Project Organization

Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) is a way to build unique islands that go beyond the Creative toolset and take your Fortnite island to the next level of design and functionality.

Create a New Project

From the Project selection screen:

1. Click the Map Templates tab. A list of island types opens in the Project selection screen.

2. Select the Blank template.

3. Verify that the project file is in the directory where you want to save the files. To select a different directory, click the ellipsis menu and browse to a new location.

4. Name the project MyFirstUEFNProject.

5. Enable Unreal Revision Control if it’s not already enabled.

6. Ensure that Team Selection is set to No Team (Just You).

7. Click Create.

A blank island template opens where you can drag in any asset to begin building your level.

You can create a new level at any time by going to File > New Level, choosing a new starter island, then clicking Create.

You can also create a new project from the File menu.

1. New / Open Project: Click New / Open Project to create a new UEFN project. This takes you to the templates menu.

2. New Level…: Click to create a new level.

3. Open Level…: Opens an existing level.

4. Recent Levels: Select the arrow to select from the list of recent levels you were working on.

5. New Level From Island: Create a new level from an existing island.

Templates

UEFN comes with a number of template islands and sample project templates. Templates make creating a project from an empty island level or fully populated tutorial easy. Sample project templates help you learn how to use different features and systems in UEFN, or the Verse programming language in conjunction with UEFN.

All of the templates contain these common elements:

• Fortnite player spawn(s)

• Level boundaries that mark the edges of the level

• Skydome / time-of-day Blueprint

Project Folders

UEFN projects use a folder system to contain all elements of an island. You can access these folders through the Content Browser. The main project folder contains all folders and assets for your project, including Game Feature Data and any imported or created assets. The Fortnite folder contains an extensive set of Fortnite Creative objects.

This is much like the starter content that ships with Unreal Engine, but more comprehensive, and made specifically for Fortnite.

Save and Exit Your Project

To save your project, select File > Save.

To save it under a different name, select File > Save As.

To close UEFN, select File > Exit.

You can save a level within a project by selecting File > Save Current Level. All of the levels in your project save to the Content Browser. From the Content Browser, you can switch between levels by double-clicking the level you want to open.

Open an Existing Level

From within an open project, you can open project levels by going to File > Open Level, or by double-clicking the level thumbnail from the project’s main folder in the Content Browser.

A window appears with all the levels you've created within this project. Select a level and it will open in the viewport. This will also cause the currently open level to save and close.

Open an Existing Project from within an Open Project

If you go to File > Create/Open Project, this opens the Project selection screen.

Selecting an existing project while inside an open project saves and closes the first project and its tab. The newly opened project appears in the viewport, and its tab appears in the tab bar at the top of the screen.

Best Practices for a New Project

Working out how to organize your project in Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) at the beginning of the project can be a timesaver later. Take a look at these guidelines to help you develop your own system when setting up your project files. Organizing workflows increases your efficiency when you're creating custom projects in UEFN.

The following are best practices when starting a new project.

• Sketch out your ideas on paper or digitally.
• Create wireframes for assets you intend to import to work out how the assets should look and behave.
• Establish and use consistent naming conventions for levels, props, devices, and so on.
• Use versioning in asset names when iterating an asset.
• Use nested folders to store and share files inside UEFN.

Tips for Organizing Your Content Browser

These tips can help you keep track of your assets in the Content Browser.

Organize Imported Assets

All imported assets populate inside the Content Browser. Use a nested folder system to track which level and imported files belong together.

If your experience includes more than one level, create folders for each level, and add the level number to the name. For example: MixTape_Lvl1.

You cannot use spaces in your folder names in the Content Browser. Use an underscore ( _ ) instead.

Create folders for each of your imported assets inside your main folder.

You can add individual assets to Collections in the Content Drawer to organize your levels. For more information, refer to Collections.

Color-Code Folders in the Browser

Your folder system becomes easier to manage when folders are color-coded.

Color-code your folders in the Content Browser’s folder menu by right-clicking on a folder and selecting Set Color. Select a color from the popup window.

Tips for Organizing Outliner

All of the assets you use in UEFN are found in the Outliner under their filename.

Using nested folders helps to declutter the Outliner, and helps you quickly find the asset file you want to edit.

• Create folders for buildings, terrain, props, devices, and imported assets.
• Drag these folders into the top-level folder.
• Drag your assets into the appropriate secondary folder.

Repeat these steps for additional levels, and close folders you are not currently working on so you can focus on the files you are using.

Hide folders and their assets in the viewport by clicking the eye icon next to the folder name.

Tip for Editing Grouped Items

Edit a group of devices by selecting them in the Outliner then editing their device options in the Details panel.

This only works when you select a group of devices that are the same.

Save your changes after editing the device options.