Getting Started

City Builder Template is a Blueprint game project. Add it from FAB, open DemoMap in the editor, press Play, and walk through placement, roads, and the simulation HUD before editing Blueprints.

Open and run

1. Add City Builder Template from FAB and create/open the project.
2. The editor opens DemoMap (Content/CityBuilderTemplate/Maps/DemoMap).
3. Press Play (PIE) — or run packaged build starting at MainMenu.

Config/DefaultEngine.ini sets:

Setting	Value
Editor startup map	DemoMap
Game default map	MainMenu
Game mode	BP_CBT_GameMode
Game instance	BP_CBT_GameInstance

From MainMenu, click Play Game to open DemoMap. Use Load Game when a save exists in slot CityBuilderSaveGame.

Shipped starting values

Setting	Default	Blueprint
Starting currency	100000	BP_CBT_PlayerController → Starting Currency
Starting premium cash	10	BP_CBT_PlayerController → Starting Premium Cash
City level	1 (max 50)	BP_CBT_PlayerController
Camera zoom	500–4500 (step 600)	BP_CBT_PlayerPawn
Grid snap (placement)	200 world units	BP_CBT_PlayerController → Grid Size
Visual grid cell	100 (4 divisions)	BP_CBT_Grid → Default Grid Size / Grid Divisions

Session flow

flowchart TD
  Launch[Play MainMenu or DemoMap] --> HUD[WBP_PlayerHUD]
  HUD --> Roads[Place roads via BP_Road]
  Roads --> Build[Select building type]
  Build --> Preview[Preview on grid]
  Preview -->|Primary click| Construct[Start Construction]
  Construct --> Operate[Population / income / XP]
  Operate --> Sim[Pause / normal / double speed]
  Sim --> Save[Save or Load slot]

First playthrough

UI element	Behaviour
Building frame	WBP_BuildingFrame — residential vs commercial tabs
Building select	WBP_BuildingSelect — pick House, Apartment, Shop, or Office
Road frame	WBP_RoadFrame — enter road placement mode
Bulldoze	WBP_Bulldoze — remove buildings or roads
Currency / XP bars	Bound to BP_CBT_Singleton events
Simulation controls	Pause, normal speed, double speed on WBP_PlayerHUD
Save / Load	SaveGameBtn / LoadGameBtn → slot CityBuilderSaveGame

Controls (DefaultInput.ini + BP_CBT_PlayerPawn)

Input	Action
W / S / A / D	Move camera (MoveForward / MoveRight)
Q / E	Rotate camera (CameraRotate)
Mouse wheel up / down	Zoom (CameraZoomIn / CameraZoomOut)
Left mouse	Primary click — place building or road point
Right mouse	Secondary click — cancel / context actions on controller
Z / C	Rotate building preview left / right
Delete	Bulldoze targeted building or road
Escape / Backspace	Pause (PauseGame)

Content layout

Content/CityBuilderTemplate/
├── Blueprints/
│   ├── BP_CBT_GameInstance, BP_CBT_GameMode, BP_CBT_GameState
│   ├── BP_CBT_PlayerController, BP_CBT_PlayerPawn, BP_CBT_Singleton
│   ├── BP_CBT_TimeOfDay, BP_CBT_SaveGame, BP_CBT_ObjectMacros
│   ├── BFL_CBT_GlobalFunctions
│   ├── Buildings/ Enums/ Structs/ Widgets/ Roads/ Environment/ Misc/
├── Maps/ DemoMap, MainMenu
├── Meshes/ Materials/ Textures/ Misc/
└── 1_BP_CBT_Tut_* … 5_BP_CBT_Tut_*   (in-editor tutorials)

Customization entry points

BP_CBT_PlayerController

Central gameplay authority — placement, economy checks, save/load.

Function / property	Purpose
GetSelectedBuilding / GetPreviewBuilding	Active build type and ghost preview
HasEnoughCurrencyToConstruct / HasEnoughPremiumCashToConstruct	Pre-place validation
CreateRoad / Internal_PreviewRoad	Road spline and tile spawning
Internal_Bulldoze	Destruction flow
Internal_SaveGame / Internal_LoadGame	Persist city state
Grid Size / GridActor	Placement snap and level grid reference

BP_CBT_Singleton

Global city stats and UI events.

Property / event	Purpose
CurrentCurrency / CurrentPremiumCash / CurrentXP	Economy and progression
CurrentResidents / CurrentWorkers	Population and employment
OnCurrencyUpdated / OnPremiumCashUpdated / OnXpChanged	HUD refresh
OnLevelUp / OnPopulationChanged / OnWorkerChanged	WBP_LevelUpNotification, population bar
OnDayStarted / OnNightStarted	Day/night reactions
AddPopulation / RemovePopulation	Residential simulation

BP_CBT_BaseBuilding

Parent for all placeable structures.

Property	Purpose
BuildingCost_Currency / BuildingCost_PremiumCash	Placement price
ConstructionTime	Build timer duration
BuildingState (EBuildingState)	Preview → construction → operating
bIsNearRoad	Requires adjacent BP_RoadTile
UnlockLevel	Minimum city level (per child building)

BP_CBT_Grid

Property	Default	Purpose
Default Grid Size	100	Base cell size for the visual grid
Grid Divisions	4	Subdivisions per cell
Current Grid Size	runtime	Active snap size read by GetGridSize

Placement snapping during building and road placement uses BP_CBT_PlayerController → Grid Size (200), not the grid actor default alone.

Save game

BP_CBT_SaveGame stores arrays of ST_BaseBuildingSave, ST_BaseCommercialSave, ST_BaseResidentialSave, ST_RoadSave, and ST_Vehicle, plus currency, XP, and level fields. Slot name comes from GetSaveGameSlotNameAndIndex (default CityBuilderSaveGame).

Collision

DefaultEngine.ini defines custom object channels used for placement traces:

Channel	Name	Used for
ECC_GameTraceChannel1	GenericBuilding	Building overlap / placement
ECC_GameTraceChannel2	GenericRoad	Road tile overlap

Profiles GenericBuilding and GenericRoad are referenced by building and road meshes.

Next steps

• Overview — economy tuning, new buildings, roads, migration
• Blueprint reference