Recently we made the decision to upgrade from Unreal 4 to Unreal 5. This decision, while ultimately successful, did cost us several months of development time. This is for a number of reasons:
- Compatibility: Unreal 5 is not backwards compatible with Unreal 4, which means that the project will need to be updated and tested thoroughly to ensure compatibility with the new engine.
- Oculus Source Build: Oculus’s source build will need to be updated to support Unreal 5, which may require significant modifications and testing.
- AWS: The project’s integration with AWS will need to be updated to support Unreal 5, which may require changes to the architecture and code.
- Performance: Unreal 5 introduces new features and technologies that can significantly improve performance but may require reworking of existing systems and assets.
- Learning curve: Unreal 5 introduces new tools and workflows that may require a learning curve for developers who are used to working with Unreal 4.
These challenges, however problematic, are balanced by the fact that we gained quite a bit of stability (believe it or not), performance, and platform support now developing with Unreal 5. We’ve also enhanced our internal workflows to better onboard new developers working with us, and ensured we can have more repeatable results when it comes to development tasks.
That said, the major lift is behind us, and we are full steam ahead on a number of initiatives, including a rebranding of our website to help garner social media interest as we get closer to running play tests, our modular weapon systems, and our magic systems. Stay tuned for more!
