> Blueprints suck! Not really. Think of Blueprints like python. Its good for routing and keeping track of things at a high level. Think of C++ as handling things at a lower level.
> I heard you need to start with blueprints. Not really. After going through the basic tutorial that Unreal Sensei has on YouTube (https://youtu.be/gQmiqmxJMtA?si=TqBiiIe12M5hiCda) , it is better to do a mix of blueprints and C++ if you have any programming background.
> I don't know what to use for the IDE. I used Rider for Unreal Engine and it has good integration into Unreal Engine.
> So when do you use C++? When I was doing data vis of census data, I needed a way to load in 10,000 data points into memory. The "out of the box" tools for Unreal didn't support this, so custom C++ was the way to go.
> But really, if I just want to get started with Unreal and want official tutorials, where do I go?
After going through Unreal Sensei, I looked at at https://dev.epicgames.com/community/unreal-engine/getting-st..., there are a ton of tutorials there for game developers.
Also, a year ago I put together an online course that looked at how to ramp up on Unreal Engine. The course ("Data Visualization in the Metaverse") is ideal if you already have a programming background. I put the course out on YouTube for free (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKH3Xg62luIgPaB4fiFuT...) and happy to answer any questions about it.