50 Quick Tips and Tricks for Unreal Engine. How many do you know?

December 6, 2022

I’ve been working on Quick Dev Tips for the last couple of years. It’s a series of fast, bite-sized game development tips and tricks focused around the Unreal Engine.

The idea was sparked off while working on my parkour game Freerunners when I found out about this little gem: You can turn any object variable into a validated version (#1 is Valids). It made me realise that there are so many little tips and tricks out there that can really help speed things up and make your life easier. I wanted to share the ones I found out about, so everyone could benefit!

Give me a follow on Twitter or sub on Youtube if you like what I do and want to know when I release new Unreal Engine tips!

So here we go 50 Unreal Engine tips and tricks. How many do you know?

#01 is Valids - Youtube - Blogpost

Turning a get object variable into an isValid get version

#02 Pin Splitting - Youtube - Blogpost

Splitting vectors & rotator node pins so you can use them with fewer nodes

#03 Quick Variables - Youtube - Blogpost

Shortcuts for getting, setting and replacing variables

#04 Reroute Nodes - Youtube - Blogpost

Organise your spaghetti, using reroute nodes to help keep your blueprint wires clean and tidy (or make a bigger mess)

#05 Quick Align - Youtube - Blogpost

Blueprint node alignments tools and shortcuts

#06 Connection Lines - Youtube - Blogpost

Keyboard shortcuts which are useful when moving pins around

#07 Colouring Folders - Youtube - Blogpost

Colouring content browser folders

#08 Multi-Line Text - Youtube - Blogpost

Forcing text to start on a new line

#09 Quick Copy Collision - Youtube - Blogpost

Copy collision from one static mesh asset to another

#10 Subcategories - Youtube - Blogpost

Using subcategories to help keep things more organised

#11 Importing Files - Youtube - Blogpost

Saving time by importing entire folder structures

#12 Easy Copy Info - Youtube - Blogpost

Copy / paste variable information around

#13 Store Camera Positions - Youtube - Blogpost

Quick switching between stored camera positions

#14 Quick Set Sound Settings - Youtube - Blogpost

Match settings of another already set up sound when importing new audio

#15 Bulk Edit Assets - Youtube - Blogpost

Using the property matrix to bulk edit assets

#16 Viewport Preview Audio - Youtube - Blogpost

Activate real-time audio in your viewport settings so you can hear sounds from your editor without needing to play your level

#17 Materials Quick Connection - Youtube - Blogpost

In materials, quickly connect to a pin on the results node

#18 Separate Lighting Channels - Youtube - Blogpost

Using separate lighting channels to light/exclude specific assets in your levels

#19 Tweak Animations In Editor - Youtube - Blogpost

Tweak animations from within the engine

#20 Optimising: Dump Ticks - Youtube - Blogpost

See what actors are ticking in your level

#21 Advanced Content Browser Searching - Youtube - Blogpost

Be more efficient at searching your content browser by using operators, types etc

#22 Quick Find Asset - Youtube - Blogpost

Quickly find an asset in your content browser from an in-level asset using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + B

#23 Toggle Translucent Selection - Youtube - Blogpost

Use the keyboard shortcut “T” to toggle translucency making it easier to select/unselect specific assets

#24 Quick Rename - Youtube - Blogpost

Use the “F2” keyboard shortcut to quickly be able to rename assets

#25 Move Light In Static Mesh Viewer - Youtube - Blogpost

Move the light around in the static mesh viewer to preview your asset more easily

#26 Change Asset Default Transform - Youtube - Blogpost

Offset an assets default transform by changing its import settings and then reimporting it

#27 Multiple Content Browsers - Youtube - Blogpost

Being able to have multiple content browsers open to help when filling out levels

#28 Drop Asset To Surface - Youtube - Blogpost

Dropping assets flush to surfaces using the keyboard shortcut “END”

#29 Quick Make Pins - Youtube - Blogpost

A method to quickly make in/out pins

#30 Content Browser Icons Size - Youtube - Blogpost

Scaling up and down the content browser icons

#31 Favourite Folders - Youtube - Blogpost

A method of more easily accessing folders you use a lot

#32 Custom Grid Snap Amounts - Youtube - Blogpost

Editing the grid snap amounts and making your own custom values

#33 UMG Favourites - Youtube - Blogpost

A way to more quickly access UMG elements you use a lot

#34 Find Across Whole Project - Youtube - Blogpost

Search for a name or phrase across the whole project

#35 Quick Switch Tabs - Youtube - Blogpost

Switch the current editor tab using keyboard shortcuts “hold Left Ctrl and press Tab”

#36 Save Colours - Youtube - Blogpost

Using the colour picker, save and load colours to use around your project

#37 Colourblind Editor Mode - Youtube - Blogpost

Colourblind editor preferences to help you develop your game

#38 Animation Pose to Static Mesh - Youtube - Blogpost

Turn a pose from a skeletal mesh into a static mesh

#39 Quick Tweak Texture - Youtube - Blogpost

Using texture adjustments to quick tweak textures without needing to leave the editor

#40 Diffing Blueprints - Youtube - Blogpost

Easy way to find the difference between 2 assets (useful for finding problems)

#41 Multiple Anim Sequences Open At the Same Time - Youtube - Blogpost

Be able to have multiple anim sequences open for the same character at the same time (useful for animators)

#42 Automatically Import Files - Youtube - Blogpost

Set folders to automatically reimport files into the engine if they change

#43 Quick Navigate To Blueprint Parent - Youtube - Blogpost

When in a blueprint you can quickly navigate up to the blueprints parent using buttons in the top right

#44 Relative and World Transforms - Youtube - Blogpost

Switch between relative/world transform on an assets transform values

#45 Combining multiple static Meshes - Youtube - Blogpost

Optimise your project by combining multiple static meshes into one static mesh

#46 Thumbnail Edit Mode - Youtube - Blogpost

Edit content browser thumbnail images to make them more easily readable at a glance

#47 Quick Open Level Asset - Youtube - Blogpost

Quickly open an asset up from your level using the keyboard shortcut “hold Ctrl and press E”

#48 Quick Make Icons - Youtube - Blogpost

A quick and easy way to make icons from your in-editor assets

#49 Save Load Layouts - Youtube - Blogpost

Save, load, and reset your editor panels layout. Great for if you like your layout a specific way

#50 Editor Call Events At Runtime - Youtube - Blogpost

Add buttons to an assets details panel so you can trigger functionality in-editor at runtime

So how did you do?

If you found these tips and tricks useful give me a follow on Twitter or sub on Youtube to find out when I release new Unreal Engine tips!

Also if you have a suggestion for a quick Unreal Engine tip or trick that you use then use this form to let me know!