps.

[beegeedee]

Having to learn both Blueprints and C++ to know where to draw the line of balance. Having to learn what’s best done in C++ and what’s best done in Blueprints.
Deleting classes, renaming classes and renaming projects are also a nuisance with too many steps.

This is probably the best advice. I have a solid C++ setup but I’m now finding versions older than 5.4 are giving me problems. This is incredibly annoying, frustrating, and slows things down.

So to mirror what @GDTVPrince has said, with C++ or Blueprint, choose your fights. You can rapid prototype in blueprint and anywhere that feels sluggish, move to C++ if you want to do that.

Blueprint can do almost anything you want to do but can come at the cost of complex node setups.

Above all, don’t try and remember everything, just where you were made aware of it. You can come back and look at videos, old source code etc.

Actually, above above all, practice. When you finish the course, take an idea, something simple and follow it to create a small game. I did this with the 2D course to recreate a project that was originally in a Unity 5 course by GameDev TV, then for the UE Stealth course I spent 2 weeks adding some of my own mechanics and theming it to be like it was inside a spaceship.

This will really help reinforce what you’ve learned. If you do this, things will stick and the learning really begins. Use the discord to ask for help on these projects too. There are some amazing UE students in there.

[Robert_US]

these are all excellent suggestions, thank you all for responding. it is good to know that it isn’t just me. The sheer amount of stuff to remember is daunting, it is good to realize that we’re all trying to handle things teams of dozens are meant to tackle by ourselves.

[beegeedee]

It really is. It’s often why big companies have specialist developers, smaller ones usually have a couple of folks with similar knowledge so they can share ideas, and complex art/assets will be outsourced to specialist designers.