I am looking at the C++ project samples (specifically the shootergame and strategygame examples) and have noticed that both of them have a primary gameplay module and no other gameplay modules. I read about Gameplay modules in the documentation, but I am a bit confused as to when I should use gameplay modules. The samples’ modules do little more than load Slate styles and some game specific subsystem initialization as far as I can tell.
When do I need a gameplay module like those found in the samples? What should I use the primary gameplay for? What reasons should I use additional gameplay modules for?
For context, I am trying to learn how to create more advanced games in Unreal than those created by their tutorials. I want to make sure that my code and asset organization is correct before I get too far into learning the advanced features of Unreal C++. I stumbled upon Game modules while reverse engineering the samples.
Please note, that there aren’t any all-purpose strategies regarding gameplay modules implementation. Decisions in this context (for example whether you should split a game into a lot of modules etc.) depend on a lot of factors, such as game genre, target platforms, performance, preferences of the developer, requirements of clients, convenience and so on and are made with respect to each individual case.
Thus, I would advice you to start with forming more concrete concepts for your game in terms of factors mentioned earlier. After this you can check some similar examples and finally make your own decisions concerning particular solutions.
This isn’t terribly helpful as it seems to be reiterating the Unreal documentation and is equally vague. To expand upon your answer, which game genres benefit from gameplay modules? Which platforms benefit from them? In what circumstance does splitting a game into gameplay modules provide increased performance?
Second, why do the sample projects mentioned above have a gameplay module in them?
I am looking for specific examples of when using game modules is a good idea and when they are not so I can make intelligent decisions as to when to use them.
I found the answer to, “Why do the sample projects mentioned above have a gameplay module in them?”
Both of these samples actually use a second module for the loading screen (which isn’t actually seen when I run the game from the editor). This loading screen. If you look at the (samplename).uproject file you see that the loading screen is created as a separate module so it can be loaded BEFORE the primary game module. This allows the application to show the loading screen before the game has finished loading. Unfortunately I was only able to figure this out after learning the basics of creating gameplay modules which I couldn’t learn from the Unreal documentation/tutorials alone.
A good tutorial for gameplay modules can be found here. It would be nice if Epic released some better documentation on the subject so I know other situations where using a separate gameplay module would be beneficial.
Hi, sorry for bumping an old post, but I’m currently in the same position you were, trying to figure out what a gameplay module really is.
The documentation about it is really shallow, but I’m intrigued at the possibility to use gameplay modules to split up the initial loading phase of my game and the actual gameplay part.
Have you got some more insights you can share about using gameplay module? That would be much appreciated!