Hello, in this series, I’ll show you how to use AWS Gamelift to host a dedicated server for a Multiplayer game with Unreal Engine.
Multiplayer with AWS Gamelift - Setup
Learn how to register for the Unreal Engine Source code on Github and prerequires for Multiplayer with Gamelift
Prerequisites
Before you begin, be sure to do the prerequisite tutorial on Login System with AWS (playlist on YouTube). It covers how to use some of the AWS services like Cognito, API Gateway, and Lambda which we’ll need.
You’ll also need to have a Github and an Epic Games account and the HTTP Requests for Blueprints plugin. It is optional but I’ll be using that to make HTTP requests and it’ll be easier to follow along
Getting Access to Epic Games Github
Once you have the accounts, go to epicgames.com and sign in.
Then navigate to the Account settings page.
Select the Apps and Accounts menu on the left and Connect your Github account.
The reason why we need to do this is because we’ll need access to the Unreal Engine source code on Github.
The Unreal Engine that you get through the Epic Games launcher will not allow us to create a server build which is needed for multiplayer.
If we look at the official documentation, you can see that one of the requirements is using the Unreal Engine Source Build from Github.
You must use a source build of Unreal Engine. See our Download Unreal Engine Source Code page for more information.
You must use a C++ project that supports client-server multiplayer gameplay.
Once your account is linked, it’ll take a couple of days for EpicGames to invite you to their Github organization where you can access the Unreal Engine source code.
When you received the invitation, click on it and join the organization.
Once you are a member of EpicGames, go to github.com/epicgames/unrealengine.
If you can see the project files, it means you have done everything correctly. Now we need to download it.
Downloading the Github Desktop App
Go to https://desktop.github.com/ and download the Github desktop app and install it.
When it is installed it, launch it and you should see something like this.
Sign in with your Github account.- Go to File and then Options.
When you are in, search for unrealengine in the search bar. Select the one with EpicGames/UnrealEngine and click on the clone button.
Make sure to have at least 200 gigabytes free.
When it finishes, you should see something like this.
Installing Visual Studio
Now we need to install Visual Studio. Go to visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads and download it. If you are using a older version of Unreal Engine from Github, make sure to get the Visual Studio version that works.
When the download is complete, locate and launch the installer.
Select
Universal Windows Platform development
Desktop development with C++
Mobile development with C++
Game development with C++.
Then click install when you are done.
Generating Project Files
When the installation is complete, go back to the Github app and click on Show in Explorer. This will open the project in a File Explorer window.
Launch the Setup task.
If you are using a Mac, make sure to execute the one Shell Script one.
When that is done, execute the GenerateProjectFiles task.
If you are using a Mac, make sure to execute the one Shell Script one as well.
You should see a file call UE5.sln. Open it with Visual Studio.
Select Development Editor from the dropdown and make sure the Environment is set to the one you are using.
Now expand the Engine folder and set the UE5 project as the Startup Project.
Then right click on it again and build it.
Keep in mind that if it is your first time, this will take a long time and it is normal.
When the building is finished, launch the project. You should see the Unreal Editor loading screen.
Wait for it to finish. When that is done, you should get the Unreal Editor window.
That’s all for this video. In the next video, we'll create a server build and host it locally on the computer.
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