What Is Unreal Engine 4?

Unreal Engine 4 is a popular game engine and industry-leading studios choose to use it with Perforce P4 (formerly Helix Core) version control.

Here, you'll learn how to use UE4 (and why the top 19/20 studios choose P4 to version everything).

What Is Unreal Engine 4?

Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) is a game engine developed by Epic Games and released in 2014. Unreal Engine has been powering games since 1998. Developers, designers, and artists all love to use UE4. (UE4 is not the latest version of Epic’s game engine — Unreal released UE5 in April 2022.)

Is Unreal Engine 4 Easy to Learn?

Unreal Engine 4 is an easy to learn game engine that is known to be good for beginners. Unreal Engine developers have created extensive documentation and resources, making it accessible to hobbyists with limited programming language experience.

What Can You Do in Unreal Engine 4?

You can create a game — or other visual assets.

UE4 is primarily used in game development, from indie studios to AAA game companies. But apart from the gaming indsutry, UE4 is also used by AR/VR shops, motion picture studios and animation companies, architecture firms, and more.

How to Use Unreal Engine 4

Here's a quick overview of how to use UE4:

But there's more to the game engine than just getting started with it. There's also the tools you use with UE4 — like version control.

Free Source Control Tools for Game Dev

Looking to get the best game dev tools? You can get them for free! Try P4 free for up to 5 users.

Unreal Engine 4 Source Control: Why Unreal Engine Needs SCM

UE4 is popular among game development and AR/VR teams. That’s because it's a great engine for creating immersive experiences. But UE4 needs source control.

Epic Games develops the Unreal Engine. They also use P4 as their version control. And Epic Games encourages third party developers using Unreal to also use P4.

So, it should come as no surprise that many game development teams using Unreal also use Perforce version control — P4. The two tools are tightly integrated, which helps your team work together more efficiently on projects.

Why Use P4 For Unreal Engine 4 Version Control

P4 Helps Unreal Teams…

16 of the top 22 games of 2018 were built on P4. Here are some of the reasons why.

Gain a Single Source of Truth

There are large binary files, many files, many contributors, and many changes involved in building a game today. And it’s important to maintain a single source of truth.

P4 delivers just that. This version control software makes it easier to collaborate. It makes it easier to find the assets you need to work on. And it lets you see if someone else is working on a particular file.

The Unreal integration is a key part of this.

Branch and Merge Better

If you are a game developer, you know how tough merging code across a team can be. And the large number of branches associated with the game development process can be overwhelming.

Branching in P4 — called Perforce Streams — helps you:

  • Manage these branches easily.
  • Visualize how code flows.
  • Encourage best practices for merging code between branches.

Tutorial: How to Use UE4 with Version Control From Perforce

Watch the tutorial video to learn how to use Unreal Engine with Perforce P4 — or keep reading for a recap.

1. Install Unreal Engine

First, you’ll need to install Unreal Engine. The latest version, UE5, is available as of April 2022. Stay tuned for information on how to use UE5 with Perforce P4. If you already have UE4 installed, skip to the next step.

2. Download P4 From Perforce

Next, you’ll download Perforce P4. If you’re not using P4 yet, get started for free for up to 5 users. If you’re already a P4 user, download the latest version of the:

3. Set Up P4 Typemap

Before adding files to the server, you’ll need to set up the P4 Typemap, so P4 knows how to handle Unreal files.

4. Set Up the Environment

Next, you'll need to set a couple of environment variables, so UE can find your workspace.

Open a command window and type:

  • p4 set P4USER=your.username
  • p4 set P4PORT=localhost:1666

5. Go Back to UE4

Now it’s time to return to UE4 (or launch it if it isn’t already open).

6. Use the Unreal Editor (If You’re a Designer or Technical Artist)

The Unreal Editor has built-in integration for P4, maintained by Epic Games. Designers primarily use the Unreal Editor with P4 for version control.

Asset files (with the extensions .uasset and .umap) are binary files modified in the Unreal Editor. They cannot be opened as text or merged in a text-based merge tool.

When you want to work on an asset, you just click on it in a UE content browser. You’ll see a “check out” choice. The file is locked automatically when you make that choice.

When you’re done editing files you have locked, check in or submit those files. This uploads the changes to the server and releases the lock on the files.

7. Use Microsoft Visual Studio (If You’re a Coder)

Unreal and P4 both integrate with Microsoft Visual Studio. Many game developers love Visual Studio.

Get Started: Unreal Engine 4 Version Control

Get started on Unreal engine game development with P4 today. You can get started for free for up to 5 users and 20 workspaces.