Ultimate Starter Kit

Ultimate Starter Kit is a free, open-source Unreal Engine plugin that bundles more than twenty reusable game systems — from save data and dialogue to weapons and full character controllers — so developers can start building gameplay instead of infrastructure. It targets Unreal Engine 4.27 and newer, is tested on Windows, and depends on the Niagara and Enhanced Input plugins.

What is the Ultimate Starter Kit?

Ultimate Starter Kit is a plugin for Unreal Engine 4.27+ created by developer Henry Jooste (hfjooste) that turns a bare Unreal project into a base game with working movement, saving, UI, and gameplay systems. It takes a standard Unreal Engine project as input and outputs a set of C++ and Blueprint systems — a logger, multi-slot save manager, settings UI, dialogue system, inventory, input indicators, currency, audio, stats, weapons, menus, interaction, quests, utility functions, and a full character controller — all provided through the plugin's editor module. The repo also includes a separate demo project (USKDemo) that shows an example of every system in Blueprints.

Key Features

• Character controllers — First- and third-person characters on a single full-body mesh with runtime camera switching, sprint with stamina, double jump, variable jump height, coyote time, smooth crouching with crouch jump, proning, stomping, procedural leaning, sliding with long jump, and shadow decals.
• Weapons system — Customizable weapons with recoil, sway, single-shot/burst/automatic fire, a separate aim transform, fire rate, ammo with optional clips, ammo pickups with optional paid ammo, reloading, projectile types, and dynamic crosshairs.
• Save data management — Save and load game data with support for multiple save slots, and the inventory system integrates directly with save data.
• Dialogue system — A branched dialogue system that supports multiple participants, player choices, and branching paths.
• Animation blueprint — A base ABP for all USK characters with upper/lower body blending, procedural lean and aim-offset animations, directional movement animations, and three armed states with aiming.
• Settings system — A complete settings UI plus the save/load logic behind it, ready to drop into a project.
• Input indicators — Detects the player's active input device and updates the UI to display the correct keyboard, mouse, or controller indicators.
• Supporting systems — Also includes inventory, currency, audio, character stats with optional regeneration, a menu system, an interact system with prompts, a quest system with multiple quest points, message popups, and config/platform/project utilities.

Who is it for?

• Indie game developers — start an Unreal project with working movement, saving, menus, and UI instead of reimplementing these systems.
• Solo developers — use the included demo project and YouTube tutorials to assemble an FPS or 3D platformer prototype in days.
• Small game studios — integrate the modular systems into a larger codebase; every function is documented in the C++ source and the full HTML/PDF docs ship with each release.
• Unreal Engine learners — study a real-world C++ plugin with a Blueprint demo project to learn patterns for saving, animation, weapons, and quests.

What can you do with the Ultimate Starter Kit?

• Prototype a 3D platformer: the character controller provides double jump, coyote time, crouch jumping, stomping, sliding, and leaning, and the demo project shows them wired together.
• Build a first-person shooter: attach the weapons system's recoil, sway, fire modes, ammo clips, reloading, and dynamic crosshairs to any USK character.
• Create an RPG with dialogue and quests: combine the branched dialogue system with the quest system's multiple quest points and the inventory, currency, and stats systems.
• Polish the player experience: use the input indicators, message popups, interact prompts, settings menu, and audio manager to handle UI and feedback.

How does the Ultimate Starter Kit work?

Installation is manual: download the latest release from GitHub, extract it into the Engine\Plugins\Marketplace folder of your Unreal Engine installation (for example, C:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE5\Engine\Plugins\Marketplace), then enable the plugin under Edit > Plugins > Built-in > Other and restart Unreal Engine. The plugin depends on Niagara and Enhanced Input, both core plugins. After enabling it, systems are available through the editor and C++ classes; the USKDemo project on GitHub shows a Blueprint example for each system.

FAQ

Is the Ultimate Starter Kit free?

Yes — the plugin is distributed as an open-source GitHub release, and the demo project (USKDemo) is also free. No pricing or paid tier is mentioned on the repository page.

Which Unreal Engine versions are supported?

The plugin is available for Unreal Engine 4.27 and newer. It depends on the Niagara and Enhanced Input plugins, and it was only tested on Windows.

Does the Ultimate Starter Kit work on Linux or macOS?

The repository states that the plugin was only tested on Windows and might not work as expected on Linux or macOS. Windows is the only platform with an install path documented in the README.

Where can I find documentation and tutorials?

Full documentation is hosted at hfjooste.github.io/UltimateStarterKit, Markdown documentation is included in the repo's docs directory, and each release contains the full HTML documentation and a PDF. A YouTube playlist covers getting started and using the features, and the demo project contains a Blueprint example of each system.

How do I install the plugin?

Download the latest release from GitHub, extract it into the Engine\Plugins\Marketplace folder of your Unreal Engine install, enable it under Edit > Plugins > Built-in > Other, and restart the editor. The README walks through this with a manual install path.