Epic Games

Fortnite

Unreal Engine

Fortnite Chapter 3 was a transformative era for the game, introducing a new island, fresh gameplay mechanics, and significant narrative developments. This chapter brought a faster, more fluid combat experience while pushing the boundaries of live-service gaming with ambitious events and high-profile collaborations.

Fortnite Chapter 3 introduced several mechanics that changed how players engaged with the game:

• Sliding & Tactical Sprinting: These movement enhancements allowed for greater mobility, making battles more dynamic and skill-driven.
• Weather Effects: Tornadoes and lightning storms created unpredictable battlefield conditions.
• Mantling: Players could now climb onto ledges, making verticality a crucial aspect of gameplay.
• Zero Build Mode: One of the most groundbreaking updates in Fortnite history, this mode permanently removed building, creating an entirely new playstyle that focused solely on gunplay and positioning.
• Rideable Animals: Players could traverse the map on wolves and boars, adding new mobility options.
• Chrome Mechanics (Season 4): The final season introduced Chrome, which allowed players to phase through walls and turn into liquid form, significantly altering movement and combat strategies.

As the Lead Software Engineer for the Nintendo Switch version of Fortnite, I was tasked with overcoming the unique challenges that come with porting a high-profile, resource-intensive title to a hardware platform with more stringent memory and performance limitations. My primary focus was to ensure that the gameplay experience on the Switch met the performance expectations set by other platforms while maintaining the game's iconic visual quality and fluid mechanics.

Memory Profiling & Performance Analysis

One of the core components of my role was conducting extensive memory profiling and performance analysis across both Windows and Nintendo Switch environments. I leveraged Unreal Engine's built-in profiling tools, such as Server Runs and Replay Runs, to identify areas of the game’s codebase that were inefficient in terms of memory usage.

• Memory Bottleneck Identification: By analyzing memory allocations, I pinpointed critical performance bottlenecks, such as inefficient asset loading, excessive texture memory usage, and poorly optimized blueprints.
• Platform-Specific Adjustments: I analyzed how Fortnite performed on the Switch hardware, specifically looking at CPU and GPU utilization, memory access patterns, and how Unreal Engine 5's rendering pipeline interacted with the platform's architecture.

Memory Consumption Reduction

After identifying performance issues, I implemented a variety of targeted strategies to reduce memory consumption, ensuring the game ran smoothly while still delivering the high-quality visuals and mechanics Fortnite is known for. These strategies included:

• Optimizing Asset Management: I worked on optimizing the game's asset pipeline by compressing textures, reducing polygon counts, and replacing high-cost assets (meshes, effects, and sounds) with more Switch-friendly alternatives.
• Blueprint Optimization: In collaboration with other teams, I converted high-cost blueprints into C++ code to improve runtime performance and reduce the load on the CPU. Blueprint-heavy systems, especially those responsible for large-scale interactions like AI, were refactored to minimize overhead.

Blueprint to C++ Conversion & Code Optimization

A significant part of my contribution involved refactoring performance-critical blueprints into C++ code, particularly in areas where the blueprint logic was causing unnecessary overhead.

• Streamlining Gameplay Systems: I streamlined the game’s core mechanics, including combat systems and player interactions, by converting logic-heavy blueprints to C++. This change improved processing speed, reduced runtime costs, and allowed for more efficient use of memory.
• Runtime Performance Boost: By implementing this shift to C++, I was able to reduce runtime overhead, which is crucial on a device like the Switch that operates with limited processing power and memory.

Cross-functional Collaboration & Issue Resolution

I collaborated directly with Epic Games engineers to address specific platform compatibility challenges. This included working together to:

• Resolve Switch-Specific Bugs: A major part of my role was identifying and fixing platform-specific bugs, particularly around graphics rendering, input latency, and network synchronization.
• Implement New Platform Features: I worked on bringing features unique to the Switch, such as Joy-Con support and gyro controls, ensuring that they were seamlessly integrated into the game while maintaining performance.

Routine Performance Analysis and Post-launch Optimization

After Fortnite launched on the Switch, I continued to monitor performance and identify additional optimization opportunities. Regular analysis and post-launch support included:

• Analyzing Live Data: Using live performance data, I identified real-time performance degradation or issues that were affecting large portions of the player base.
• Bug-Fixing & Patches: I contributed to post-launch bug-fixing efforts, ensuring that any memory leaks, crashes, or performance slowdowns were quickly addressed.

While working on Fortnite, I was also involved in optimizing Unreal Engine 5 itself, specifically addressing engine-level challenges that impacted performance across platforms, particularly for resource-constrained devices like the Nintendo Switch. This work ensured that Unreal Engine 5 remained efficient and compatible with the wide range of hardware it supports.

Engine Refactoring & Efficiency Improvements

As part of my role in optimizing the engine, I focused on improving the underlying components of Unreal Engine 5 to ensure a higher level of performance and efficiency on lower-end hardware, especially the Nintendo Switch. Key improvements included:

• Refining Core Engine Components: I worked on identifying and optimizing critical parts of the engine that were causing performance bottlenecks on the Switch. This included rendering pipelines, physics systems, and animation handling.
• Optimizing Rendering Pipelines: I implemented engine-level optimizations to reduce draw calls and streamline the rendering process. This involved adjusting Unreal Engine's handling of dynamic lighting, shadowing, and post-processing effects to balance visual fidelity with performance.

Platform-Specific Adaptations & Improvements

Adapting Unreal Engine 5 for the Nintendo Switch required addressing specific hardware limitations. These adaptations included:

• Optimizing Memory Management: I developed custom memory management techniques to better allocate and optimize memory for the Switch’s limited resources. This involved working closely with Epic Games to improve asset streaming and memory pooling systems, reducing the memory footprint of Unreal Engine’s subsystems.
• GPU & CPU Utilization: I fine-tuned GPU and CPU utilization to maximize the Switch’s processing power while minimizing unnecessary resource consumption. This allowed Unreal Engine 5 to run more efficiently, even on the Switch’s constrained hardware.

Cross-Platform Compatibility & Bug Fixing

I also focused on maintaining Unreal Engine 5’s cross-platform compatibility to ensure that projects developed in the engine would run smoothly on both high-end consoles and mobile/portable devices. This included:

• Addressing Platform-Specific Bugs: A critical aspect of this work involved fixing Switch-specific engine bugs, such as issues related to shader compilation, frame rate drops, and input lag.
• Improving Platform Support for Multiple Devices: I ensured Unreal Engine 5 could handle performance optimizations across various platforms by implementing multi-device support solutions, allowing developers to easily port their games to the Switch without significant rework.

Collaboration with Epic Games

I worked closely with Epic Games engineers to ensure that Unreal Engine 5 was optimized for Nintendo Switch and other lower-performance hardware. This collaboration helped us:

• Implement New Engine Features: As Unreal Engine 5 continued to evolve, I provided feedback on new features and performance improvements specifically designed to enhance Switch support.
• Optimize Real-Time Rendering: A critical aspect of my work was optimizing real-time rendering features, such as Nanite and Lumen, to work within the constraints of the Switch’s hardware without sacrificing the visual quality Unreal Engine 5 is known for.