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Unreal Engine 5 Build Operations

✍ Last Updated : August 29, 2022

🚪 Prerequisites

UploadHave Unreal Engine 5 project to build / launch.

❓ Key Question / Problem / Issue

  1. How to build unreal engine project?

✅ Expected Output/Definition of Done

  1. Can build unreal engine project through editor or CLI

🎁 Resulting Solution

Source

Build Operations: Cook, Package, Deploy, and Run

Releasing Your Project

Unreal Engine 5 Build

Build Operations — Cook, Package, Deploy, and Run

Content Cooking

Unreal Engine stores content assets in particular formats which it uses internally. However, this content needs to be converted to different formats for the various platforms, either because the platform uses a proprietary format, does not support the format Unreal uses to store the asset, or a more memory- or performance-effective format exists. The process of converting content from the internal format to the platform-specific format is referred to as cooking.

  • Cooking via Command Line

    To cook data for your game, you need to use the Cook commandlet. The basic cook is performed via the following Command Line:

    UE5Editor.exe <GameName **or** uproject> -run=cook -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2> [-cookonthefly] [-iterate] [-map=<Map1>+<Map2>]

    The commandlet must be specified via -run=cook and a platform to cook must also be specified. This will generate cooked data for the platform specified and saved it to folder <Game>/Saved/Cooked/<Platform>.

    Command Line detail options:

    • -targetplatform=<Plat1>+<Plat2>+.. → List of platform to be cook, The list of available platforms are WindowsNoEditor, WindowsServer, LinuxServer, PS4, XboxOne, IOS, and Android.
    • -iterate → Specifies the cooker only cook items that are out of date. Without this option, the sandbox directory is deleted and everything is recooked.
    • -Map=<Map1>+<Map2>+.. → Specifies the map or list of maps to build.
    • -cookonthefly → Specifies that the cooker be started in server mode. This will launch a server which waits for a game to connect and then serves the cooked data as needed. When this option is used, the game requires -filehostip=<Server IP>.  specified on its command line so it can connect with the server.
    • -MapIniSection → Specifies a section from the .ini files which contains map names and will cook all maps on the files.
    • -UnVersioned → Saves all of the cooked packages without versions. Assumed to be current version on load.
    • -CookAll → Cooks everything.
    • -Compressed → Compress the cooked packages

  • Cooking via Editor

    You can also simply cook your game to various Platform through Unreal Editor by following the image below.

    Cook_01.JPG

    This will also generate cooked data for the platform specified and saved it to folder <Game>/Saved/Cooked/<Platform>. But, it automatically cook content with default setup (Command Line have some options when it executed).

  • Cooking mode

    There are two ways to cook content for your projects; by the book and on the fly.

    • Cook by the book Performs the entirety of the cook process ahead of time allowing for the build to deploy the cooked assets all at once rather than as needed while playing the level (if you were using a cook server). This option is useful for developers who are not iterating on individual assets or for those who want the game to perform at full-speed without waiting for a server to deliver the necessary cooked content. Typically, performance testing and playtests will want to use this method.

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    • Cook on the fly When you choose to cook content on the fly (COTF), it will delay cooking it until after the game has been deployed to the platform. Only the executable and some other basic files are installed, which use network communication with a Cook Server to make requests on-demand as the content is needed. COTF allows for faster iteration for developers who will be making changes to content regularly or those who will only be exploring sections of the game.

      Untitled

    To access this cook mode, follow the step on creating Custom Profiles at Project Launcher here [Project Launcher in Unreal Editor](Unreal Engine 5 Build Operations 7860d2fed8f2484aa7c7afd641e1594d.md).

Packaging

You can deploy content in several different ways to a target platform for testing, debugging, or in preparation for release, you can test your packages with:

Launch Platforms

Using the Platforms button in the main toolbar enables you to quickly test your project with a single click by building and deploying the currently loaded level for testing.

Use the drop-down arrow next to the Selected Platform button to package the project.

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Deploys

To deploy a build from the Project Launcher, you must have a project that cooked and packaged. There are a couple of ways you can deploy this type of build to a platform. At [Project Launcher in Unreal Editor](Unreal Engine 5 Build Operations 7860d2fed8f2484aa7c7afd641e1594d.md) Custom Profiles under the Deploy section, set the way you want to deploy the build.

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  • File Server will cook and deploy the content at runtime as it is needed to the device.
  • Copy to Device will copy the entire cooked build to the device.
  • Do Not Deploy will not deploy the build to any device once the cook and package complete.
  • Copy Repository will copy a build from a specified file location to deploy to any device.

Build (Cooking, Packaging & Deploys) Project

There’s 3 way to build your Unreal Engine 5 games.

  • Project Launcher in Unreal Editor

    1. Open Project Launcher

      Release_01.JPG

    2. Create a new Custom Profile by click Add (+) button.

      Release_02.JPG

    3. Enter a Profile name & description with double click on the placeholder text.

    4. In Progressa Project section, you can set the specific use or use Any Project to patch the current project.

    5. In a Build section, you can set build settings and configuration with click in each select box. You can also Build UAT / add Additional CLI parameter by open Advanced Settings toggle.

    6. In a Cook section, select By the Book as the cooking method in the dropdown menu, and select all platforms you would like to cook content for. Here we have selected Windows (you can also add more if you need). Check the boxes all cultures to cook localizations for and Check the boxes for which maps to cook.

      ProjLauncher_01.JPG

    7. In a package section, select package & store locally to store your packaged build at local.

    8. At deploy, for testing purpose you can simply leave it Do not deploy, but if you want to deploy the project, you can check the detail at [Deploys](Unreal Engine 5 Build Operations 7860d2fed8f2484aa7c7afd641e1594d.md) section.

      ProjLauncher_02.JPG

  • Launcher in Unreal Front End (UFE)

    UnrealFrontend (UFE) is a tool intended to simplify and speed up daily video game development and testing tasks, such as preparing game builds, deploying them to a device, and launching them. UFE is designed to be the central interface for all game deployment, profiling, and testing tasks.

    Feature:

    • Launcher
    • Sessions
    • Automation
    • Profiling
    • DeviceManagement

    You can access UFE standalone apps at folder <UE5_RootFolder>/Engine/Binaries/Win64/UnrealFrontend.exe

    To build project using UFE, you can go to Launcher tab, its sync or same with the project launcher in Editor, once you create a custom profile, there would be in UFE launcher too.

    Untitled

  • Command Line Interface (CLI)

    The Automation Tool enables you to cook and package your game using command line, and since all build operations are performed by UAT, it can be run directly on the command line with RunUAT.bat. file when provided with valid arguments.

    As part of the BuildCookRun command in UAT (Unreal Automation Tools), the following stages outline the different stages of the packaging pipeline:

    • Build: This stage compiles the .exe for the selected platform.
    • Cook: This stage cooks content by executing the Editor in a special mode.
    • Stage: This stage copies the executables and content to a staging area; a standalone directory outside of the development directory.
    • Package: This stage packages the project into a platform's native distribution format.
    • Deploy: This stage deploys the build to a target device.
    • Run: This stage starts the packaged project on the target platform.

    Example script:

    call Engine\Build\BatchFiles\RunUAT.bat BuildCookRun -project="%~dp0/[ProjectName].uproject" -platform=Win64 -configuration=Development+Shipping+DebugGame -map=[ListMapName] -nocompileeditor -unattended -utf8output -nodebuginfo -clean -build -cook -stage -stagingdirectory="%~dp0/Temp/Stage" -pak -prereqs -package -archive -archivedirectory="%~dp0/Temp/Archive" -createreleaseversion=1.0
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