Do you have any tips on reading the code? (from an intermediate developer)

[Kutlu]

Hi Opsive,

I've been trying to learn the ropes of UCC for a while now, and I want to complain that I, despite my best efforts, am feeling a bit lost when it comes to getting a full picture of the code. There are tons of systems which depend on and build upon each other, and every time I try to dive in and deeply understand some part of the code (like ability systems for example), I fall down a rabbit hole and end being overwhelmed by the complexity of it all.

Could you offer any tips as to which order I should study the various components in the codebase? The problem is so severe, that I'm considering paying you to explain the codebase to me. But before I resort to that, I wanted to ask you if you could bestow upon me some practical wisdom by describing the problem from a more experienced perspective.

 

[Justin]

The codebase for the controller really has grown throughout the years, but overall it is structured really well and is extremely extensible. With that said, as you mentioned it can be overwhelming to read when you are first getting started.

I recommend first reading this page for a high level overview of how the objects fit together:

Component Overview - Opsive

The main component responsible for moving the character is the Ultimate Character Locomotion. At a low level this component is responsible for collision detection, slopes, . . .

opsive.com

From there it's diving into the classes and read the comments. In your IDE you can then use the Object Browser to quickly see the comments for each class. This page describes that:

Organization - Opsive

The Ultimate Character Controller is the parent asset for a set of child assets. At their core each asset shares base functionality which is then . . .

opsive.com

After you have a good overview of each class I then recommend setting breakpoints and seeing how things flow. For example, with the ability system, setting a breakpoint within Jump.ApplyJumpForce is a good way to see how the jump force actually gets applied.