Another thing I want to mention before delving into this is that the version of Unreal 4 I have installed my personal computer is 4.11.1 to avoid confusion. I also want to mention that even I didn't go into this without checking out a few tutorials first and I will share those to help anyone reading this. Also I won't go into this in too much detail but to get Unreal Engine 4 you have to download Epic Games launcher which is available to download at https://www.unrealengine.com/ or is literally the first link that pops up when you google "Unreal Engine 4" or "Epic Games launcher". If you need me to explain in full detail how to actually download the file, I think you need to find someone else to make a more in-depth tutorial for you because to me that is fairly common knowledge. Anyway without further ado, let's get into this already.
When first opened, Unreal gives you the option to open an existing project or make a new one based off of a blueprint or C++. Since I am a newbie I recommend a blueprint type since it is a bit easier to understand for beginners. Also I have been told C++ requires additional programs and although I have a really nice laptop, I'd rather not fill it with programs I would barely use in the beginning anyway. Once a choice is made the program builds the project in whichever format you chose. Now a really helpful thing I noticed for beginners was the fact that as soon as the program started up, a tutorial and tour notification popped up on screen. It's very noticeable as a contrasting white box with a green flashing button next to it so it's really hard to miss and helps if you need to learn the basics.
To make things easy I am actually going to go through said tutorial. The tutorial starts by covering basics such as panel placement and dragging around certain parts of the window to fit the user's needs and preferences. It also mentions that all panels are accessible in the Window menu at the top. It then briefly explains the main panels, functions, and options such as the viewport, the modes panel, the content browser, the details panel, the scene outliner panel, the toolbar, and the menu and search bar. It also mentions were to get tips and help if the user forgets. That was just the welcome walk-through.
Now that we know where everything is and might have an idea about what everything does, it's time to learn how to use it. After the welcome walk-through, a menu should pop up offering more tutorials on many different parts of the program. The amount of tutorials is astonishing and I will not be going through all of them here.
In Unreal 4 you can create levels and environments, import 3D models for characters and items, use actors to make playable characters and enemies, and do a huge number of fun things that make up a game. Because there is so much to the program, you can find a lot of tutorials to explain different parts. I personally used the tutorials in the program as well as a couple on Lynda.com to figure out the software however there are more on sites such as youtube and places such as community blogs and help threads.
I personally like that you can do so much with it and it is fairly easy to learn especially if you have a background in similar software. Everything is very clearly labeled and when something can't be found, it is really easy to search for it. So far I have no complaints but after spending hours upon hours using it I'm sure I'll find a few. I definitely plan to use Unreal Engine 4 in future projects.
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