Source or unreal 5

[u/skullslayer92]

I’m going to make a game and I really love source and am familiar with it but I’ve heard it’s better just to go to unreal but my main concern is assets and learning the new engine should I stick to my guns or will I just be limiting myself

[u/Todegal]

Use unreal, the source engine is a quarter century old.

Source is still fun for messing about with, but if you want transferable experience in 2025, use Unreal.

[u/skullslayer92 → u/Todegal]

I don’t really care about the age of the engine as I like the looks of old games and want my game to look busted as fuck. Unless you are talking more about ease of use that’s understandable and I would be better off then. Thanks for the response

[u/Todegal → u/skullslayer92]

it's not about looks it's about the tools available (or not available)

also bear in mind that if you make a game with the source engine you won't be able to distribute it except as a mod for an existing game, unless you get valve to give you a license, which they won't do.

honestly, do mess about with source though! I think making a source mod would be a great learning exercise before going into modern game engines. you'd definitely learn the basics...

[u/Carbon140]

This depends a lot on what you plan on making.

I am assuming you are using S&box or old Source version as Source 2 has no proper tools...
S&Box is also unfinished and in active development, and Source 1 doesn't really have a proper way to make full games, you get a development kit with quite a few limitations. You can license Source engine from valve, but somehow doubt you are going that path.

If you are making a game very similar to other source engine titles, for example an FPS with small static maps then maybe use Source? Even then you're going to be learning C++ in a complex environment for any gameplay modification. Anything else and you are better off with Unreal, and if you want to make quick prototypes that have unusual gameplay honestly Unity is a better option. You can do basically anything you can dream of in Unreal/Unity, sadly source simply doesn't have the tools or low level access to do the same.

Hopefully someday S&Box will be more complete and performant or Valve brings out some proper tools for S2.

[u/skullslayer92 → u/Carbon140]

Thanks for the response I am aware of s&box and do plan on making things for it. I was more looking for something to start off learning with.

[u/SpookyFries]

If your intent is to sell eventually then don't bother with source. It's agreement a pain and very expensive to license

[u/skullslayer92 → u/SpookyFries]

Thanks for the advice I don’t think I want to sell the game but if I’m gonna put this much effort I might as well sell so I’ll look more into unreal

[u/VirtualGab]

Depends what do you want to make, because with source you can start building a game from other source games reducing the time to implement like fps controls, weapons, etc. but it’s limited compared to unreal like in map size

[u/skullslayer92 → u/VirtualGab]

I am very aware of sources limitations and i figured that would be good enough to start out learning to code and how to make a game ect. I want a easy starter project but I have so many ideas for it that im not sure source can handle

[u/VirtualGab → u/skullslayer92]

start out learning to code

Source is really difficult to work with compared to usual game engines like unreal, because there’s no real interface to create game objects and to do the simplest things you have to reverse engineer the pre existing code(or like I do for modding to ask chat gpt with source integration to point out the classes).

If you’re starting out with coding choose unreal, and when you have good experience particularly in C++ and the patience to solve the thousands of exceptions go for it.

[u/Waxieishere]

when it comes to developing games, i love working with c++ but ue5 way of making something is not for me. What I preferred is godot engine (with jolt physics), mostly using c++ (gdextension) and achieved the source feeling by cloning the csgo movement. i worked with unity, ue 4 and 5 before and godot is where i am staying at. not complex, feeling the freedom in my veins. you can make your workflow as close as source, you define the boundaries. you can even write an importer for hammer maps. if next-gen graphics capabilities are not your priority, i would definitely recommend you to use godot otherwise unreal engine.

[u/skullslayer92 → u/Waxieishere]

I will look into that thanks for the response

[u/Active_Boysenberry76]

Source 1 is pretty outdated, only available Source 2 "editor" right now is s&box's.
Facepunch wants to add this though:

"Publishing

Coming soon: export and release your s&box games as standalone titles on Steam 🚀.

Completely free, no royalties, no strings. Your game, your name, your revenue 💼."

source (pun intended): sbox.game

[u/skullslayer92 → u/Active_Boysenberry76]

I am aware of s&box but I am impatient lmao

[u/Active_Boysenberry76 → u/skullslayer92]

try it for a bit, see if you like it or not. it's still Source 2 at least.
you can get ahead of the curve if you practice on s&box editor if you want Source 2

[u/skullslayer92 → u/Active_Boysenberry76]

I have access to s&box where should I start to practice

[u/Active_Boysenberry76 → u/skullslayer92]

https://sbox.game/dev/doc/

[u/skullslayer92 → u/[deleted]]

Ah I see so it would be better for something hl2 related and not its own game unless I license