Epic Games and veteran studio Secret Dimension have released the Parrot Game Sample, a fully documented, pirate-themed 2.5D platformer available in both Unreal Engine 5.6 and Unity 6, designed to make switching engines as painless as possible for developers.

Unified architecture across engines

Secret Dimension’s team—formerly Unity developers—created identical assets, level structure, gameplay flow, and project layouts in both versions. This parity extends to additive scene loading, character movement, AI systems, and behavior graphs.

Blueprint logic and C++ code in the Unreal version is clean, straightforward, and heavily annotated to match Epic’s coding standards. Supplementary PDF guides map Unity workflows—like subsystems and serialisation—to Unreal Engine 5’s equivalents.

Engine features in action

On the Unreal side, the sample integrates:

• Lumen for dynamic global illumination
• Nanite for high-fidelity, high-poly geometry
• Behavior Trees powering enemy AI logic
• World Partition for streaming segmented levels
• Sequencer to orchestrate shark animations
• UMG/CommonUI for menus and HUD
• Enhanced Input system with rebindable controls
• Single Layer Water Shading Model over physics-based water

Jump mechanics are built by extending CharacterMovementComponent. Variables like time-to-apex and apex height are exposed for designer tuning, while coyote time is implemented for forgiving jumps. The camera uses a one-way follow system, mimicking classic platformers. Material configurations use Material Functions, and lighting setups are fine-tuned to match stylized asset pipelines.

Seamless setup in Unreal Engine 5.6

Parrot requires Unreal Engine 5.6. Earlier versions are not compatible due to API changes. Precompiled binaries are included in the Fab distribution—developers need only refresh their Fab library in Epic Launcher before creating the project. Community feedback confirms this improved installation flow. On June 25, a fix was released addressing compile errors for users running 5.6 with C++ build tools.

Learning and support materials

Epic has published extensive Developer Documentation covering gameplay framework, serialization, subsystems, audio, combat, character movement, and the “Unity to Unreal Engine Overview” guide. With this, users can follow well-documented steps comparing practically each feature and level between engines. Parrot is also featured in June’s free Epic learning content alongside Chaos Cloth updates and performance optimization guidance. All sample code and assets are under a CC0 license. They draw from creators like Kenney.nl, Quaternius, and OpenGameArt—meaning developers can remix without legal hurdles.

Why it matters

This isn’t just a demo—it’s a complete template for migrating entire pipelines. Input handling, UI structures, save systems, audio routing, and AI frameworks all align across Unity and Unreal, reducing friction when transitioning. Developers should still validate features and performance within their own pipelines before committing code—this is a guide, not a production guarantee.

Get to the Island here on Fab.com

And here you get the Full Docuimentation

The post Parrot Sample: Engine Switch from Unity to Unreal Without Headaches? first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.