I’ve never programmed with C++ before. How hard is it? Where is a good place to start learning C++ for Unreal Engine?
I’ve had experience with Blueprints and Java.
Hello.
There is a lot of free c++ courses on youtube, I recommend to watch at least 5 hours to get the basic and then try out some c++ tutorials from unreal engine wiki.
The basic classes won’t use any advanced c++ code and you can keep learning from there.
Does this mean you can do things Blueprints can’t?
Yes. Blueprints are very powerful, but naturally it is a generic system which will not cater for all your needs for your specific project. When you start tying in your own code with Blueprints it becomes a force of nature. It truly is amazing.
I agree with what Tercio has said about educating yourself on the basics of C++ and then diving into the wiki tutorials.
For the former I can highly recommend going through Bucky’s C++ introduction for a practical overview, and the latter I’ve gotten some good feedback when suggesting that newcomers work through the First Person Shooter Tutorial on the wiki (even if you’'re interested in other genres, it gives you a good overview of the basic usage of C++ in the Unreal ecosystem as well as the basic Game level architecture).
I would suggest that for now, first get comfortable with C++ and then later you can extend your scope to start tying Code and Blueprints together.
Best of luck with your endeavour (I’ve gone through it as well), just persist and enjoy it - it wakes a while but you’ll get it.