Unreal Development Skill Skill

Unreal Development Skill

Comprehensive Unreal Engine development integration for AI-assisted game creation, editor automation, and project management.

Overview

This skill provides capabilities for interacting with Unreal Engine projects, including C++ development, Blueprint visual scripting, actor management, and build automation. It leverages the Unreal MCP ecosystem for direct editor integration when available.

Capabilities

Project Management

Create and configure Unreal projects
Manage project settings (Project Settings, DefaultEngine.ini, etc.)
Configure plugin dependencies
Set up module structure for code organization

C++ Development

Generate Actor and Component classes with proper UCLASS macros
Create UObject subclasses with reflection support
Implement interfaces (UInterface)
Write custom Editor modules
Generate unit tests using Automation Framework

Blueprint Visual Scripting

Generate Blueprint classes from specifications
Create Blueprint function libraries
Design Blueprint interfaces
Build reusable Blueprint macros
Generate data-only Blueprints

Actor and Component System

Create and modify Actors programmatically
Design component hierarchies
Implement tick and lifecycle management
Set up actor replication for multiplayer

Level Design

Create and modify levels
Place actors and configure properties
Set up level streaming
Configure World Partition settings

Build System

Configure build settings for multiple platforms
Create build scripts using BuildGraph
Set up CI/CD pipelines
Manage platform-specific configurations

Prerequisites

Unreal Engine Installation

Unreal Engine 5.0 or higher recommended
Visual Studio 2022 with C++ game development workload
.NET 6.0 SDK for tooling

MCP Server (Recommended)

For direct Unreal Editor integration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unreal": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "unreal_mcp"],
      "env": {
        "UNREAL_PROJECT_PATH": "/path/to/project.uproject"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternative MCP servers:

UnrealMCP (kvick-games) - TCP server with JSON commands
unreal-mcp (chongdashu) - Natural language control
Unreal_mcp (ChiR24) - C++ Automation Bridge

Usage Patterns

Creating an Actor Class (C++)

// MyCharacter.h
#pragma once

#include "CoreMinimal.h"
#include "GameFramework/Character.h"
#include "MyCharacter.generated.h"

UCLASS()
class MYGAME_API AMyCharacter : public ACharacter
{
    GENERATED_BODY()

public:
    AMyCharacter();

protected:
    virtual void BeginPlay() override;
    virtual void Tick(float DeltaTime) override;
    virtual void SetupPlayerInputComponent(class UInputComponent* PlayerInputComponent) override;

    UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, BlueprintReadWrite, Category = "Movement")
    float MoveSpeed = 600.0f;

    UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, BlueprintReadWrite, Category = "Movement")
    float JumpHeight = 420.0f;

    UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Components")
    class UCameraComponent* CameraComponent;

    UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Components")
    class USpringArmComponent* SpringArmComponent;

private:
    void MoveForward(float Value);
    void MoveRight(float Value);
    void StartJump();
    void StopJump();
};

// MyCharacter.cpp
#include "MyCharacter.h"
#include "Camera/CameraComponent.h"
#include "GameFramework/SpringArmComponent.h"
#include "GameFramework/CharacterMovementComponent.h"

AMyCharacter::AMyCharacter()
{
    PrimaryActorTick.bCanEverTick = true;

    // Create spring arm
    SpringArmComponent = CreateDefaultSubobject<USpringArmComponent>(TEXT("SpringArm"));
    SpringArmComponent->SetupAttachment(RootComponent);
    SpringArmComponent->TargetArmLength = 400.0f;
    SpringArmComponent->bUsePawnControlRotation = true;

    // Create camera
    CameraComponent = CreateDefaultSubobject<UCameraComponent>(TEXT("Camera"));
    CameraComponent->SetupAttachment(SpringArmComponent);

    // Configure movement
    GetCharacterMovement()->MaxWalkSpeed = MoveSpeed;
    GetCharacterMovement()->JumpZVelocity = JumpHeight;
}

void AMyCharacter::BeginPlay()
{
    Super::BeginPlay();
}

void AMyCharacter::Tick(float DeltaTime)
{
    Super::Tick(DeltaTime);
}

void AMyCharacter::SetupPlayerInputComponent(UInputComponent* PlayerInputComponent)
{
    Super::SetupPlayerInputComponent(PlayerInputComponent);

    PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("MoveForward", this, &AMyCharacter::MoveForward);
    PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("MoveRight", this, &AMyCharacter::MoveRight);
    PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("Jump", IE_Pressed, this, &AMyCharacter::StartJump);
    PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("Jump", IE_Released, this, &AMyCharacter::StopJump);
}

void AMyCharacter::MoveForward(float Value)
{
    if (Value != 0.0f)
    {
        const FRotator Rotation = Controller->GetControlRotation();
        const FRotator YawRotation(0, Rotation.Yaw, 0);
        const FVector Direction = FRotationMatrix(YawRotation).GetUnitAxis(EAxis::X);
        AddMovementInput(Direction, Value);
    }
}

void AMyCharacter::MoveRight(float Value)
{
    if (Value != 0.0f)
    {
        const FRotator Rotation = Controller->GetControlRotation();
        const FRotator YawRotation(0, Rotation.Yaw, 0);
        const FVector Direction = FRotationMatrix(YawRotation).GetUnitAxis(EAxis::Y);
        AddMovementInput(Direction, Value);
    }
}

void AMyCharacter::StartJump()
{
    Jump();
}

void AMyCharacter::StopJump()
{
    StopJumping();
}

Creating a Data Asset (C++)

// EnemyDataAsset.h
#pragma once

#include "CoreMinimal.h"
#include "Engine/DataAsset.h"
#include "EnemyDataAsset.generated.h"

UENUM(BlueprintType)
enum class EEnemyType : uint8
{
    Melee,
    Ranged,
    Boss
};

UCLASS(BlueprintType)
class MYGAME_API UEnemyDataAsset : public UPrimaryDataAsset
{
    GENERATED_BODY()

public:
    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Basic Info")
    FString EnemyName;

    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Basic Info")
    EEnemyType EnemyType;

    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Stats")
    float MaxHealth = 100.0f;

    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Stats")
    float MoveSpeed = 300.0f;

    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Combat")
    float AttackDamage = 10.0f;

    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Combat")
    float AttackRange = 150.0f;

    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Visuals")
    TObjectPtr<USkeletalMesh> Mesh;

    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Visuals")
    TObjectPtr<UAnimBlueprint> AnimBlueprint;

    // UPrimaryDataAsset interface
    virtual FPrimaryAssetId GetPrimaryAssetId() const override;
};

Gameplay Ability System Example

// MyGameplayAbility.h
#pragma once

#include "CoreMinimal.h"
#include "Abilities/GameplayAbility.h"
#include "MyGameplayAbility.generated.h"

UCLASS()
class MYGAME_API UMyGameplayAbility : public UGameplayAbility
{
    GENERATED_BODY()

public:
    UMyGameplayAbility();

    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Ability")
    float CooldownDuration = 1.0f;

    UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Ability")
    float ManaCost = 10.0f;

protected:
    virtual void ActivateAbility(
        const FGameplayAbilitySpecHandle Handle,
        const FGameplayAbilityActorInfo* ActorInfo,
        const FGameplayAbilityActivationInfo ActivationInfo,
        const FGameplayEventData* TriggerEventData) override;

    virtual void EndAbility(
        const FGameplayAbilitySpecHandle Handle,
        const FGameplayAbilityActorInfo* ActorInfo,
        const FGameplayAbilityActivationInfo ActivationInfo,
        bool bReplicateEndAbility,
        bool bWasCancelled) override;
};

Integration with Babysitter SDK

Task Definition Example

const unrealActorTask = defineTask({
  name: 'unreal-actor-generation',
  description: 'Generate Unreal Engine Actor class',

  inputs: {
    actorType: { type: 'string', required: true }, // Character, Pawn, Actor
    className: { type: 'string', required: true },
    components: { type: 'array', required: true },
    outputPath: { type: 'string', required: true }
  },

  outputs: {
    headerPath: { type: 'string' },
    sourcePath: { type: 'string' },
    success: { type: 'boolean' }
  },

  async run(inputs, taskCtx) {
    return {
      kind: 'skill',
      title: `Generate Unreal Actor: ${inputs.className}`,
      skill: {
        name: 'unreal-development',
        context: {
          operation: 'generate_actor',
          actorType: inputs.actorType,
          className: inputs.className,
          components: inputs.components,
          outputPath: inputs.outputPath
        }
      },
      io: {
        inputJsonPath: `tasks/${taskCtx.effectId}/input.json`,
        outputJsonPath: `tasks/${taskCtx.effectId}/result.json`
      }
    };
  }
});

MCP Server Integration

Available MCP Tools (via unreal-mcp)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | unreal_spawn_actor | Spawn actor in level | | unreal_modify_actor | Modify actor properties | | unreal_create_blueprint | Generate Blueprint class | | unreal_compile | Trigger hot reload/compile | | unreal_build | Build for target platform | | unreal_run_automation | Execute automation tests | | unreal_query_level | Get level structure | | unreal_python_exec | Execute Unreal Python command |

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unreal": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "unreal_mcp"],
      "env": {
        "UNREAL_PROJECT_PATH": "C:/Projects/MyGame/MyGame.uproject",
        "UNREAL_ENGINE_PATH": "C:/Program Files/Epic Games/UE_5.3"
      }
    }
  }
}

Best Practices

UCLASS Macros: Always use appropriate specifiers (BlueprintType, Blueprintable, etc.)
Property Specifiers: Use EditAnywhere/VisibleAnywhere and BlueprintReadWrite/BlueprintReadOnly correctly
Replication: Mark replicated properties with UPROPERTY(Replicated)
Memory Management: Use TObjectPtr for object pointers, avoid raw pointers
Modules: Organize code into logical modules with clear dependencies
Tick Optimization: Only enable tick when necessary, use Timers for periodic tasks

Platform Considerations

| Platform | Key Considerations | |----------|-------------------| | PC | Full feature support, shader model 5+ | | Console | Memory budgets, certification requirements | | Mobile | Simplified rendering, thermal management | | VR | Frame rate requirements, motion sickness prevention |

Agent Skills: Unreal Development Skill

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