Migration Notes CRYENGINE 5.4 to CRYENGINE 5.5

VS2017 15.8

If upgrading to VS2017 15.8 then CRYENGINE projects will need a rebuild. On upgrading some users may experience issues such as compile errors. In those cases then try the following;

1. When using a templated base class, 'this->' needs to be appended wherever the code refers to a base class member
2. When referring to a typedef defined in a template class, the 'typename' keyword needs to be added before the name
3. If a symbol cannot be found, even if the header containing the declaration is included, then try using forward declarations and break down headers to avoid cyclic inclusions
4. If the compiler complains about finding a member of a template class, try removing the empty class body of the template class base

For more details, see the VS blog post https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/visualstudio/2018/08/14/visual-studio-2017-version-15-8/

Creating a Backup of Your Project

When upgrading your project from CRYENGINE 5.4 to 5.5, it is a good idea to make a backup of your project.

If you use the Launcher to access your project, you will be prompted to do so automatically.

If not backing up through the Launcher, then follow the steps below:

1. Right click your .cryproject file
2. Choose Backup project
3. Choose a backup location (if you want this to be different than the default)
4. Click Confirm

Upgrading a Template Project (Assets only)

1. Create a new project, using the same template that you used before.
2. Delete the new template projects' Assets directory.
3. Copy your Assets directory and your Game.cryproject file to the new template project folder.
4. Right-click on your Game.cryproject file and select Change Engine Version and choose CRYENGINE 5.5.
5. Start the Sandbox Editor with the new template project and follow any prompts to upgrade your level files to the new format.

Upgrading a Template Project (Assets and Game Code)

Updating your game code is only necessary if you have made edits to the source code of your game. In this case, you should refer your assigned programmer to the Important CRYENGINE 5.5 Data and Code Changes.

1. Right-click your Game.cryproject file and select Switch Engine Version and choose CRYENGINE 5.5.
2. Then regenerate your source code solution files by right-clicking Game.cryproject and choosing Generate Solution.

You should now be able to follow the interface changes guide mentioned above to make edits to your source code and rebuild your project file.

Upgrading the GameSDK Project (Assets only)

1. Right-click your GameSDK.cryproject file and select Switch Engine Version and choose CRYENGINE 5.5.
2. Update/Verify your GameSDK Sample Project asset via the Launcher.
3. Copy the bin/win_x64/GameSDK.dll file from the Launcher project to your own project into the respective directory.
4. Start the Sandbox Editor with the new template project and follow any prompts to upgrade your level files to the new format.

Upgrading the GameSDK project (Assets and Game Code)

Updating your game code is only necessary if you have made edits to the source code of your game. In this case, you should refer your assigned programmer to the Important CRYENGINE 5.5 Data and Code Changes. Since the GameSDK code is only contained within the Engine source code, building the Engine is outside the scope of this guide, but details can be found on our documentation pages here.

1. Right-click your GameSDK.cryproject file and select Switch Engine Version and choose CRYENGINE 5.5.
2. Rebuild the GameSDK project making changes in accordance with the above documentation and copy the new GameSDK.dll to your project.
3. Start the Sandbox Editor with the new template project and follow any prompts to upgrade your level files to the new format.

Migrating Your Audio Controls Editor (ACE) Files

From release 5.5 onwards, ACE files will be saved in their middleware specific folder, so each middleware implementation is completely separated from each other.

1. Create a folder called "assets" inside the current audio/<middleware> folder.
2. Move all soundbanks and audio files from the middleware folder to the new "assets" subfolder. For instance:
   
   

   • audio/wwise to audio/wwise/assets

   • audio/fmod to audio/fmod/assets

   • audio/sdlmixer to audio/sdlmixer/assets

3. Backup all *.xml files in the audio/ace folder.
4. Remove the write protection on all .xml files inside the audio/ace folder.
5. Remove all .xml files from .pak files (usually inside the audio.pak).
6. Launch the Sandbox Editor and open the Audio Controls Editor from the Tools menu.
7. All audio libraries should now be marked as modified. Click the Save All button inside the Audio Controls Editor.
8. If the project contains preload requests, a dialog will appear that asks for reloading the audio system. Click Yes.