How to Use Unreal Engine 5 + UE5 Source Control

Unreal Engine 5 is a cutting-edge game engine with real-time rendering capabilities, an extensive asset marketplace (Fab), and advanced features (such as Nanite and Lumen) that enable teams to create hyper-realistic characters and photorealistic digital environments. Unreal Engine's ability to create immersive stories and experiences has made it valuable to a wide range of industries—including gaming, media and entertainment, architecture, automotive design, and more.

A crucial aspect of harnessing its full potential is understanding and utilizing version control, also commonly referred to as source control. Perforce P4 (formerly Helix Core) is commonly used with Unreal Engine, for its ability to version source code and binary assets, automate workflows, and prevent conflicts by locking files when they are being edited. Unreal Engine offers an integration to Perforce (P4), enabling teams to version files and assets seamlessly within the engine. Additionally, advanced Epic Games tools such as Unreal GameSync and Robomerge are designed to work exclusively with P4.

Read on to learn more about how to use Unreal Engine 5 with version control. Plus, learn about new UE5 source control features.

Unreal Engine 5.5

With the release of Unreal Engine 5.5, developers and creators gained access to a suite of new tools and enhancements designed to elevate animation workflows, mobile development, virtual production, and other creative processes. Building on features first introduced in UE 5, this latest version delivered upgrades to key components such as the MetaHuman Animator and Lumen. In this section, we delve into the most noteworthy advancements.

MetaHuman Animator Enhancements

In Unreal Engine 5.5, the MetaHuman animator has been updated with the following enhancements:

  • The ability to create high quality facial animations just from audio performances.
  • Optimized MetaHumans by reducing asset sizes to meet game integration requirements.

Mobile Development Upgrades

UE5.5 also focuses on enhancing mobile development with:

  • New features for the Mobile Forward Renderer aimed at increasing visual fidelity on the platform.
  • Content development improvements for the Mobile Previewer.

Rendering Updates

The latest release of Unreal Engine also included the following rendering updates:

  • A performance update to Lumen which allows it to run at 60hz for platforms with hardware support.
  • The introduction of Megalights—a new feature that enables users to add hundreds of dynamic shadow-casting lights to scenes.

What Is Unreal Engine 5 Used For?

According to our 2024 State of Game Technology report, 63% of respondents listed Unreal Engine (UE) as their team’s preferred game engine. Unreal Engine is most used to create video games, but it is increasingly popular in animation, virtual production, and virtual experience projects.

Unreal Engine is also being adopted across industries by teams who are looking to create advanced visuals for any number of purposes, such as:

Why Version Control is Essential for Your UE5 Projects

Without a centralized version control, your UE5 project faces significant risks, including:

  • Lost work
  • Conflicting changes
  • Collaboration bottlenecks that can derail production schedules

Why Studios Choose Perforce for Unreal Engine Version Control

Creating Unreal Engine projects brings its own challenges, especially when managing large assets that traditional version control might struggle with. Perforce P4 stands out as the version control solution recommended and used by Epic Games for Unreal Engine development. Several advanced tools developed by Epic are available exclusively with P4, including:

  • Horde: a set of services built by Epic to support workflows for developing Fortnite, Unreal Engine, and more.
  • Unreal Game Sync: used by developers to sync their P4 workspace with a project's stream.
  • Robomerge: helps in automatically merging branches.

How to Use Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) and Unreal Engine Source Control

  1. Install Unreal Engine 5: Download the latest version, Unreal Engine 5.5, from the official site.
  2. Download P4V From Perforce: Set up a P4 server, which can be self-hosted or in the cloud.
  3. Create a Depot: A depot is your project's main storage area on the Perforce server.
  4. Set Up a Typemap: Configures how specific types of files are handled in your project.
  5. Create a Mainline Stream: Establishes your primary branch for development.
  6. Create a Workspace: This links your local files to your project files on the server.
  7. Set Up Your Ignore File: Identifies files not to be version controlled.
  8. Add Project Files: Begin populating your repository with your Unreal Engine project assets.

How to Use Unreal Engine 5 and Unreal Source Control with Your Team

To collaborate, team members must create their own workspaces to contribute to the project effectively. This includes connecting with P4V and downloading the latest versions of files from the server.

Set Up Source Control in Unreal Engine 5

Once P4 is set up, configure the Perforce integration within Unreal Engine by accessing source control settings and entering your server address and username.

Get Started: Unreal Engine Version Control

Now that you have learned how to use Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) + source control, get started on development with P4 today. P4 is free for up to 5 users.