Live Edit and Iteration Improvements in Fortnite | Fortnite Documentation

The main editor interface has quality of life improvements for more efficient developer iteration.

Sessions

Session changes include the terminology used to describe sessions and editing as well as new editing tools for an effortless iteration experience.

Session: A session is a dedicated server and a client that in combination enable Edit Mode and Game Mode.

Live Edit: The edit transactions processes that occur during a session without the use of Push Changes.

Launch Session States

Launch Session has been updated to include:


Functionality	Description	Images
Launch Session	Attempts to create a connection with a Fortnite Creative client.
Push Changes	The required cooking operation where changes are packaged, uploaded, cooked and downloaded to update the Session. Push Verse Changes functionality is included in Push Changes.
Push Verse Changes	Indicates pending code changes.
Refresh Session	Refreshes the session during Live Edit or Live Collaboration.
Edit mode	The first phase of a Session. It supports Live Edit and Live Collaboration.
Game Mode	The second phase of the Session. It supports Live Edit and runs through the game in solo or multiplayer.Game Mode has two buttons to control the session. Pause: Pauses the game and provides a way for you to fly around in the session to inspect the game. Connected clients enter debug mode once the session is paused. Restart: Restart provides a way for you to restart the game at any point and iterate while the game is running without having to enter and exit Edit Mode saving you iteration time.

The Session dropdown menu next to the Launch Session button has the following new sections:

Operations

The Operations section includes:

Push Verse Only: One time operation to push Verse only.
Validate Project: One time operation to validate your project
Refresh Session: One time operation to refresh the session when there are discrepancies between the Editor and Session.
Full Recook: Full Recook is a slow operation for rare cases where incremental cooking is not operating correctly and a full recook and refresh is required.

Session Options

Session Options includes the following options:

Open Edit List on Launch: Opens the Edit List when a session is launched. From here you can monitor all edit statuses in the session.
Auto Push Verse Changes: Verse changes are pushed automatically when the project successfully compiles.
Spawn at Viewport Camera: Provides a way for the player to spawn at the last location where the viewport camera was placed.
Auto Start Game: Auto starts a game session when changes are pushed.

Performance

This section is new and includes Monitor Performance for the purposes of profiling.

Edit List

The Edit List provides a way for you to monitor live changes while running the session. The table below explains the states of the Edit List and what they mean.

Edit List States	Description	Image
Live Change	Changes that happen Live appear with a green check in the Edit List.
Edit Change	Changes that require push appear with a yellow cloud in the Edit List.
Verse Change	Verse only changes appear with a yellow Verse cloud in the Edit List.

Timestamps are applied to all pushed changes. When a session is up-to-date, all yellow clouds turn to green checks.

There are two ways to view the Edit List:

Time: Organizes the Edit List by time to sort the list chronologically.

Status: Organizes your changes into two lists; Pending Changes and Live Edit.

Select the Settings icon in the Edit List tab to select a view.

You can change the view of the Edit List by selecting the Settings icon and choosing between Time and Status.

Ouliner

The outliner now displays which assets require updating in the new column named Live Edit Status.

The Outliner has a new column named Live Edit Status that shows the status of your assets in the project in real time.

Session Camera Controls

Session camera Controls are now part of the viewport toolbar. There are two types of camera tools:

Teleport viewport camera to player: Teleports the player to the viewport camera while the session is running.

Use the Teleport viewport camera to player works at the beginning of all play sessions. The player always starts where ever the viewport camera is placed.

Teleport player to…: Supports camera bookmarks from the Editor and provides a way for players to teleport to bookmarked cameras while the session is running.

Use Teleport player to... to teleport players to the selected bookmark at the beginning of the play session.

Iteration Tips

Prior to launching the session check the following options in the Launch Session menu for frictionless editing:
- Open Edit List on Launch: Opens the Edit List and tabs it beside the Content Browser.
- Auto Push Verse Changes: Auto pushes Verse on a successful compile and removes the need for pushing changes for Verse manually.

Start by launching the session on a new project. This launches a dedicated server and a client that in combination are referred to as a session.

Start building out your project by adding content and code.
- You can periodically scan the Edit List to monitor changes that require push.
- Periodically push changes to ensure your session is up to date.
You might encounter circumstances where you notice differences between the Session and the Editor with no required Push Changes. Refresh Session is helpful in these cases and helps reconcile the discrepancies.

Auto Push Verse Changes automatically updates the session when your project successfully compiles. If you have this option turned off, a Verse icon badge appears on Push Changes when you only have Verse to push, and you see Push Changes when assets require updating.

If you need to push a Verse change, you can either push or go ahead with the rest of your project and push when ready.

At any point during iteration you can use Push Verse Only or Refresh the Session. These one time operations are accessible through the Session menu and work the same as when the button on the toolbar is selected.

As a last resort the Full Cook option recooks your entire project from scratch. It takes longer than pushing changes as you work and it should only be used in very rare cases.

Iterating with Game Mode Only

Select Auto Game Start to start playtesting after every Push Changes or Refresh operation. This helps you to focus on iterating your project, especially if you don’t have collaborators joining in the session.
You can always stop the game and return to Edit Mode for collaborative editing sessions. You can pause the game and fly around without the Player character. This mode helps you to debug your game and view states of various objects in game.