Fortnite Glossary

Games and game design have a unique language set made up in part of slang with a sprinkle of science, and a little magic and fun to fill the cracks. Use this list of key words to learn more about the Fortnite Ecosystem, and check back frequently — this is forever a work in progress, and we drop new terms as they reveal themselves. Your devoted lexicographers are always on the hunt.

0 dB

A 0 dB does not represent no sound. Think of 0 dB as maximum volume. For example, if your receiver reads -25 dB, it means that the volume of the signal has been attenuated by 25 dB (made 25 dB quieter than the loudest it could possibly be) before being output to your speakers.  

2D audio

Sound that plays without spatialization. This means that the sound does not change as a player moves through the game. Compare to 3D audio.  

3D audio

  Sounds that are spatialized, or located audibly in three-dimensional or virtual space.  

Accolades device

A device in Creative that island creators can use to award Battle Pass XP to players for achieving objectives in the game. These points can be used to unlock lots of cool things.

action

A type of game that focuses specifically on fighting with other players or NPCs.

Active Players

This refers to the number of players currently playing on your top ten islands.

actor

An actor is any object that can be placed on a level. This is a generic class of objects that supports 3D transformations such as translation, rotation and scale. Actors can be created (spawned) and destroyed through gameplay code.

ad hoc

Created or done for a specific purpose, or only as needed, and without forethought or planning.

adaptive music

In video games, adaptive music (also called interactive or dynamic music) is background music that changes in volume, rhythm, or tune based on player behavior or other influencing factors. The two primary approaches to adaptive music are horizontal composition and vertical composition. These approaches can be used together to create game soundtracks.

Advanced Storm Beacon

When placed on your island, the Advanced Storm Beacon device provides a way to configure individual storm phases when used in conjunction with the Advanced Storm Controller device.

Advanced Storm Controller

When the Advanced Storm Controller device is placed in the world, it will generate a storm at Game Start. You can also use this device to create configurable multi-phase storms, then customize each phase with an Advanced Storm Beacon.

For details on how to set up this device, see Using Advanced Storm Controller Devices.

adventure

A type of game with a focus on physical challenges, requiring good hand/eye coordination. Adventure games are often story driven.

affiliate code

A code used in affiliate marketing (peer-to-peer-marketing) is an identification option with which website operators can mark outgoing links. In this way, a conversion on another website can be clearly assigned when it comes to remunerating commissions in affiliate marketing. Affiliate codes are the basis of affiliate marketing.

age of majority

Legal age, also known as the age of legal majority, is the age when a person gains legal status as an adult. This age varies by state in the US, and by country outside of the US, but in most places, is set at 18 years old.

agent

An agent can represent either a player or a non-player character (NPC).  

AI

See artificial intelligence. 

AI Patrol Path Node device

You can use this device to set patrolling behavior for guards spawned with the Guard Spawner device, including establishing patrol paths.

aim course

A game type where a player moves through a predetermined course, shooting targets for points. These are often used as practice games designed to perfect combat skills.

aiming arc

A blue image that shows trajectory and landing positions when you throw an object in Fortnite.

air dodge

In Rocket Racing, you can use an air dodge to transition from driving on the ground to driving on the wall or the ceiling, or to land more quickly on the ground. This maneuver basically flips the car over. 

air vent

A placeable device that launches a player or other object, such as a vehicle or a ball, up with a gust of air.

Air Vent Gallery

A collection of air vent devices available in the Devices category under the Content tab. For more on these devices, see Using Air Vent Devices.

albedo

The base color of an object with no shadows or highlights.

aliasing

A digital image distortion that can appear as a jagged or saw-toothed outline in a low-resolution monitor.

alpha channel

The alpha channel controls the transparency or opacity of a color. The alpha channel is what you use to remove the background from an image. A PNG image, for example, has an alpha channel that lets you set the background to be transparent.

ambient lighting

The amount of light in scene that has no source and no real direction. Ambient lighting illuminates the entire area evenly. Changing the color value on an ambient light can change the mood of the scene.

ambient sound

Ambient, or background, sounds, like crickets or traffic, are not featured but add a layer of atmosphere to an environment.

ammo

A supply of bullets, shells, or other things used in projectile weapons. Ammo can get used up unless it's infinite. 

ammo types

Different weapons need different types of ammo. Ammo types include arrows, heavy bullets, medium bullets, light bullets, shells, and rockets. Each ammo type has a specific icon that represents the type of ammo, and that displays in the Details panel for each weapon on the Weapons category. When equipping ammo to your island, it's important to match the ammo type to the weapons available. You'll find all ammo in the Creative Content tab under the Items category as the Ammo subcategory

analytics

Analytics is the process of finding significant patterns in data and using these patterns to gain insight and understanding into something.

analytics dashboard

A set of analytic information that provides statistics on island activity by players.

angle pitch

With camera devices, this measures how much the camera points up or down while framing its target.

angle yaw

With camera devices, this measures how much the camera turns left or right while framing its target.

animal

Animals are spawned from the Wildlife Spawner.

Animation Blueprint

A node-based interface that captures the animations of the MetaHuman character.

AOE

Area of effect, or AOE, is an area where an effect — positive or negative — is applied to a player. This would include effects like explosive, healing, or poison/toxic.

aperture

A setting on a camera that controls the brightness of an image (to some degree) and more importantly, depth of field. It is usually indicated by f/ followed by a number, where the f stands for focal length, and the number indicates the length. The smaller the number, the more out of focus the background will be.

AR

Augmented reality, or AR, is an interactive experience where the real world is enhanced by computer-generated information that most commonly includes visual, audio, and haptic (vibrations or other motion).

arcade

A fast-paced, classic-feel game that focuses on gameplay over realism.

arcade video game

The classic arcade video game is a coin-operated, single-player or two-player game that's housed in a standalone cabinet with a video display and and a control panel. These included games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. If you can find arcade video games near you, play them with a solemn respect — they made today's gaming metaworld possible.

area

Some devices influence an area instead of requiring immediate contact to produce an effect on a player.

area control game

See territory control game.

arena

1. The area in a game where fighting happens. The arena is usually fairly small, and often has objects a player can hide behind.

2.  A game mode that restricts the combat to an arena.

arena shooter

A game mode that pits players against each other in a way that takes extreme skill in both movement and aim. One of the characteristics of this type of game is that all players spawn with the same weapon loadout, which means they all start on an equal footing, and player skill becomes much more important.

arrows

An ammo type available in the [Items category] under the Ammo subcategory in Creative Content. Arrows work with any weapon that can use them — typically, bows. You can equip arrows in quantities of 4. For weapons that use arrows, such as the Mechanical Bow, a single arrow icon displays in the Details panel for that weapon.

articulate

When sections of something are connected by joints that can bend, they articulate. For example, think of an arm. It articulates at the elbow, and again at the wrist. sections connected by joints.

artificial intelligence

 1. Artificial intelligence, or AI. In Fortnite, an AI is a programmed opponent, ally or other type of non-player character.

2. More broadly, AI is the ability of a computer system or systems to learn, solve problems, reason, perceive information, and make decisions without the direct intervention of a human agent. It involves creating intelligent machines and software capable of simulating human cognitive functions, analyzing data, recognizing patterns, and adapting to new information to achieve specific goals.  

artistic

A game or other experience where the focus is more on visuals and presentation than on actual gameplay. These are usually skillfully crafted, with unique visuals.

assault rifle

 Any of a number of rifles that use magazines to hold multiple rounds. Assault rifles are fully automatic, very accurate, and fast-firing. The number of rounds an assault rifle can hold varies by type. These are available on the Weapons category on the Creative Menu, and most are available with varied rarities. All assault rifles use either medium bullets or light bullets.   These are available on the Weapons category on the Creative Menu, and most are available with varied rarities. All assault rifles use either medium bullets or light bullets.

asset

Any element used to build a game. This includes props, devices, weapons, and items.

asset reflection

You can expose your UEFN assets in Verse to use them from your Verse code. This is called asset reflection, and you can use it to insert images in your custom UI or change meshes for your custom props in Verse.

ATK

An All Terrain Kart vehicle.

ATK Spawner

A device that spawns an ATK (all terrain kart) vehicle onto your island.

For more info, see ATK Spawner Devices.

attack

The time it takes from the start of a sound for it to reach maximum volume. Compare to release.

attack game

A type of game where players attack a specific objective.

attack-defend

See search and destroy.

attenuation

A change in the strength or volume of a sound. Attenuation is usually tied in to proximity of the listener to the source of the sound, or how close the listener is.

attribute

Something that defines what a player can have or do.

Attribute Evaluator

This device works exclusively with signals received from other devices. It checks for specific player attributes (conditions) when it receives a signal on a specific channel, such as the player's team, or how many times the player has respawned. If all conditions are met, a signal is transmitted on a success channel. If the conditions are not met, a signal is transmitted on a failure channel.

For more info, see Attribute Evaluator Devices.

attribution

The act of giving credit or acknowledgement to the originator of something, such as a piece of art or a literary work.

auction

An auction is a daily, UTC-aligned process that ranks eligible Sponsored Row campaigns by CPM bid to allocate available impressions using a second-price model.

audio effect

1. For Fortnite Creative, any device in Patchwork that takes input from an audio generator, modifies it, then outputs it. Examples include the Echo Effect device and the Distortion Effect device.

2. For UEFN, any device that takes audio input and modifies it.

audio envelope

In audio, an envelope describes how a sound changes over time. The most common stages of an audio envelope are known as ADSR: attack, decay, sustain, and release. While attack, decay, and release refer to time, sustain refers to volume.

audio file

An audio file is a file in which sounds are saved. A sound is an audio asset.

You can import an audio file into UEFN as a .wav .slac, .ogg, or .aif. The editor can recognize and use any of these files directly, or you can save them as sound cues, which give additional functionality.

audio generator

In Patchwork, this is any device that generates audio data that can be played by a speaker or other output. Examples would include the Drum Player, the Instrument Player and the Omega Synth.

audio signal processing

An audio signal is an electronic representation of a sound. Audio signal processing is how these signals are manipulated.

For an example in Fortnite Creative, in Patchwork, the Echo Effect device uses audio signal processing to create and modify an echo effect.

augment

An augment amplifies or boosts a specific activity or feature in Fortnite. Augments are awarded in Battle Royale and Team Rumble based on time spent in-game without being downed or eliminated.

Automatic Bounding Box

When this field is enabled under the World Settings tab in UEFN, the editor automatically sets collision bounds based on the collision primitives applied to the Static Mesh shape.  

avatar

The image, persona, or character in Fortnite that represents you.

axis

An axis is a a fixed reference line for the measurement of coordinates.

Fortnite takes place in three dimensions, so to locate something in the space, you need three points of reference, or three axes. These points are called the Left, or L-axis (formerly the Y-axis), the Up, or U-axis (formerly the Z-axis), and the Forward, or F-axis (formerly the X-axis). Collectively, these coordinates are called LUF. 

Imagine you are looking over a flat plane. Place a dot in the center of the plane. This is your 0 point for all dimensions. Draw a line from north to south (away from you and toward you) and make sure it goes through the 0 point. This is F. Now draw a line that crosses at the 0 point, but goes east to west, (left to right). This is L. Draw a third line that also goes through the 0 point, crossing where the other two lines cross, but going straight up and down. This is U. Using those three lines, you can position any object in a three-dimensional space.  

X-axis and Y-axis are still used, but only for coordinates limited to two dimensions —   such as in reference to UI content. The X-axis refers to a location left of the origin (negative values) or right of the origin (positive values). The Y-axis refers to a location down from the origin (negative values) or up from the origin (positive values).

back bling

Back bling is a cosmetic item players can equip and wear. Back bling can be switched up independently of an outfit even if it was purchased with an outfit.

back-solve

A backward solve has to do with the control rig driving a character's animation. When a control is manipulated, it looks at how the movement will affect the controls down the chain (a forward solve) and well as how its movement affects controls higher in the chain (backward solve), basically double-checking the work. Some animations and features rely on the forward or backward solve in order to add effects or motion to the character at runtime.  

backface

The back side of a mesh. This side doesn't face the camera, so it can be discarded to save memory.

backfill

When a player joins a game that's already in progress by taking the place of another player who dropped out.

background device

A device on a Fortnite island that contributes to gameplay, but does not allow the user to interact directly, and is not visible to players during gameplay. An example would be a Class Designer device.

backpack icon

This icon indicates that the selected item is being dropped onto the island, next to wherever your character is standing. This action also removes the item from the Equipment bar. A quantity is indicated under the backpack icon. If the quantity is one or more, it will drop onto the island. If it is 0, it won't.

badge

A customizable icon that can be used in the HUD.

bake

To embed pre-computed information into an asset to optimize rendering.

balancing

In video game design, balancing and tuning ensure fair and engaging gameplay for all skill levels. Adjusting character and enemy attributes and behavior for the game's environment are some ways to balance game play and improve a player's experience.

Ball Spawner

This device spawns a ball at the start of the game that can be knocked around by players. Note that this is a different device from the Baller Spawner.

For more info, see Ball Spawner Devices.

Baller

A vehicle shaped like a ball.

Baller Spawner

A device that spawns a drivable vehicle shaped like a ball onto your island.

banner

A player's banner represents the player. An icon on a colored background, both the icon and the background color can be customized in the player's locker.

Player banners show up in places like matchmaking lobbies.

bark

You can use the Audio Player device to set use dialog lines from guards. In game development, these lines are often referred to as barks.  

barn door

In photograph or film lighting, barn doors are hinged metal flaps you can add to a light to adjust where and how much light illuminates the camera subject. In UEFN, the same principle can be applied to lights to control a light source from the light's Details panel.

Barrier

A device that creates a zone that can block players, vehicles, and weapon fire.

For more info, see Barrier Devices.

base

A game that features an area where players can safely spawn, or that can be defended from opposing teams or NPCs.

base battle

A game where a player or team defends a base (prefab or constructed in-game) against another player, team, or NPC.

base class

A class from which other classes are derived. A class that inherits from a base class has all members and member functions and can have additional properties that are not included in the base class. A base class is also known as a parent class or superclass.

base-16

Hexadecimal (from hexa-, meaning six, and decimal, meaning ten), base-16 (often shortened to hex), is a numbering system that uses 16 symbols, instead of the more familiar 10 symbols in base-10.  

Basic Storm Controller

A device that creates a simple, single-phase storm.

For details on how to set up this device, see Basic Storm Controller Devices.

battle

A game that focuses on combat with any kind of weapon. Battle games are won through combat skills.

Battle Bus

When you first enter Fortnite Battle Royale, you deploy from the Battle Bus and use your glider to land safely. Even if you don't press the spacebar to open the glider, it will automatically open when you get close to the ground.

Battle Pass

The Battle Pass is a featured item in Battle Royale that players can use to unlock in-game cosmetics, V-Bucks, and other fun stuff.

Battle Royale

A game created by Epic Games that combines survival, exploration, and scavenging elements into a last-person-standing game. Players can play solo or in small groups (squads) of two to four players. Weapons and other items can be found in-game in chests, or from players that have been defeated.

battle royale game mode

An online multiplayer game mode that plays to a last-person or last-team standing for the win.

beacon

A beacon puts out an effect that helps players locate something.

For more on how these are used, see Beacon Devices.

Bean

A Fall Guy, also called a Bean, is the main playable character in Fall Guys

Bear

This pickup truck is a classic vehicle.

beartrap icon

A white icon in Creative inventory that indicates a trap.

beat 'em up game

See brawl game.

bed battle

A team-based PvP game where each team defends their bed (or any other static objective) against an opposing team.

BGM

You can use background music (BGM) to create or shift a mood in your UEFN experience.

bidirectional

Functioning in two directions.

Big Rig Spawner

A device that spawns a drivable semi truck.

billboard

Displays short messages to players in Creative.

Billboard device

The Billboard device is used to create custom messages that display on billboards.

For details on how to set up this device, see Billboard Devices.

bind

In computer programming, to bind is to create a connection between two or more programming objects for a specified amount of time.

For Fortnite, binding is associating a function with an event. 

For Verse, to bind is to create a connection between two or more programming objects for a specified amount of time.   For example, if you bind a function to a button's InteractedWithEvent, it means that each time a player interacts with that button, the bound function is called. This can refer to the association of a variable with a value or object, or to the association of a handler with an event.   

binding

When you bind two devices together, you establish a way to trigger one or more functions based on a signal from another device called an event. Events can be used to define player attributes, trigger specific actions, and customize gameplay in other ways. 

Biplane Spawner

A device that spawns a flyable biplane onto your island.

bit

A unit of computer information based on a binary choice: 0 or 1, yes or no, on or off. Also see byte.  

bite

A control on the Omega Synth device that gives sounds a harsher, choppier feel.

bitmap

A bitmap is an image file format used to create and store computer graphics. A bitmap file displays the image in small dots that create an overall image. It is abbreviated as BMP, and a bitmap file has the extension .bmp.

bloom

The level of reflection off a surface that makes a glow appear around an object.

board game

1. Any game played on a board, especially one that involves pieces that move on the board. Examples are checkers, chess, backgammon, and mancala. Evidence of board games goes back thousands of years, demonstrating that people have always liked to play games.

2. A video game that's based on a board game.

Boat Spawner

A device that spawns a drivable motorboat onto your island.

For more info, see Boat Spawner Devices.

boogie bomb

A ranged item that, when thrown, sends anyone within range (including the thrower if they're not careful!) into an uncontrollable fit of cheesy Seventies disco dancing. It's groovy, man.

Boolean operation

In 3D modeling, a Boolean operation refers to the creation of intersections and unions of objects, and the subtraction of one object from another. For example, if you wanted to make a round disk with a hole in the middle, you could overlap a smaller disk with a larger one, then subtract the smaller disk with a Boolean operation.

boom collision

In film, a boom jib is an apparatus that holds the camera. Boom operators can move and orient the camera with levers and wheels to get the shot they desire. You can use the Boom Collision properties for a fixed-angle camera device to determine the behavior of that camera when an object in the scene gets between the camera and its target.

boost

A boost causes a change in velocity for a player or an object in the direction the player (or object) is moving.

boss

A boss is an AI in a game that is stronger and harder to defeat or eliminate than other opponents. Winning against a boss generally takes more skill and knowledge of the game mechanics than what's needed against most AIs.

boss battle

A fight with a boss opponent is called a boss battle or boss fight. A boss fight can be solo or team-based, but the objective is always to beat the boss.

boss fight

See boss battle.

bot

Short for a robot player, which is a type of AI that plays in a video game, usually against a human player.

bottleneck

See chokepoint.

bounce rate

The percentage of players who play but don’t meaningfully engage once in the game.

Bouncer Trap

An item that launches a player into the air when they land on it.

bound

1. For UEFN, see bind.

2. For Verse, a variable that has had a bind performed on it. All Verse variables are bound immediately after they are defined — they cannot be in an unbound state.    

bounding box

A container for all collision properties that can be set on a Static Mesh. When you import a Static Mesh into UEFN, the editor generates collisionprimitives to control how that mesh will render and interact with physics. Bounding boxes are used for things like rendering, culling, lighting, and physics.  

bounding sphere

This term is used in relation to storm movement as controlled by the bounds radius. The storm is restricted to movement within this sphere. You can customize this radius in the options for the Advanced Storm Controller.

BPM

Short for beats per minute, this is the tempo that music plays at. For example, 60 bpm is a slow, relaxing tempo, while 150 bpm is much more lively.

BR

Short for Battle Royale.

branching logic

With branching logic, a computer program sends new instructions based on specific conditions being met by the player. Also see logic.

brand

Your brand is what helps people easily identify you or your products. As an island creator, working out what your branding is will help your followers recogize and respond to your products. Your brand could be made up of your screen name in Fortnite, a logo that you associate with your projects, a type of game you create (especially if you go for game modes that are out of the ordinary), or all of the above. Another way of putting it is that your brand is what comes to mind when people think of you or your islands.

brand island

Epic has partnerships with various intellectual property (IP) owners to use their brands in game feature sets that creators can use. Examples include LEGO®, The Walking Dead Universe, and Squid Game. The islands created using these assets are called brand islands. Each brand has its own specific set of brand and creator rules.

brawl game

A type of fast-paced game where players or teams do not take turns, but have at each other melee style until the opposition is eliminated.

buff

An improvement to an item or feature that can be applied using game settings, or a positive status effect applied to a player during gameplay. Debuff is the opposite in that it would apply a negative effect. A buff is usually temporary.

bug

1. For Fortnite Creative and UEFN, an incorrect or unexpected behavior in a program.

2. For Verse, a bug is an error in a computer program that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result. Bugs occur during runtime, as opposed to compiler errors, which occur during Verse compile time. The process of identifying and removing bugs is called debugging.  

build

1.   In Game mode, a player can use resources to build barriers for protection and scaffolds to reach high objects or scale walls.

2.    In Create mode, building is when you place props, devices, and other items on your island to build your game mechanics and game environment.  

Build bar

In the bottom-right corner of the Creative screen, you'll find three rows of items. The top row is the Resources bar. The second row is the Build bar. It shows components available for building in-game for games where a player is allowed to build. The bottom row is the Equipment bar.

Build mode

See Create mode.

building course

A game mode where a player has to build on the fly during the game to accomplish the objective. Compare to edit course.

building game

A building game is designed around structures that a player builds out of available resources.

bullet hell

A subgenre of shooter games, bullet hell is a game mode where the entire screen is often almost completely filled with enemy bullets. It is also called curtain fire.

bundle offer

For in-island transactions, a bundle offer is a grouping of offers, with a quantity for each item in the group, that can be purchased as a single unit. Examples could include 100 arrows or 100 arrows + 50 potions. 

A bundle offer might have only one item but include a quantity of that single item to represent a stack of items. 

Like an item offer, a bundle offer's name, description, icon, and price can be defined at either compile time or runtime. 

A bundle offer is created and managed by the developer.

Bush

The Bush is a concealment item that camouflages a player as an inconspicuous bush. If the player wearing it takes any damage, the bush is destroyed, and will not automatically regenerate. The good news is that if a bush takes fire, while it is being destroyed, it also protects the player. It will not, however, protect players against explosions. Its rarity is Legendary.

button

A button is a device that can be configured (set up) to trigger other devices when a player pushes it.

For more on how to use them, see Button Devices.

byte

A unit of computer information made up of eight bits.  

cabined account

If a player indicates they are under 13 or their country’s age of digital consent, whichever is higher, their account will be a Cabined Account and they will be asked to provide a parent or guardian’s email address in order to receive consent to access certain features in Epic’s products. While waiting for parental consent, players will still be able to play Fortnite, Rocket League, or Fall Guys with full access to previously purchased or earned content in-game, but won’t be able to access certain content or features until their parent or guardian provides consent.

cable

Patchwork devices are patched (connected) using cables. These cables are visible in-game. There are different cable types, with different colors and connectors that vary with function.

calibration

When an island that uses accolades is published, it will go through a calibration process to evaluate how often players receive each accolade compared to how long they play. The calibration system requires a number of play sessions over time to make the calculations it needs to accurately calibrate the island. Once calibration is complete, the weights for each level of XP award are determined.

call

When a function is called, the call activates a the function. Calls can happen because of player interactions with devices, or because of time limits. Also see direct event binding.

callout

A callout is a call for a specific game type or mode. Past callouts have covered Music, Winterfest, and Fortnitemares. For each callout, submissions are usually open for 30–60 days. Once the call closes, the submissions are reviewed over the next week or so, and the selected features are then available on the Callout row in Discover. Callouts change periodically.

You can submit your island for a specific callout using the Creative Content Submission Form.

camera offset

With a camera device, the camera view normally centers on its target. The offset is how far from the center the camera view is. The camera can have an offset amount on the L-, U-, or F-axis, and on more than one axis at a time.

camera transition

When you're using multiple camera devices, a transition controls the image change as you move from one camera view to another. Different transition types influence the shift between keyframes:

• Linear The camera view shifts cleanly from one camera to the next, at a constant pace between frames.

• Ease In Makes the transition start slowly then gain speed.

• Ease Out This option slows down the transition before it stops.

• Ease In-Out Combines Ease In and Ease Out, so slow at start, speeding up, then slow to stop at end.

campaign

A Sponsored Row campaign is a time-bound, bid-based object linking a creator’s island to a scheduled daily budget and max bid for prioritizing placement in Discover.

campaign ID

A unique identifier per campaign used for support and reporting in a Sponsored Row campaign.

Campfire

A healing device that adds health to nearby players when active.

For more on how to use campfires, see Campfire Devices.

camping

See spawn camping.

Cannon Spawner

A device that spawns cannons on an island. A cannon can be moved, aimed and shot against structures, buildings, NPCs, or other players, or can be used by players to launch themselves.

For more on how to use these, see Cannon Spawner Devices.

canvas

A canvas is a container widget that holds other widgets. You can position other widgets within the canvas using canvas slots to design a custom UI for a player. When a canvas widget is at the top of the UI hierarchy, it represents the whole screen.

Capture Area

A device you can use to place a zone (area) for a game objective. This could be for item drop-off, where players deliver items to the area, or for capturing the area itself. It is useful for games like King of the Hill or Capture the Flag.

For more on how to use this, see Capture Area Devices.

Capture Item Spawner

A device that spawns capturable items as game objectives. In addition to being a pickup spot, it can also be set up as a drop-off spot. For example, in Capture the Flag, this device can be set up to spawn the team flag and to listen for when the enemy flag is delivered to the spawner. Place the device, then drop items onto the device to register them.

For more on how to use these, see Capture Item Spawner Devices.

career

Your career tracks your play and scores in Battle Royale. You can also set this up in Creative to record your other Fortnite Creative games. See Using the Replay Feature for more info.

CAREER tab

The CAREER tab is accessed from the lobby. The tab gives you access to both your game stats and your recorded games.

carousel

In Patchwork, you can use a carousel to browse through a set of discrete selections on a device.

Compare to knob and stepped knob.

casual

Games that are designed to be less about winning and more about having fun, and where winning isn't the primary strategy.

casual game

Casual games are games with simple rules and short sessions, usually played on mobile devices. Lots of people who engage in casual games do so for stress relief. Casual games usually don't require a lot of skill or practice.

category

1. On the Content tab, categories are a way of grouping items.

2.   Also see game category.  

CCU

Concurrent users (CCU) is the number of players (users) playing on an island at the same time.

cell

A subdivision in the World Partition that is loaded and unloaded based on the location of the streaming source. Cells are based on grid size.

Cell Memory Used bar

On an XL island, when you place a prop, the Cell Memory Used bar shows memory usage for the cell with the highest memory use near the prop. If you do not have a prop in hand, the Cell Memory Used Bar will show values for the cell (grid) with the highest memory cost on your island.

chamfered edge

A transitional edge between two surfaces to ease the appearance of a sharp line or edge. A type of bevel, it uses a 45° angle where the surfaces meet.

Change Destination console

The rift in the Creative hub that takes you to your own islands. Only one rift is a golden rift. This is the only rift that you can customize to create and access your personal islands. Most rifts have a white glow, but your personal rift has a golden glow to distinguish it from the others.

Changing Booth

The Changing Booth device lets a player access their locker while playing a game. Unlike most devices, the Changing Booth cannot be customized. Players will not be able to see the Island or other players while accessing the Changing Booth.

For more on how to use these, see Changing Booth Devices.

chapter

Fortnite Battle Royale releases come in chapters, and each chapter is made up of seasons. A new season drops every two or three months, and brings new outfits, vehicles, weapons, and other gameplay features.

character

In Creative, a character is a fictional avatar that represents the player.

A character can also be a mannequin you can use to display outfits and back bling, or to perform emotes. In this sense, you can use characters in your game as interactable dummies, tyiing their appearance or behavior to actions by the player, or events caused by other devices. For more on this, see Character Devices and Character Device Controller Devices.

Character device

A device that lets you display a character mannequin, then customize its appearance and behavior. You can also use this device with the Character Device Controller to make multiple mannequins look or behave the same.

For more about this device, see Character Devices.

Character Device Controller

A device that can change a group of Character devices to have the same outfit and pose, the same emote, and the same idle animation.

For more on how to use these, see Character Device Controller Devices.

charge attack

An attack that requires the player to accumulate energy, by jumping or running, for example, to increase the force of the attack.

checkpoint

A device that sends a signal to another device when a player or vehicle passes.

cheese strategy

A type of game strategy that requires minimal skill. The word cheese can refer to anything that's cheap or unfair. Standing next to a Player Spawner device and waiting for players to respawn so you can pick them off would be a very cheese move.

chest

In Fortnite, you can use a chest to store items. By adding one or more items to a chest, you can then place the chest and the items it contains on your island, and access the contents later. Chests are an easy way to equip players in-game. After a player finds and searches (opens) a chest, the chest will appear as open. Compare to llama.

Chest and Ammo Gallery

This device provides items to aid players in combat gameplay. You can duplicate the chests, but the contents change for each chest even when duplicated.

For more on how to use this, see Chest and Ammo Gallery Devices.

child entity

An entity that is nested under another entity (its parent entity) in the entity hierarchy.

Chiller Trap

A trap device that freezes a player's feet in a block of ice and causes them to slide, making it difficult to control direction and stopping.

chokepoint

A spot on an island where an area or path narrows, and where one or two players can hide behind cover while a large number of enemies is funnelled toward the defending players.

chord progression

A chord is typically a group of three or more notes played together. Many songs progress through a series of chords to support a melody. The order in which chords are played is called a chord progression. Note that in Patchwork, any sequencer device must have the Monophonic setting Off to play a full chord instead of only one note at a time.

chromatic aberration

Refraction is when light bends as it passes from one transparent substance into another, and affects how objects are perceived. For example. rainbows are the result of refraction. Chromatic aberration is the effect from refraction when different wavelengths of light pass through slightly different angles, resulting in a failure to focus. Depending on the amount of chromatic aberration used in a post-process volume, you will either end up with some blurring around the edges of the scene, or with blurring throughout the entire scene.

chromatic scale

In Western music, most instruments are designed to play twelve notes in an octave. These notes are represented as A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, and G#/Ab, where the # indicates the note is played higher than normal, and the b indicates it is played lower. For example, A# would be the same note as Bb, as the note falls between A and B in a 12-note chromatic scale. A chromatic scale can start at any note, but will follow the same pattern.

Compare to diatonic scale.

cinematic sequence

A sequence is a series of shots that are edited together. A cinematic sequence tells a short story or glimpse into a story much like a movie would.

clamber

See mantle.

Class Designer

A device you can use to define a custom class with unique attributes and inventory loadouts. Each device is used for a single custom class, but you can place multiple Class Designer Devices if you need to design more than one custom class. You can assign attributes in the Customize Class designer interface, and add inventory to the class by dropping items on the device to register them to the class. Class Designer is used with Class Selector.

For more on how to use these, see Class Designer Devices.

Class Identifier

An option on the Class Designer Device setup, this is a number that identifies which class the player will switch to when a Class Selector trigger is activated.

Class Selector

This device creates a zone that, when triggered, will switch a player to a different class. Used with the Class Designer, the Class Selector is used for a single class. You can add multiple devices if you want to make zones for different classes. This device is activated when a player passes through the zone.

For more on how to use these, see Class Selector Devices.

class-based gameplay

This refers to any game designed around a typical paradigm (example) of class — fighter, healer, assassin, and so on.

classes

A type of game that features characters with different abilities or loadouts in the game. Also see class-based gameplay.

clean collision

Some walls and other props have irregular shapes. A player walking past one of these can snag on the shape if they touch it. One way to compensate for this is to put an invisible barrier along such a shape that will help the player slide smoothly along the barrier surface, which gives the illusion they are sliding smoothly along the irregular surface. This is called a clean collision.

click-through rate

See CTR.

clicks

A user's active interaction with a button, tile, or other link. Clicks are recorded to measure engagement. Clicks differ from impressions because a click requires action. Clicks are a key metric for analyzing ad performance because they indicate user interest.

client

A client program, or client, is a software program on a desktop or other device that can access programs and information on a central server. When you download Fortnite, the software running on your computer or device is a client. The multiplayer game software runs on a central server, to which your computer or device is connected. Compare to server.

clip

When a character collides with something, it's called clipping.

clucker

A type of game that prominently features chickens.

co-op

A game that features two or more players working together to achieve a goal.

Code of Conduct menu option

An option on the Game Menu that takes you to the page that explains the Epic Games Community rules. It is accessed from the Game Menu in Creative.

coding

Coding is another word for programming — writing a series of instructions that tells a software program how to operate.

collectible

An object from the Collectibles Gallery that a player can grab. Grabbing one of these objects usually results in scoring points. Each object in this gallery is a device that can be customized for options like how much score is awarded, and who can see the object during gameplay.

collectible object

See collectible.

Collectibles Gallery

A variety of objects that can be used for players to collect during the game. This gallery is available in the Devices category under the Content tab rather in the Galleries category because each item is a configurable device, not a prop.

collection game

A game that focuses on collecting things to win. The game advances each time a player collects an item.

collision

If an asset has collision enabled, this means it is solid to the player's character and the character cannot pass through it. For example, if you place a Barrier around the edge of an island, players are blocked and can't fall off the edge. You can also use collision settings for things you want a player or character to interact with. You can't attack something that doesn't have collision enabled, for example. You can't pick up something that doesn't have collision either — a character's hand just passes through it.

collision primitive

A simple, primitive shape, such as a box or sphere, that can be used to set collision boundaries and other object behaviors.

Color Changing Tile

A device you can use to place a tile that changes color when triggered. To trigger it, a player can step or drive on the tile, and it will change to the team color for that player.

color channel

Digital images are composed of combinations of the primary light colors red, green, and blue (RGB). Each of these colors can be viewed separately on a channel. A black and white image has only one channel.

color grading

Color grading is an effect that you can use to create a mood by subtly altering the appearance of colors. Color grading differs from color correction, which attempts to adjust images to real life colors.

color space

A way of defining how RGB colors are represented on a monitor or device. The color space used can determine how vibrant the colors are, how deep the darks are and how bright the lights and whites are. Compare to gamut.

color temperature

In light, color temperature is measured in Kelvins (K). The higher the number, the cooler (whiter or bluer) the light appears. The lower the number, the warmer (more yellow) it appears. Cooler light can appear brighter, even though Kelvins don't measure actual light output.

combat game

A fighting game that features combat beween two or more players against each other, or against NPCs.

command line interface

A way of bypassing a GUI (graphical user interface) and sending a command directly to a program from a command line prompt. Some applications (UEFN is one) also have a command line interface that accepts command lines. Command lines are most often used by programmers, where it's faster to enter a command directly than to navigate through one or more GUIs.

commit

A commit is when you record a set of changes in code to a version control system.

 In Verse, a commit is when code effects of a failable expression are made permanent after that expression succeeds.  

Common weapon

Weapons are ranked by rarity. The more rare a weapon is, the more Damage it can cause. Common is the lowest rarity in a weapon. It is represented by one star. You can view weapons by rarity by checking the category you want to see on the Weapons category on the Creative Menu.

communication framework

A way of sharing data between different components. In UEFN, this is a communication framework that passes or shares data between components, including a Fortnite DS, a PC game client, an uncooked editor server, and the Fortnite Editor.

competitive

A game type where the goal is to beat other players, either by scoring the most points or by being the last player standing.

competitive race

In Rocket Racing, a competitive race is where all players are on the track at the same time, doing the same number of laps, and the player whose vehicle crosses the finish line first is the winner.

component

1. A  self-contained tile for rendering a piece of terrain. Sometimes components are called cells. Also see World Partition.  

2.  Components are what provide data and behavior to the entities in Scene Graph. Components define what an entity is supposed to be doing in the scene.  

Components have editable properties that can be physical, like a static mesh and particle system, or logical, like a gameplay tag or custom Verse code that defines the movement of a platform. By default, all entities have a transform component to specify where the entity exists in the world.

In Verse, a function or group of related functions in a program that can be reused.

compression

Compression reduces the difference between the loudest and most quiet parts of a track so that the volume is more balanced.

With Patchwork, you can control compression on the Patchwork Speaker device using the compressor settings. This determines the dynamic range of the signal. A hard setting will more aggressively turn down the loud sounds and turn up the quiet sounds.

compressor settings

With Patchwork, compression settings are found on the Patchwork Speaker device.

concurrent users

See CCU.

Conditional Button

A user-generated-content creator — someone who creates content in Fortnite Creative.

configure

To change settings on something so it works the way you want it to. For example, many devices in Creative can be configured to do different things in different situations.

console

1. A console sits next to every portal in Creative. If you're using a keyboard, pressing the E key when you're close to a console opens a screen where you can change the destination for that portal. If you're at your personal portal, you can select from any island you've created, or create a new island. If you're at another portal, you can select from recently visited islands or a list of your favorites, or you can enter an island code provided by a creator.

2. A console is a type of device you can play games on. Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo are consoles. Also see platform.

consumable item

For in-island transactions, with a consumable item, the player receives a defined quantity that is decremented (reduced) on consumption. This could apply to a single offer (with an item of 1) or a bundle offer (with multiple offers).

Examples might be an arrow or a potion, or a bundle offer with a stack of arrows.

consumables

Consumables are items that are either used or consumed by the player, other devices, or weapons. There are several ways consumables are used, and in some cases, the consumable functions differently based on its use. Some consumables can be equipped directly or added to a chest, while other consumables can be added to the Equipment bar and placed from there. Consumables can also be affected by the Infinite Consumables setting. To toggle this on or off, go to Island Settings > Player > Inventory. Comsumable is a subcategory of the Items category under the Content tab.

container

In UEFN, a container is a class that contains properties that can be applied to multiple objects.

In Verse,  a container is a way of organizing data in code. See container type for more info.  

Content Browser

The primary area of UEFN used for creating, importing, organizing, viewing, and modifying content assets within the editor. The Content Browser provides a way to manage content folders.

You can also perform other useful operations on assets, such as renaming, moving, copying, and viewing references. The Content Browser can search for and interact with all assets in the game.

In the Content Browser, you can search and sort assets by type, and you can filter your view of the assets either by choosing specific types of assets in the Filters dropdown list, or by typing text in the Search Assets box.

Content Drawer

The Content Drawer is a special instance of the Content Browser that automatically minimizes when it loses focus (that is, when you click away from it). To keep it open, click the Dock in Layout button in the top-right corner of the Content Drawer. This creates a new instance of the Content Browser, but you can still open a new Content Drawer.

Content Drawer button

This button opens the Content Drawer, from which you can access all of the assets in your project. This button is located in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Content Library

A plugin in UEFN with third-party assets that you can download for free.

content service

The feature that makes it possible to import content from UEFN into Creative.

Content tab

This is where you can find the Creative inventory. The Content tab takes you to a content browser where you can access various categories of items for Fortnite Creative. These categories cover what you can place on your island, such as prefabs and devices. You can access the inventory from Create mode by pressing the m key, or Tab key (when the phone tool is active).

contextual filtering

A feature in some Creative device options that only displays some options if other options are set to specific values. For example, in the Capture Area device, the HUD Element option has to be set to Badge or Both for the Icon options to be selectable.

contrails

The visual that trails off a glider when skydiving into a game. If a player has multiple contrails, they can can select and equip different contrails in their locker.

contrast

In lighting, contrast describes how highlights transition into shadows. The brightest areas of the image are the highlights. The darkest areas are the shadows. In between, the image will have lights, midtones, and darks.

control bus

A modulation source that can be added to an audio source or effect. Assets sent to the same control bus can be modulated as a group by using a control bus mix. In UEFN, the control bus is a way to control certain parameters for one or more sounds.

control bus mix

A mix used to drive values utilized by control buses. In UEFN, can be used to control the volume of groups of sounds when added to an Audio Mixer device.

control point

See chokepoint.

Control Rig

A suite of animation tools you can use to rig and animate characters directly in UEFN

controller

A game controller is an input device for a video game, typically. This could include keyboards and mouses, but usually refer to gamepads, joysticks, and special-purpose devices like steering wheels for driving games and guns for shooting games that are typically used with gaming consoles.

controller rumble

A feature in a game controller that uses haptics to shake the controller at certain points in the game for a more immersive experience. This is also called force feedback.

controls

Controls vary based on the device you're using, but the controls can all be customized in-game. See mapping controls.

cook

To convert data to a format that can be used on a specific platform. Cooked data is data that is basically ready to ship.

A final build is run through a process where the data is organized, and combined into large chunks, compressed, and so on, so that it loads fast. Editor and debug data is not included when data is cooked.

cooked editor

The editor in UEFN where you can create, import and edit props. This is called a "cooked" editor because it uses cooked data, or data that has been converted to run in real time.

cooldown

How long a player has to wait after using a boost or temporary ability before they can use it again.

cooperative

A game type where players work together to accomplish an objective.

core system

The basic system in FN Creative that supports gameplay, user interaction, and how all the parts work together as a whole.

cosmetic track

Cosmetic tracks in Rocket Racing island templates can be alternate tracks, like secondary tracks, or used just to achieve a particular cosmetic look. Players do not spawn on cosmetic tracks, and travel on a cosmetic track doesn't determine play position through a lap. There is no limit to how many cosmetic tracks you use. In Edit mode, these are identified by their color, white.

cosmetics

An umbrella term for things that influence a character's appearance. Cosmettics includes things like outfits, back bling, and gliders.

cost of item

Several devices in Creative can have a cost associated with an item a player removes from the device. Examples include the Item Spawner or the Vending Machine. You can establish the cost — usually in wood, stone, metal, or gold — when configuring the device.

cost per mille

See CPM.

Cow Catcher

A consumable available in Vehicle Mod consumables that equips a four-wheeled vehicle with a tough barrier that can ram through durable buildings. A Cow Catcher has it's own health bar that will deplete before the vehicle can be damaged.

CPM

Cost per mille (CPM) is the cost per 1,000 impressions in a Sponsored Row campaign.

crafting

1. In Fortnite Creative, crafting is the action of exchanging a crafting item for another item or weapon you can directly use.

2.  A game type that focuses on crafting items, or in which players have to craft items for use in the game.

crafting item

An item that the player cannot use directly but can exchange for a different item that they can use.

Crash Pad

  A device that can bounce players and save them from fall damage. This device can be customized.  

Create mode

The Creative toolset has different modes, or ways of doing things. Two primary modes used by island creators are Create mode and Play mode. You can only add things to your island from the Creative inventory when you’re in Create mode. When you first enter your island, you will be in Create mode. In this mode, you can access inventory items and island settings, you can place props and devices on the island, and you can customize devices.

Modifications you make are saved when you exit your island. In some cases, a device that you place on your island in Create mode will only function when you are in Play mode.

Create mode hotkeys

When you're in Create mode on your island, a list of hotkeys displays on the bottom left side of your screen. The list of hotkeys will also change based on what you're doing, and whether you're working with props or devices.

Creative

See Fortnite Creative.

Creative Edit

Creative Edit the act of playtesting your project in Fortnite Creative without leaving UEFN. You can use all of your tools to edit your island. You do this by clicking Launch Session, then Play. This is the equivalent of Create mode in Fortnite Creative in that any edits made to the project are automatically saved.

Creative hub

See hub.

Creative menu

In Creative mode, the Creative Menu is the collection of tabs that includes Quick Menu, Content, Island Settings and Map.

Creative Play

To start the game in the Fortnite client so you can test the player version of an island. This is done by pressing START GAME in Creative. This is the equivalent of Play mode in Fortnite Creative in that no edits are saved.

Creative toolset

All of the tools available for creating a new island experience. This includes everything from starter and template islands to all the resources in the Creative inventory found under the Content tab — props, devices, weapons, and other items. It also includes all of the settings available under Island Settings.

Creative weapons

Weapons that are available only in Fortnite Creative.

creator

See island creator.

Creator Economy 2.0

The collection of economic programs supporting creators participating in Epic's various ecosystems and marketplaces. This includes the Support-A-Creator and Island Creator programs.

Creator Portal

A place where you as an island creator or developer can submit, publish and manage island projects, set up and manage collaborative teams, and view analytic information. For more info, see Join the Fortnite Island Creator & Engagement Program.

creator-made

Games and other experiences available in Fortnite that were made by island creators.

creature

A creature is a non-player character (NPC) that is usually, but not always, an antagonist.

Creature Manager

A device you can use to customize one creature type at a time. You can use this device to set values like the damage a creature can do, and the score awarded when a creature is eliminated.

Creature Placer

A device that you can use to specify where, when, and what kind of creature will spawn, and control its individual activation range. You would use this when you want consistent creature spawning and behavior.

Creature Spawner

In Creative, this device spawns configurable enemies that can attack players.

creatures

A type of game that contains creatures. These creatures can be friendly or aggressive, depending on the gameplay experience.

Credits menu option

Accessed from the Game Menu in Creative, this shows the many people who contributed to creating Fortnite. If you have 15 or 20 minutes to spare, you can watch the entire list, alphabetically by first name. There are a lot of names. This option only shows when you first enter Creative.

crossbow

A type of bow that usually deals more damage than a regular bow. It also shoots arrows.

crosshairs

See reticle.

CSV file

Comma-separated value file is used in tables, and can usually be opened in any table app, such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.

CTF

Short for Capture the Flag. A game type where two or more individuals or teams compete to capture a flag or other objective.

CTR

Click-through rate (CTR) is the ratio of clicks over impressions, measured as a percentage for how many impressions resulted in a click. For example, if your island has 100 impressions and 5 clicks, that is a 5% CTR. CTR measures the effectiveness of your thumbnail and title at capturing player attention and getting players to click. 

cubemap

A cubemap is a simple method of environment mapping, in which distant scenery, such as sckies and surrounding environments, is mapped to a panoramic texture.

cull

To increase performance by reducing the number of objects of any kind from the current view. The bounds of an object are used to test whether it is currently rendered within the frame. Objects that are removed include objects made of polygons, along with their materials, lights, and shadows.

Cupid's Crossbow

Cupid's Crossbow can hold up to five arrows at a time.

currency

Currency is anything you can use as a medium of exchange. Typical currencies used in Creative are resources such as wood, stone and metal, and gold coins.

curtainfire

See bullet hell.

customize device name

See rename a device.

customize options

When you're in Create mode, you can add props and devices to your island. Props cannot be customized, but most devices can. Once you place a device on your island, if it can be customized, press E to open the Customize panel and view the options that can be changed.

Customize panel

For any device that can be customized, pressing E after you place a device will open up a panel where you can see the options you can change.

cutscene

A cutscene, also called a cinematic, is a sequence in a video game that plays without your interaction. Cutscenes usually move a storyline forward. For example, at the beginning of every season in Battle Royale, a cutscene plays that updates you on the background of what the new season is about.

CVar

Console variables, or CVars, are variables that can be set in an .ini file.

Damage

While DPS shows how much damage a weapon can make per second, the Damage description in Weapon details shows how much damage per round or hit a weapon can cause. The potential damage for any weapon is based in part on its rarity.

Damage Amplifier Powerup

A device that gives a temporary increase in ability to deal damage to the player who picks it up or triggers it.

Damage devices

These are devices that inflict damage. Examples include a Damage Rail that inflicts damage when touched, and an Explosive device that can be detonated by players or triggers.

Damage Rail

A Damage Rail will cause a player to lose health if touched. There are two Damage Rails — a Half Damage Rail and a Full Damage Rail. The only difference between the two is that the Full Damage Rail takes up two grid spaces, while the Half Damage Rail only takes up one. Damage Rails cannot be customized.

Damage Trap

When activated by a player, this item will lower the player's health.

Damage Volume

A device that creates a customizable volume (area) that deals damage to players who enter the volume.

Dance Mannequin

The Dance Mannequin is a device that projects a hologram image of a character performing various dance emotes. You can make unique mannequins by combining different character outfits, emotes, and colors.

dB

Short for decibel, a unit used to measure relative loudness of sound. Also see 0dB.

DBNO

See Down But Not Out.

DCC

Digital content creation, or DCC, refers to applications like 3ds Max, Maya, or Blender that you can use to create 3D content.

deadlock

A deadlock is when computer programs sharing the same resource prevent each other from accessing the resource, causing the programs to stop functioning.

deadzone

When you're using a camera device, this is the area where the target can move without affecting the camera. When the target moves to the edge of the deadzone, the camera will start following the target into the new area.

deal damage

When you deal damage, you initiate an attack and cause damage to what you're attacking.

debugging

The process of identifying and resolving errors in your code.

decay

The time it takes from a sound reaching its maximum volume until it reaches its sustain volume.

default

The starting value of any setting in a game.

Default Class Identifier

This is defined by the Class Designer, but other settings can override this.

default outfit

This is the outfit Fortnite provides if you don't apply a custom outfit. If you have a custom outfit, but want to restore to the default:

1. Go to your locker.

2. Click the Outfit icon.

3. Click the X tile. This will load the current default Fortnite outfit.

4. Click Save.

defend

The focus of a defending game is to defend an objective. This could be player against player, or player against NPC.

delay

A time interval that controls how long a device will wait before producing a sound or other output.

deleted island

Deleted Islands are islands that have been deleted.

democratize

To make something more available to everyone. Gaming is becoming more and more democratized, and Fortnite Creative is a way of democratizing game customization. You don't have to be a game designer or programmer to create your own personal game for yourself and others.

depot

Where files are stored when revision control is used.

deprecate

When a feature is deprecated, this means that it is no longer being supported, and will be removed in the near future. This usually happens when the deprecated feature is being replaced by something better.

depth of field

Depth of field, or DoF, describes how much of an image is in focus, and how much of the background is out of focus. When using the Replay mode to capture images or videos from your island, the DoF is controlled by the aperture settings.

design thinking

A method of solving problems by giving the user's needs top priority. Key elements are observation and a clear understanding of human needs paired with creative approaches. It is an iterative process.

despawn

The opposite of spawning, when something is despawned, it is destroyed or removed from the game.

Details panel

The Details panel in the level editor contains information about the properties for various elements. This includes transform edit boxes for moving, rotating, and scaling Actors, editable properties for the selected Actors, and quick access to additional editing functionality (depending on the types of Actors selected in the viewport).

detune

The effect you hear when you tune one tone sharp or flat in relation to another tone. This can produce a fatter sound, or it can produce a harmony effect if the interval of the tuning is wide enough.

dev team

The team of developers who work hard to keep Fortnite and Fortnite Creative an exciting adventure for both players and island creators.

developer

Someone who uses Fortnite tools to author (develop) an island in Fortnite, especially when using UEFN. This term includes Fortnite island developers, artists, and architects. 

developers

The team of designers, programmers and artists who work hard to keep Fortnite an exciting environment for both players and island creators. Thank you, devs!

device

Devices are objects in Fortnite that perform specific tasks intended to control gameplay. 

A device, like a prop, is something you can place on your island. But devices are different from props in that you use them to create player interactions. Different devices do different things, but they all do something.

Think of a device as a package of game mechanics with specific features that can be customized to support your gameplay. Most devices can be customized, but all of them have default settings that determine how they behave even if you don't customize them.

In Verse, a device is the basic building block used to construct game mechanics. A device drives player interactions that control gameplay.

device chain

What you get when you patch two or more devices together in Patchwork.

diatonic scale

In music, a diatonic scale uses seven notes, instead of the twelve notes used in a chromatic scale.

difficulty

Different games can have different levels of difficulty. These range on a scale of difficulty:

• Easy — Designed for any player regardless of skill or ability.

• Medium — Made for anyone, this level of difficulty can require some skill or understanding of game mechanics.

• Hard — Designed for a player who wants a challenge, this level of difficulty takes a high level of skill or understanding of game mechanics.

• Very Hard — Made for players with a good understanding of game mechanics who wants to be challenged.

• Ultra Hard — This level of difficulty provides a challenge for a player will very advanced skill and understanding of game mechanics.

• Impossible — For the players that wants an extreme challenge, this difficulty level takes incredible skill to win.

diffuse

Diffuse reflection scatters light when reflecting off an object. Compare to specular and normal.

diffuse shadows

In UEFN, the premise is that a small but intense light source will provide sharp edges on a shadow, while a larger area light source will have smoother, softer edges.

direct event binding

See binding. 

disable

An enabled device is activated or powered up. A disabled device is deactivated, or powered down. You can also enable specific features by clicking to check a box for that feature, or disable by clicking again to remove the check.

disabled island

Disabled islands are islands that cannot be played, opened, or playtested.

Discord

Discord is a free voice, video, and text chat app used by tens of millions of people ages 13+ to talk and hang out with their communities and friends. Communities are organized around specific areas of interest, from very small (history homework support) to very large (games like Fortnite).

Discover Score

Attraction, engagement, and satisfaction metrics are combined to create a holistic Discover Score that influences For You and Recommendations in Discover. This score aggregates the following metrics over a 96-hour period: uniique players per impression, minutes per player, and fun survey scores.

Discover UI

An option in Fortnite where you can discover both Epic-made and creator-made islands, save your favorites, or enter an island code directly. For more info, see Exploring Discover.

distortion

An audio effect that can simulate the warm sound of a signal being overdriven through an analog tube amp, or an unsettling digital processing and warping.

Different styles of distortion shape the feel of your audio in different ways, evoking various moods and music genres. In Patchwork, the Distortion Effect device is one way you can customize your sound.

domination

A type of gameplay where teams compete to take over, or dominate, a territory or area.

Double Barrel Shotgun

A shotgun that holds two shells.

Down But Not Out

A player who is down but not out has been brought to their knees, but has not yet been fully eliminated or despawned. The Down But Not Out (DBNO) device gives you the ability to customize the DBNO state in your games. With this device, you can change the way DBNO works in your game.

downed player

When a player has been knocked down but not eliminated, they are a downed player. Compare to eliminated player.

DPS

Damage Per Second, or DPS, is a common and simple way to assess the effectiveness of a weapon or other device that inflicts damage. DPS is calculated by multiplying the Damage it causes times its Fire Rate. For example, a Makeshift Submachine Gun has Damage of 19.0 and a Fire Rate of 10.0. 19 x 10 = 190, so this weapon has a DPS of 190.0.

Dragon's Breath Shotgun

A shotgun that holds four shells.

draw call

A draw call tells the graphics API what to draw and how to draw it. Each draw call contains all the information the graphics API needs to draw on the screen, such as information about textures, shaders, and buffers. Draw calls can be resource-intensive, but often the preparation for a draw call is more resource-intensive than the draw call itself.

draw distance

In computer graphics, draw distance (sometimes called render or view distance) is the maximum distance of objects in a three-dimensional scene that the rendering engine will draw. Polygons that lie beyond the draw distance will not be drawn on the screen.

Draw distance requires a limit because a processor that's expected to render objects to an infinite distance would slow the application to an unacceptable speed because of the computing power it uses.

drift

A technique where a car slides through a curve instead of being steered, which makes it possible to go through the curve at higher speeds. The Nitro Drifter is a vehicle in Fortnite that supports drift when you use the Left Shift key on a keyboard or L1 on a controller.

Driftboard Spawner

A device that spawns a rideable hoverboard that a player can use to ride in the air.

drill

A type of charge attack where the player dives forward with a weapon held out in front, and spins like a drill.

drive

When an amp is pushed past the point of clean sound by increasing the gain.

drop

When player items can be picked up while the player is down but not out or when eliminated these items are dropped, not deleted.

dropper

A game mode where the player drops down a long tube or hole, dodging obstacles and avoiding touching the sides. Each level gets progressively harder as the player levels up (or, technically, levels down!).

drum kit

A drum kit is a set of drums and other percussive instruments designed to be played by a single person. A drum kit typically includes a minimum of a bass drum, a tom, a snare, and a cymbal.

dry

In audio, a dry signal or sound refers to a sound before any effects are applied. Compare to wet.

ducking

Audio ducking is the process of compressing (ducking down) the volume of an audio signal when another signal goes above a certain threshold. This technique makes it possible to get more clarity from both audio signals.

In Patchwork, as an example, the SFX ducking control on the Speaker device determines how much the volume will reduce when the speaker is playing.

duo

Two players working together as a team is playing duo. Compare to solo and squad.

durability

In Fortnite, durability refers to a gameplay mechanic where some weapons, tools, or other items have a limited lifespan, and break after a certain time or use. Some game modes allow the player to repair these broken items, while in other modes, they cannot be repaired. 

Durability should not be confused with a durable item.

durable item

For in-island transactions, when a player acquires a durable item, they permanently own it. For example, this could be a furniture item in a game that involves building a house. 

A durable product should not be confused with durability.

dynamic content

Content on a webpage or other platform that is not static (unchanging).

easter egg

An easter egg can be a message, object, image, or other surprise that players can find as they play.

Sometimes easter eggs are also found in glossaries, but you would only know that if you read the whole thing, right?

echo

In audio signal processing, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives to the listener with a delay after the source sound.

economy

Economy is careful management of whatever resources you have available. If you produce more than you use, you have a healthy economy — whether you're talking about a country, a family, or a player in a game. The original meaning of the word referred to the management of a household. Also see economy game.

economy driver

A medium of exchange that drives economic activities in a game. Also see economy game.

economy game

A game that forces a player to engage in some kind of production and exchange activity, and that uses some version of currency. This could be wood, stone, and metal, or gold and silver, or some other medium of exchange.

edge

A line, or two connected vertices.

edit course

A game that contains a track with solid walls, floors, or roofs that the player has to edit to make doors, holes, and so on, in order to continue. This can be things like making changes to obstructing structures, or building new structures for access. Edit courses are sometimes used in a practice game to help players improve their speed in editing built structures.

Edit mode

In UEFN, when you playtest an island, the views of each are distinguished by Edit mode (the view of the UEFN viewport where you make changes, or edits) and Play mode (where the island appears in the Creative client).

edit status

You can edit a built structure in Create mode or in-game by activating the pickaxe, pointing at the structure, then pressing the G key. When a structure is in edit status, it will be highlighted in blue.

editor

An editor is an interface used by a developer to create program code that makes a program work. In UEFN, a tool is a dialog or panel used to perform a specific set of actions or to display information about one or more actors or assets, and an editor is a collection of tools used to edit one or more specific types of assets.

educational

Gameplay focused on teaching the player something. These island experiences can be games or other types of instructional content.

EGS

Short for Epic Games Store.

eliminate

To remove a player from the game.

eliminated player

When a player is taken out of the game completely, they are eliminated. Compare to downed player.

elimination confirmed

A game mode where players collect gold or other collectibles from downed players.

Elimination Manager

The Elimination Manager gives you a way to track eliminations based on player or team. Use this device to set up elimination prerequisites, such as granting a different weapon after a specified number of eliminations. You can also set up item drops and triggers related to eliminations, and filters for how eliminated players are treated.

elimination match

Elimination match is a type of PvP game used in many shooter games, where the goal is to eliminate other players as many times as possible.

elimination score

The score awarded to a player for eliminating another player.

elimination streak

When a player makes multiple eliminations in a row without being eliminated.

emissive material

A self-illuminated material. Material emission is a material property that is written directly into the scene color buffer.

emitter

A key component in a visual effects system, an emitter defines the properties for what will be used to emit (simulate) certain kinds of visual phenomena, like smoke, rain, or explosions.

emoji

See emoticon.

emote

A way of expressing yourself in-game, often as a dance or other movement. You can emote, but the action itself is also called an emote. You can activate your emote in-game by pressing the B key on a keyboard.

emoticon

In Fortnite, emoji and emoticon are used interchangeably. They both refer to a cosmetic item players can equip. Emoticons provide no game advantage. They just look cool.

empty emitter

An emitter that has not yet had its properties defined.

enable

An enabled device is activated or powered up. A disabled device is deactivated, or powered down. You can also enable specific features by clicking to check a box for that feature, or disable by clicking again to remove the check mark.

enemy

Enemies are hostile AIs or bots, or players from an opposing team. Also see hostile.

enemy device

Enemy devices range from a Creature Manager that lets you customize a single creature type to a Sentry that can be customized to attack players.

engagement

For an island creator, engagement refers to the amount of time players spend on your game, and how often they return to play again. 

Engagement metrics focus on how often players return to an island and how long their play lasts. It is measured by daily and weekly retention, minutes played per player, number of unique players, and social play time spent in social parties.

The more player engagement your island gets, the more successful you've been in your design and execution.

engagement loop

See gameplay loop.

entitlement offer

For in-island transactions,  any purchasable item, whether consumable or durable, is an offer when it's made available to the player. Examples could include an arrow, or a single item of furniture in a game that involves building a house.

An offer is for a single item.

An offer name, description, icon, and price can be defined at either compile time or runtime. 

Think of an offer as an item offered at a specific price. A single item could have multiple offers, especially over time. Developers create and control their own offers.

entity

An entity is the base object present in Scene Graph. This is a lightweight class containing two key elements: components and child entities.

entity hierarchy

Grouping entities under one parent entity creates a hierarchical structure with child entities under the parent entity, and causes the parent entity to control the lifetime of all the entities nested beneath it.

Environment Lighting Rig device

A device in UEFN that that you can use for individual lighting rig sets to create custom lighting, volumetric clouds, time of day lighting, and so on.

Epic ecosystem

See Fortnite ecosystem.

Epic Games

Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment, 3D engine technology, and digital ecosystem company. One of its most well-known products is Fortnite, an online game released in 2017 and played around the world by people of all ages.

Epic Games account

Use your Epic account to verify your identity and connect with your friends through gaming-related third-party products or services, including websites, games, and apps. Go here to get an Epic account.

Epic Games display name

Your Epic Games display name is the name that appears on your account on the Epic Games Launcher, and when you play any Epic games on PC/Mac, Switch, or mobile.

Epic Games Launcher

A downloadable app that supports purchasing, downloading and playing games developed with Unreal Engine, and is available across a wide range of platforms. The launcher also gives you access to professional game-development tools, free training videos and courses, and many other resources.

Epic Games Store

Epic Games Store, or EGS, is a feature on the Epic Games Launcher site where you can buy games and occasionally download free ones.

Epic weapon

Weapons are ranked by rarity. The more rare a weapon is, the more Damage it can cause. Epic is above average in rarity and has four stars. You can view weapons by rarity by checking this subcategory on the Weapons category on the Creative Menu.

Epic-made

Games and other experiences available in Fortnite that were made by Epic Games.

equip

To provide items needed for a specific use. You can equip your island with structures and devices, and you can equip players with weapons and items that they can use in the game.

Equipment bar

In the bottom-right corner of the Creative screen, you'll find three rows of items. The top row is the Resources bar. The second row is the Build bar. The bottom row is the Equipment bar. This is where a player can equip from weapons and consumables placed on the island.

escape game

A game where the player must escape something. This might be done by solving puzzles, avoiding traps, or running away from something really, really fast.

escort payload

A game type where your mission is to escort a payload (usually a truck) to its destination, defending it from attacks and removing obstacles that could stop its progress. If you're on the other side, the mission would be to stop the payload and eliminate its escorts.

ESDF

An alternative to WASD keys .

esport

Sort for electronic sports, esport is a multiplayer video game where players — usually professional gamers — play competetively in front of an audience. Esports competitors can play individually or as teams.

estimated impressions

The estimated number of impressions expected in a Sponsored Row campaign based on duration, budget, and bid. 

event

Events are things that trigger functions. Functions are things that devices do when triggered. This is the basis of the mechanics you use to create gameplay.

Compare to function.

In Verse, an event is an action or occurrence that can be identified. For example, the Button device has the InteractedWithEvent, which occurs whenever a player interacts with the button. You can define behavior that results for a specific event by subscribing with an event handler.

event handler

An event handler is what responds to a bound event. For example, binding a function to a Button device's InteractedWithEvent will call the event handler every time the button is interacted with.

event of force majeure

A natural catastrophe, pandemic, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, war, municipal ordinance, state or federal law, governmental order or regulation, or any other similar cause beyond someone's control that adversely affects their services or rights to to keep an agreement made. This is a legal term.

evergreen content

Evergreen refers to something that stays relevant, interesting and useful over time without becoming dated or irrevelant. Evergreen content in a game or on social media provides an experience that users will want over and over.

experience

In Fortnite, you can build games and other types of interactive experiences, such as instructional tours, museums, or demonstrations. Collectively, these are all experiences.

ExperienceSettings

See Island Settings.

exploit

1. (n) A design or programming flaw in a game. It is considered poor sportsmanship to take advantage of an exploit to win a game.

2.  (v) To take advantage of a design or programming flaw and use it to unfairly win.  

exploration

A game where players can explore areas for specific objectives, like looking for loot or resources.

explosive

Any of several configurable explosive devices that can be detonated manually or by triggers.

Explosive Barrel

A placeable barrel device that can be detonated by triggers, or through dealing damage. You can customize an Explosive Barrel so it damages a player or the environment, and control the size and amount of damage from the explosion.

explosive weapon

Any weapon that shoots exploding projectiles.

explosives

A game that features a large number of exploding objects, like grenades or exploding barrels.

exposure compensation

A way to control how dark or light a scene is.

extrude

When you extrude a model, you are extending the top face in a direction.

eye of the storm

Eye of the storm, or storm eye, is another name for storm circle.

F-axis

In a 3D space (real or virtual), the F-axis represents horizontal forward/backward (or north/south) movement. Also see axis.  

face

A surface comprised of three or more connected edges. The side of a cube can contain a single face, or multiple faces. Each face can be extruded.

fall damage

Damage a player receives from falling.

Fall Guys

Fall Guys is a cross-platform massively multiplayer party royale game, developed by Mediatonic and published by Epic Games where you and your fellow contestants compete through escalating obstacle courses until only one victor remains.

falloff

A gradual reduction in something over space or time. This term could apply to lighting, terrain, or sound, for example.

fashion

A game where players compete to be chosen as the best outfit by a judge.

FBX

FBX (Filmbox) is a proprietary file format (.fbx) developed by Kaydara and owned by Autodesk since 2006. It is used to provide interoperability between digital content creation applications. FBX is also part of Autodesk Gameware, a series of video game middleware.

feedback

A loop that occurs when a mic picks up sound from a speaker and sends it out again through the speaker, where it can once again get picked up by the mic. The Echo Effect device has a feedback control that simulates this kind of audio feedback look to distort the audio output.

FFA

FFA stands for free-for-all. For example, see team FFA.

field of view

Field of view, or FOV for short, is how much of the world a player can see at any given moment.

With a camera device, field of view refers to what the camera (and by extension, the player) can actually see. The field of view is represented as an angle, and is measured in degrees. Angles are two lines that join at a point called the vertex. With cameras, the vertex is the lens (virtual in this case) of the camera. The arms of the angle spread up and down (the vertical axis) from that vertex. The higher the number of degrees, the wider the angle, and the more the camera can see.

fiend

A hostile creature.

fill light

A secondary source of light in a scene that doesn't change the character of the key light. Fill lights are used primarily to lighten shadows.

film grain

A visual effect that simulates old stock film for a more cinematic look.

filter

In audio signal processing, a filter determines which sound frequencies are heard. Different filters process audio in different ways. For example, a low-pass filter allows lower frequencies to be heard while reducing or eliminating higher frequencies.

fire rate

How quickly a weapon can fire again after it is shot. This is measured in rounds per second (RPS).

first person mode

In first person mode, the player's perspective is as though they were looking through their avatar's eyes. With this camera mode, the player usually can't see their avatar's body, but can see their hands or weapons.

first-person shooter

A type of shooter game where the player plays from a first-person perspective in a three-dimensional space. in an FPS, the player can move within the space.

Fixed Angle Camera

A camera device that follows the player around the world, without rotation like the Fixed Point Camera. This camera type is useful for players exploring an open area.

Fixed Point Camera

A device that positions a camera from a fixed position. You can place the camera on a stationary spot and the camera won't move from that spot. However, it can pivot towards a look-at point. This camera is useful when a player is inside a building or in conversation with an NPC.

FK rigging

FK (Forward Kinematics) is how the positions for different parts of a model at specified times are calculated for both position and orientation. FK refers to the effect on the child nodes as the parent moves or rotates. Compare to IK rigging.

Flashlight

Although it inflicts no damage, the Flashlight is considered a ranged weapon.  

flavor text

A phrase or sentence that adds to the "flavor" of the game. While flavor text does not impact the game mechanics, it provides atmosphere and lore. You can find flavor text in game descriptions, on billboards, and other spots that contribute to the game's backstory. Flavor text is usually very brief.  

float value

A float value is a value based on a floating point number. This is a positive or negative whole number with a decimal point. For example, 5.1, 0.25, and -122.333 are all floating point numbers, but 76 and 0 are not. These are called floating point numbers because the decimal point can "float" to any position necessary.

fly mode

In fly mode, you can move quickly through your island while in Create mode, with a view of the island below. You can also place props on the island while in fly mode. Double-tap your jump key to start flying, and double-tap again to stop fly mode. On a keyboard, your default jump key is the spacebar. Also see phase.  

flythrough

A video that quickly shows a landscape from an overview perspective.

FN

Short for Fortnite.

FN BR

Short for Fortnite Battle Royale.

Foley

Sound effects created in post for film, video, or gaming. It's capitalized out of respect for Jack Foley, the man who invented many of the techniques still used.

force feedback

  See controller rumble.  

Fortnite

An ecosystem of islands that includes games and other experiences. Some islands, like Battle Royale, are Epic-made games, but Fortnite also includes creator- and developer-made islands, with concerts, events, and just about every genre of game imaginable by developers and creators in the Fortnite creator community.

Fortnite creation tools

The expanded resources available to Fortnite island creators. These include the Creative toolset, Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and the programming language Verse. These tools integrate to help creators build customized games and other island experiences.

Fortnite Creative

Fortnite Creative is a sandbox game where you can create and save a private island. On your island, you can place or build structures, add landscaping and other props, and use devices to control, direct, and influence the player experience. As an island creator, you can also invite other players to play on your island.  

Fortnite creator

Another name for island creator.  

Fortnite creator community

This community includes all of the people involved in making experiences in Fortnite — creators. developers, and the hard-working, game-loving people at Epic Games.

Fortnite DS

A Fortnite-dedicated server is a technical component for UEFN. Downloading projects directly from Creative is possible when a dedicated server is live with the project.

Fortnite ecosystem

An ecosystem is a complex system of interconnected parts. The Fortnite ecosystem includes a collection of tools, services, marketplaces, distribution platforms, communities, and experiences, as well as game developers, publishers, hardware developers, streaming services, creators, and players who use them.  

Fortnite island

Any of the islands available in Fortnite. Some are Epic-created, and new islands are added daily by island creators using the Creative toolset.  

Fortnite Item Shop

The Item Shop in Fortnite is where you can purchase Battle Passes, special offers and bundles, and new weapons, outfits, and other cosmetics.  

Fortnite Zero Build

A no-build game where players focus on sharpshooting and quick reactions without any in-game building.  

FOV

See field of view.  

FPS

See first-person shooter.  

frame rate

Frame rate, or fps (frames per second) for short, is the number of frames that appear in any kind of streaming content per second. While streaming videos and broadcast TV usually use a frame rate of 24 fps, streaming games usually use a higher rate of 30 or 60 fps. You can adjust the frame rate in Creative by pressing the Tab key, then under Menu, clicking Settings > Video > Frame Rate Limit, and selecting a different frame rate.  

free-for-all

Any elimination game with more than two players but no teams, and with all players pitted against each other. In a free for all, all players usually start with the same loadout instead of getting weapons through chests.

friendly

1. A friendly is a player or AI that's friendly, or on the same side of, another player or team. Friendly players are on the same team. Hostile players are on opposing teams.

2. A game mode where the focus is on shared experiences and there is no combat or rivalry.

full island tutorial

A set of instructions that takes you on a deep dive into the mechanics of how to build a specific game type. These tutorials usually include an island code where you can go to a sample island to see what the player experiences with the game mechanics fully in place. The tutorial itself in a step-by-step guide to creating a game with those mechanics.  

function

Functions are things devices do. This includes starting or stopping actions or conditions, changing player attributes, and customizing gameplay in other ways. For a device function to be triggered, you have to bind it to an event on another device. This is how you use devices to create gameplay.

Compare to event.   

gain

While gain and volume are closely related, there are differences. Volume is how loud something is, while gain is how much an audio signal is increased by an amplifier. Adjusting the volume does not affect the waveform. However, increasing the gain does, and this can cause distortion.  

gallery

In Creative, a gallery is a collection of items. Each gallery has a theme, and each can contain one or dozens of items. Depending on the type of gallery, the items can be used to build other things: landscapes, structures, and so on.

game

1. Play that lasts until the win condition is met by a player or team for that game. A game can consist of one round or multiple rounds.  

2. In the broadest sense, a game is a form of play with rules, interaction, and goals or objectives. A good game invites participation and provides challenge for the player.

Game Channel

In-game, you can switch between chat channels using the Social menu: Party Channel connects players in the same party (queued up in the lobby together). Game Channel connects players on the same team but in different parties (filled into a team-based game mode).

game client

A game client in multiplayer video games connects an individual user to the main game server.  

game controller

See controller.  

game countdown

When a game starts, the players spawn and are locked in place for a countdown — usually three seconds. This is the game countdown phase.  

Game Data folder

Game data includes any game or user info that's generated through use. The Game Data folder is where this info is stored.

game end

After the last round has completed (or a game end has been triggered by other means) the game end state begins. An overall winner is declared and players are shown the end screen.  

game genre

A game genre is a specific type of game experience. Think of the genre as a broad category of similar games. Examples of genres include shooter, racing, or puzzle games. If shooter games is the genre, then within that genre you would have sub-genres like elimination match or first-person shooter. Sometimes a game can belong to more than one genre.  

game mechanics

What the player can do in a game (running, jumping, and flying, for instance), what a player needs to do to win (collect objects, solve a puzzle, or stay alive longest as examples), and any other basic rules that should be followed.

game mode

In Fortnite, mode is about who can play, and how. For example, for some games you can pick a mode for how many players are on your team: solo, duo, trio, or squad. Another mode option is where the game is public or private.

game phase

A phase is a separate part of something. There are three distinct game phases: pre-game (players are loaded in but the match hasn't started), warm-up (the three-second countdown at the beginning of the match), and gameplay (when the game is running). Game phases are a subset of game states.  

game start

See game states.  

game states

A game state is the stage, or state, a game is in at any point. This would include Create mode, Play mode, Lobby (pre-game), Warm-Up, Game Start, In Progress, Round End, and Game End.  

game type

See game genre.  

gameboard

The surface on which a game is played. Traditionally, the term gameboard has applied to tabletop games. However, it is becoming more common to use it to describe video game levels. In video game development, gameboard levels can be split into different areas or zones, with different shapes, arrangements or terrains. As with tabletop gameboards, players can move characters or objects around the board (level) to progress through the game.

gameplay

The way a game is played — the rules, objectives, and (where there is one) the storyline. Gameplay can also include strategies for winning. Game mechanics is a part of gameplay.  

gameplay example

An instructional example of how to combine devices to make different components and interactions in a game or other experience. While a full island tutorial shows you how to create a complete game from start to finish, a gameplay example focuses on a specific game mechanics or set of related mechanics for a specific aspect of gameplay.  

gameplay loop

A gameplay loop is the experience a player goes through, over and over, until the objective is reached. A good gameplay loop would include a player action, a reward or some other feedback for that action, and an expansion of that reward or feedback through repeated action. This could mean more loot, better weapons, more knowledge revealed, or other incentives to continue the player's engagement. The gameplay loop is the core experience of a game, and the thing that keeps players coming back for more.

gameplay phase

The phase when a game is running. See game phase.  

gameplay tag

Gameplay tags are conceptual, hierarchical labels with user-defined names. These tags can have any number of hierarchical levels, separated by the "." character; for example, a gameplay tag with three levels would take the form of "Family.Genus.Species", with "Family" being the broadest identifier in the hierarchy, and "Species" being the most specific.

For more info, see Gameplay Tags.

gamertag

Your Epic Games display name.  

gaming

A broad term that covers any type of video game across all platforms.

gamut

Color gamut is a way of describing a range of colors that can be used within a color space. Available gamuts are determined in part by the number of colors a monitor can display. A wide gamut is a larger color space.

gank

When one player is overwhelmed and eliminated by a group of players or NPCs.  

GBL

Short for game-based learning, GBL is an educational approach for using games to engage students and make learning fun.

genre

See game genre.  

geometry

See level geometry.

glide

Glide determines how long it takes to blend to a new pitch when a note is played.

glider

A glider is used in Fortnite when first landing on an island, or when jumping or falling from a high spot. You can change the appearance of your glider much the same way you'd change an outfit. Note that in Creative, you can set player spawners that deploy a player directly onto the island without having to fall or glide in.  

global illumination

Provides more realistic lighting in your scene by using algorithms that account for both light originating from a light source and reflections off of nearby objects.

global settings

The Patchwork Music Manager device provides global control over three user settings: tempo (in beats per minute, or bpm), key, and major or minor mode. Changing any of these will globally affect other devices. For example, the global key can shift the notes shown on a Note Sequencer device.  

glTF

This file format name comes from Graphics Language Transmission Format. It is a standard file format for 3D scenes and models. A glTF file uses one of two possible file extensions: .gltf (JSON/ASCII) or .glb (binary). Both .gltf and .glb files can reference external binary and texture resources. Alternatively, both formats may be self-contained by directly embedding binary data buffers (as base64-encoded strings in .gltf files or as raw byte arrays in .glb files). This is an open standard developed and maintained by the Khronos Group, and it supports 3D model geometry, appearance, scene graph hierarchy, and animation.

GOAT

The greatest of all time, or GOAT, is a term that refers to someone or something amazing. If someone says you're goated, take it as a high compliment.

gold

A resource that can be used in-game as a currency or to fill other register requirements.  

golden path

A golden path is a procedure that doesn't go off in unexpected directions. Think of it as the straightest line from point A to point B.

Another definition for golden path is playing or testing a game using cooked data with a dedicated server and client running separately, not via play-in-editor (PIE). This is the closest you can get to testing exactly what will happen in-game.

golden rift

The rift in the Creative hub that takes you to your own islands. Only one rift is a golden rift. This is the only rift that you can customize to create and access your personal islands. Most rifts have a white glow, but your personal rift has a golden glow. Also see personal rift.  

graffiti

See spray.  

grant

To grant means to give or allow something. You can grant items into player inventories automatically during a game or grant power-ups or boosts for increased attributes or increased damage. You can also grant items from devices such as the Vending Machine.  

grappler

A grappler is a utility weapon that launches a plunger when fired. If it connects to a surface, it will pull the player up and toward it. Players can use this to quickly move both vertically and horizontally.

grayboxing

Grayboxing (also known as blockout) is the process of making a playable rough draft of a level to get a sense of its gameplay before polishing its look. It's common for level designers to graybox a game environment to test its layout for gameplay purposes.

grenade

One of any number of throwable weapons. For example, the Chiller Grenade encases a player's feet in ice, while a Shockwave Grenade causes knockback to anyone within range — including the thrower!

Grenade Launcher

A rifle that shoots grenades.

greybox

See grayboxing.  

grid

A level is marked with lines in a grid pattern. You can use these grid lines to position props and devices, and to measure distances. Each grid area is called a tile. Grids are measured in UUs, and one tile equals 512 UU.

grid plane

A grid plane is an area that cannot be edited, but that you can place objects on. If you're going to create custom terrains, you need to remove the grid plane(s) in your project before you can do this. To select a grid plane, make sure you're in Selections Mode, then click on the grid. It will now have a yellow border. To remove the selected grid plane, press the Delete key. Also see Landscape Streaming Proxy.

grid snap

UEFN inherits its grid-snapping values, known as Unreal Units (UU), from Unreal Engine (UE) for all actors. Inside UE, 1 UU is equal to 1 centimeter (CM). This means smaller snap values cause the actor to snap in smaller increments, or alternatively, larger snap values cause actors to snap in larger increments. This is the opposite of how grid snapping works in Fortnite, where the smaller the grid-snapping value, the larger the incremental snap.

However, Building Actors do use the Fortnite grid snapping values. You can enable and disable Fortnite grid-snapping properties in World Settings by toggling Editor Cell Snap on and off for Building Actors. Changing your grid snapping levels does not affect non-Building Actors.

griefing

If one player intentionally disrupts another player's game for personal pleasure or potential gain, this is called griefing.  

Grind Powerup

A device that makes the player who picks it up slip and slide as they run.

grinding

When a player focuses on looting only item drops, this is called grinding.  

ground pound

A type of charge attack where the player jumps into the air, performs an aerial flip, then slams their weapon down with increased force.  

Guard Spawner device

The Guard Spawner can spawn a group of enemies that patrol an area to protect it from players. Like sentries, guards have a detection system. This means players can disguise themselves or engage in stealth tactics, which gives players more strategic options for gameplay. Unlike sentries, however, guards will act as a team to attack players, or help other guards on their team.

gun fight

A game that specifically focuses on combat using guns.

gun game

In a gun game, each player starts with the same gun, but after eliminating another player, the gun will change. Once a player has gone through all of the guns available, they are the winner.

Hand Cannon

A handgun that holds 7 bullets.

haptics

Haptics is a technology used to enhance a game experience by adding a tactile sensation — usually vibrations — in sync with an event in the game. Haptics, sometimes called game rumble, is generally delivered through the controller.  

hardcore

Refers to any game where a player will not respawn if eliminated.

harmony

A combination of notes played at the same time that make up a chord. Compare to melody.  

harvest

To collect or gather crafting items during a game. Harvested items can't be used directly, but can be exchanged for other items.  

harvesting tool

The tool a player uses in-game to harvest resources like wood, stone, and metal. The default harvesting tool is the Pickaxe.  

hazard

Any device or item that can damage a player. This would include things like storms, enemy NPCs, and traps.  

HDR

High dynamic range, or HDR, expands the range of dark and light tones on a display for more vibrant and lifelike images.

heal

To restore health to a player or object.  

Healing device

A device that heals players. In Creative, Campfire is an example of a healing device.  

health

A player's health is a measurable quantity. This quantity can be lowered by taking damage during a game. If the player's health drops low enough, the player will despawn or be eliminated. Health can be increased by interacting with some devices and items. Health can also be applied to other things, such as vehicles, or anything else that can be harmed or destroyed.  

health bar

A bar in the HUD that shows a player's health.  

health points

See HP.  

Health Powerup

A device that regenerates a player's health, their shields, or both. Also see Powerup.  

health regen

Health regeneration, or health regen, is a feature that allows a player to take damage, then regain (regenerate) their health if they wait without taking more damage.  

Heat Map

On XL islands, the Heat Map shows a color-coded representation of the cells on your island that indicates the memory used in each cell.  

heavy bullets

An ammo type for weapons that use high-caliber bullets, typically used in sniper rifles.  

heightmap

A raster image (two dimensional) used for elevation modeling. Each pixel stores values, such as surface elevation data, for display in 3D computer graphics. Heightmaps are widely used in terrain rendering software and modern video games, and are ideal for storing digital terrain elevations; compared to a regular polygonal mesh, they require substantially less memory for a given level of detail.

Helicopter Spawner

A device that spawns helicopters onto an island.

hero shooter

Hero shooter is a subcategory under shooter games, with players select pre-set characters (heroes) that have distinctive attributes, skills, weapons, and abilities.  

heroes

A game mode where the player characters have special, superhero-like abilities

hide and seek

A basic hide-and-seek game is usually on a fairly complex island with lots of places for players to hide. You can add combat elements by providing weapons to seekers, hiders, or both. You can also equip hiders with a Prop-O-Matic weapon, which expands the potential number of hiding spots to a whole new level.  

hierarchical

Having clear levels or hierarchies of rank, importance, or control. Common hierarchical relationships are parent/child or superclass/subclass.

Hierarchical Level of Detail

Hierarchical Level of Detail (HLOD) decreases the amount of detail on assets as the player camera moves further away from them. This contributes to managing memory more effectively. Also see LOD.

high-tier

In gaming weaponry, a high-tier weapon would be one that inflicts more damage, has better aim, or other features that make players want to equip it.

hit points

See HP.  

hitbox

The geometry that indicates collision boundaries. In Fortnite, a hitbox registers damage and drops a resource to the player that damages it.  

HLOD

Hierarchical Level of Detail (HLOD) decreases the amount of detail on assets as the player camera moves further away from them. This contributes to managing memory more effectively. Also see LOD.

holoscreen

An informational device that creates a holographic screen that can display text and images.

horde

A large group of enemies.

horde game

A game mode where individuals or teams defend against hordes of enemies and eliminate as many as possible. Zombie horde games are a popular type of game in this mode.  

horizontal composition

In adaptive music, horizontal composition, or resequencing, is where segments of music can be resequenced based on player actions or other triggers. Unlike vertical composition, where a basic music track plays continuously while other elements are added to or removed from it, the musical segments used in horizontal composition are separate from each other.  

horror game

Any game that features a horror theme designed to scare players. Elements might include dark locations, scary sound effects, moving props, and spooky storylines.

hostile

A hostile is a player or bot that's against a player or team. Friendly players are on the same team. Hostile players are on opposing teams.  

hotbar

See quick bar.  

hotfix

A small piece of code that can be replaced directly in a live game or playtest. These are usually things like CVars.

hotkey

A hotkey is a key or key combination that provides quick access to a specific function. These are also called shortcut keys or key bindings. Also see Create mode hotkeys.  

A key or combination of keys that provides quick access to a function. Also see Create mode hotkeys and mapping controls.  

Hover Platform

A device that you can use as a foundation for building something in the air.

hoverboard

Accessible from the Driftboard Spawner device, this is a device that a player can ride in air.  

HP

Short for hit points, this is how much attack a player or object can take before it is eliminated or destroyed. It is sometimes called health points.

hub

he hub is where you can access your existing islands in Create mode or start new ones.  

HUD

The heads-up display, or HUD, is a status bar that shows the player information during a game, such as the character’s health and possessions, ammunition indicator, and the score or game progression. It's a heads up because you can see the info on your screen without looking away from the game. It also gives you a heads-up or warning when certain player resources are running low.  

HUD Controller

A device that you can use to show or hide parts of a player's HUD, or to turn off the HUD elements completely.  

HUD marker

A marker that appears above some devices, such as Objective devices. Information displayed in a marker is usually customizable.

HUD message

A customized message that displays on the HUD at a specific point in the game.  

HUD Message device

The device used to create and place a HUD message. The device uses timers and triggers to control when players see messages.  

hurdle

With the hurdle feature active, players automatically hurdle over or onto obstacles when sprinting into them. You can turn hurdling on or off using the Allow Hurdling option in the Settings tab of My Island, and with the Class Designer or Team Settings & Inventory devices. Existing islands have Allow Hurdling set to Off by default.  

hype

Something that creates excitement. Sliding is a hype move, or Check out the hype Zero Build game.

Hyperwallet

A digital way of issuing payouts.

icon picker

Some devices have options that can display information in the HUD. For those devices, you can also pick an icon to go with the text.  

iconography

Graphic symbols (icons) used to convey information. An icon communicates in a visually recognizable way in a game, and can represent a quality or an action.

IK rigging

Kinematics is the study of motion. Inverse Kinematics, or IK, is the process in 3D animation that uses joint articulation to create both poses and movement. Rigging is how these poses and movements are mapped to a skeletal mesh.

immersive experience

To fully immerse players, game developers use realistic actions that blend in with the environment they create.

impression

An impression is a player view of your island thumbnail. To be counted as an impression, your island's thumbnail must be 100% visible on the screen and viewable for two seconds or more. If a player clicks your thumbnail, even if it's not fully visible or does not appear for the full two seconds, the impression will still count as an impression based on the click-through result.

impressions-to-clicks-to-plays

The impressions-to-clicks-to-plays flow for an island involves generating awareness (impressions), capturing interest (clicks), and driving action (plays).

in-game

Refers to anything that happens while a game is in progress, or when the player is in Play mode.  

in-game resolution

Resolution is the number of pixels per inch that display on a monitor. While different consoles have different resolution settings, a video game runs at its own in-game resolution regardless of console settings. What this means is that the in-game resolution directly affects performance. Higher in-game resolution causes the GPU to work harder to render more pixels, resulting in lower frame rates. Console resolution does not affect gaming performance.

increment score

When a score is set to be awarded on an incremental base, this means the score will increase based on the increment value. For example, if the base is 5, then each score awarded will be based on 5 — so 5, then 10, then 15, and so on.

infantry rifle

A rifle that holds up to 10 bullets.

infection

A game where one or more people start as infected and have to pass this on to other players by touching them.

infinite ammo

A way of configuring certain weapons so players will never run out of ammo while playing.

Infinity Blade

A melee weapon, the Infinity Blade has Mythic rarity (the most rare).  

influencer

In social media, an influencer is someone who's established a reliable reputation for expert knowledge on a specific topic. They usually make regular posts on their preferred social channels, and have large, enthusiastic followings of people who are interested in their opinions.

Informational devices

Informational devices include a timer, a scoreboard, a customizable billboard, and several other devices that can be used to provide information to players.

ingredients list

A list of props or devices needed to copy a gameplay example or island tutorial.  

INI file

A file that contains configuration information for computer software. INI is short for initialization, which is the assignment of an initial value when a program launches.

instance

Think of an instance as a unique copy of an asset. The original asset determines the default properties of any new instance you create. Changes you make to the properties for an instance don't affect the original asset. For example, you can change a material to have a different appearance without changing the master material. This would be a material instance.

In Verse, an instance is to create a variable, specify its identifier and type, which is called declaring a variable, and assign a value to the variable, which is called initializing.

instantiate

To create an instance of something.

In Verse, instantiate is to to create an instance or value of a data structure or type such as a class or structure. Also see archetype instantiation.

instigator

An instigator is an event that causes, or instigates, a function to occur. An instigator is often triggered by a player's actions.  

intellectual property

An idea, invention, or process that comes from the mind or intellect, and that can be protected through copyright. This could include creations like characters, music, and stories.

interval

The difference in pitch between two notes. From C to D would be a step interval, or one step up in the scale. From C to E would be a skip interval, skipping a step from one note to the next.

Invasion weapon

Any of several weapons with mysterious alien origins. These include the Kymera Ray Gun, the Pulse Rifle, the Rail Gun, and the Recon Scanner.

inventory

1. Creative inventory is where you find structures, props, devices, weapons, and other things that you can place on your island to make it look great or to set up how your game will be played. Creative inventory can include any object or item that you can add to your island. You can only get to inventory, though, when you’re in Create mode by going to the Content tab.  

2. Inventory can also refer to things that players are equipped with in-game, such as weapons and consumables.  

invert

To turn something upside down or in the opposite direction.

invoice

A snapshot of the full offer that is presented to a specific player. It includes a final price. The invoice can only be purchased once and will expire after a short time. If purchased successfully, the invoice info will be propagated to the purchase record.

IP

See Intellectual Property.  

IRL

In real life, that stuff outside the metaverse.

island

In Unreal Editor for Fortnite, you are building islands. In UEFN, these islands are sometimes called levels.

island code

A code provided in Creative that you can share with other players who can, in turn, use this code to access your island. Codes are provided for published islands.

island creator

Someone who makes custom content for Fortnite Creative, who combines a passion for games with a powerful collection of tools to build their own new islands that they can share with friends and followers. As an island creator, your only limits are how well you know your tools — and your imagination!

Island Creator program

The Island Creator program is specifically for creators and developers who make islands in Fortnite. It enables participants to publish islands and receive engagement payouts. Also see Creator Economy 2.0.  

island template

In Unreal Editor for Fortnite, an island template is basically an empty island with terrain or other environmental features, much like the starter islands available in Fortnite. These templates are available on the Project Browser screen in UEFN.

island theme

Each starter island in Fortnite has a visual theme. For example, Arctic Island is a snowy area with some mountains, while Wasteland Island is a flat, sandy desert. Props are designed to work with different island themes. When you start adding objects to your island, they should stay within a similar theme. For example, it might be a little wierd to put palm trees on an arctic island, or an arctic test lab on a desert island. Themes extend throughout all of the objects and items that you can place on the island.  

island tutorial

See full island tutorial.

item

An item is anything a player can collect and use to do things in the game.

For UEFN, an item is an object that can be owned and used by players and agents.   

On the Creative Menu Content tab, items are distinguished from prefabs, galleries, devices and weapons, and contain many subcategories.  

item drop

When a player is eliminated, any items the player is carrying are dropped. In some cases, these items can be picked up by other players

Item Granter

A device that automatically places items directly into a player's inventory during a game. Compare to Item Spawner.  

Item Spawner

A device in Creative that, when placed, lets you register items on it by dropping them on the spawner. While an Item Granter adds items directly into a player's inventory, an Item Spawner drops an item on the island when triggered, and the player must pick it up.

For more info, see Item Spawner Devices. Also compare to Capture Item Spawner Devices.

Items category

In Create mode, pressing the Tab key will open the Content tab for the Creative Menu. The [Items (#item) category includes a wide selection of assets, from ammo to world resources.  

jank

Not working consistently or properly. If a game is janky, it's glitchy or buggy, or has other wierd issues. Anti-jank is the quest of every game builder to remove the janks and create a smooth and rewarding player experience.

jewel thief

A game mode where players capture an enemy team jewel and bring it back to their own base. It's similar to capture the flag, but with jewel instead of flag.  

job simulation

A simulation game with a specified theme.  

jump

In Rocket Racing, the jump button causes the vehicle to jump off the ground.

just for fun

A game designed just for fun. Think of it as low-stress gameplay.

K-DOP

K-DOP is a type of bounding volume where K is the number of axis-aligned planes, and DOP stands for discrete oriented polytope. It takes K axis-aligned planes and pushes them as close to the mesh as possible.

This should not be confused with K-pop, an internationally known, high-energy musical genre.

Keep Player Built Structures Between Rounds

This setting gives the option of saving structures built by players across rounds (On), or destroys them at the end of each round (Off).

Kelvin scale

The Kelvin (K) scale is used in lighting to measure the color temperature of light. Lower K numbers mean yellower (warmer) light. Higher numbers mean whiter or bluer (cooler) light.

key

The first note in an octave. For example, the key of C starts with the C note, while the key of G starts with the G note.  

key light

The key light is the primary light source. It's called this because it's usually the main light source, and the point around which other lighting can be designed. This can apply to both interior and exterior lighting.

keybinding

See hotkey.  

keyframe

In animation, a key or keyframe is a record of a given value or values at a point on an audio or video timeline. Keyframes are used to mark the beginning or end of a transition.  

keyword matching search

keyword matching search

Search is an important way for players to find specific islands and genres within Fortnite, and Discover uses a hybrid approach that combines two algorithms: keyword matching and semantic search. Keyword matching returns islands that contain text that exactly matches the user’s query. Semantic search returns islands that are semantically similar to a user’s query.

king of the hill

A game where the last person standing wins as players race to see who can control the objective point or points the longest.

kitbash

To make something new out of existing parts.

knob

A Patchwork device uses continuous knobs (or knobs for short) to scale a single value. The value selected with a continuous knob can be set to any incremental value, or location on the knob's path.

Compare to stepped knob and carousel.

knock down

To inflict enough damage to an enemy player that the player is on their knees, but not yet eliminated. At this point, you can shake the player down for info on their squad-mate locations.  

knockback

When a player is attacked or hit, knockback is the force the player is hit with, or how far backward the player is thrown.

Kymera Ray Gun

Available in a range of rarities, this is an Invasion weapon with infinite ammo. Different rarities offer different DPS, but they all have a fire rate of 15.0 and a reload time of 2.5 seconds.  

L-axis

In a 3D space (real or virtual), the L-axis represents horizontal left/right (or east/west) movement. Also see axis.  

landscape

Landscaping is when you add details to a terrain. This includes trees, shrubs, grass, and other plants, and even water features, like lakes or waterfalls.

You can use landscape to make a more complex gameplay area, such as when building a rural parkour course.

landscape mode

A set of tools in UEFN used specifically for editing terrain. You can use this toolset to add mountains and hills, bodies of water, caves and tunnels, and foliage.

Landscape Streaming Proxy

When you delete a grid plane, you're left with a proxy (substitute) for the grid plane. The primary difference between a grid plane and a proxy is that you can use the Landscape Mode tools on a proxy to build custom terrains.

large language model

See LLM.

last person standing

A competitive game where players attempt to eliminate each other until only one player is left. The last person standing (not eliminated) is the winner.

Last Standing Ends Game

This setting determines whether the game ends when only one player or team is left in the match. You can override this for certain rounds in Round Settings.  

Launch Pad

A placeable device that launches a player into the air and deploys a glider to help the player stay in the air.

Leaderboard

Where a player's game statistics are listed. Also see MATCH TYPE.  

Legal menu option

Accessed from the Game Menu in Creative, the Fortnite Legal Information page shows the End User License Agreement (EULA), Privacy Policy, Fan Content Policy, and Terms of Service (TOS).

Legendary weapon

Weapons are ranked by rarity. The more rare a weapon is, the more Damage it can cause. Legendary is at the top of the star rating in rarity and gets five stars. The only rating higher than Legendary is Mythic. You can view weapons by rarity by checking the category you want to see on the Weapons category in the Creative Menu.  

LEGO Elements

These are any of the LEGO Fortnite assets that look like they're built with real-life bricks from your LEGO sets, and that are for use exclusively on LEGO Islands. This includes prefabs, devices, tools, and so on. All LEGO assets, from Minifigures to prefabricated buildings (prefabs), are scaled at half the size of Fortnite assets to match the Minifigure scale. Unlike Fortnite assets, LEGO assets cannot be scaled or resized in any way. Tiny but mighty!  

LEGO Island

A LEGO Island uses LEGO assets and Minifigures. Templates for these islands can be found when you interact with the console on the Creative hub, click Create New, and select the LEGO tab, or in the Project Browser when launching UEFN. Dream big, build small!  

LEGO llama

A llama that works just like a Fortnite loot llama, but is scaled down and outfitted to match the LEGO environment. LEGO llamas can also be used as piñatas. ¡Dale, Dale, Dale!

LEGO Styles

The LEGO Minifiguresversion of a Fortnite outfit.  

lerp

Short for linear interpolation. Interpolation is the creation of new values that lie between known values. Linear interpolation is the most simple form of interpolation, based on the assumption of a straight line between two points.

level

In UEFN, a level is a user-defined area of gameplay. Levels are created, viewed, and modified by placing, transforming, and editing the properties of the actors it contains. Multiple levels can be saved within a single project. You can also think of a level as a container that can have a dedicated landscape, and can hold actors (devices, props, custom assets, and so on).

The term level is synonymous with island.

level design

Level design is another way of saying game design.

Level Editor

When you launch a project, it opens in the Level Editor. Different content editors become available based on the mode you choose to work in.

level geometry

When a designer talks about geometry, they are talking about what the computer uses to define objects in three dimensions. Level geometry includes not only location and size of objects, but also colors and textures. Also see polygon.

level instance

If an instance is a unique copy of an asset, then a level instance would be a unique copy of a level (a collection of assets) that can be modified without changing the original level. New level instances can be generated from selected Actors in the viewport. Also see packed level instance and level instance device.

Level Instance device

The Level Instance device is a volume where you can place structures and other props, then save the collection. You can copy and paste the device to place that grouping wherever you need it. For more info, see Level Instance Devices.  

Level Save Record

The save file for the Creative island file, which specifies all the data necessary to recreate a customized island. This is a collection of template records that hold actor class and specific property settings, and instance records that hold a reference to a template record, including the location and rotation for where an actor was placed. A LSR will have some template records and many instance records.

level system

A level system in a game is a way for a player to accumulate points. When the player earns enough points, they are upgraded to the next level. Points are usually earned by winning battles, achieving specific objectives, or through other play achievements. Level systems are most common in RPG games, where leveling up unlocks a new set of skills or weapons, but are also sometimes found in other game modes.  

level up

To move to a higher level in a game by accumulating points.

lifetime management

Nested entities exist as long as the parent entity exists. If the parent entity is destroyed, then so are all the child entities below it.

light bullets

An ammo type available in the Consumables category of the [Creative Menu](#creativemenu for weapons that use low-caliber bullets, these are typically used in handguns or submachine guns. You can equip in quantities of 100. For weapons that use light bullets, such as the SUBMACHINE GUN, an icon that looks like a curved row of 5 bullets displays in the Details panel for that weapon.  

limited time mode

See LTM.  

line of sight

Line of sight refers to a player's ability to see other players or targets in any game that involves shooting. You can't shoot what you can't see, so line of sight is vital.

linear

In a linear game the player can follow only one path through the level to win. Compare to nonlinear.  

Link Code

See Project Link Code.

live build

The version of Fortnite Creative or UEFN that is in release and available without requiring any special permissions.

Live Edit

A feature in UEFN that provides a live connection between UEFN and an island in Edit mode. Changes you make in the editor automatically update in Creative.

living room-safe

Content that contains no swearing, obscenity or heavy violence.

llama

Also called a supply llama or loot llama, a llama is similar to a chest in that you can add objects to it for use by players in-game.  

LLM

A large language model, or LLM, is a computer program trained to process and output natural language through text. You can view the model as learned knowledge from a library of resources (database) on the topic of language. Some training material sets are small while others are large. Through the training, the model can predict a string of text it should produce in response to a prompt, making it appear as though it were aware and thinking. 

The language model can generate human language through text using algorithms to learn pattern recognition and relationships between words from the training material. This system of training is called machine learning. Typically, a user can interact with the LLM through some interface.

loadout

Any equipment carried by a player in-game.

lobby

A pre-game area where where players wait for more players to join. This is also where you can party up with friends.  

local exposure

Local exposure is an effect in post processing that automatically applies adjustments to exposure within user-controlled parameters to preserve both highlight and shadow detail on top of existing global exposure. This is useful for projects with challenging high dynamic range scenes using dynamic lighting, in which applying a single global exposure adjustment is not enough to avoid blown out highlights and completely dark shadows.

local position

The position of a pixel or vertex relative to an object.

local space

This is the space that is relative to an object with no rotation or transformation.

Lock

A device that can be used to lock doors. When you attach a lock device to a wall section with a door, the door can be opened, closed, locked, or unlocked using receivers. Each action — unlocking, locking, opening and closing — uses a separate channel.  

Locker

The Locker is the inventory space that stores player appearance and gameplay customizations such as pickaxe styles, outfits, and weapon wraps. You can only access the Locker from the top menu bar of the Matchmaking Lobby screen, or in-game through a Changing Booth.  

LOD

Short for level of detail. This refers to the level of detail that shows in a Static Mesh based on distance away from it. If a player is close to a complex mesh, you would want more detail viewable, but this can slow performance. If a player is further away, the LOD can be reduced to improve performance.

LOD bias

A setting in UEFN that affects level of detail (LOD) with a bias toward less detail but improved performance.

look-at location

Where the camera is looking at any time. It might be something other than the player.

loop

In programming, a loop is a sequence of instructions that repeats until a condition is met.

In Patchwork, a loop is a musical sequence that repeats.  

loot

Currency, items or weapons dropped by an eliminated player, or any other items that can be gathered in a game. For example, items you add to a chest or llama for players to find in-game would be loot.  

looting

When a player collects items with the intent to sell, use, or craft.  

lore

The backstory, those bits of information that add depth and understanding to the narrative of the story by providing information outside of the main plot. Backstory contributes to a more complete player immersion in a game.

LSR

See Level Save Record.

LTM

Short for limited time mode, meaning there is a time limit to how long the game lasts.

Lumen

A dynamic global illumination and reflections system designed for next-generation consoles.

Lump of Coal

A ranged weapon, a lump of coal can be thrown at your opponents. It has a Damage of 20, and no DPS because it doesn't have a Fire Rate. Its rarity is common. Once you throw it, it's gone.  

machine learning

Machine learning (ML) is a part of artificial intelligence (AI) that helps a system improve performance over time without requiring every task to be programmed. ML models use algorithms to identify patterns in datasets, make predictions, and adjust their approach to improve methods based on that learning.

machinima

The use of real-time computer graphics engines, like that used with Fortnite, to create a cinematic production. The word machinima is a portmanteau of the words machine and cinema.  

magazine

In Creative, the magazine refers to the part of a weapon that holds ammunition, or rounds.

magazine size

How many rounds a magazine can hold. For example, an assault rifle has a magazine size of 30 rounds, while a revolver magazine only holds 6 shots, or rounds.  

manager

A type of device that provides a way to customize another device. Examples include the Creature Manager, the Elimination Manager, and the Race Manager devices.  

mantle

Mantling is when a player climbs or vaults a wall or barrier with verve and agility. In Fortnite, this is done by facing the edge of something, moving up closely, then jumping up onto it.

map code

See island code.  

Map Indicator

A device you can use to place an icon on both your island (visible in overview) and the island minimap. The indicator is used to mark a specific location, such as an objective, or a rallying point.  

Map tab

An option in the Creative menu that provides an overview of your island. on this overview, you can pan (move camera in any direction), zoom in and out, and drop markers.

map template

See island template.

mapping controls

Mapping is a way of assigning functions to different keys or buttons. Mapping will vary based on whether you're using a keyboard, mouse or controller. Some players like to customize their controls for navigation that suits their specific style of playing.

match

A match is a competition between two or more players or teams. A match is the entire game, and can contain multiple rounds. A round is usually a timed event.  

match type

This option displays your game statistics on the Leaderboard for the type selected: Solo, Duo, Squad, or LTM.  

matchmaking

In multiplayer video games, a way to connect players in an online play session.

matchmaking hub

See hub.  

Matchmaking Portal

A device that can warp a player from one island to another.  

Matchmaking Region

On the Creative Game Menu, go to the Settings tab, then select Matchmaking Region. From here, you can select the region where you connect. The closer you are physically to your selected region, the better your response time will be. Selecting Auto lets Creative do the thinking for you.  

material

A material is an asset that can be applied to a mesh to control the visual look of the scene. At a high level, it is easiest to think of a material as the “paint” that’s applied to an object. But even that can be misleading, since a material literally defines the type of surface from which your object appears to be made. You can define its color, shininess, transparency, and much more. In more technical terms, when light from the scene hits the surface, a material is used to calculate how that light interacts with that surface. These calculations use incoming data that is input to the material from a variety of images (textures) and math expressions, as well as from various property settings inherent to the material itself.

Unreal Engine utilizes a physically based shading model. This means that rather than defining a material using arbitrary properties (such as diffuse color and specular power), you instead use properties more easily relatable to the real world. These include base color, metallic, specular, and roughness.

material function

A way of grouping a node graph so that it can be used as a single node. Material functions are little snippets of material graphs that can be saved in packages and reused across multiple materials.

Applying complex math to define how a texture appears on a material.

material girl

A girl who lives in a material world and is stranded in time, circa mid-1980s.

material graph

A material graph is used for the configuration of material nodes used to make a material.

material property

Material refers to the appearance of an object in Creative. When you change an object's material property, you change its color or texture, or some other aspect of the way it looks.

mats

Short for materials.  

Mechanical Explosive Bow

A bow that shoots explosive arrows.

mechanical items

These are crafting items that are themed to be harvested from toolboxes, crates, and mechanical objects.  

media

This refers to any image, video, or audio (such as a podcast) used in social media to promote your Fortnite islands.

media creator

An influencer who makes social media content about Fortnite Creative, whether video, images, audio (podcasts), video on demand (VOD), or streaming.

medium bullets

An ammo type available in the Consumables category of the Creative Menu for weapons that use mid-range-caliber bullets, these are typically used in assault rifles. You can equip in quantities of 100. For weapons that use medium bullets, such as the ASSAULT RIFLE, an icon that looks like a row of three bullets displays in the Details panel for that weapon.  

medium of exchange

Anything that is used to make it easier to sell, purchase, or trade items between two or more people. This is usually some form of money or other standard of value that people agree to use.

melee

A fight in confused or tight quarters is a melee. It comes from a French word mesler, meaning to mix or mingle, and came into use in English in the mid-1600s. For those who care, it is pronounced MAY-LAY.  

Melee weapon

A melee weapon is a weapon that can be used in close combat, such as a knife or sword. Your pickaxe is also a melee weapon.  

melody

A sequence of single notes grouped together. The melody is the main concept in a musical composition, and usually the most memorable aspect of a song. It's the tune that plays or repeats that you can use to identify that song. Compare to harmony.  

Memory Used bar

When you're in Create mode in Creative, there's a MEMORY USED bar at the top of the screen. It shows the amount of memory used compared to memory available. As you add objects to your island, you’ll see the amount of memory used increase, and the amount of available memory go down. This becomes important if you start running low on memory, and can happen if you add too many objects to your island. Also see Cell Memory Used bar.  

mentor

A mentor is someone who teaches or helps and advises a less experienced person. A mentorship is a formal program that matches mentors with people who want to learn more.

mesh

A set of locations, or vertices that are connected at their edges. There are different types of mesh. Static Mesh, used to map the surface of an unanimated 3D object, and Skeletal Mesh, used to map the surface of an animated object, are most common.

mesh surface integrity

An asset should be watertight, with no holes in the mesh that show a backface. This increases the prop's usefulness, as variation can be introduced by rotating and scaling a single prop, or placing the prop different ways. However, if the asset is meant to be stationary, or there are other reasons to allow holes, this is acceptable.

metadata

Data that provides information about other data. Special sets of metadata, or tags, are used in digital searches to find specific objects or text. Search engines use metadata to match a user's search with what they're looking for.

MetaHuman

A complete framework that gives to the power to create and use fully rigged, photorealistic humans. Also see Animation Blueprint.

metal

A resource that can be used in-game for building, or to fill other register requirements.  

metaverse

The metaverse is an online social entertainment experience in real time, where people play and connect in a 3D world.

meter materials

Materials used in a progress bar UI. The material parameters can be set in Verse and UMG. 

metrics

A metric is the measurement of something, or the result of that measurement. As a creator, once you've published one or more islands, you will want to see the metrics on how players respond to them so you can improve the player experience.  

mini-game

A small game, sometimes called a side game, within a larger game. A mini-game might show up in a lobby where players who are waiting to get into the main game can play while they're waiting. Or it could be something to keep a player entertained while waiting for a new round. A mini-game could also be a puzzle in the main game that the player must solve to accomplish some other goal or complete a task.  

Minifigure

The player character that shows when building or playing a LEGO Island in Fortnite. Minifigures are half the size of the usual Fortnite character, so everything on a LEGO Island is scaled down to half size to match. Half the size but twice the cute!

Minifigure-compatible

This can apply to props, items, tools, devices, and any other assets. It means that the asset has been scaled down to match the Minifigures used on a LEGO Island.  

minimap

A small map in the corner of the screen that shows where you are in relation to the overall map. The pointer position changes on the minimap as you move through the island. To enable the minimap, press Esc, select SETTINGS, then click the HUD OPTIONS tab. Set MINIMAP to ON, then click APPLY.  

minutes per player

Minutes per player is similar to the attraction metric of Minutes played per impression, but instead shows a more refined view of an island's actual engagement on a per player basis

minutes played per impression

Minutes played per impression is the ratio between impressions and total minutes played. For example, if your experience has 1000 minutes played in the last 96 hours after receiving 100 impressions in the same period, your minutes per impression would be 10. This metric shows whether your impressions are converting to sustained engagement.

MMO

Massively multiplayer online game. Fortnite Battle Royale is an example of an MMO.

MMORPG

A massively multiplayer online roleplay game or MMORPG combines RPG games with MMOs. All MMORPGs are MMOs, but not all MMOs are MMORPGs.  

MOBA

Multiplayer Online Battle Arena is a strategy game where teams compete in an arena to destroy the opposing team’s objective.

mod

Short for modification, this is an alteration of a game's environment or behavior.

modder

Someone who makes modifications (changes or tweaks) to a video game. If these modifications are in Creative, the person making the mods is called a Creator.  

mode

UEFN has a number of editing modes for specific types of assets. For example, Landscape Mode is used specifically for quickly editing terrain.

moderation

When you submit your island for publishing, the island goes through a review process, after which it either gets approved and published, or rejected. This process is called moderation.

modularity

If an asset imported into UEFN includes elements that could be used separately, it should be modular. For example, an asset could be a market stall with baskets and fruit. It could be one complete unit, or you could make the baskets and fruit as separate meshes that could be used on their own.

This term also refers to architectural assets that can be used together to create a building and rooms within the building.

modulation

To modulate means to change or control. In audio, modulation usually refers to sound elements like volume and pitch, which can be adjusted with a modulator.

modulation parameter

A modulation parameter provides the context for how a value associated with a control bus is displayed, mixed, and transformed. In UEFN, only the volume modulation parameter is supported on control buses.

modulation source

Any source that modulates a parameter. In UEFN, this is limited to control buses.

module

A Verse module is an atomic unit of code that can be redistributed and depended upon, and can evolve over time without breaking dependencies. You can import a module into your Verse file to use code definitions from other Verse files.

For more info, see Modules and Paths.

monophony

In music, monophony refers to a single line of musical notes, such as a melody line. In Patchwork, any sequencer device must have the monophonic setting off to play a full chord instead of a simple melody. Compare to polyphony.  

monster

A creature that attacks players.  

motif

A motif is a pattern that repeats visually. In design, the motif should forward the overall design theme.  

movement modifier

Any device or setting that changes or modifies a player's ability to move — for better or worse — is a movement modifier. A number of traps will slow or hinder a player's speed, but some boosts will increase it.  

Movement Modulator

A trap-like device that can be placed will create a pad that increases or decreases the speed of players who run over the device. Speedup is indicated through a green forward arrow, while slowdown is indicated through an orange backward-facing arrow.  

moving

A game focused on movement across the island, either for the placement of items or the movement of players.

multiplayer game

A video game where more than one person can play the same game at the same time, either on a local system or across a network. Multiplayer games have a social element that single-player games lack because you are playing with other people.

multiple games

An island that features more than one distinct game mode.

music

A game mode that involves music.

mutator device

Any device that can change normal game rules or player abilities.

Mutator Zone

A device you can use to create a zone that triggers when players enter or leave the area, and affects all players and creatures who enter the zone. The Mutator Zone can be set to prevent weapon fire from entering the zone. By default, the zone is the size of a single grid cell, but the size can be customized.

My Island

See Island Settings.  

mystery

A game that prompts players to solve a mystery using puzzles throughout the gameplay.  

Mythic weapon

A Mythic weapon is the most rare and damaging weapon. Mythic weapons have six stars.  

name plate

The name that appears above a player's head during gameplay. Name plates can be toggled on and off.

navbar

Short for navigation bar. Navbars usually provide multiple selection options that lead to other screens or tabs.

news beat

News on a specific subject or area.

News menu

A menu screen that appears when you first launch UEFN. This screen contains links to info on what's new for the UEFN community, and other relevant UEFN info.

Niagara

Niagara is the visual effects system in Unreal Engine used for creating and previewing particle effects in real time. Niagara is also included in UEFN.

node

In UEFN, a node is a fundamental unit within a graph-based system that represents a specific function, operation, or data point. In the context of node graphs, a node is an individual component that processes or routes audio signals, such as a sound source, effect (like reverb or delay), mixer, or output.  

For Verse, see linked list node.

node graph

A visual representation of an interconnected system of audio processing nodes used to generate, modify, and route sound in a game engine.

Each node in the graph represents a functional component, such as an audio source, filter, effect, mixer, or output. These nodes are connected by links that define the flow of audio signals. In UEFN, an audio node graph enables dynamic and procedural sound design by allowing creators to build complex audio behaviors, such as spatialization, reverb, and real-time audio effects.  

non-player character

See NPC.  

nonlinear

In a nonlinear game, the player has the freedom to choose which challenges they want to take on, and in which sequence, without having to follow a tightly scripted sequence.

normal

A normal vector is a type of texture which is used to add significant physical detail to a surface without adding additional polygons to a mesh. This is achieved by modifying the "normal" or facing direction of each pixel.

Compare to specular and diffuse.

note generator

A device, such as the Note Sequencer, that generates note pattern data. This device is usually the first device in a device chain.  

note grid

An area in a Patchwork note-generating device where you can select notes. Laid out in a grid pattern, the rows represent pitches (notes) and the columns represent steps in time, with the step rate control on the device defining how fast it moves through those steps.  

notegrid

Any device in Patchwork that takes input from a note generator, modifies it, then outputs it. An example is the Note Progressor.  

NPC

Short for a non-player character, this is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player.

Number of Lives

The number of times a player can respawn into a game. This number also includes the initial player spawn at game start.  

number of unique players

OAuth

Short for Open Authorization, OAuth is a standard that allows a website or application to access resources hosted by other apps on behalf of a user. What this means is that one app can use content from another app for the user without the user having to share their credentials

obby

Short for obstacle course, such as parkour, where players have to make it across an island by jumping, mantling, circumventing barriers, and avoiding traps.  

OBJ

A file format developed by Wavefront Technologies and now available as an open format used by many 3D graphics application vendors. The format supports geometry elements like points, lines, and texture vertices, but does not support animation or lighting information.

object

In UEFN, an object is another word for asset.

In Verse, an instance of a class is an object. An instance has the same behaviors defined by its class type but with real values.

The terms instance and object are synonymous.

objective

1. What the player has to accomplish to meet the win condition. Depending on the game type, the objective could be anything from accumulating a specific item or the most items, to finishing a task in the least time.

2. A game type where the game has specific rules on how it is won or lost, and the player has to complete a specific objective to win.  

Objective Device Gallery

A selection of destructible items that you can use as game objectives. This gallery is found in the Devices category under the Content tab.  

Objectives to End

A device setting that you can use to end a round when a certain number of objectives have been completed by a player or team.

Octane Spawner

A device that spawns a lightweight vehicle that defies gravity with rocket-boosting, jumping, and aerial maneuverability.

octave

A range of musical notes in the interval between (and including) two notes, where the first note has twice the frequency of vibration of the other. It's called an octave because it includes eight notes, represented by C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. An octave can start at any note. Also see pitch.

octave offset

The shift of a scale to a different key.  

offline progression

With offline progression, some aspect of a game will continue to progress while closed as though the player were still in the game. For example, in a farming game that uses this mechanic, crops would continue to grow while the player is logged out of the game. There is usually a time limit for how long offline progression continues. Also see persistence.  

onboarding

To onboard a new player means to make them familiar with the basic rules of the game, how the game works, win conditions, and so on.  

one in the chamber

An elimination-based game mode where a player needs to eliminate an opponent in order to receive ammo.

one life

Any game where players have only one life and cannot respawn after elimination.

one-shot

To defeat or to be defeated in a single hit.

one-v-one

See 1v1.  

OP

When something is stronger than it should be, whether it's a character, a weapon, or any other in-game element, it can be referred to as overpowered, or OP. Think of it as overpowered as in having too much power.  

open world

An open-world game is one where the player has the freedom to explore the world without having to stick to a strictly linear approach. The open-world approach is common in MMORPGs. The world persists with or without players. Players can come and go, and have a lot more freedom in how they want to play the game. Also see nonlinear.  

orientation

Imagine a plane moving through the sky. Now imagine that the plane is turning right, then left. That motion of turning left or right is called yaw. Next, imagine the nose of the plane pointing up toward the sky or down toward the ground. This is called pitch. Finally, have you ever seen a stunt plane that looks like it's flying sideways, with one wing pointing up and the other down? Or even flying completely upside down? This is called roll. These three values control three-dimensional orientation. Compare to axis, which controls location in three dimensions.  

orthographic

A 2D representation of a 3D object or space. In an orthographic view, all objects appear at the same scale, unlike a perspective view, where distant objects are scaled smaller.

oscillator

An oscillator shifts a value, such as volume or tone, between two levels, usually with a repeating pattern.

In Patchwork, one example of oscillator use is the LFO Modulator device, which uses an oscillator to continuously adjust controls on other devices.

Other Patchwork devices use oscillators to shape their output. For example, the vibrato control on the Patchwork Instrument Player uses an oscillator to rapidly shift the pitch of the audio output.

outfit

A character's overall appearance is called an outfit in Creative. You can change outfits by accessing your locker while in the lobby or in-game if you have access to a Changing Booth. Sometimes referred to as a skin. Also see default outfit.  

Outliner panel

The Outliner panel, or Outliner for short, displays all actors within a scene in a hierarchical tree view. In the panel, you also have an option to search for an actor element in the level, and to create folders to group actor elements together.

output

With Patchwork devices, output is the end result from a chain of Patchwork devices, turning creations from data carried by Patchwork Cables into something users can observe. For example, a minimal chain to make music includes a note generator to define what is played, an audio generator to define how it should sound, and an output device like a Patchwork Speaker so it can be heard.  

overdrive

A type of distortion usually caused by pushing an amp past what it can produce as a clean tone.  

overpower

See OP.  

overshield

An extra shield layer added to a player's health and shields as a first line of defense.  

oversteer

When a vehicle steers into sharper turn than expected, which can have the effect of shoving the rear of the vehicle to the outside of the curve. This effect, where the back wheels slide while the driver maintains control of the front wheels is called drifting.

owner

The user that owns or controls a team or project in the Creator Portal.

packed level instance

This is a level instance where a compact collection of Actors are grouped together into a single Actor. You can move, copy, and paste it as a single asset, but you can also open it and edit the parts inside individually. This is roughly the equivalent of a prefab in Fortnite.

Paid Area

An offer that provides access behind a paywall. An example would be access to a backstage area in a narrative-type game.

Paid Random Item

Paid Random Items are items that are purchased or redeemed with content that was purchased to obtain a random reward.

panel

In Unreal Editor for Fortnite, a panel is one or more areas on the screen that contain information about your level. A panel can be moved, docked, or dragged into a separate window. Examples include the Details panel and the Content Browser.

parent entity

An entity that has at least one other entity nested under it (its child entity) in the entity hierarchy.

Parental Controls

Accessed from the Game Menu in Creative, this option provides access for setting up parental controls. This option is only available when you first enter Creative.  

parkour

A sport or activity where the participant moves rapidly through obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing. It is similar to a skillrun, but a parkour game doesn't reset to the last checkpoint after failing an obstacle. A parkour course is typically in an urban environment, but can also be built in woods or open fields.

particle effect

A visual effect that can look like smoke, fire, glowing lights, or other interesting visuals.

particle system

Particle systems use lots of tiny sprites to generate special effects that don't have well-defined shapes — dust, smoke, moving water, explosions, and so on.

party

  A party is a group of friends that meet in a lobby to play together. The group will party up before entering the game.  

party card

A tile in Discover that has the name of a player, and a Join Party line. On a party card, you can see party invites, active parties, and requests to join. Party cards can show in the Sidebar, on the homebar, or on a row in Discover.  

Party Channel

Party Channel connects players in the same party who are queued up together in the lobby. Also see Game Channel.  

party up

In the Fortnite lobby, you can meet up with friends to play together. Your friends' gamertags will show under your Epic Friends list, along with their status info.  

patch

In Patchwork, you can patch devices together by connecting, or patching, an output port from one device to an input port on another. This term comes from the original music synthesizers where you had to physically patch different parts together with cables to get a sound.  

Patchwork

Fortnite Patchwork is a set of interconnectable devices in Fortnite Creative that you can use to make original music. You can also sync the music to gameplay or other activities on your island.

Patchwork Distortion Effect

(FX-DST) A device that applies a distortion effect to audio.  

Patchwork Drum Player

(D-PLAY) A device that plays beat patterns using drum audio samples. These patterns are typically input from the Drum Sequencer.  

Patchwork Drum Sequencer

(D-SEQR) A device that you can use to set up drum note patterns.

Patchwork Echo Effect

(FX-ECHO) A device that applies an echo to an audio signal.  

Patchwork Instrument Player

(I-PLAY) This device takes the note input from another device, such as a Patchwork Note Sequencer and turns it into audio using samples from the instrument you select.  

Patchwork LFO Modulator

(LFO) Low frequency oscillation, or LFO, generates a rhythmic pulse used to create audio effects like vibrato. The LFO Modulator is a device that you can use to control modulation on another Patchwork device in a continuous pattern.  

Patchwork Music Manager

(M-MGR) A device that defines shared settings on other Patchwork devices. Also see global settings.  

Patchwork Note Progressor

(N-PRG) A device that moves note sequences through a series of chord progressions.  

Patchwork Note Sequencer

(N-SEQR) A note-generating device that you can use to create and output melodic note patterns, then patch to another device. Think of the Note Sequencer as your sheet music — you can't directly listen to the sequence of notes on the note grid. You need a way to interpret the notes, such as by a musician playing it. In Patchwork, you can patch the sequencer into an audio generator to interpret (generate) the music, then output to a Patchwork Speaker to play it out loud.  

Patchwork Note Trigger

(N-TRG) A device that can send events to other devices, both Patchwork and non-Patchwork, based on specific note inputs. This is useful when you want to sync the audio with your gameplay.  

Patchwork Omega Synth

(O-SYN) A synthesizer device that converts note input from a sequencer to audio output using a customizable sound synthesis.  

Patchwork sequencer

Any device in Patchwork that can output note or beat patterns. A sequencer has no input but can be used to create note data output. Think of a sequencer as the sheet music where you write your composition. You can't directly listen to the sequence of notes in the sequencer, but have to patch it into an audio generator (such as an Instrument Player to generate the music, then output from the player to a Patchwork Speaker to output an audible sound. Devices connected this way make up a device chain.  

Patchwork Speaker

(SPK) The Speaker device converts audio data input into sound that users can hear.

Patchwork Step Modulator

(S-MOD) A device for adjusting controls on another Patchwork device in steps over time.  

Patchwork tool

Similar to the phone tool in Fortnite Creative, the Patchwork tool is what you use to patch devices together using the Patchwork cables. Unlike the phone tool, the Patchwork tool is also an inventory item that can be equipped in-game to control devices in Play mode.  

Patchwork Value Setter

(V-SET) A device that can receive a trigger from another device (Patchwork or non-Patchwork), then adjust a control on that device. For example, when the Value Setter receives a trigger from another device that's activated by player actions, it can adjust the volume on a Patchwork Speaker up or down to enhance the gameplay experience.

path node

A point on a patrol path that controls the placement of the path.  

patrol path

A path set with the AI Patrol Path Node device that establishes where a guard spawned with the [Guard Spawner device] will patrol when not standing guard.  

Pawn

A Pawn is a subclass of Actor, and serves as an in-game avatar or persona such as a character in a game. Pawns can be controlled by a player or by the game's AI in the form of non-player characters (NPCs).

When a Pawn is controlled by a human or AI player, it is considered possessed. When a Pawn is not controlled by a human or AI player, it is considered unpossessed.

peaceful

Any game designed without combat or fighting against other players or NPCs.

peer-to-peer marketing

Also known as word of mouth, this is when people turn to their friends and other peers (people like themselves) for product purchase advice.

Perception Trigger

A trigger device that watches for players. If a player enters a zone watched by a Perception Trigger, it will send a signal on a selected channel to another device. The intruder can then receive an effect such as some sort of character attribute manipulation, or being teleported away.

performance

See Memory Used bar.  

permissions

Permissions levels that determine whether other creators can access your island in Create mode. Also see Permissions category.  

Permissions category

On the Island Settings tab, the Permissions caqtegory is where you set whether other players can edit and copy items on your island. By default, this setting is set to Private, which restricts access by anyone but yourself. Changing this setting can be really useful when you're collaborating with one or more other creators on an island. To provide access to other creators in your group, go to Island Settings, click the Permissions category, then change Island Edit and Copy Permission from Private to Everyone.  

persistence

When player data is saved from a session and reloaded into the next session for that game, this is called persistence.

persistence device

Any device that can save player data and restore it in a subsequent session.

Personal Identifiable Information

Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is information that can be used to identify an individual by direct or indirect means.

personal rift

perspective

In a perspective view, objects that are far away are smaller than those nearby while in orthographic view, all objects appear in the same scale.

Phase

  A setting found in the Quick Menu that lets you fly through solid objects when set to ON. This is useful when you're building islands that have both interior and exterior elements.  

phone

The phone tool, or phone for short, is the tool you use to manipulate props and devices when you're in Create mode. Pressing the ` key on your keyboard will switch between your pickaxe and your phone. When your phone is activated, you can access the Quick Menu, and do other things you can't do with the pickaxe enabled.  

photobashing

Photobashing is a technique where artists merge & blend photographs or 3D assets together while painting and compositing them into one finished piece.

pickaxe

The most common tool in Fortnite. Originally called the harvesting tool, a pickaxe can be used as a melee-style weapon, or to break up and harvest materials and gather resources.  

pickup

A pickup is the result of picking something up. For example, a player's pickup could include both weapons and items. You could also have a pickup location.

PII

See Personal Identifiable Information.  

pinball

A type of game that acts like a pinball machine. Players play as they would a real-life pinball machine.  

Pinball Bumper

A device you can use to place a pinball bumper that quickly launches objects and players in the opposite direction when they collide with the bumper. Depending on how it's set up, it can also damage and give points to a player.

Pinball Flipper

A device you can use to place a pinball flipper. This device will launch players and objects that collide with it in a direction relative to the rotation and placement of the flipper.

ping

A audible alert to hint to players where to find a prop.

ping pong

To reverse direction back and forth.

PingPong animation mode

To reverse the direction of an animation when the final keyframe is reached, and to play again in the opposite direction.

pistol

A pistol is a handheld gun, smaller than a rifle or shotgun. Pistols are a category of weapon under the Weapons category in the Creative inventory that includes revolvers, hand cannons, and other pistols.

pitch

1. See orientation.    

2. For UEFN, In music, pitch is the frequency of a tone that determines how high or low, or what note it is. For example, a middle C note on a piano keyboard has a frequency (pitch) of 256 Hz, while the A above it is 440 Hz. If you move up an octave, the frequencies are doubled — the next C note has 512 Hz, while the A above that is 880 Hz.

pitch-yaw-roll

Pitch, yaw and roll are terms originating in aviation. They refer to the three different types of rotation a plane can perform when moving. These terms were adopted into 3D design and game development to more precisely define a virtual 3D environment and how things are moved in that virtual space. Pitch is the up-and-down movement of an object relative to its original position. Yaw is the horizontal left or right movement relative to its original position. Roll is a tilt to the left or right relative to its original position. 

These terms are also used with camera devices to describe movements of the camera.

Also see axis.

pivot point

The point that controls how an object rotates and scales. Any transformation of size or orientation for an object is relative to the object's pivot point.

pixel

A unit of graphic information based on two dimensions. From picture element, or pix and el. Compare to voxel.

place

In Creative, when you put a device or object in your island, you are placing it.

placement preview

When you're in Create mode in Creative and placing a prop or device, the item you're placing previews as an outline of the item.  

platform

A platform is a system that runs software on different kinds of hardware. Fortnite runs on different platforms. These platforms fall into one of three categories: desktops or laptops that use Microsoft Windows or macOS, traditional mobile devices (like phones or tablets), and handheld devices or consoles.  

platformer

A platformer, or platform game, is a type of game where players run across and jump on objects like platforms, stairs, and other environmental elements to reach a destination or objective.

Play button

The Play button on the Level Editor toolbar opens a Fortnite client where you can playtest your island.

Play inventory

This screen shows inventory available to a player. Inventory items are laid out in rows.

The Currencies bar is not currently in use in Creative, but since we're adding new stuff all the time, this could change!

The Resources bars display equipped items in three rows:

1. Ingredient bar holds items like animal bones and mechanical parts that can be used for crafting.

2. Resource bar holds items that can be used to build — wood, stone, or other world resources.

3. Ammo bar shows any ammo that has been equipped.

The Loadout bar shows weapons and consumables.

Play mode

In Fortnite, Play mode is the mode when the game is in play. Play mode includes the lobby, game countdown, the game itself, and post-game. You could also say that Play mode is anything that is not Create mode. One difference between Create mode and Play mode is that in Play mode, you are only accessing a temporary copy of the island, and any objects that you add or destroy will not be saved when you exit the game.

play out

To play a game all the way to the end. Sometimes called play through.

play time

The amount of time a player spends in a game.

play-in-editor

Play-in-editor, or PIE, is running a game from the editor. PIE does not use cooked data.

player

Someone who plays a game. The term player represents a real human, not an AI.

player building

In some games, players can use available resources to build walls and other structures in-game for protection or climbing.

player feedback

This refers to in-game occurrences that inform the player that they are playing correctly. Sometimes this feedback happens in response to a player action. It can also refer to elements in the environment, or specific AI behavior, that give players hints about what they should do next.

For example, places where players can jump over or across an object are often marked with a specific color, or an AI enemy might have a certain sound or movement animation right before a special attack so the player knows how to block or dodge.

player main rift

  See personal rift.  

Player Reference

The Player Reference device can relay player statistics to other devices and other players. Statistics such as eliminations or scores can be transmitted by the device when certain conditions are met. The Player Reference can also project a hologram of the player and display text.  

Player Spawner

A device you can place anywhere on your island that will determine where a player spawns when first entering the island or when respawning. Select the location by placing the spawner where you want to spawn. The Player Spawner also bypasses having the player fall from the sky when first entering the island, providing a much faster entry.  

player vs player

A team-based PvP where each team defends their bed (or any other static objective) against an opposing team.

player-built

Anything that's built while in Play mode is player-built, and will go away when a game is finished.

player-centric

Focused on the player's experience.

playhead

When editing audio or video, the playhead is a vertical line in the timeline that represents the position, or frame, of the track.

playtest

To test how the island you've built plays before inviting others to join you there

To test a new game or version of software for bugs and design flaws by getting users to play it before it is released.

playtest build

A prerelease build that can only be accessed with special permission. Compare to live build.

playtest code

A private code for use by the individuals in a playtest group.

playtest group

A set of users defined in the Creator Portal that can recieve a private playtest code

plugin

Plugins provide tools to add entirely new features, and to modify built-in functionality without modifying the engine code directly. A plugin might add new menu items and toolbar commands to the editor, or even add entirely new features.

POI

 Short for points of interest.  

point capture

An objective-based game where teams must capture a zone or point to win.

point light

A point light sends light in all directions equally from a single point.

point-and-click game

A type of adventure game, in which the user interacts mainly with the mouse or any pointing device (such as a finger on mobile device).

points of interest

You can mark a point of interest on a Creative island using the Map Indicator device. This will diplay a marker on both the minimap and the overview map.  

polygon

Triangles are used in 3D graphics to build three-dimensional things. While polygon actually means many angles, the most common polygon in gaming graphics is a triangle, because it is the simplest shape that still fits the definition of a plane with multiple sides and angles, and with no lines crossing other lines.

polyphony

Playing more than one note at a time. For example, a chord of three notes is polyphonic. In Patchwork, any sequencer device must have the monophony setting off to play a full chord. The default setting is one note at a time, or monophony.  

populate

To add content to something.

port

1. Short for teleport.

2. A place on a Patchwork device where you can connect, or patch, a cable from one device to another. Patchwork devices have input ports for receiving data from another device, and output ports for sending data to another device.  

portal

From the hub, you enter an island through a portal. The portal to your own island will have a different appearance from other portals. At your personal portal, you can also add or delete islands from the console to the right of your portal. Portals are also called rifts.  

post process volume

Post-processing refers to customizable filters that you can use to improve visual effects. Post-processing filters primarily affect lighting.

post processing

Post-processing effects are customizable filters that allow you to quickly enrich the visuals of your island or level. Using the post-processing effect objects in lighting or a camera, you can simulate a camera viewing a bright light and exaggerate its glow (bloom).  

Post-Game Spawn Location

Where players will respawn to when the game ends. Options are Island Start and Pre-Game Location.

power of two

Powers of two are based on a binary numeral system, which is what computer machine language uses. This basically means successive doublings, such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and so on. One practical application of this concept is when working with textures in UEFN. Graphics hardware across platforms works best with textures that conform to the power of two in their original dimensions. This results in graphics that perform better and are easier to render

power-up

(adj) This describes something that can be affected by a powerup device. For example: The power-up effect will be applied to the selected player. Also see Powerup.  

powerup

(noun) A Fortnite device that provides a temporary boost to a player or something in the player's world. There are multiple powerup devices. For example, a Health Powerup device temporarily increases the health of a player or the player's shields.  Compare to power-up.

practice game

While a training game hones a specific skillset, a practice game emulates gameplay (often imitating a Battle Royale situation) that lets the player put the skills to use in that scenario.  

pre-game lobby

A place where players can wait for the game to start, or for other players to join the game. This lobby is specific to a single game. Not all games have pre-game lobbies.

pre-game phase

Players have joined the game, but the match has not yet started. Also see game phase.  

prefab

A prefab is a prefabricated structure that can be placed on your island. Compare to gallery. Prefabs can be found in the Prefabs category on the Content tab.  

Prefabs categories

In Creative inventory, prefabs are grouped and can be viewed by subcategory. Many prefabs will cross into more than one category.

Prefabs category

When you're in Create mode, pressing the Tab key or the m key to open a screen where you can select the Content tab. From there, you can select the Prefabs category. Here you'' find hundreds of prefabricated structures that you can add to your island. You can search for a prefab by name, or sort by one or more subcategories.  

preset

A selection of predefined device settings that you can cycle through. In Patchwork, presets are often found in a carousel paired with an on/off toggle. When on, the selection on the preset carousel drives the associated device settings. When toggled off, a preset carousel can still be cycled, but the device settings do not change. On the Drum Sequencer, for example, this ensures that your custom sequence isn’t accidentally overwritten by preset content. It also gives you a chance to choose any preset before toggling the preset back on.  

Prevalent Spawner

A device that spawns a drivable sedan onto your island.

preview

See placement preview.  

primary track

In Rocket Racing island templates, this is the main track for a race. It is also the track on which players spawn. In Edit mode, these are identified by their color, green.

primitives

For a LEGO Island, primitives refers to a collection of basic geometrical shapes that look like real-life LEGO bricks. These props can be used with other elements to build just about anything you can imagine. Start simple, then build an empire!

priority system

When using camera devices, if multiple cameras are assigned to a player, the camera's priority determines which camera is active at any point in time. Priorities can be set in the device options. If two cameras are tied for the highest priority, the most recently added camera will become active, or take priority.

private game

In Fortnite, a private game is a game that only your friends can enjoy. This differs from public games where the matchmaking is random.

project

A project contains a collection of assets and the data needed for sharing and testing those assets. Users can edit a project and its assets in UEFN and in Creative Create mode where applicable.

A project can have multiple assets. It can also have multiple levels (or no levels), and meshes, textures, sounds, and other characteristics, depending on the needs and intent of the project the user is building.

You could also say that a project is a single source of truth for a game or content library.

project content

Island content developed in or imported to UEFN.

Project ID

See Project Link Code.

Project Link Code

UEFN creates a Project Link Code when you share a project for playtesting. You may need this code to access the project into Creative if it doesn't automatically show up in your Downloads tab.

project template

Any template in UEFN that can be used to start a project.

A project template contains devices that can demonstrate various types of game mechanics available in UEFN. These templates are available on the Project Browser screen in UEFN.

prop

A prop is a mesh Actor with parameters that are not exposed, or shown, to the user in Creative. Because of this, you cannot change the behavior of a prop, but only its size (scale), location (coordinates), or rotation (axis). Props are placed in the environment to make it more interesting visually.

prop hunt

A game mode where players disguise themselves as props to avoid being caught by hunters.

Prop Mover

A device that you can use to put props and (in some cases) other devices into motion. For more info, see Prop Mover Devices.  

Prop-O-Matic

A Rare weapon that can only be obtained from the Creative inventory. When you shoot something with the Prop-O-Matic, the weapon transforms you into the thing you shot. You can use this to hide from pursuers. Strictly for defense, it has a DPS of 0.0.  

Prop-O-Matic Manager

A device that you can use to customize Prop-O-Matic aspects of the Prop-o-Matic weapon.

Props folder

A folder in UEFN where props are stored, and from where they can be accessed.

Proximity Chat

With Proximity Chat, you can use the Proximity Chat option in Island Settings under Voice Chat to control volume range and the additional distance over which the volume gradually drops to zero. Proximity Chat only affects the Game Channel. When Proximity Chat is enabled on an island, a mandatory HUD element is enabled that shows players who are active speakers. The existing Voice Reporting, Muting, and Blocking methods function with Proximity Chat.  

public game

  See private game.  

publish

Any project, asset, object, or prop that's available to the broad public is published. The word public means exposed to general view, and publish, which comes from the same root, means to make public. In UEFN, it's possible to share a project, or some aspect of the project, with specific developers or players for testing purposes without fully publishing the project.

Pulse Trigger

The Pulse Trigger is a device you can use to damage players who collide with it. You can also use it as a trigger to activate other devices.

The device creates a representation of a metronome. Based on the BPM (beats per minute) you select, the activated pulse trigger sends out a pulse that travels down a line and triggers devices within its path.

Pumpkin Launcher

A weapon that shoots exploding pumpkins. It holds 1 rocket, and and takes 2.5 seconds to reload. It comes in a range of rarities.  

purchase record

An Epic-tracked. immutable (unchangeable) record of a transaction.

puzzle

Puzzle games are a broad genre that focuses on solving puzzles to move through the game. Puzzles can challenge problem-solving skills like logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. Puzzles are often mini-games.  

PvE

Player vs environment, or PvE, is any game where players compete against AI-controlled opponents. Compare to PvP.  

PvP

Player vs player, or PvP, describes any gaming scenario where players compete against each other. It differs from games where players compete against computer-controlled opponents. Compare to PvE.  

pwn

To utterly defeat an opponent, especially someone new to gaming or a specific game. Pronounced like you would pone.  

Quadcrasher Spawner

A device that spawns a drivable ATV onto your island.

quantize

In music, quantization is like snapping notes to the beat. If a note is played a little early or late, quantization moves it to the nearest beat or rhythm spot, making the timing more exact. It helps the music sound more on time and organized.Quantization in music is like snapping notes to the beat. If a note is played a little early or late, quantization moves it to the nearest beat or rhythm spot, making the timing more exact. It helps the music sound more on time and organized.

quest

A game mode where a player or team compete in order to gain a reward. Quests are often linear, and might involve solving puzzles, finding a specific item, or accomplishing some other feat to unlock the next part of the game.

quick bar

When you’re in Create mode, you’ll see a series of numbered slots on the bottom left of the screen. This is called the quick bar because you can place objects into the slots, then quickly add them to your island. The quick bar appears in both the Content tab for most categories, and on your island when you're in Create mode.  

Quick Menu

This menu can be accessed during Create mode without leaving the island. To get there, make sure your phone tool is active, then press the B key to open the Quick Menu.

quiz

A trivia-based game mode.

Race Checkpoint

Use this device to place a series of checkpoints on a map for ground, air, and even foot-race games.

Race Manager

When used with the Race Checkpoint device, Race Manager provides a way to track and display the number of completed laps for each player, the race time, and other race-related information.  

Radio

  A device you can use to play your favorite Fortnite music. Compare to Speaker.  

ragdoll physics

A type of limp and lifeless animation applied to a character after a fall from a great height or after being knocked out by another character or object.

Rail Gun

A type of sniper rifle, the Rail Gun comes in different rarities and uses heavy bullets.

raise

When a function emits a signal, it raises an event. Interested parties are notified that an event occurred, such as interacting with a button, and all the event handlers are called.

Random Number Generator

A device that generates a configurable random number that can be sent through triggerchannels or used to activate devices in a volume.  

ranged weapon

Any weapon that is useful over long distances. This would include weapons like sniper rifles, bows, and ray guns. Compare to Melee Weapon.  

Rare weapon

Weapons are ranked by rarity. The more rare a weapon is, the more Damage it can cause. Rare is in the middle in rarity, and represented by three stars. You can view weapons by rarity by checking the category you want to see on the Weapons tab in Creative inventory.

rarity

In UEFN, the way to tell a weapon's rarity is by the naming convention with _C, _UC, _R, _VR, _SR for Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare, and Super Rare.

ready up

When you're in a lobby, before you can join a party or enter a game, you have to ready up by clicking the PLAY! button. This will change your status from Not Ready to Ready. When enough friends in your party have readied up, your party will enter the game.  

real-time strategy game

shmup

real-time technology

Technology that permits a player to move smoothly through a virtual environment (2D or 3D) in any direction.

Reboot Van

A vehicle that gives players a way to revive elliminated teammates. Eliminated players drop Reboot Cards, and their teammates can pick up the cards and use them at the Reboot Van to restore health.  

receive

Receivers receive inputs into a device. When a signal is transmitted (sent), any receivers listening on the channel that it was sent on will activate, performing an action specific to that receiver. Channels are how a receiver recognizes that a signal has been transmitted. Note that channels have been replaced by direct event binding.

rectangle light

A rectangular light (RectLight) provides a way to light a large area evenly and generate diffuse shadows based on the area it covers. RectLights are great for imitating fluorescent ceiling lights and for studio lighting setups.

Red vs Blue

  A variation of a team elimination match game.  

Reddit

Reddit is a social platform that networks people with common interests. Users submit posts that other users can upvote or downvote. If a post gets lots of upvotes, it will move up the Reddit rankings, and more people can see it. There are lots of Fortnite Creative subreddits on Reddit.  

refraction

The bending of a wave when it moves at an angle from one medium into another in which its speed is different. For example, when light passes from air into water, it refracts.

regen

Short for regeneration, this can apply to respawning, or to restoring health or other attributes. Also see health regen.  

register

When you register an item, you associate it with the device you're registering it to. This is usually done by dropping the item on the device.

relaxing game

A game that a player can use to relax and unwind. These games are usually more slow-paced, and with lower stakes. Some people like to play them before bedtime to fall asleep faster. Solitaire games are a good example.

release

If attack is the time it takes from the start of a sound for it to reach maximum volume, then release is the time it takes for the sound to no longer be heard after it stops being generated.  

reload time

How long it takes for a weapon's ammo to replenish. This usually refers to the time needed to replace the magazine. For instance, a Six Shooter has a magazine size of 6 bullets, with a reload time of 2.2 seconds. This means that when all six bullets are spent, if you have a fresh magazine, there will still be a 2.2-second delay before it loads.  

rename a device

If you're using multiple devices on an island, it can be helpful to give each one a unique, context-specific name. For example, if you have multiple Creature Placers on your island, you might want to name each one based on the creature type, or if you have multiple copies of the same vehicle, you could rename each vehicle spawner based on the vehicle color or associated channel, or use some other way that distinguishes one vehicle from another.

1. Open the Customize panel and click the Settings (gear) icon on the bottom left of the panel.

2. Click Rename, and type the new device name. You can use up to 60 characters.

3. Click Save.  

Once you've saved, the new name will appear at the top of the Customize panel. It will also show up when you point at the device with your phone while in Create mode.

render

Rendering is the process of using a computer program to make a 2D or 3D image. The result of rendering is called a render. A rendered image contains a number of different elements, including texture, lighting, shading, and one or more points from which it can be viewed. The complexity of the render determines how much of your computer's resources will be used.

replay

replay is a recording of a game that you can play back to study the game or a player's technique. It is more than just a recording of the game, because you can move through the replay in three dimensions. The Fortnite feature that you can use to make a replay is called Replays. This feature has to be enabled to work with your Creative islands. To do this, go to the Game Menu, click the gear icon, then click Settings. On the Game tab, scroll down to Replays, then set the Record Creative Replays to ON. When enabled, this feature can record an entire four-hour play session, but the recordings are saved in individual 30-minute files.

The Replays feature is also great for setting up screen captures or video clips to share on social media. For more info, see How to Use the Replays Feature.

Reporting Feedback menu option

Accessed from the Game Menu in Creative, this option is a way to report things you run into that you think Epic should know about (such as software bugs), or that violate Epic's Code of Conduct.  

Reset Island

If you want to remove everything you've built from an island in Creative, go to My Island > Tools and click Reset Island To Original State, then click Confirm. This will remove everything you've created and restore the island to its original state. This is useful if you're not very deep into your island's creation, and just want to start over, and this is faster than exiting the island, deleting it, and creating a new one.  

resource

In Creative, a resource is something you can use to build or barter. For instance, items available in the Vending Machine device are paid for with wood, stone, or metal. Also see World Resources.  

resource drop

A resource drop is a usable or crafting item that can be spawned from a prop when it is destroyed or altered, and that can then be collected by a player. For example, a tree might spawn a wood resource that the player can use for building things.  

Resources bar

In the bottom-right corner of the Creative screen, you'll find three rows of items. The top row is the Resources bar. Resources include wood, stone and metal. It shows what resources you have available. The second row is the Build bar and the bottom row is the Equipment bar.

respawn

1.   To spawn again after elimination.  

2. A game mode that permits players to respawn after elimination and continue playing.

Respawn menu option

Accessed from the Game Menu in Creative, this option provides a way to respawn at any point during a game if your game is set up to allow this and you haven't used up all your lives.  

reticle

An overlay image that can be used to aim a weapon, place an object, or focus attention on something. Reticles can have different shapes, such as a crosshairs like you'd see in a rifle scope or binoculars.

retrofit

To add to or modify something that is already constructed.

reverse camera

In Rocket Racing, this vehicle action reverses the camera view so you can see what your competitors are doing behind you.

revert

With revision control to revert means to discard recent changes on assets that have been checked out but not submitted.

revision

In UEFN, this refs to a specific version of a file. Also see revision control.

revision control

Revision control (also known as source code control or version control), is a way to track and manage changes to software code. This is useful when you have teams of programmers working on the same project. If someone makes a mistake, version control makes it possible to compare earlier versions of the code to find and correct the problem without interrupting everyone else’s work.

Revolver

A type of pistol that shoots one round at a time. A revolver magazine holds six shots. Revolvers are a type of pistol. There are several six-shooters for each rarity, and Damage and Fire Rate vary. They all use medium bullets.

RGB

The colors in light that make up other colors. RGB stands for red, green, and blue.

rifle

A rifle is usually used for taking down opponents from a distance.

rift

In Creative, a rift is a portal that teleports a player to a specific destination on an island. The hub contains rifts, which are portals you can use to teleport to different islands. Only one rift, though, is a golden rift. The golden rift is your own personal portal to your own personal islands. When you get close to a rift, it displays a description of where it can take you. Also see personal rift.  

rigging

A technique used in skeletal animation for a 3D character model using a series of interconnected digital bones. Rigging is the process of creating the bone structure of a 3D model, which can then be used to animate the character the way you would a puppet.

rock armor

Rocks artifically placed along a coast, in the water but away from land. These rocks disperse the energy of waves coming on shore, which helps to reduce damage during severe storms.

Rocket Boost

A device that players can use to refill an Octane vehicle boost meter. This boost makes it possible for the Octane to reach supersonic speeds, and even fly.  

rocket drift

In Rocket Racing, a rocket drift happens when you turn very sharply and accelerate, causing the back tires to slide. Also see oversteer.  

Rocket League

A high-powered hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem with easy-to-understand controls and fluid, physics-driven competition, this game is available in the Epic Game Store.  

Rocket League Item Shop

The Rocket League Item Shop is where you can browse and purchase in-game items for Rocket League. It includes everything from cars to explosions.  

rockets

An ammo type available in the Consumables category of the Creative Menu for weapons that use explosives, these are typically used in rocket launchers. You can equip rockets one at a time. For weapons that use rockets, such as the Grenade Launcher, an icon that looks like a rocket displays in the Details panel for that weapon.  

roleplay game

  See RPG.  

roll

  See orientation.  

rotate

  To turn an object on any axis.  

round

1. (game) A single play of a game to a specific end result. A round can be based on a time limit, an accumulation of points, or the accomplishment of some other goal.

2. (weapon) A single bullet, shell, or missile.  

rounds

A tag for games that use multiple periods of gameplay within a larger game. Games can have several rounds, where the winner of the most rounds wins, or where points carry over between rounds until all rounds are finished.  

rounds per second

  See RPS.  

roundup

Roundups are games that are featured on Discover. Unlike callouts, where the island creator submits their experience for feature consideration, the featured games in a roundup row in Discover are based on an algorithm that exposes islands that match the roundup topic. Roundups have included skillrun and parkour games, for example. Roundups only apply to islands that have been submitted and approved for Discover.  

RPG

In a roleplay game or RPG, the player assumes the role of a specific character for the game.

RPS

Rounds per second, or how many rounds a weapon can fire in a second. This is used to measure fire rate.

rubberbanding

1. The effect of a latency in online gaming where a moving object appears to leap from on place to another instantly. This is not a good thing if it's not part of the gameplay design.

2. An effect in some video games designed to balance game difficulty dynamically. For example, AI characters falling behind might get a buff, while those too far ahead of the players might get a debuff.  

runner

A runner game is where the player focus is on running toward a specific thing or away from something. Some sort of course with obstacles is usually involved, and the runner may or may not be under attack while running.

runtime error

  An error that occurs while a program is running. Runtime errors are informally called bugs.  

runtime session

When you click the Launch Session button in UEFN, this launches the server that runs Fortnite Creative on top of UEFN.

SAC

  See Support-A-Creator.  

safe zone

A zone where weapons are inactive.

sample

Sampling is a technique of digitally encoding music or sound and reusing it as part of a composition or recording. In Patchwork, short audio clips, or samples, are used by devices like the Drum Player and Instrument Player to generate music.

sample island

An island built to a specific game mode, the sample island is published, and goes with a full island tutorial to demonstrate what the gameplay should look like to the player.

Sample islands differ from starter islands and template islands in two important ways. Sample islands cannot be edited or changed within Creative, they can only be played. They can be accessed from the Discover screen by using the island code.

sample library

A sample library is a collection of sounds stored in a file.

sample rate

Sampling is when you turn an audio source into a digital file. This is done by taking samples of the audio source. How often these samples are taken determines the sample rate.

Sample rates are measured per second, using kilohertz (kHz) per second. CDs are usually recorded at 44.1kHz — with 44,100 samples taken every second.

sandbox game

A sandbox game is one that is isolated from a larger game to let users modify or experiment with aspects of the game. Fortnite Creative is a sandbox game, which is why you can make changes, save them, and share with other players. These sandbox areas are called islands.

sapper

A military engineer who builds, digs and fortifies things.

satisfaction

The satisfaction metric is based on player experience with your island, and includes factors like how much fun players had, how they rate your game, and if they favorite or recommend the island.

saturation

The level of color intensity. High saturation provides bright colors, while low saturation appears more muted.

In lighting, saturation describes the amount of brightness a color appears to have on an island. In Contrast, lightness tells how dark or light a specific color is. Color saturation can mute colors which yields a grayscale or black-and-white appearance, or it can over-saturate a specific color or range of colors making them more vivid.

Save Point

A device that can save data for players and load for other sessions so the data persists across multiple sessions.

Save the World

A PvEgame mode in Fortnite where you and your friends work in a cooperative campaign to defend against monster hordes and save the world. It includes features like building in-game, crafting weapons, finding loot and leveling up.  

scale

The size of something compared to something else. For example, if you have a box that is one unit in every direction, if you scale it up to twice the size, it will be two units in every direction.

In music, a scale is a graduated sequence of notes that divides an octave.  

scale degree

The scale degree represents the relative relationships between notes in an octave. These are called the first, second, and so on, through seventh, and are represented by Roman numerals: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII. A basic chord is made up of I, III, and V, regardless of the key used. For example, a chord in the key of C would use C, D, and F, while a chord in the key of F would use F, A, and C.  

scalloping

Scalloping is a pattern of convex curves that look like the edge of a scallop shell as it repeats. A scalloped effect can be created with a series of spot lights placed at intervals along a wall or similar surface. This effect can be an intentional or unintentional, but either way, it can add visual interest to a space. The more diffuse the light source is, the softer the scallop will be.

scavenging

Games where salvaging or scavenging is a key part of gameplay. Scavenging games can also include crafting and building.  

score

Score can be the action of gaining points. The player scored 5 for the win. It can also refer to the points themselves. Increase score by jumping the shark.

Score Manager

When activated, this device keeps track of individual player or team scores for things like win conditions or gameplay prerequisites.

Screen Size Value

The Screen Size Value determines how much space an asset should occupy on the screen before the asset drops to a lower level of detail. As you move away from an asset, its screen size value shrinks.

scripted tutorial

A tutorial that is planned out in a way that will guide a new player through how a game is played is called a scripted tutorial. The tutorial steps are usually placed in the game with a combination of informational devices and triggers that will open information when a player reaches a specific step or location.  

scrubbing

When you manually click and drag to fast-forward or reverse a video or audio track, this is called scrubbing.

SDF

A signed distance field, or SDF, is a contour map where each point represents the minimum distance to a shape's boundary or surface. The "signed" part of this term indicates whether the distance is represented by negative values (inside the shape) or positive values (outside the shape). The boundary itself has a value of 0.

search and destroy

Search and destroy is a round-based game type in which a team of attackers pairs off against a team of defenders, swapping sides at the halfway point.  

season

Fortnite Battle Royale releases come in chapters, and each chapter is made up of seasons. Every season includes a video that features the lore associated with the new season.

seasonal

Any game designed around a specific seasonal event, like a winter holiday or a summer break.

second-price auction

In a second-price auction, the winning bid is the highest bid in the auction, but the winner pays the second highest bidder’s bid, plus $0.01. For example, if the top bid is $5, and the second highest bid is $4, the winner would pay $4.01.

secondary track

A secondary track in Rocket Racing is an alternate path or route along the primary track. There's no limit to how many secondary tracks you can use. In Edit mode, these are identified by their color, green.

secrets

A tag used for games designed so players can find secrets hidden around the island.

section

The size of a single Landscape Steaming Proxy. A section is made up of components. A camera can only render a limited number of components within a section at a time.

semantic search

See keyword matching search. 

Sentry Spawner

A device that places a spawn pad that spawns an AI-driven NPC that shoots at enemies. This NPC can be outfitted with various weapon loadouts.

Sequencer

Sequencer is a multi-track editor in Unreal Engine and UEFN that you can use to create and preview cinematic sequences in real time.

series

A game built as a part of an ongoing series of islands.

server

UEFN is accessed through a dedicated server that connects Fortnite clients for editing and playtesting.

shading path switch

A type of material node you can use to select between different behaviors within a single material. This is commonly used to combine behaviors for low end and high end platforms within a material.

shake down

When you knock down another player in-game, you can shake down the player to find out where the player's squad mates are by walking up close and pressing E. When you do this, the enemy team's position will be pinged on your map. This is called a shakedown.  

shape

In Patchwork, shape refers to a waveform. For example, on the LFO Modulator device, you can select the shape of the oscillation wave pattern that the LFO will output.

Different shapes produce different effects. Another example is on the Drum Sequencer, where you have a shape knob for each sample that you can adjust the waveform for. This makes it possible to do things like cutting off the release of the drum sound for a gated reverb effect.

share

In Fortnite, a share can refer to sharing content like videos or screen captures about your island on social media, or sharing an island code or URL that players can use to access your island.  

shatter

  In the Distortion Effect device, this is a control that adds a clipped sound to distortion.  

shells

An ammo type available in the Consumables category on the Creative Menu for weapons that use shells, these are typically used in shotguns. You can equip in quantities of 20. For weapons that use shells, such as the PUMP SHOTGUN, an icon that looks like a row of 2 shells displays in the Details panel for that weapon.  

shield

A shield is a method of protection that can take incoming damage and leave a player's health unchanged. Shield items are usually potions that increase a players shield health when consumed.

shmup

Abbreviation for shoot `em up.  

shoot `em up

A game mode where player combats a large number of enemies by shooting at them while dodging their fire. This mode takes excellent reaction time for the player.

shooter

Shooter game is a game genre where the gameplay is designed around players shooting other players or NPCs. A first-person shooter (FPS) game is one type of shooter game.  

Shooting Range Gallery

A collection of configurable shooting range targets, these devices interact when shot successfully by falling down then popping back up after a specified time. Because they are interactive, this gallery will be found on the Devices tab in Creative inventory instead of the Galleries tab.

shop

A game that offers an in-game shop where players can purchase or trade resources for weapons.  

shortcut key

See hotkey.  

shortcut keys

See Create mode hotkeys.  

shotgun

A type of rifle that that shoots shells that scatter over an area. A number of different shotguns are available on the Creative Menu on the Weapons category. Each is available in a range of rarities. Shotguns require less accuracy to do damage, particularly in closer range.  

shoulder bash

A maneuver where a player can slide or sprint through a door, knocking back any players on the other side of the door. Shoulder bashing only works when sliding or sprinting or both are enabled on the island.  

show

A community experience that focuses on performances. Shows provide a chance for socialization and participation.

side game

See mini-game.  

side-scroller game

A side-scrolling platformer, or side scroller, is a video game that uses a side-view camera angle to follow players as they move left or right through a 2D level.

Sidebar

In Fortnite, the Sidebar is a set of menu options that open when you press the Esc key. For more info, see Exploring the Sidebar and Game Menu.  

sight line

A line extending from an observer's eye to a viewed object. Also see line of sight.  

Signal Remote

A device that you can use to set up actions that can be triggered remotely. For more info, see Signal Remote Manager Devices.  

Signal Remote Manager

A device that you can use to control how signal remotes work. For more info, see Signal Remote Manager Devices.  

simulation

A simulation is an experience modeled on real life activities. Simulation games are usually non-combative, and focus on ordinary experiences, like growing and harvesting food, or building cities. You can think of a simulation game as a hybrid of roleplay and mundane resource management. SimAnt – The Electronic Ant Colony, first published in 1991, is an example of an early simulation game, where the player controlled a nest of ants.

Simulator and simulation are often used interchangeably. Also see simulator.

simulation entity

The simulation entity is the entity that sits at the root of your project to represent the simulation.

simulator

A game mode designed to simulate an IRL activity, like flying a plane (Flight Simulator). Simulators are often used to train users in some specific field by creating a simulated environment where the user can practice using specific tools.

Simulator and simulation are often used interchangeably. Also see simulation.

single player

A game designed for one player. Also see solo.  

single-phase storm

Each time a storm changes size, this a phase for that storm. A single-phase storm does not change size. Also see storm phase.  

single-player game

A video game where only one player plays at a time. Some single-player games can also accommodate two players, particularly games designed for consoles or arcade video games.  

Six Shooter

A type of revolver that holds six bullets.

Skeletal Mesh

A Skeletal Mesh Actor is a special type of actor that is used to display complex animation data that was created in a 3D content creation software. Skeletal Meshes are made up of two parts: A set of polygons composed to make up the surface of the Skeletal Mesh, and a hierarchical set of interconnected bones which can be used to animate the vertices of the polygons. Skeletal Meshes are often used in Unreal Engine to represent characters or other animating objects. The 3D models, rigging and animations are created in an external modeling and animation application (3DSMax, Maya, Softimage, etc), and are then imported into Unreal Engine 4 and saved into packages by using the Unreal Editor Content Browser.

Sketchfab

The leading platform for web-based 3D and augmented reality (AR). You can use Sketchfab to create and manage 3D assets.

skillrun

A type of game in Creative designed to eliminate players as they run through the game. The map (island) is set up with hazards and traps, and the first player to make it to the end of the route without being eliminated is the winner.  

skills

A game designed to test a player's skills using a mix of survival, combat and building skills.

skin

See outfit.  

Skydome

The Skydome device controls how the sky looks with options for changing the sun, clouds, stars or other objects in the sky above your island. You can also change the color of your lightsource, and blend different colors for your island’s sky to create the perfect atmosphere for your game.

slide

If a player is running, pressing and holding the left Ctrl key will activate a slide. The slide will last for several seconds, then stop.  

SMG

Short for submachine gun. SMGs fire more rapidly than rifles, and have larger magazines, meaning they hold more rounds (bullets).

snapshot

A snapshot captures all of the information for your project in the instant that you submit changes for revision control.

sniper

Typical sniper games are PvP combat games.  

sniper rifle

Any of a number of rifles designed for long-range shooting. Many sniper rifles are also equipped with scopes, which makes them more accurate.

sniper vs runners

A game mode where you're either a sniper shooting at runners, or a runner dodging sniper bullets as you run.

Sniper weapons

All sniper weapons are rifles. They are ranged weapons, meaning useful for shooting over long distances. There are various types of sniper rifles, and most of them come in more than one rarity. You will find sniper rifles under the Weapons tab on the Creative Menu.  

social deduction

A game in which players or teams of players use logic and deductive reasoning to uncover the hidden opponent.

social media content creator

Someone who creates external content (blogs, videos, or social media posts) about products in the Fortnite ecosystem.

social simulation

A type of game that simulates a specific social environment or situation.  

socket

A socket is a point where something connects with something else. Sockets can be used on a Static Mesh or a Skeletal Mesh to attach lights, particle effects or even other meshes.

soft deadzone

The area inside of the deadzone where the camera starts to accelerate to follow the player. This area blends the look-at location between remaining stationary and following the target.  

soft source radius

You can use this effect to blur a shadow edge that is too sharp. See source radius for more info.

solo

When you play a game alone, you are playing solo. Compare to squad and duo.  

sophistication score

The sophistication score uses the same statistical approach as the Discover Score, but focuses on the content within an island and the development effort spent building and updating the island. It includes metrics that focus on the use of devices, animation, sequencers, Verse code, textures, and many other features. As new features are added to UEFN, they may be integrated into future calculations.  

sound

See audio file.

sound cue

A sound cue is an audio object that encapsulates complex sound design tasks in a sound graph.

You can use a sound cue to modify an existing audio file by using audio nodes on the graph. Some of the things you can do with a sound cue include creating audio loops, fading sounds based on player distance from the source, and creating an audio sequence by using multiple sounds in a single cue.

UEFN provides a number of sound cues, but you can also create your own.

sound graph

An sound graph is used to configure sounds using nodes.

sound source

What you hear in-game when the audio engine renders a sound.

sound wave

An audio file that can be imported into UEFN.

source length

Source length is the distance over which a light projects. The length runs down the X-axis for the light source.

source radius

This simulates the size of a small light source, such as LEDs, throwing off sharp shadows. This is especially apparent when the light source is close to a surface.

spatial values

A concrete measurement of a spatial metric in a 3D location. Spatial values are composed of three spatial coordinate values {X, Y, X}, and a measurement result value {V}. Spatial values are aggregated in a Spatial Metric Sample.

spatialization

An audio effect that gives a listener the impression that a sound is coming from a specific direction or location.

spatialized

Sound that has been recorded and/or processed to create an impression of spherical (3D) sound.

spawn camping

The action of camping or guarding a point where the enemy players will respawn and eliminating them as soon as they spawn. It's considered bad sportsmanship. Also see cheese strategy.  

Spawn Limit

A setting that controls the number of times a player can respawn after being eliminated, or number of lives a player has. Set a number value from 1 to 10. Note that this number includes the initial spawn, so if you set it to 1, the player won't respawn after first elimination.

spawn pad

A device that places an item, object, or player at a specific location on the island.

spawning

Spawning is the instant creation or addition of a character, item, or NPC (entity) to your island. When you first start Creative, you will spawn into the hub. You can also spawn objects. Any time you cause something to appear on the island, you’re spawning that object or character. Respawning is the recreation of a character after its elimination or destruction. Despawning is the deletion of an entity from your island.  

specular

Specular reflection uses the same angle to reflect light off an object as the angle the light strikes the object with. Compare to diffuse and normal.

speed build

A speed build is when you complete a project within a certain amount of time, or as fast as possible.

speed run race

In Rocket Racing, a speed run can be played solo or with multiple players, but instead of racing against others, the player is racing to beat their own best time in a session, with the result logged against global learderboards.

spline

In computer graphics, a spline is a smooth curve that runs through a series of given points.  

spline node

A point on a path, track, or rail that controls its placement. These nodes can be used to shape, reshape or extend the path, track or rail.

Sponsored Row

A dedicated row in Discover where developers can have their islands showcased to eligible players. Developers pay for this increase in visibility.

Sports Car Spawner

A device that spawns a drivable sports car onto your island.

sports game

A game designed to simulate a sport, like football or ice skating.

spray

Sometimes called graffiti, a spray cosmetic item available to players that can be used to mark surfaces in-game.

While sprays do not affect gameplay directly, some users will use them in team play to warn other team members of potential threats by tagging them.

sprint

Sprinting is a way a player can increase their speed by holding down the left Shift key. Jumping while sprinting also gives the player a higher jump range.  

sprite

A sprite is a two-dimensional bitmap that's used in computer graphics. The term goes all the way back to the first arcade video games from the early Seventies.  

sprite particle effect

Some visual effects use 2D sprites to simulate things that have a variable shape, either because the shape changes over time, or because it is affected by gravity or other forces. This can include environmental effects like rain, smoke, lightning or fog. It can also include human-made effects such as explosions and fireworks.  

spriting

Creating sprites by hand is a form of pixel art and is sometimes called spriting.

squad

A squad is three or four players playing together on a team. Compare to solo and duo.  

squad member

A player on a specific squad or team.

sRGB

sRGB stands for Standard Red Green Blue. This is a color space, or a set of specific colors, that sets a standard for the colors on electronic displays. sRGB is the most popular color space used today and the default used in games. Also see RGB.

stack

Multiples of a single item or object.

stamina bar

A bar that pops up above a player's shield bar when the player is sprinting to show how much sprint time the player has left.

star rating

In Creative inventory, the rarity of a weapon or an item is indicated by the number of stars in the description. One star indicates that it is Common, two stars is Uncommon, three stars is Rare, four stars is Epic, five stars is Legendary, and six stars is Mythic.

Start Game menu option

Accessed from the Game Menu in Creative, this option will take you into your current game. If you are already in-game, this option will display as END GAME.

starter content

Content provided for use in a template to get a project going quickly.

starter island

When creating a new island, you have two possible starting points: starter islands and template islands. A starter island has a predefined landscape and a theme. While some elements — trees, structures, boulders — can be removed, the overall terrain cannot be modified. Compare to template island.  

starting devices

A category of basic devices that are useful when you’re first getting started creating your own islands. Starting devices include things like Player Spawners, triggers, and the HUD Message device.  

stat

In role-playing games, a statistic, or stat, is information that represents an aspect of a fictional character (role). These stats are usually based on assigned jobs or professions, and the stats are assigned based on class.  

Static Mesh

A Static Mesh is a 3D object drawn inside a level without animations. At most, it can have a transform modification that applies to the whole object.

statistics

A statistic is a count of something. Metrics usually measure statistics. Analytics is a method of finding meaning and insight into the metrics available.  

status effect

An effect on a player, usually but not always negative, that wears off quickly. In some cases, it also leaves lingering damage.

stealth

A game where players try to avoid being seen by other players or NPCs as they work to attain objectives.  

Steam

Steam is an online platform where you can buy, play, create, and discuss PC games. The platform hosts thousands of games and downloadable content, and user-generated mods from both major developers and indie game designers.

step

Traditionally, a step is the distance from one note to the next in a diatonic scale. With the advent of synthesizers, this definition expanded. Step sequencing divides a measure of music into a predetermined number of note time durations called steps. The duration of these steps can then be shortened or lengthened.  

step rate

In Patchwork, the pace at which a device moves through its output steps.

Step rate controls are used for setting the output speed value for the Step Modulator, for going through the columns on the Note Sequencer note grid, and for moving between transpositions applied by the Note Progressor.

stepped knob

A stepped knob snaps to values along the knob's circular path. It differs from a continuous knob in that you can only set it to a specific value on the knob. Compare to knob and carousel.  

stickiness

Stickiness is a measurement of player engagement for a game. The more players stick to a game (play for extended periods and return frequently), the popular the game is. The stickier the better!

stinger

A stinger (also called bumper or sounder) is a short audio clip used to introduce, link, or end other audio clips. In addition to music, stingers can also incorporate voiceover or sound effects.

stone

A consumable resource that can be used in-game for building, or to fill other register requirements.  

storm circle

The area that a storm can influence is the area outside of the storm circle, and players outside of the circle can be affected by the storm. Inside of the circle, players are safe from the storm (but not from other things!). The size of the storm circle can be changed by adjusting the radius for a storm device. In-game, this circle is indicated by a purple border.  

Storm device

Any of several devices that you can use to create storms or control the way they behave.

storm phase

In Creative, a storm is created by a storm device to do damage. A storm starts at a certain size, and changes size based on the options you set, either decreasing or increasing the area of play. Each time the storm changes size, this is a storm phase. For example, if you set the storm controller to change size five times, you will have a five-phase storm.

story driven

Refers to a game that's built around a story. Story-driven games focus more on story than gameplay, and are often open-world games.  

strategy

A game where the player must use logic and critical thinking skills to attain the objective.

streamer

Someone who streams their video gameplay. Top streamers have millions of followers and hundreds of millions of views. There are roughly 7 million active streamers on Twitch.

streaming

Broadcasting your gameplay in real time, most commonly via Twitch or YouTube.

streaming proxy

A part of the Landscape that can be loaded and unloaded independently, based on distance from player.

streaming source

Streaming sources are components that define a position in the world and trigger the loading of cells around them. Player Controllers are a streaming source. Other streaming sources can be added to the world using the World Partition Streaming Source component. For example, a streaming source component can be activated at the location that a player will teleport to, so it can load the cells there. Once the grid cells are loaded, the player teleports to the location and the streaming source component is deactivated. Since there is no longer a streaming source at the player's previous location, those grid cells would be unloaded. UEFN currently has the player as the only streaming source.

submachine gun

See SMG.  

subreddit

A group for a specific topic on Reddit.  

subscribe

Subscribing is a way to specify the function you want to call when an event is raised. This is referred as binding to an event. The bound function is referred to as a handler.

suggestion bubble

When you're in the Fortnite Creative lobby, the bubbles over other players in the lobby are called suggestion bubbles. These are your friends who are actively in Creative. You can click a bubble to join their party, or invite them to join yours from the Sidebar.  

supply drop

A loot crate that's randomly dropped during a game. It usually contains an assortment of weapons. You'll find supply drops in Battle Royale.

Support menu option

Accessed from the Game Menu in Creative, this takes you to the Fortnite help page.

supporter

Someone who contributes to or supports a UGCC.  

Surfboard Spawner

A device that spawns a rideable surfboard onto your island. This board can be ridden on water or land. Think of it as a hoverboard that also moves over water.

survival

A game mode that typically involves gathering resources in an open world and surviving for as long as possible.  

sustain

The steady volume level of a held note following its attack and decay. How long a note holds a steady volume.  

sync content

A way of ensuring in UEFN that your project files are the most current when using revision control.

synthesizer

A synthesizer, or synth for short, is an electronic musical instrument that can be used to generate digital music.

tabletop game

Before there were video games, there were tabletop games. This is any game that is played on a flat surface. It includes both board games and card games.

tame

Taming is a way of filtering distortion in Patchwork that reduces or increases the distortion. A higher tame value increases the filter, which reduces the distortion.  

target

When using camera devices, the target is the player the camera is following or focused on.

Taxi Spawner

A device that spawns a drivable taxi onto your island.

team

A group of users defined in Creator Portal that have shared access to one or more projects.

team elimination match

A game mode where two teams of equal size fight each other until one team is eliminated or a score threshold is reached.  

team FFA

Team free-for-all or FFA is another name for team elimination match.  

team member

A user who's been added to a team in the Creator Portal for the purpose of collaboration on a project.

Team Select menu option

Accessed from the Game Menu in Creative, this setting lets you set the maximum number of teams you allow for your game. This option can only be accessed when you're on your island, and is not available from the hub.

Team Settings & Inventory

An important device for most team-based games, this gives you additional team- and inventory-related configurations beyond what the Island Settings can provide. You can also use this to customize individual devices to create variations in team setup.

For more info, see Team Settings & Inventory Devices.

team size

Team size can be set in several ways. A dynamic split spreads players evenly between teams, or you can set a specific number of players for each team.

teams

You can control how many teams can play in your game, and how they interact. Creative supports up to 16 teams. If you want to use team-related features for devices, you must have at least 2 teams enabled.

teleport

To move instantly from one place to another.

Teleporter

A placeable rift device that teleports a player from one location to another. You can customize this device to set where a player is teleported from (origin point) and to (destination point). For more info, see Teleporter Devices.  

template

See island template.  

template island

When creating a new island in Creative, you have two starting points: starter islands and template islands. While a starter island is basically empty terrain, a template island contains devices and props, and demonstrates how to use them. A template island can be a tutorial, a showcase, or a test environment.

Like sample islands, template islands have been published and have island codes. Unlike sample islands, they can be opened in Creative and edited, and any changes you make while in Create mode will be saved.

Many of the template islands also contain instructions on how to adapt devices to your specific needs.

tempo

How fast or slow something plays. Also known as beats per minute, or bpm. Different tempos can create different moods. For example, a 60-bpm tempo is a slow, relaxing tempo, while a 150-bpm tempo is much more energetic.  

tenacity

The time limit to revive a player that is in Down But Not Out (DBNO) state. Tenacity is a resource possessed by a downed player, and it decreases over time. The default loss of Tenacity is 2 per second in the DBNO device, but this can be customized.

See Down But Not Out Devices for more info.

terrain

Terrain refers to the physical features of a land. Common terrains include things like hills, mountains, plains, valleys, forests, deserts, swamps, marshes, lakes and rivers.

territory control game

A game where players attempt to gain dominion or control over a specific region to win a bonus or ability.

testing in Discover

For Discover, a test is defined as receiving 50,000 impressions, ideally within a 20–60-minute period.   Discover algorithms analyze an island's attraction, engagement, and satisfaction during the test window. Islands with particularly high sophistication scores may be tested multiple times in their first week post launch. 

texel

Short for tex-ture el-ement, a texel is the smallest unit of a texture map. Texels are similar to pixels but they are the smallest units in texture space, compared to pixels in screen space.

texture

A texture is an image that is mapped to the surface that a material is applied to. A texture can be applied directly, or the values of the texture's pixels (called texels) can be used within the material as masks or for other calculations. For the most part, textures are created in an image-editing application, such as Photoshop, then imported into UEFN through the Content Browser.

texture mapping

Texture mapping is a method for defining the appearance of a 3D model. This reduces the number of polygons needed to define surface color, texture or other details, which improves performance.

texture mask

A texture mask is a grayscale texture, or a single R, G, B or Alpha channel of a texture, used to limit the area of an effect inside of a material.

theme

See island theme.  

thermal vision effect

Thermal vision is an effect that makes it easier to see things by applying a contrasting highlight to the player or object so they stand out against the background.

thumbnail

A thumbnail is a still image of your island that intrigues a viewer to find out more. It can be a screen capture or an illustration that includes features from your game. Thumbnails are used in Discover as a preview image of a game. Also see tile.  

tile

1. A section of a grid on a surface such as a floor or wall.

2. A way of organizing menu options visually.

For Verse:  A section of a grid on a surface such as a floor or wall.

Time Limit

For a timed game, this setting determines how long a game will play. None indicates no time limit. Otherwise set between 5 and 120 minutes.

timed

A timed game has a set duration for either individual rounds or the entire game.  

Timed Objective

A device that can be started and stopped by opposing teams. Use this device to create a buffer using time. The timed device can be activated through interaction or through a trigger, and once the defined time is up, it will transmit on the user-selected channel to indicate that the set time is up. This device also contains logic for audio cues, allowing creators to create a sense of urgency through more hectic ticking at player-selected intervals.  

Timer

A device in Creative that provides a way for players to keep track of elapsed time, either for scoring purposes or for triggering actions. A timer can be used to count down to a triggered event, or as a stopwatch.

timing style

A control that adjusts the timing of a device's output relative to its step rate. Straight timing outputs at the step rate. Triplet timing outputs in a shuffle feel, at two thirds of the step rate. Dotted timing outputs in a syncopated feel, at one and a half times the step rate.  

title screen

A screen that displays while an item is loading.

TODM

Time of Day Manager

toggle

To turn something on or off. A toggle has only two possible settings: ON and OFF.

tool

In UEFN, a tool is a dialog or panel used to perform a specific set of actions or to display information about one or more Actors or Assets, and an editor is a collection of tools used to edit one or more specific types of Assets.

Tools tab

On the Island Settings tab, the Tools category provides a way to reset your island back to its original state. It also lets you back up your island and restore the backup.  

tooltip

A brief message that opens when you rest your cursor over something in the user interface. The tip provides information on how to use that thing.

Torch

Available only in Fortnite Creative, the Torch is a rare weapon. Like the Flashlight, it inflicts 0.0 DPS, but you can use it to light up a dark area. Unlike the Flashlight, which is considered a ranged weapon (good for illuminating scenes over a distance), the Torch is a melee weapon in that it only illuminates the immediate area.  

Total Rounds

An option for setting the number of rounds before the game is over.

tower defense

A game where a person or team is fighting off waves of incoming enemies to defend a point.

Tracker

A device that you can use to create and track custom objectives for your players.

trailer

A short video of your island, usually 30–60 seconds long, that you can use on social media to promote your creation.

training game

Any game designed to help players improve their skills and understanding of game mechanics. Training games are designed to hone a specific skillset. Compare to practice game.  

transact

An action that is transacted can be reversed in the editor.

transform

References moving (translating), scaling, and rotating collectively.

transform gizmo

A viewport icon that you can use to quickly choose an axis or combination of axes when transforming a selected object.

translate

To move an object from one place to another in three dimensions.

translation

Translation is when you move an object from one position to another in a three-dimensional space.

transpose

To shift a sequence of notes to a different key without changing the note pattern.

trap

A trap is a tile device that, when placed on a surface, can have an unexpected (often negative) effect on a player's attributes, movements, or health. There are different kinds of traps. For example, a Damage trap will cause some kind of damage when a player or NPC steps on or drives over it, while a Chiller trap will slow the player's movement. A trap usually has to be placed on a surface (such as a floor or wall) before it can be customized.

trap icon

See beartrap icon.  

traverse

To travel across, over, or through something.

Trick Tile

A Trick Tile is a device that can be attached to a floor, wall, or other surface, such as stairs. When activated (by stepping on it or through a triggered channel), it destroys or removes the surface that it's attached to.

Trigger

(v) To trigger a device is to activate it either through direct interaction or by use of binding. 

(n) A Trigger device is a specific, highly configurable device that can be used to send signals to other devices.  

trios

Games designed for three players. This can fit with different types of games.

tune

To restore a setting to its default.Tune control can mean adjusting the frequency of an audio output. If something is in tune, its audio frequency is generally in sync with the global settings The more it's detuned, the more its frequency will shift out of sync.

turbo

In Rocket Racing, the turbo button gives a vehicle a burst of speed.

turn-based strategy game

A turn-based strategy (TBS) game is one where strategy is a key element, but players take turns playing. A classic example of a TBS is chess. Many board games rely on a turn-based strategy.  

tutorial

1. A short course or brief instruction designed to teach you how to do something specific.

Fortnite uses many types of tutorial:

• Written tutorials that explain how to do something,

• Tutorial videos that show you how to do something,

• Template islands that come already built, with corresponding written tutorials that you can follow to deconstruct the island's mechanics, then build your own.

2. Instructional gameplay that teaches a player a specific set of skills, or provides lessons on a specific topic. Research supports the fact that games can be used to increase student participation with increased motivation to learn.

Twitch

Twitch is a video streaming service that focuses on live streaming of video games, including broadcasts of esports competitions, along with music broadcasts, creative content, and other live streams.

two-factor authorization

A way of adding another layer of security to your Epic account in addition to your password. This can be done using an authenticator app on your smart phone, receiving a code in a text message, or through email. When setting up 2FA for your Epic account, you will have the opportunity to pick the method that's best for you.

tycoon

An economy game where players accumulate as much currency as possible.  

UFO Spawner

A device that spawns a customizable UFO that players can fly.

For more info, see UFO Spawner Devices.

UGC

User-generated content in Fortnite. This would include any environments or gameplay created on an island using any of the Fortnite creation tools.  

UGCC

A user-generated-content Creator — someone who creates content in Fortnite Creative.

UI

User Interface, or UI, is any point where you, the user, can interact with the software. This most commonly refers to the screen, but can also include the keyboard, mouse, or controller device.

UMG

Unreal Motion Graphics, or UMG, is a feature that provides a way to create an interactive user-interface using widgets for a project. It is the user-interface creation and editing suite inside of Unreal Engine (UE) and Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN).

unbalanced teams

This refers to any game where one team is larger than the other.

Uncommon weapon

Weapons are ranked by rarity. The more rare a weapon is, the more damage it can do. Uncommon is just above Common in rarity. It is represented by two stars. You can view weapons by rarity by checking the category you want to see on the Weapons category on the Creative Menu.  

uncooked editor server

A server dedicated to validating, processing, and cooking data. The uncooked editor server is currently on the same machine as the dedicated server.

Unreal Editor for Fortnite

Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) is a PC application for designing, developing and publishing games directly into Fortnite.

If you’re already a Fortnite creator, you’ll recognize many of the same devices that power your Fortnite experiences, but with more “under the hood” access that you can use to make things look and perform exactly the way you want.

Fortnite Creative and UEFN are complementary toolsets. Explore the UEFN documentation to learn more.

Unreal Engine

A complete suite of integrated tools for anyone working with real-time technology. In addition to the Unreal Editor interface for creating and editing content, this is the engine that runs the games and other experiences you create in the Unreal Editor.

Unreal Units

An Unreal Unit (UU, or unit) is the basic unit of length in Creative. The grid is based on UUs. On a Creative island, one meter equals 100 UU, and a grid tile is 512 UU.  

USD

USD stands for Universal Scene Description.The .usd file format is used for passing data between digital content creation applications. Developed by Pixar, it can interchange elemental assets like models or animation.

user

Someone who uses Fortnite Creative. This can be a creator or a player.  

utility weapon

Utility weapons are things that don't fit in any other subcategory. Examples would include the Kinetic Boomerang, Nitro Fists, and Shockwave Hammer, all of which have unique qualities.

UV island

A group of connected polygons in a UV map.

UV mapping

A way to project a 2D texture onto a 3D model. U and V name the axes used for the texture since X, Y and Z are used to name the axes of the 3D model.

V-Bucks

An in-game currency you can use in Fortnite to purchase Battle Passes, cosmetics, and other cool stuff.  

validation

The checks run over the project content to verify it conforms to the rules of UEFN.

variable

A value that can be changed while a program is running. It's called a variable because it can vary.

vault

When weapons and other items were released then later made unavailable, they are vaulted. This can happen with items that are overpowered, underused, a limited-time item, or have lots of glitches.  

vehicle mods

Items that can be attached to four-wheeled vehicles. For more info, see Vehicle Mod Consumables.  

vehicle spawner

A device that you can use to spawn vehicles onto your island. Each vehicle type has its own specific spawner device.  

Vehicle Trick Score Multiplier

If you have a game where there are vehicles, this option indicates whether certain tricks add a multiplier to a player's score.

Vending Machine

You can use the Vending Machine device to make items available during a game, either for free or for a cost based on wood, stone or metal. Once you've placed the device, drop items in front of it to register them. You can customize the type of payment and cost for each item. Also see Cost of Item.  

Verse

Verse is a statically-checked programming language with an emphasis on gameplay programming.

Verse file

A file in UEFN that contains Verse code.

version control

See revision control.

vertex

A single point. Also see vertices.

vertical composition

In adaptive music, vertical composition, or reorchestration, is a technique in which a track continues to play throughout a section of a game, but as game parameters change, individual elements of the music track are added and removed.

For example, it is common in games to have a simple orchestral track that plays while the player explores an island, but with additional percussion that plays only when the player is in combat. The combat-triggered percussion is added in dynamically when the player enters combat, and is removed when combat is finished, all while the original track continues to play.

Compare to horizontal composition.

verticality

Verticality means providing both high areas and low areas in a Creative island game. Varying the height of features and structures in your play area by using things like stairs, balconies, and scaffoldings provides players with an assortment of strategic options.

vertices

In 3D graphics, models are usually represented by an array of triangles called vertex sets, or vertices. A vertex can have coordinates that represent its position, color, texture, and other attributes.

verts

See vertices.

VFX

Short for visual effects, VFX is digital art that is used for things that are not characters or objects. This includes things like, explosions, dust, water, and so on. A VFX object would be an object that includes visual effects.

VFX Spawner device

A VFX Spawner device gives you a way to add visual effects to your island, such as fog, fireworks, or falling leaves. For more info, see VFX Spawner Devices.  

vibrato

Small, rapid variations in pitch. Vibrato gives extra warmth and expression to a vocal or instrumental tone.

vibrato rate

The speed with which a vibrato tone varies.

Video Player

An in-game video player device for use in Fortnite Creative.

view model

A view model acts as a bridge in user interfaces (UI). View models hold UI-related data and logic separate from the visual view. Keeping the data and logic separate enables data binding and lifecycle management, especially through configuration changes like screen rotations. This makes UIs more robust, testable, and maintainable by decoupling presentation from data.

viewport

The viewport is a visual representation of your level in the editor. While working on your level, you can use a 3D viewport, 2D viewports, or a combination.

The viewport contains a variety of tools to help you see the exact data you need. Viewports are your windows into the things you create. They can be navigated just as you would in a game, or used in a more schematic design sense as you would for an architectural blueprint.

vignette

An effect that simulates darkening in a real-world camera lenses. High-quality lens try to compensate for this effect. Vignetting is mostly noticeable near the edges of the image.

Virtual Shadow Map

Virtual Shadow Map (VSM) is a shadow-mapping method that delivers consistent, high-resolution shadowing.

Visual Effect Powerup

A device that places a visual effect on the player when they pick up an item.

visual media

still images and videos creators use to promote their islands.

visualization

An option when customizing a Radio device that determines whether the audio coming from the radio will sync with a Visualizer.  

Visualizer

A device that syncs a panel of colored lights with audio.

VK

VK is a social platform based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Short for VKontakte, which means In Contact) VK is available in multiple languages but is used predominantly by Russian speakers.  

Voice Chat

A feature that lets players talk to each other during a game. It can be toggled ON and OFF in the island settings.  

volume

1. (gameplay) The space that fills a three-dimensional area is called a volume. It can be used to affect the behavior of players that enter the area, or to trigger an effect. A volume can also block entry, open a door, affect visibility, and more.

2. (island size) A starter island has a specific volume measured by grid count. This is the area you can build on.

3. (audio) This refers to the sound level for music, sound effects, voice chat, and so on.  

voxel

A unit of graphic information based on three dimensions. From vo lume and el ement. Compare to pixel and texel.

VR

Short for virtual reality, an interactive experience where the player's real-world environment is replaced by a virtual environment through a wearable device.

walkthrough

When Creative is used for educational purposes, a lesson plan often calls for a walkthrough of the final result. This can be a live demonstration of a project or experience built on a Creative island, a video tour, or a series of screen captures. Whichever way the student chooses to present the project, the result is a tour of their work, and is called a walkthrough.

warm-up game

A game designed for players to use to warm up before serious playing, such as a tournament. While a training game hones a specific skillset, a warm-up game will generally run the player through a series of different play types. Also see practice game.  

warm-up phase

When a game starts, the players spawn, then are locked in place for a three-second countdown. This is the warm-up phase. Also see game phase.  

warp

A player instantly warps through a portal — also known as a teleporter or rift — from one location to another.  

WASD keys

When playing a game with a QWERTY keyboard and mouse, you can use these keys for navigating the game. Typically, you would have your left hand on the keys — middle finger on the W key, ring finger on the A key, and index finger on the D key, with your right hand on the mouse.

watermark

A piece of code that's embedded in a digital image or video file that prevents someone else from taking your images for their own use. Digital watermarks can be invisible or visible. A visible watermark is a semitransparent identifier such as a name or a logo, used to show ownership of the file.

WAU

Weekly average users, or WAU, is the number of players (users) that visit a published island averaged out over a period of time.

Wave

A setting that makes all players eliminated within a specified time respawn together.  

waveform

A graphical representation of a signal. A waveform shows changes of intensity over time.

waypoint

A point in a game that indicates a change, such as direction or speed, on a course or path. These are used in racing games, for example, to show where a player needs to change direction to stay on the course.

weapon

A weapon is anything that can be used to inflict damage on another player or an object. A number of weapons are available for your island — these weapons can be viewed in inventory under the Weapons category.  

weapon damage

In Creative inventory, most weapons show details that include the DPS (damage per second) rating, how much damage it can cause, and the weapon's fire rate, magazine size and reload time. The weapon's rarity is shown, and is also represented by a number of stars. When a weapon is available with more than one rarity, the rarity has an effect on a weapon's potency.  

Weapons categories

In Creative inventory, your view of weapons can be filtered by using the categories on the left panel. Many weapons will show up under more than one category.

Weapons category

In Create mode, pressing the i key or Tab key will open the Creative inventory screen. Under the Weapons category, you can find everything from crossbows to rocket launchers. You can search for a weapon by name, or sort by one or more subcategories.  

weight

Weight is a combination of complexity and availability. When you give something more weight, you decide that it has more value than something else.

For example, if you have an objective that can be assigned a value, consider how often this objective can be collected, how many instances of this objective are available, and how hard it is to collect. Something that is easy to obtain would have a lower weight, while something that is harder to get, or less frequently available, would get a higher weight.

weight map

A weight map is a way to paint varying strengths on a texture that is mapped to terrain. This, in turn, can be used by a material to control how the terrain appears.

wet

In audio, a wet signal or sound has effects added to it, such as reverb. This refers to any effects you can apply to sound. Compare to dry.  

whisper

What you use in Fortnite to send a direct message to a friend that only that person can see. This option is accessed from the Sidebar.  

white balance

A setting that tells the camera how to register color temperature by adjusting the value of the whites in an image so the whites actually appear white.

White balance acts to balance the color temperature in a game environment by adding the opposite color to the image in an attempt to bring the color temperature back to a natural-looking neutral. Instead of whites appearing blue (cool) or orange (warm), they should appear white after correct white balancing.

widget

An element of a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays information, or provides a specific way for a user to interact with the application.

wildlife

Animals that are spawned from the Wildlife Spawner.

Wildlife Spawner

A device that spawns animals onto an island. The animals are either prey or predators. With bait, you can tame some animals, and you collect bait by hunting and eliminating animals.

For more info, see Wildlife Spawner Devices.

win condition

he condition a player or team has to meet to win a game or round. Typical conditions include eliminating another player or object, or accomplishing a specific objective such as finishing a maze or finding a hidden object.

wireframe

A model created by vertices to represent a single object, character, or a piece of terrain. A wireframe is typically three-dimensional and is un-textured, exposing all vertices in a see-through fashion.

wolves vs chickens

A variation of a team elimination match game.  

wood

A resource that can be used in-game for building, or to fill other register requirements.  

World Partition

The magic behind building large experiences, the World Partition feature in UEFN automatically divides the world into cells, and streams only the necessary cells based on player location and HLOD.

world position

World position is the location where a vertex or pixel is being rendered.

world position offset

This is the additional offset applied to a vertex position from its base position, and is controlled by the material.

world resources

World resources are resources that can be used for various purposes in Creative, such as a medium of exchange, or for building. World resources can be found in the Items category of the Content tab.  

World Settings Glossary

Each level can have unique settings applied to it from the World Settings panel that override other settings.

world space

World space is relative to the world origin, with a position of 0, 0, and 0 across the X-, Y- and Z-axes.

wrap

While an outfit is what you use to change a character's appearance, a wrap is what you use to change the appearance of a gun or vehicle.  

X-axis

See axis.  

XL island

An extra-large or XL island uses memory in a different way from other islands. Smaller islands work by loading everything into memory and keeping it there all the time. The memory bar at the top of the screen reports the amount of memory used and available. For larger islands, unused and unseen props and landscape features are not kept in memory. The memory bar is still in view, but you can also use a heat map to see a color-coded overlay that shows which parts of the island are more loaded.

XP

Short for experience points, these are points earned when playing Fortnite games that are awarded for completing quests and other accomplishments in a game.

XR

XR refers to real-and virtual-combined environments and human-machine interactions made by computer technology. It includes technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and everything in between. Rumor has it that the X was chosen because the top half represented the V in Virtual Reality, and the bottom half represented the A in Augmented Reality.

Y-axis

See axis.  

yaw

See orientation.  

Z-axis

See axis. 

z-score

In statistical analysis, a z-score is a way to measure how far from the mean (average) any data value is based on a standardized scale. Z-scores identify outliers in a dataset by finding those values (the outliers) that are unusually distant from the mean. 

Zipline

A device that you can use to create fast traversal on your island, with twists and turns that are unique and fun.

zombie horde

A game mode where individuals or teams defend against hordes of zombies and eliminate as many as possible.

zone war

An elimination game mode with the objective to be last person standing in the center of a storm.