Ok... UnrealScript is a 3-5 day course. It only took me a week to pick it up while learning the rest of the UDK.
If you know Python, C++, Java, or UnityScript - UnrealScript follows all the same fundamentals. I know Java and a bit of C++, thus making a full understanding of UnrealScript a rather straightforward object oriented learning curve -- if you don't know these languages, it may take you a little longer and you should wait before asking to finance your videogame. I flowed through two 6 hour courses on it, the first covering the basics of how UnrealScript interacts with the Unreal Engine 3 (kismet, animation, textures, etc), and the second covering Weapons/Buildings/Objects/etc creation in all it's applications including Multiplayer, Archetypes, Properties, and Security -- most/all of which is handled by the engine. Think "Create in UnrealScript", "Hone in Editor", "Finalize Changes before Publish in UnrealScript". UDK handles the compiles. Cheese.
...of course, if I had $21,491 + iOS App revenue sitting around, I'd probably pick up a reference manual and consider purchasing a pre-built framework or two, as they exist and would make great references.
Shortly after my first UnrealScript course, I found a quick way of implementing "First-Person Strategy" without the inconvenience of using the plug and play Mobile version of Strategy on the UDN -- which I bet Platoon is trying to use right now, and why it will take 3+ months to enter Alpha - to quote Lt. Feed,
'Strategy will be in beta testing 60 days after early access'. The Unreal Development Network mobile strategy version comes with nuances they may not understand and would slow production down considering the practical example of 'how difficult it is to code a MP game'. If they knew what they were doing, strategy would have been part of the framework 3 years ago and built upon - not the other way around.
And no offense -- but in UDK it's not hard, at all. You have to know what your doing, and since all Lt. Feed understood is node based Kismet logic (which is largely intended for level-specific events), we absolutely cannot expect him to understand object oriented code - let alone how strategy will work in a FPS driven engine. He may not even know you can copy Kismet Nodes into a .txt document for the UnrealScript reference...
UDK isn't difficult, most design specialists can adopt it as quickly as I have and they would prefer to use external editors where available - because as a base creation tool it's weak and very heavy. By heavy I mean resource heavy, UDK will draw more than necessary when you use it's tools and it reflects in Bionites gameplay. The team blames "memory leaks", I blame poor development planning and workflow -- there's a right way to make great things happen in that engine. Generally speaking, UDK is better employed as an all-round compositing tool. I like the material/texture handler, it reminds me of Nuke.
By the end of next week I could begin porting assets from BZI and BZII to UDK comfortably if I chose to do so. Porting at a basic "Siege" level would take less than a month - and it would actually be functional. I've decided to study Unity as well - Unity 5 is appealing as a long term developer asset. So with three months and no financing, I could catch up with options. Less if I was dead set on UDK.
Three months.
Of course, I'd do it differently. It would be 100% free, for starters. Why it has taken almost 6 years is beyond me. Beyond me, into the atmosphere, past the moon, all the way to Venus I guess. Lt. Feed is a noobie developer. Just my opinion. Don't take money for what you can't do, period. Know the tools, know the production schedule, know the framework, THEN take crowdfunding money, THEN take iOS money, THEN make Pre-Sales. Bionite is Frictionless Vehicles and clunky Kismet execution with a price tag.
And yes, Lt. Feed posted publicly the latest revision of his game:
Posted Publicly on Kickstarter;
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/80 ... sts/937415
Is a Free Download Of Bionite Origins Alpha v.003;
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4knU4 ... sp=sharing
Que the confetti, blow on your party whistle, see it for yourself.
Anyway - this is just my 2 cents. UDK isn't hard, I think anyone interested in producing a videogame should check it out -- the fact it's free is very appealing. The fact Lt. Feed doesn't know UnrealScript explains a great deal to why he can't fix a handful of his bugs -- even just before I left Platoon he couldn't figure out why it took 30 seconds to respawn. Well, as it so turns out, the gametype he was employing ran a constantly refreshing 30 second respawn timer (like in Unreal Tournament) -- problem is, he didn't know about it until last month (after years) when I pointed out the top results of a Google search concerning UnrealScript. As a spectator - don't expect the big picture to get fixed.