About This Course


There is a severe lack of knowledge available when it comes to Unreal Engine Game Performance. In this course I aim to bridge that enormous gap from building your game, to running it at 60 FPS on your target devices.

The public information is often outdated, surface level, or teach bad practices. In this course we dive deep than any public resource ever has and focus on the process and best practices to optimize your game with confidence after completing this course.

Unreal Engine is a complicated piece of software, throughout the course you will gain a solid understanding of how the many CPU threads and GPU operate and how it all ties together to create a fully rendered frame. We’ll dive deep into the process of profiling, finding bottlenecks and discovering opportunities to improve the overall performance.

There are many issues that each and every developer will run into. Sometimes (too) late in their development cycle. We’ll make sure you are well informed and show you every step needed to both avoid and fix performance issues easily.


Built for AAA and Indie Developers alike


The course is created for a wide audience, covering a wide range of performance related subjects. Whether you’re an indie developer or a specialist at a AAA Studio…the course has content tailored to your needs.

What You'll Learn


  • Best Practices on the Profiling and Optimization process.
  • Core profiling tools such as Unreal Insights and many more.
  • Deep Dives into Unreals many systems and features.
  • Critical performance Information which normally remains within private studio doors and UDN (Unreal Developer Network).
  • Discover what you didn't know you needed before it's too late in development. 


Unreal Insights Deep Dive

Unreal Insights is quickly becoming the central profiling tool for the entirety of Unreal Engine 5.

We'll deep dive into Insights together, focusing on much more than just the basic UI and instead use it throughout the course to show performance issues, and ways to deeply understand how your game code is executing and being rendered by the engine.

Curriculum

Check out the curriculum below for an insight in the available content. More lessons added every week!

  Getting Started
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  Fundamentals
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  Profiling Preparation
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  Profiling Tools - Unreal Insights
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  Profiling Tools - Content & Scene
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  Profiling Tools - GPU & Rendering
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  Profiling Tools - Memory
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  Profiling Tools - Misc.
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  Profiling Tools - Third-party
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  The Unreal Engine Architecture
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  Case Study - Lyra Starter Game
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  Gameplay Programming - General
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  Gameplay Programming - Blueprint Performance
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  Gameplay Programming - Ticks, Timers, and Timelines
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  Gameplay Programming - Multithreading
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  Gameplay Programming - Collision & Physics
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  Gameplay Programming - Resources & Self Study
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  Memory - Garbage Collection
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  Content - Skeletal Animation
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  Rendering - Nanite
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  Rendering - Virtual Shadow Mapping
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  Rendering - Lighting
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  Rendering - Materials
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  Rendering - PSO Caching (Windows DX12)
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  Rendering - Visibility & Occlusion
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  Rendering - Variable Rate Shading
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  Rendering - Resources & Self Study
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  Scene Optimizations
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  Platform Scalability
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  Notable Performance Improvements in Unreal Engine Releases
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  Wrapping Up
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Example Lesson: Adding a Movement Fast Path

Check out this preview lesson where we add a movement fast path to Epic's Lyra Starter Game.

In this example lesson we dive into writing a faster movement function, demonstrating multi-threading, using custom cycle counter for Insights, using custom CVARs for quick profile comparisons and more tricks to further optimize movement cost.

0:00 The "problem" of moving scene components. 2:25 Showing the cost in Unreal Insights 5:12 Fast path implementation (C++) 7:40 Before & After Performance 10:10 Analyzing multi-threading in Unreal Insights 13:07 Showing WasRecentlyRendered() trick

Learning Tracks for Gameplay & Graphics


As a student, watch all content at your own pace or choose a Learning Track to follow what’s most relevant to your role at the studio.

All lessons are divided into Gameplay and Graphics learning tracks to make it easier to find lessons most valuable to your specialization. This way you can optimize your learning experience.


Get Started Today!

The Game Optimization Course is currently in Early Access! With over 65+ lessons completed and more content added consistently!

Bulk enrollment for your studio?

We offer flexible and bespoke bulk license deals and alternative payment options! Please contact me using this form or directly via [email protected] to discuss options and save on bulk enrollment.

Require one license for someone on the team? Use the "Purchase for someone else" option during checkout.


New Lessons every week!

This course is currently in early access - this means new lessons are released constantly. There is a huge number of exciting topics and research that I am working on. You will also find a growing library of references and resources to continue your journey.

FAQ


When does the course start and finish?

It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.

How long do I have access to the course?

After enrolling, you have unlimited time access to this course.

What if I am unhappy with the course?

If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact me in the first 30 days and I will give you a full refund.

What does Early Access mean for this Course?

The Early Access Program allows me to get you a large amount of completed content right now and informs me of the student desires for additional content. With potentially hundreds of videos to make, I want to ensure I spent the time wisely and make the videos with the highest demand first.

For how long will this course be updated?

There is still a lot more exciting features to talk about. Expect that content to be constantly added throughout the next year, well into 2025. Besides that, I have scheduled several years worth of updates and maintenance.

Are English Captions Available?

Yes! Every lesson has English Captions.

Which version of Unreal Engine was this course created with?

At this time, most lessons were recorded with UE 5.4. New content will always be recorded with the latest release.

Can this course be used with Unreal Engine 4?

Yes! While Unreal Engine 5 has introduced many amazing new features and optimizations...a lot of topics we covered already existed in UE4 too. A lot of projects are still in production using older versions, the course is compatible to cater to this audience as well.

Is there any regional pricing available?

Don't hesitate to reach out directly via [email protected] to discuss regional pricing options. We want to make sure that our course is accessible to everyone.

Do I need to know C++ or have other Programming experience?

No. While there are a few places where C++ is relevant or the focus. A large portion of the course does not require programming know-how. For example, we cover a lot of graphics features which don't rely on programming experience.

What kind of teacher support is available?

There is a Q&A section with every lesson. Feel free to ask questions there or in the new Community Hub!

Is there a Community?

Yes! We are running a trial with a Community Hub as well! This is a great place to connect with fellow developers and discussions on all things performance.