Unreal Engine 5 C++: Advanced Frontend UI Programming (Udemy.com)
Create AAA Frontend UI/Menu Experience in Unreal Engine 5 using C++ and Common UI
Created by: Vince Petrelli
Last updated January 2026
What you will learn
- Set up a modular UI framework using Unreal Engine 5's Common UI system and C++
- Create and manage widgets using widget stacks with gameplay tags and async loading
- Develop a fully functional options menu
- Tab navigation, Dynamic details panel, Modular setting categories
- Game User Settings system for saving/loading config values
- Build a complete input remapping system
- Use input preprocessors to detect and process player input dynamically
- Start Up and In-Game Loading Screen
- Utilize Common Activatable Widget, Widget Stacks, Common Text Block and more
- Custom Data Objects for List View Item generation
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 96 / 100
Course Description
In this comprehensive course, you’ll build a fully-featured, AAA-quality frontend UI system entirely from scratch using Unreal Engine 5’s Common UI framework and C++. From layered menus to full gamepad support, you’ll learn how to create immersive and modular interfaces designed for real-world projects.
You’ll start by setting up the core UI foundation. We’ll create a primary layout widget, register widget stacks using gameplay tags, and implement asynchronous functions for pushing widgets onto the screen. Once that’s in place, you’ll build a responsive “Press Any Key” screen and display it using your new widget flow.
Next, you’ll create a dynamic main menu system. We’ll use Common UI buttons backed by native C++ classes to add contextual button descriptions, action buttons, and a flexible confirmation screen. We’ll also ensure full gamepad support is seamlessly integrated. Along the way, you’ll learn how to structure UI features in a modular, reusable way for both Blueprint and C++ projects.
Once the core menu is complete, you’ll move on to building a robust options menu. This system will feature tab buttons at the top, a detailed view panel on the right, and support for multiple settings categories including gameplay, audio, graphics, and input. You’ll learn how to combine data objects with Unreal’s Data Registry system to dynamically populate the UI.
After setting up the structure, we’ll focus on functionality. You’ll implement logic to reset values to default, customize how list entry widgets are generated, and create a custom Game User Settings system to store and load player preferences from config files.
With that foundation in place, we’ll dive into creating audio and video settings. You’ll add controls for adjusting window mode, resolution, shadow quality, frame rate limit, and more—while managing data dependencies and conditional logic properly for a clean, scalable architecture.
Finally, you’ll implement startup and in-game loading screens that integrate seamlessly into your project’s UI flow, giving players a polished experience from launch to gameplay.
Instructor Details
- 4.8 Rating
434 Reviews
Vince Petrelli
When I started my career as a technical artist, I was driven by a deep desire to make a significant difference in the work I was doing. Specifically, I wanted to help my co-workers enhance their work efficiency and productivity within the Unreal engine. Leveraging my prior experience as a teacher, I discovered my knack for simplifying intricate concepts and explaining them in a way that was accessible to anyone willing to learn.
As my aspirations evolved and I contemplated becoming an online instructor, those around me frequently asked, "What kind of instructor do you envision yourself becoming?"
In my view, I firmly believe that no subject is too daunting when you have a knowledgeable instructor who can guide you through each and every step. By employing a clear, step-by-step approach, anyone can acquire mastery in their desired area, including Unreal.
That is precisely the kind of instructor I aspire to be—an instructor who empowers learners by providing comprehensive guidance and enabling them to confidently navigate their Unreal journey.
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Reviews
By Ben Tulchinski on 8/3/2026
Where to start... This course was a real journey to me. An absolute abundance of Unreal Engine code and classes that I haven't seen anywhere else before. Very well structured with good slides and preparations for each section. I've taken more than a few UE C++ courses, but this one goes deep into many UE classes I've never seen before. The final product can be easily packaged as a plugin, that's what I did and what I would recommend for anyone starting the course.
By Paolo on 7/8/2026
It’s a very interesting course, although it can naturally be more challenging for beginners like me. I really appreciate the use of Visual Studio. I usually work with Rider, which has more built-in automation that can sometimes be misleading or make it easier to overlook what’s actually happening. The course materials are excellent, especially considering the price of the course.
By Otman Ouali on 6/24/2026
Very in-depth, thoughtful, modular and optimised approach to UI using Common UI. The end result feels very custom and the teacher's passion for teaching and creating Unreal content is very clear! This is a complex course as the Vince stated in the outline of the course and it's overview, but if you keep with it, you might learn a thing or two in multiple areas. e.g. How to setup a template for UI presentation to keep the layout consistent and logical. Thank you Vince for a wonderful course, and looking forward to learn more!
By Mike Harris on 2/1/2026
Cannot go wrong with a Vince Pettrelli course. The Main Menu, Loading Screen, FrontEnd UI, what ever you call it is the Doorway into your project. You will need something for users to interact with your project. Having a great and responsive UI will make the user experience even better.
By Ronald van Delft on 2/1/2026
Got what I wanted from the course, which was a good introduction to the CommonUI plugin and how to use it with C++. Things I liked: - The resources having the git commit, which made skipping over the more basic lessons quick by just copying the code and skimming over the video for anything noteworthy. - Good and clear instructions and the reference images at the end to see if you missing something. Things I missed from this course and had to look up myself were: - Localization - How to remap enhanced input actions with an Axis Improvements: - Install a spell checker; lots of typos
By MARIE Alexandre on 1/14/2026
Even if all the architecture is taken from Lyra. The explanations are easy to follow and we understand all the aspects of the plugin. It's a mandatory one if you want to quickly dig into CommonUI without the die and retry learning path. The only thing I missed with was the usage of smart pointers. There is no explanations about the why we are using TWeakPtr or TSharedPtr at certain points because it's still an important aspect of Unreal C++ framework but not every people know how to use it.
By Josef H on 12/5/2025
Handing Vince his flowers for a very well-done course on Common UI. It's an intermediate course but extremely easy to follow and understand if you know a little C++ and familiar with Unreal Engine. With a few tweaks, any developer could use the skills acquired from this course & implement them into their own projects. Common UI API is extensive, but Vince maps it out and explains it very well. My only issue, we hard coded just about everything, and I would have loved to see a more data-oriented or data-driven approach to the course. But that will be something for us, as developers, to tinker with within our own projects. Thanks, Vince, for the wonderful well thought-out, well-planned course. Looking forward to more of your courses in the future.
By Fran McKay on 11/3/2025
Excellent course!! I've been working in Unreal for going on two years now, and not only is this the best (only??) detailed course related to CommonUI specifically I have found, the instructor is also one of the elite few I have come across that takes a professional development approach to UI in general instead of just hacking elements together in BP until it looks half-decent. I'm happy that I stumbled on it, and grateful to the instructor for taking the time to tackle the subject. I expect this will be one I come back to time and again when creating my own projects moving forward.
By Anthony on 11/1/2025
Great course. Goes into detail on a lot of the widgets in CommonUI, and worth it exponentially for teaching how to do controller rebinding. Would have liked to see more about linked switchers and carousels, bit heavy on the use of overlays, and it would have been nice to have access to to an actual project file, but other than those slightly nit picky issues, this course stayed on target and delivered everything it described.
By Nicolas Pereira Risso Vieira on 10/5/2025
This might be the best UE5 C++ programming course that I ever completed in Udemy. Although I have critiques related to the architecture followed by the course, where in the end we need to use C++ to fully implement the screens with the ListDataObjects, with all knowledge passed by this course as well as all this code structure and clarity that Vince gave it is really easy to just scale this project to whatever you want to. But the course is already insanely complete with its content, and adding even more just to allow Blueprint usage of the ListEntry wouldn't fit the main goal of the course. Amazing job Vince! I am looking forward for doing more of your courses and hope to see more advanced C++ courses in the future! Learned a lot from it! 10/10 instructor.












