Can you ship the "Development build"?

I have some problems with my game where the development build, builds successfully, and has more features like distance field GI and AO which can actually be turned ON and OFF when playing.

My questions are:

Can I ship the Development build on Steam?

Can I ship the Development build on Steam if Use Pak File is FALSE ?

Thank you!

Hi ,

Can you clarify if you are having issues with your packaged build or if you needed help with a legal issue with steam? Based on your questions, you may want to move this to the “Packaging and Deployment” section to get a better response about building for Steam. Let me know if that helps or if I am misunderstanding you.

Cheers!

Yes, you are.

I want to know is it OK to distribute the “Development build” as if it was a “Shipping build” since it has the console and other useful things included in it.

Also can I ship the Development build on Steam, if Use Pak File is FALSE ?

This is a legal matter question, I know how to do everything I need to do.

I see, that helps, but I will need a bit more info to get a proper answer to you.

What specifically are you asking to redistribute through Steam? What would be the use of the console? Any more details as to what you’re trying to do and why would help us with understanding where this would land legally.

Thanks!

What specifically are you asking to redistribute through Steam?

I will build my game in development mode, without CrashReportClient and Prerequisits included. The bare minimum and I will distribute it as a game that is intended to be played.
(Everything that is in the WindowsNoEditor Folder that the engine outputs after packing is done.)

Why don’t you want to use .pak?

The reason I will not be using .pak file format is to allow for some modding if some of my players want to do it, since all the .uassets will be exposed for replacing.

What would be the use of the console?

The use of the console will be as in Half-Life 1 and 2/ Left4Dead 1and 2 - to adjust settings that are hidden( Global Illumination) , advanced or too complicated for most people, yet sometimes it can be useful.

PS: I was able to fix the problem where the Editor couldn’t compile Shipping Build but compiled Dev. Build.

PS2: I want to know is it OK to ship Shipping build without using .pak too. ( for the same reason)

Short answer - this is permitted so long as you don’t include any Marketplace Content in your uncooked build.